Kagemand

Arla’s kagemand shapes a brunsviger yeast dough into a birthday cake figure. Brown-sugar remonce covers the dough, while icing, mixed sweets and liquorice strings make the decoration.

Butter is melted and milk is added before yeast is stirred into the mixture. Eggs, sugar, coarse salt and wheat flour are worked in, with some flour held back, to make a moist dough that rises covered.

The dough is kneaded on a floured surface. About a quarter forms the head and the rest is divided for the body, arms and legs; the pieces are joined firmly on baking paper in a tray.

A separate portion of softened butter and brown sugar makes the remonce. It is pressed into deep indentations and spread over the figure before the dough rises again and bakes.

The cake cools a little in the tray before being moved to a platter. Icing sugar and water make an icing piped from a food-safe plastic bag, and the icing fixes the sweets onto the cake, with liquorice strings forming its hair.