Karelian cakes are a specialty of the region with the same name, currently distributed between Russia and Finland although in origin it is a historical territory of the Scandinavian country. Finland currently has a very small part of Karelia within its borders, although almost all Karelian Finns that lived there left the eastern part when Russia occupied the area in 1945.
Karelian cakes are a very popular cake not only in the area, but throughout Finland. It is a kind of rye bread stuffed with rice porridge and sometimes covered by egg butter, which is a specialty very typical of the area.
By the way, they are not sweet cakes, if not salty. So they are used as an entree, for a snack or salty breakfast, but not as dessert.
INGREDIENTS :
For the filling :
1 liter (5 cups) of whole milk
1 cup of rice (200 ml), short-grain type
1 cup of bottled or filtered water
1 teaspoon salt
Optional: 2 tablespoons of butter, about 30-40 grams
For the dough :
2 cups (400 ml) of rye flour
1 cup (200 ml) of bottled or filtered water
Half a cup (100 ml) of wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
* You will find rye flour in big malls and stores of dietary and / or organic foods, if not in your local supermarket
Egg Butter (optional):
50 grams (2 and a half tablespoon) of butter with salt
2 hard boiled eggs
First we will make the rice stuffing.
We heat the water and when it starts to boil add the rice, stirring until it absorbs the water. At that time we incorporate the milk, stir well and let it do until the rice softens (approximately 20 minutes). Salt is added and if you want a little more succulent add 2 tablespoons of butter or margarine.
Remove and let cool. The rice must be completely cold when the rye flour base is filled.
We continue making the dough.
This step is very simple. Simply mix the rye flour with wheat flour, add water and salt. Sift both flours. The resulting dough is kneaded with the hands until it is homogeneous.
With the roller we flatten the dough on the floured surface and cut oval shapes - the size you want, they are usually the size of a dessert plate - with the existence of a kind of "crumpled" gutter that partially encloses the dough . It seems that doing the wrinkling in question is an art, so do what you can, it is not so difficult if you put the cooked rice and then fold the edges shaping with your fingers.
Once we have filled and "folded" the edges of the bread dough, we proceed to bake at 250 degrees celsius (480 F) for about 15 minutes, until the rice is golden (it will be more golden without butter, of course). Place the cakes on a rack so that the base is not too roasted or use baking paper.
Once freshly removed from the oven, they are usually painted with more butter or with an equal mixture of milk with butter. Once painted, they should be covered with baking paper or with a tea towel.
Another way to present them is to cover them with egg butter.
To do this, boil the eggs for 12 minutes until they are hard, with a stream of vinegar and a tablespoon of salt (so they are easier to peel).
Peel the eggs and crush them with a fork, mixing with the 50 grams (2 and half tablespoons) of butter with salt. They are served hot but they are also good if you eat them at room temperature or overheated.