Deep fried cakes
Before the introduction of the cast iron range in DK in the 1830s, baked cakes and biscuits were a rare luxury. In households without a range, deep fried cakes or small cakes baked by the open fire were pretty much the only chance of something sweet.
'Smolt' is an old Danish word for 'meltet fat', and these 'smolt'-cakes give you an idea of how the Yule cakes tasted in the days before the cast iron range. Know that you can give them a more contemporary twist by adding a few modern spices like vanilla or lemon zest and even serve them with icing sugar.
150 ml barley flour
150 ml rye flour
150 ml wheat flour
½ teaspoon salt
200 ml finely chopped hazelnuts
200 ml dried, chopped cranberries
50 ml milk
2 tablespoons honey
2 large or 3 small eggs
Lard (or vegetable fat)
Video: How to make deep fried cakes (Smolt cakes)
Mix the flours, salt, nuts and cranberries in a bowl. Add the milk and mix before adding the eggs and honey. Whisk to form a batter with the consistency of porridge. You may add a little more milk or flour to adjust.
Use two spoons and place 1-2 tablespoon-sized portions into the hot lard or vegetable fat. Make only about 3 at a time. Cook the cakes for about 10 minutes and make sure you turn them during the cooking time to get them golden and crisp on all sides.
Serve with honey (or icing sugar).
Enjoy!