Swedish Tea Ring

I made this for my neighbors yesterday.

The dough has cardamon in it and the filling has cinnamon.  A perfect combination.

It's pretty too!

And delicious.

The Recipe:

Ring Dough:
1 package instant yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
1/2 cup warm water

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup butter, softened
2 Tb sugar
1 egg, beaten
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp. cardamom
zest of one lemon
2 1/2 - 3 cups all purpose flour

Filling:
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 TB cinnamon
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
2 Tb milk
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Dissolve yeast in the warm water until foamy. Add 2 1/2 cups flour, milk, butter, salt, sugar, egg, lemon zest and mix using the dough hook until the dough comes together. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of flour if the dough is still too soft. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and satiny, about 5 minutes.
Lightly butter a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with butter. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Punch down the dough and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough out to a 12x18 inch rectangle. Spread the softened butter all over the rectangle. In a small bowl, mix together the cinnamon, sugar and walnuts. Spread this mixture evenly across the dough. Roll the dough into a long roll and press the seam closed. With the seam turned downward, seal the two ends together to make a ring.
Place the ring on a parchment paper lined baking pan. Using a sharp knife or kitchen shears, make cuts every inch or so along the ring, cutting only three quarters of the way through. Twist each piece slightly so that the rolls fan out from the center of the ring. Cover the roll with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 45 minutes. Bake at 375F , 20 to 30 minutes. Remove the ring from the oven, place on a rack to cool.
When cooled, combine the powdered sugar, vanilla and milk and drizzle the glaze all over the ring.
 

I guess this was bound to happen.  Around the holidays, I heard about a couple that was visiting nearby from the UK.  I was thinking about how they might be a bit homesick since it was Xmas.  So, I wrapped up some of my mincemeat tarts and hardsauce along with some cookies and sent them to the couple so they could have a taste of home.  I got a thank you note in the mail recently and this is the way it was addressed. I guess being known as the 'mince pie and cookie lady' isn't the worst thing.