Rømmegrøt — Norwegian sour cream porridge with butter and cinnamon

Prepare 500 g cultured sour cream with 35% fat, seterrømme. Weigh the flour and divide it between two bowls, with 55 g in each. Separately weigh 500 g milk, 2 g salt, and 20 g whole butter. In a small bowl, mix 32 g sugar with 2 g ground cinnamon; all of this mixture will be used to finish the four portions.

Pour all 500 g milk into a small saucepan and warm over low heat for about 3–4 minutes, until warm and just beginning to steam, without boiling. Remove from the heat and cover. You can warm it at the same time as the cream; later you will use the entire weighed portion without adding any extra milk.

Put all the cream in a heavy-bottomed pot with a capacity of about 2 liters. Heat slowly, stirring with a spatula and scraping the bottom, until it begins to bubble gently. Simmer over low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Do not brown the cream and do not let it boil vigorously or scorch around the edges.

Sift the first 55 g flour into the hot cream, whisking vigorously all the time. Then heat over low heat for about 3–5 minutes, stirring with a spatula along the bottom. The mixture will thicken, and golden liquid fat should appear around its edges. Do not turn the heat up sharply to make the fat separate faster.

Tilt the pot slightly and spoon the fat visible on the surface into a small heatproof bowl. Save all of it for serving; do not pour any away. Cover the bowl and leave it in a warm place beside the stove. The amount of fat that separates can vary; if there is very little, do not greatly extend the heating time.

Return the pot to low heat. Add the second 55 g flour and stir thoroughly into the thick mixture, scraping the bottom and sides of the pot. Stir for about a minute, until no dry flour is visible. Keep the entire bowl of previously skimmed fat beside the stove; do not add it to the pot now.

Add the warm milk a little at a time, whisking until smooth before each new addition. The mixture will be very thick at first, then gradually loosen. Over about 4–5 minutes, add all 500 g milk, scraping it out of the saucepan. Keep the heat low and stir so that no lumps form.

Simmer the rømmegrøt gently for about 7–10 minutes, stirring often with a spatula along the bottom and sides. It should be smooth, with no raw flour taste, and fall heavily from a spoon, briefly holding the trail left by stirring. Stir in all 2 g salt. Do not cook it down to a stiff mass; it will thicken further on the plates.

In the empty milk saucepan, melt 20 g butter over the lowest heat and mix with all the fat skimmed from the cream. Divide all the hot porridge among four deep plates and spoon equal shares of the entire butter and cream fat mixture over them. Sprinkle with all the cinnamon sugar, dividing it into four shares. Scrape out both small bowls without setting any topping aside.

Serve immediately while the texture is still creamy; one portion with all its toppings weighs approximately 270 g. Transfer leftovers to a shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours, then use within 2 days. Reheat gently in a small pot, stirring often; the chilled porridge will be noticeably thicker.