Reindling Easter Cake

Reindling is a traditional cake from Carinthia, oringally served on festive days like weddings, baptisms and especially Easter. Now a common dish of Carinthian cuisine, Reindling does not necessarily have to be sweet. It tastes delicious with butter and jam, but traditionally it was also served like bread with the Carinthian Easter meal of ham, smoked sausages and eggs.

There are lots of variations to the classic Reindling recipe and many families have their own secret ingredients such as a dash of rum in the filling or cocoa powder instead of cinnamon. Once you have mastered this basic recipe you can have fun experimenting. And for a slice of Reindling as it was meant to be, there could be nowhere more authentic than Austria's colourful Easter Markets.

Ingredients:

For the dough:
2 ¼ cups (500g) of flour
5 tsp (40g) of yeast
2 eggs
½ cup (90g) of sugar
a generous pinch of salt
8 tbsp (120g) of butter

For the filling:
5 tbsp (50g) of butter
½ cup (100g) of raisins
½ cup (100g) of sugar
1 tbsp of cinnamon
½ cup (100g) of finely ground nuts (optional)

For the topping:
4 tbsp (60g) of butter for topping

How to make it:

First, mix the flour with the yeast and add a bit of milk and sugar until you get a smooth mixture. Cover it with a piece of cloth and let it rest in a warm place for half an hour. Then add the rest of the milk and the sugar, the eggs, the butter and a pinch of salt, and work it into a smooth dough. Let it rest again - this time for 10 minutes. Then roll out the dough so that it is roughly as thick as your thumb.

For the filling, melt the butter and spread it on the dough. Mix the sugar with the cinnamon and sprinkle the dough. Then add the raisins and, if you like, the nuts. After that, roll the dough up tightly and put it into a greased cake pan. Again, let it rest for 20 minutes. Finally, sprinkle little bits of butter on the cake. Then put it in the oven for 50 - 60 minutes at about 180 degrees. When it is done, take it out of the oven and let it cool. Only turn the cake out of the pan when it is completely cold to avoid it breaking.

Guten Appetit!