Currant cake: we eat it with butter, cheese or some sugar. Whether we go to the zoo for a day or on vacation, they actually go everywhere with us. What makes this round sandwich so popular?
Boulanger teacher Helgo Hillebrand says that currant cake has been around since the 17th century. “It’s an always-present product, but you can see that there are differences in taste for each region. In the south it’s a bit more yellow inside and has a citrusy orange flavor. In the east it’s a lot like a white ball.”
“We eat currant buns a lot in our daily lives,” Hillebrand says. For example as a delicious snack or with lunch. I really noticed in the bakery that people often buy this. It goes well with cheese, sugar or jam. Sweet candy goes especially well with it.”
Raisin cake or currant cake: usually in your sandwich
Despite the fact that we usually call it a currant cake, it is actually a raisin cake, according to Maester Patissier and Maester Boulanger Robert van Beckhoven. “Sometimes it’s a mixture of the two. But you see currants a lot more in muesli cakes, because they are much stronger in contrast to raisins, which are a little lighter. But the raisin ball is centuries old, my dad actually made it with my grandfather. We make raisin pies for as long as we can.” .
In principle, olipol is fried currant cake
“It’s been in vogue in my shop for years,” says van Beekhoven. It eats easily like butter and cheese. Now people go on vacation again and still take currant cake with them in the car. I don’t know if it’s really healthy, but at least it’s a delicious snack that makes you feel healthy. They are really popular all year round. In the months of December, it is always a little lower, then the number of stolen fine raisin bread increases. On the other hand, raisins with currants do not affect the sale of currant cake. That’s nice, because in principle it is a fried raisin cake.”
“I always put butter in a currant cake,” van Beekhoven says. The best thing is when they just come out of the oven for fifteen minutes and they are still warm, then put the butter on top and eat it right away. Then you can not stop. Then melt the butter on it, and this is very tasty. “
According to Hillebrand, you can find similar currant cake products abroad. In Germany, for example, you have Rosinen Brötchen and in Belgium kramiek, which is also a stuffed bread. But it often contains less raisins. And in England, you also have the currant cake or the hot cross cake.”
You can make currant cake by yourself: it takes a lot of practice
According to Van Beckhoven, making a sandwich for the first time is not easy. With the basics of baking bread, you have to practice a lot in the beginning. But once you get used to it, you’ll never go wrong again. I often made videos that I show to the home baker. It’s just a matter of doing that.”
It gives the milk a beautiful color and provides nice soft balls
Start by washing the raisins and soaking them in water at about 30 degrees for 20 minutes. Then let them dry and unfold naked on a tea towel, this is what we call wind drying. Make sure to spread them a little, otherwise they will crush each other,” explains van Beekhoven. “You can just use bread flour to make currant buns, and add salt and about 6 percent yeast. In the bakery, we work in percentages based on the weight of the flour, so 6 percent on a kilogram of flour equals 60 grams. Then you add some eggs for texture and color, and some fresh lemon peel or lime, it’s nice and fresh. Add a little caster sugar, which will give the yeast a pleasant color and nourishment. Then use 10 percent butter – for taste – and 10 percent margarine – for lubrication – as fat. If you use milk instead of water, it gives a nice color and makes nice soft balls. “
“The dough for currant buns gets softer than regular ‘bread dough’, so you use a little water,” says Van Beekhoven. It needs to be kneaded well so you can make a very thin crust out of it. They often use 100 percent raisins. “If you have a loose dough, these raisins go through easily and don’t break. When the dough is ready, make the dough balls. You have to make sure that the raisins are hidden by this thin film, because if they are on top they will burn. After fifteen minutes you can round them up again.” Then let them rise for another hour and brush them with the egg. Then bake them briefly at 230 degrees, about 7 to 8 minutes. Then just enjoy.”
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