An Icelandic Kleina recipe

If you’re anything like us you just can’t get enough of the Icelandic kleina, so we got permission from Chef Úlfar Finnbjörnsson and his publisher to give you his kleina recipe from the book Taste of Iceland.

This is a very traditional recipe for a medium-sized batch of kleinur, but here they are served with whey-licorice granita which gives them an extra twist. If you’re not doing anything fancy but still want to offer up a special Icelandic treat, just skip the granita and enjoy the simple but delicious kleina.

KLEINUR

Served with whey-licorice granita

200 g (7 oz) flour

70 g (2.4 oz) sugar

60 g (2 oz) butter

2 tsp. baking powder

1 egg

1 ¼ dl (½ cup) milk

¾ dl (⅓ cup) buttermilk

1 tsp. cardamom extract or powder

¼ tsp. salt

Using an electric mixer, mix all the ingredients slowly until they form an even dough. Roll out the dough until it’s a little under ½ cm (in) thick. Use a kleina iron if you’ve got it and cut the dough diagonally in two directions creating diamond shaped squares. Make a little cut into the middle of each diamond. Pull one corner of the diamond through the cut in the middle to create a twist. Deep fry the twisted diamonds in oil at 180°C (356°F) for about 4 minutes or until golden brown on all sides and cooked through. Serve hot with the whey-licorice granita.

Whey-licorice granita:

1 ½ dl (⅔ cup) water

1 ½ dl (⅔ cup) whey

1 tbsp. lemon juice

Finely grated zest of ½ lemon

200 g (7 oz) sugar

1 tbsp. licorice powder

In a saucepan, mix all the ingredients and let boil for 2 minutes. Let the mixture cool down. Pour the mixture into a baking tin with raised edges or a stainless steel bowl and put in the freezer. Once the mixture begins to freeze, stir with a fork every ½ hour until mixture has turned into coarse ice crystals, but not frozen solid.

BRING THE TASTE OF ICELAND HOME WITH YOU

There’s great food to be had in Iceland so why not bring a little taste home with you? For a dinner party worth remembering try some of Chef Finnbjörnsson’s recipes from his award-winning cookbook Taste of Iceland. Taste of Iceland is available at Keflavik Airport and in most bookstores and larger souvenir shops around the country.