CHARLES XV'S PRETZELS

Like the pretzel dedicated to Rastko Nemanjić, medieval Serbian prince, the cookie featured today bears the name of a royal person: king Charles XV of Sweden. For those who follow the blog, this was the grandson of Queen Désirée (Desideria), who inspired a story about plum marmalade.

The son of Oscar I and Josephine de Beauharnais' grand-daughter (Josefina), Charles XV was a very popular king. He reigned between 1859 and1872, in parallel with Alexander II of Russia - also big favorite with his subjects and, mistakenly believed, the inspiration for Alexander cake, a very popular dessert both in Finland and Sweden. (The Swedish version, which is a jam tart filled with almond paste, might have been inspired by Alexander II but the Finnish recipe is certainly much older.)

 

Equestrian portrait of Charles XV  by Carl Fredrik Kiörboe - ca. 1860

 

Charles XV was a Vasa by blood through his mother, which the Swedish folk loved, as Napoleon's marshal Bernadotte (his grandfather) had been crowned to serve a political alliance with France. The king was a cultivated person with artistic and literary skills and partial to several women, excluding his consort. Like his Russian counterpart, he was in favor of political and social reform and so well liked by his people that he was nicknamed Kron-Kalle ("Crown-Charlie"). Charles XV advocated for Scandinavianism, working towards the unity of the 3 Scandinavian kingdoms - Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

That a pretzel was named after him is not a surprise though little is known of its history. Perhaps Swedish bakers felt he deserved it or perhaps they just copied the last part of his title (XV) on a piece of bread dough.

Pretzels have been and still are popular with both European & American bakers. They are said to be Jewish in origin although culinary tradition also points to a 7th century Italian monk, who rewarded his followers with a cookie that was shaped like their arms while praying. Whatever its actual roots, the pretzel became a trademark of bakers' guilds in several places, including Denmark. There are both sweet and savory versions as well as recipes in between. Charles XV's pretzel is made with just flour, butter and cream. It's topped with a little pearl sugar, which might easily be replaced with coarse salt if liked. The recipe is less complicated than St. Sava's pretzel, which is leavened with yeast.

 

 

CHARLES XV's PRETZELS

Since there is no history about the origins of Charles XV's pretzel, we cannot be sure it's a nineteenth century recipe. There are several versions in print and online, all of them dating from the last 40 years or so. I used the ingredients typically given in Swedish cookbooks, opting for the lowest percentage of butter.

I n g r e d i e n t s

400g flour

150g butter

4tbsp cream

pearl sugar

M e t h o d

Divide the butter into cubes with a knife. Combine with the flour, using your hands. Add the cream and mix into a soft dough. Divide into 15-20 balls and shape into pretzels. Roll in pearl sugar and place on a baking sheet. Bake at 180C for about 15 minutes.