Cakes

Caramelized banana upside-down cake

November 4, 2017 By linda 56 Comments

Can I just say… this cake is SOOO. GOOD. I know I say that about everything and I truly mean it every time. But you know, you always have your favorites/weaknesses (like.. devouring 20 chocolate chip cookies.. never happened). I think you know what I mean. Some things are just hard to resist, and this cake is definitely one of those cakes where I could eat the whole thing in one go. Let me just say, whoever came up with the idea of baking fruit in a pool of caramel in the bottom of a baking pan is a genius. Downright genius.

CARAMELIZED BANANA UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

8-10 servings

This cake didn’t last very long in my house, that’s how good it is! Definitely best served warm. The cake itself is quite sweet, so if you’d like to serve it with something, I’d recommend some unsweetened whipped cream. I didn’t add too much spice in the recipe because I didn’t want to take away from the banana flavor, but you can definitely up the ginger and cinnamon if you want a more spiced cake.

INGREDIENTS

TOPPING

65 g (approx. 2/3 stick) salted butter
125 g (1/2 cup + 1 tbsp, tightly packed) light muscovado sugar
3-4 ripe bananas

CAKE

200 g (1 1/3 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp.) all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
125 g softened salted butter
180 g (3/4 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
150 ml (2/3 cup) thick yoghurt (greek or turkish), at room temp.

INSTRUCTIONS

TOPPING

Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F). Butter a 22 cm (9 inch) springform pan and cover the bottom of the pan with baking paper.
Peel and cut the bananas in half lengthwise.
Melt the butter in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Stir in sugar and cook for 2-3 minutes over medium heat until combined and sugar is melted. Don’t worry if the mixture feels gritty, it will disappear once the cake is baked. Spread the caramel over the baking paper in the bottom of the pan. Place the bananas cut side down over the caramel.

CAKE

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the flour in three additions, and the yoghurt in two, beginning and ending with flour. Beat until just smooth.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan, over the caramel and bananas. Smooth the top with a spatula.
Make sure to put a baking sheet covered with baking paper on the lowest rack of the oven to catch any drips from the cake (it will most likely leak a little bit). Bake the cake for 45-50 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Start checking around 40 minutes, as you might need to cover the cake with foil if it’s browning too much.
Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare a large serving platter or plate to put the cake on. After the 5 minutes, carefully remove the sides of the springform pan. Then invert the cake onto the platter and peel off the piece of baking paper. Let cool a bit before serving.

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Mini pumpkin cakes with caramel pastry cream and toasted lemon meringue frosting

September 30, 2017 By linda 30 Comments

I can’t believe summer is already over! It went by way too fast this year, but no wonder since I’ve been busy moving (I seriously can’t believe how much stuff we had crammed into our old apartment) and shooting my friend My’s book which by the way is SO much fun. A new experience for sure, and we’re nearly there. Can’t wait until it’s published next spring, I need to show you guys what we’ve been up to for basically the past 1 1/2 years 🙂 Moving has been such a transition. Life feels better and the new apartment is great, but getting back into work, learning how the light ‘works’ here is definitely a learning process. Living without a dishwasher is also something I haven’t done in a few years…

My and I found this amazing little farm shop called Kaggagård where we shot some pictures for her book. They had the most gorgeous pumpkins so I decided to bring a few home with me. I made some pumpkin puree, roasted pumpkin and these little cakes. I think I might make some soup aswell, and pie. What’s your all time favorite pumpkin recipe?

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Mini pumpkin cakes with caramel pastry cream and toasted lemon meringue frosting

Makes 4 small cakes

This is a delicious version of my favorite ever carrot cake, where I use both grated pumpkin, pumpkin puree and sour cream instead of grated carrot and apple sauce/peach puree. If you prefer using carrot or if you want to make a 6 inch cake, you can find instructions for the cake layers here and here.

INGREDIENTS

PUMPKIN CAKE

150 g butter
1 3/4 cups grated pumpkin
3 large eggs
150 g (2/3 cup) granulated sugar
65 g (1/3 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp.) light brown muscovado sugar, firmly packed
180 g (1 1/4 cups) all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. flaky salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
80 ml (1/3 cup) sour cream
80 ml (1/3 cup) pumpkin puree (if you don’t have pumpkin puree, use sour cream or apple sauce instead)

CARAMEL PASTRY CREAM

150 ml (2/3 cup) milk
100 ml (1/3 cup + 2 tbsp) heavy cream
1/2 vanilla bean
3 large egg yolks (save egg whites for frosting)
4 tbsp. (55 g) granulated sugar, divided
2 tbsp. (17 g) cornstarch
pinch of salt
1 tbsp. (15 g) butter

MERINGUE FROSTING

4 large egg whites
200 g (1 scant cup) granulated sugar
zest from 1 small organic lemon

INSTRUCTIONS

PUMPKIN CAKE

Heat oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter a 30 x 40 cm/ 11 x 16 inch sheet pan and cover with baking paper.
Melt the butter and set aside to cool.
Peel and grate the pumpkin.
Beat eggs and sugars until fluffy and lighter in color and texture, about 3 minutes. Add the melted butter and beat until combined.
Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a bowl, then stir into the batter until just smooth.
Add grated pumpkin, pumpkin puree and sour cream to the batter and stir until combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth with a spatula.
Bake for about 16-18 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Let cake cool completely before cutting out rounds with a 6,5 cm/2.5 inch cookie cutter. Wrap the rounds in plastic wrap or store in an airtight container if not using immediately.

PASTRY CREAM

Pour milk and cream into a saucepan. Scrape the seeds out of the vanilla bean and add seeds and bean to the saucepan. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat.
In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 tbsp sugar, cornstarch, salt and yolks. Set aside.
Put the remaining 3 tbsp of sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Place the pan over medium to high heat until the sugar starts melting around the edges. Turn the heat down to low and stir carefully with a spoon until sugar is melted and golden brown. Be careful not to burn the sugar! Stir in the butter.
Very carefully pour some of the hot milk mixture over the melted sugar (it will bubble up so make sure to be careful as this stuff is hot!). Add the milk mixture little by little, then heat until everything is melted again.
Slowly pour half of the hot milk mixture over the egg mixture to temper the eggs. Pour everything back into the saucepan and remove the vanilla bean.
Whisk over medium heat until the mixture becomes very thick. Put the saucepan in a cold water bath, stirring every now and then to prevent a skin from forming. When mixture is cool, pour into a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic wrap against the surface of the pastry cream. Put the bowl in the fridge until pastry cream is cold and thick – about 2 hours, but preferably longer.

ASSEMBLY

Put the first small cake layer on a small plate or cake stand. Spread with a layer of the pastry cream, then put the next cake layer on top. Repeat until you’ve used four layers for each little cake. Put the cakes in the fridge while you prepare the frosting.

MERINGUE FROSTING

Pour egg whites and sugar in a clean and heatproof bowl (preferably stainless steel or glass). Put the bowl over a saucepan with simmering water. The bowl should fit snugly, and the simmering water should not be touching the bowl.
Whisk the sugar and eggs constantly with a whisk until the mixture reaches about 65°C (about 140-150°F). If you don’t have a sugar thermometer, just rub some mixture between your fingers. If the sugar has melted and mixture is hot to the touch, it’s ready.
Remove the bowl from the heat, beat until white, fluffy and cool to the touch with a stand- or electric mixer. This step can take about 5-10 minutes. Stir in the lemon zest.
Cover the cakes with meringue frosting and toast the meringue with a kitchen torch.

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Mocha squares

April 19, 2017 By linda 25 Comments

Mocha squares have about a million names in Swedish. Ok, so I exaggerated a little bit. Maybe not a million, but definitely a lot more than your average cake (Snoddas, Kärleksmums, chokladrutor, mockarutor… the list goes on). Usually they’re made with a super sweet glaze on top but I wanted to make a smooth, creamy buttercream type of frosting instead. And it’s definitely not overly sweet as it sometimes can be. I mean… who can say no to that swirly chocolate frosting? I know I can’t. I’ll happily eat it straight from the bowl.

In case you don’t have a sheet pan, you can make this recipe as cupcakes too! I tried and they were equally delicious. It’s totally up to you! Find instructions in the recipe and photos at the bottom of this post, in case you’re interested.

Still can’t believe I’ll be in the US next month to hang out with my sweet friends Eva, Carey and Maggie (+a bunch of other awesome people)! I’m so nervous and super excited at the same time.. I’ve never traveled that far. Actually I’ve never even been outside Europe. It’s about time! What are some of your best travel tips? Or advice on how to not get super jetlagged? Bring this cake, maybe? I think that would be a little bit suspicious, no? 😉

MOCHA SQUARES

Yields one sheet cake, serves 8-10

You can also make this recipe as cupcakes! Halve the cake recipe (but make the full frosting recipe) and divide the batter between 12 medium sized cupcake liners. Bake at 175°C for 16-19 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

INGREDIENTS

CAKE

150 g (about 1 1/4 stick) butter
270 g (1 3/4 cups + 3 tbsp.) all purpose flour
30 g (1/3 cup) cocoa powder
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
4 eggs
250 g (1 cup + 3 tbsp.) granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla powder
150 ml (2/3 cup) milk

FROSTING

50 g dark chocolate (70%), chopped
75 g (2/3 stick) softened butter
90 g (2/3 cup) powdered sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. cocoa powder
3 tbsp. freshly brewed coffee (cooled)
1 tbsp. cream or milk
shredded coconut, to sprinkle

INSTRUCTIONS

CAKE

Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F). Grease a 20×30 cm sheet pan or roasting pan and cover it with baking paper.
Melt the butter and set aside to cool.
In a medium bowl, stir together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.
Beat eggs, sugar and vanilla powder until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add in the dry mixture and stir until smooth.
Add in the melted butter and milk and stir until completely smooth.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. Bake in the lower part of the oven for 20-25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool under a clean kitchen towel.

FROSTING

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in a microwave. Let cool to room temperature.
Beat the butter and powdered sugar until mixture becomes light and fluffy.
Stir in the melted chocolate and beat until smooth. Add salt, cocoa powder, coffee and cream and beat some more until completely fluffy and smooth.
Spread the frosting on the cake and top with shredded coconut. Cut in squares and serve.

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Coconut coffee cake with caramel glaze

March 8, 2017 By linda 52 Comments

I think it’s officially spring, guys! I mean, except for the fact that it snowed the other day. Snowflakes big as snowballs. And today, I woke up to even more snow. I guess spring will wait a little longer here in Sweden. Hopefully not too long though as I can’t wait to get my hands on some rhubarb. I’m already fantasizing about all the yummy things I’ll be making with it.

On another note, how beautiful is this cake? I found this old cake pan and immediately, I imagined all the beautiful cakes I could use it for. I simply had to have it.

I try to be a bit more concious with what I buy these days (and where I spend my energy as well) and only get things that I truly love or serve a purpose. Preferably second hand, vintage or hand made. I’ve come to realize that too much stuff clutters my mind, and diminishes my energy and inspiration. Quality over quantity.

Anyway, back to the cake. I imagined topping the cake with pretty, long candles. Beautiful handmade beeswax candles with multicolored wicks from OVO Things to the rescue! Seriously, decent candles are so hard to find here so I was beyond excited to find these. You can have a look at the Birthday candles HERE in case you’re interested!

COCONUT COFFEE CAKE WITH CARAMEL GLAZE

Yields one cake, serves 8-10

You can make this cake with either shredded coconut or coconut chips that you grind in a food processor. I used the latter since I didn’t have shredded coconut at home. If you’re not a fan of coffee, you can use milk or water in place of it – but I highly recommend trying it with coffee! Note that this caramel sauce can sometimes get a little grainy after cooling, but it’s not noticable when you serve it with the cake.

INGREDIENTS

CAKE

150 g (about 1 1/4 stick) butter
80 g (a scant cup) shredded coconut
180 g (1 1/4 cup) all purpose flour
2 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
3 large eggs
280 g (1 1/4 cup) granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla powder
150 ml (2/3 cup) strong coffee

GLAZE

112 g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
150 ml (2/3 cup) heavy cream
1 tsbp. butter
1 tbsp. light syrup (golden syrup/corn syrup would work too)
1/4 tsp. salt
1-2 tsp. cocoa powder
Chocolate sprinkles, for topping

INSTRUCTIONS

CAKE

Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F). Grease and flour a 6-7 cup (1 1/2 litre) bundt pan.
Melt the butter and set aside to cool.
In a medium bowl, mix together shredded coconut, flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
Beat eggs, sugar and vanilla powder until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add in the dry mixture and stir until smooth.
Add in the melted butter and coffee and stir until completely smooth.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. Bake in the lower part of the oven for 55-65 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

GLAZE

Mix sugar, cream, butter, syrup and salt in a saucepan. Stir together and let come to a boil.
Let mixture simmer for 20 minutes or until mixture thickens. Stir every now and then (but don’t stir too often, this can make it grainy). Sift in the cocoa powder and stir until completely smooth.
Let cool for 10 minutes or so, then pour on top of the cake and sprinkle with chocolate sprinkles.

This is a sponsored post. All opinions are as always, my own! 🙂 Recipe adapted from an old cookbook named ‘Bildkokboken’.

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Blood orange upside down cake

March 1, 2017 By linda 33 Comments

I adore a tall, beautiful and delicious layer cake as much as the next person, but lately, I’m such a fan of simple cakes like this one. Initially, I didn’t even make this for the blog, I was just doing some “procrastibaking” (that is, procrastinating by baking) with leftover ingredients from freelance work because I didn’t feel like sitting in front of the computer all day.

And of course, I was craving something sweet. But I took some photos of it anyway, you know, just because. And when I took the first bite, I knew I had to post it. And doesn’t it look stunning too? I adore oranges, and especially blood oranges so much. I want to use them with everything!

Today I’ll be picking up the keys for my little studio and I couldn’t be more excited! After almost 4 years of working from home, it feels unreal. I can’t really imagine anything else than walking straight from bed to my computer with a cup of coffee (hey, that’s pretty great too!).

Hopefully I’ll be more efficient with work, and it’ll be a nice change of pace to actually come home to relax a little bit after work (we’ll see how the relaxing part goes..)!

BLOOD ORANGE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

Yields one cake, serves 8

You can make this upside down cake with basically any fruit, apples or pears sprinkled with some cinnamon would be so good! Also, when you leave the pith (the white part) and peel of the orange on, you might notice a slightly bitter taste. If you don’t like this – just cut away the skin and the pith like I’ve done here. I did find that after the cake was baked and had rested a day on the counter, covered in plastic wrap, the bitterness from the oranges had completely disappeared.

INGREDIENTS

3 tbsp. demerara sugar
100 g (1 scant stick) butter + extra for the pan
50 ml (3 tbsp. + 1 tsp.) thick yogurt (such as Greek yogurt)
1-2 blood oranges
2 eggs
140 g (2/3 cup) granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla powder (or 1 tsp. vanilla extract)
120 g (3/4 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp.) all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
zest from 1 blood orange

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F).
Generously grease a 23-24 cm (9-9.5-inch) springform pan with butter. Sprinkle pan with 3 tbsp. demerara sugar, make sure to get some on the sides of the pan aswell.
Melt butter and stir in the yogurt. Set aside to cool.
Wash and slice 1-2 blood oranges thinly. Remove any seeds. Put the slices in a single layer in the bottom of the pan.
Beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla until very light in color and texture, about 2-3 minutes.
In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt. Gently stir the flour mixture into the egg mixture. Add the butter mixture and zest to the batter and stir until smooth.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula.
Bake for 32-36 minutes (but start checking around 25 minutes) until cake is golden brown on top and a cake tester comes out clean.
Let cool for 5 minutes before inverting the cake onto a rack or a plate to cool completely. Serve with the cardamom+almond ice cream from my previous post, or vanilla ice cream – or simply eat it as it is!

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Blood orange & black sesame loaf cake

January 11, 2017 By linda 40 Comments

Hi friends! Hope you’ve all had a great start to 2017. My days have mostly been about trying to get back into work, and finding a routine again. So hard after the holidays! If I skip checking my email for a week, it’s a real struggle to get back into it.

I need to write to-do lists for every day, by hand, in my calendar and then strike things off my list as I go, to get motivated. Needless to say, my 2017 calendar is still pretty empty. But I hope that will change soon!

Do you guys have any goals or resolutions for 2017? Usually I don’t, but if I were to pick something it would be to have more fun, laugh more, relax more and try not to worry about every. single. thing. Take better care of myself too. And to do things that make me happy.

Now, this cake! Citrus season is one of my favorite seasons and especially blood oranges have a special place in my heart (and my belly, hah!). Also, they make the prettiest pink icing. First, I made this cake in a bundt pan and with poppy seeds in place of black sesame seeds. Equally delicious! It would taste amazing with lemon, too!

BLOOD ORANGE & BLACK SESAME LOAF CAKE

Yields one loaf cake, serves 8-10

You can omit the sesame seeds if you want to, or try using poppy seeds instead! I’ve tried poppy seeds and it’s equally delicious. If using poppy seeds, there is no need to toast them. You can also bake this cake in a bundt pan, just make sure it’s big enough (approx. 6 1/2 cups).

INGREDIENTS

LOAF CAKE

3 tbsp. black sesame seeds
330 g (2 1/3 cups) all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
175 g (1 1/2 stick) softened butter
330 g (1 1/2 cups) granulated sugar
3 large eggs
finely grated zest of 2 blood oranges
100 ml (1/3 cup & 1 1/2 tbsp) fresh blood orange juice (of approximately 2 oranges)
75 ml (1/3 cup) milk

GLAZE

120 g (3/4 cup + 2 tbsp.) powdered sugar
1 1/2 – 2 tbsp. fresh blood orange juice

INSTRUCTIONS

LOAF CAKE

Preheat oven to 175°C (350F). Grease and flour a 6 1/2 cup/1 1/2 litre loaf pan (mine measures: inner depth 7 cm, bottom inner length 21 cm, bottom inner width 8,5 cm, top inner width 11,5 cm)
Lightly toast the sesame seeds in a skillet.
In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
Beat butter and sugar until light and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
Add the flour mixture, blood orange juice and milk in additions to the butter mixture and stir until batter is smooth. Add the orange zest and 2 1/2 tbsp of the toasted sesame seeds to the batter, leaving 1/2 tbsp seeds for topping.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. Bake in the lower part of the oven for 70-85 minutes (start checking around 60 minutes, cover the top with foil if cake is getting too much color) or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

GLAZE

Stir together powdered sugar and blood orange juice in a small bowl. Drizzle over cake and top with 1/2 tbsp toasted black sesame seeds.

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Saffron bundt cake with white chocolate coconut ganache

December 5, 2016 By linda 24 Comments

So the second Sunday of advent passed by in a flash.. the whole month of December goes by so quickly. And suddenly it’s a new year. I feel like I’m not as efficient as I used to be. Maybe it’s just the fact that I’m trying to be at bit more mindful of where I spend my energy. I know I mention this every year but it’s just so DARK. You kind of forget!

In December, baking Lussekatter (saffron buns) is an absolute must for me (and for maaany other Swedes of course). But this year I wanted to try something a bit different. Namely a soft saffron cake. So I baked this cake twice. One with “regular” milk and one with coconut milk and both turned out incredible. The one with regular milk is possibly a bit fluffier. Just ever so slightly. Both delicious. And then I made a white chocolate ganache with coconut milk instead of cream. Oh my! So good! I will definitely be trying that again with dark chocolate as well. Maybe for another blogpost!

SAFFRON BUNDT CAKE WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE COCONUT GANACHE

Yields one bundt cake, serves 8-10

I highly recommend making this cake with coconut milk (full fat), but if you’re not a fan of coconut, you can use regular milk in the cake in place of coconut milk and heavy cream in the ganache. I’ve tried it and it works beautifully! I usually soak my saffron for about a week before baking with it to extract as much flavor as possible, but doing it an hour or so before is better than not doing it at all. If you don’t have dark rum, you can use any hard liquor. If you don’t want to use any type of alcohol, you can let it soak in 1 tbsp. warm water for an hour before using. Cake recipe adapted from here.

INGREDIENTS

BUNDT CAKE

0,5 g (approximately 1/4 tsp) saffron
1 tsp. granulated sugar
1 tbsp. dark rum
200 g (1 3/4 sticks) butter
150 mL (2/3 cup) coconut milk
240 g (1 2/3 cups) all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
270 g (1 1/4 cups) granulated sugar

GANACHE

50 g (1.8 oz) white chocolate, finely chopped
60 mL (1/4 cup) coconut milk
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp. vanilla powder
Powdered sugar, for dusting

INSTRUCTIONS

BUNDT CAKE

Grind the saffron with 1 tsp. sugar and put in a small jar. Add dark rum and cover with a lid or plastic wrap and leave it in room temperature for at least one hour.
Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F). Grease and flour a 4 1/2 – 5 cup bundt pan (recipe makes approximately 4 cups of batter).
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the coconut milk and saffron mixture and set aside.
Stir together flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Beat together the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the butter mixture and stir until combined. Add the dry ingredients and stir until batter is smooth.
Pour batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake on the bottom rack of the oven for 40-45 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Leave the cake to cool in its pan for 15 minutes before inverting it onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

GANACHE

Put the finely chopped chocolate in a small bowl. Heat the coconut milk in a saucepan until hot, but not boiling. Pour the hot coconut milk over the chocolate and let stand for 30 seconds.
Stir with a small spoon until chocolate is melted and ganache is smooth. Add the salt and vanilla. Leave to cool until slightly thickened (it won’t thicken a lot though). Dust cake with powdered sugar and drizzle with ganache.

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Citrus ginger cake with honey chocolate frosting

November 28, 2016 By linda 15 Comments

As you can see, I’ve been really into making cakes lately. For the longest time now, I’ve been kind of sick of cake. I have no idea why! I guess I go through these weird creative cycles where I can only think about one type of recipe and right now, my obsession seems to be cake. I hope you don’t mind… Actually I know you don’t mind 😉

I can’t believe it’s almost December! Yesterday was the first of advent here in Sweden.. Christmas still feels very distant. This cake is kind of suitable for Christmas/winter actually. Orange and chocolate is a combination I adore. And with the addition of ginger, and honey in the frosting, it’s even better!

CITRUS GINGER CAKE WITH HONEY CHOCOLATE FROSTING

Yields one 8-inch cake, serves 8-10

What I really like about this cake, besides the moist, buttery crumb, is the frosting. It’s perfect if you don’t like it super sweet. As for which citrus fruits to use, it’s up to you! I used zest from 1 orange and 1 clementine but you could also use lemon, blood orange or lime. Make sure to not throw away the fruits after using the zest. Save them for the topping!

INGREDIENTS

CAKE

270 g (barely 2 cups) all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
175 g (1 1/2 stick) softened butter
270 g (1 1/4 cups) granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla powder
3 large eggs
225 mL (barely 1 cup) sour cream
1 tbsp. grated fresh ginger
2 tbsp. finely grated citrus zest (save the fruits for the brûlée topping)

FROSTING

200 g semi sweet- or dark chocolate (50-70%)
300 g cream cheese, at room temperature
pinch of salt
4-5 tbsp. fluid honey

BRÛLÉED CITRUS

1 orange
1 clementine
handful of kumquats if desired
3 tbsp. turbinado sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

CAKE

Preheat oven to 175°C (350f). Grease and flour a 20 cm (8 inch) cake pan.
In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
Beat butter, sugar and vanilla powder until light and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
Add the flour mixture, sour cream, zest and ginger to the butter mixture and stir until batter is smooth.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake in the lower part of the oven for 48-50 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

FROSTING & ASSEMBLY

Coarsely chop the chocolate, then melt it and let it cool for a few minutes until lukewarm.
Beat the cream cheese, honey and salt until smooth, then add the melted chocolate and beat until smooth again. If the cream cheese is too cold, the mixture might harden quickly. If it does, carefully heat the mixture in a pan so a small part of the chocolate melts, then beat smooth and creamy again.
Split the cake in half so you have two layers. Place the first layer on a plate or cake stand, then spread with a layer of frosting. Put the second layer on top and cover the cake with the rest of the frosting.

BRÛLÉED CITRUS

Slice the fruit and cut away the remaining peel and pith from each slice. Pat dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle sugar on top and using a kitchen torch, slowly and evenly caramelize the sugar until it bubbles and browns. Let cool for a minute, then place brûleed slices on the cake. Decorate with kumquats.

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Chocolate cake with chocolate hazelnut frosting

November 18, 2016 By linda 43 Comments

By popular demand… here it is. The chocolate cake with chocolate hazelnut frosting and dark chocolate glaze. Or to be more specific- chocolate heaven. I didn’t make it for the blog and wasn’t initially going to post the recipe, but that would have been kind of selfish, wouldn’t it? I made it for my brother who turned 20 the other day aaand let’s just say he and my other little brother had two pieces each in one go. He later said that he dreamed about it that night and that he had a piece for breakfast too. Apparently it was even better the day after. I didn’t want to cut into his birthday cake just to take photos, which is the reason I only have photos of the outside of the cake. But at least you can see all the layers!

I know I’ve been swearing by my other go-to chocolate cake recipe (find it HERE) but I’m kind of leaning towards this one being my new favorite. It bakes up beautifully and comes out fairly flat on top. I adapted the cake recipe from one of my own books, My sweet kitchen (my third book, originally Sweet food & photography in Sweden), which will be out in the US on February 17. You can pre-order it on Amazon already! I adapted this cake from the stout cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and chocolate pretzels (yum!). I doubled the recipe and used milk and coffee in place of stout. Feel free to try out stout in this recipe too! I bet it would be delicious.

On another note, I usually only use two pans when I make cake but this time I used three. If you only have two pans and want to make this cake, I say go ahead and bake it in two pans, then split the layers in half so you end up with four layers. There should be enough frosting for it. Just make sure to adjust the baking time which will be a little longer, but start checking at 35 minutes anyway. Oh, and make sure to use baking pans that are not too shallow. Just FYI!

Chocolate cake with chocolate hazelnut frosting & dark chocolate glaze

Yields one 6-inch cake, serves 8-10

Ingredients

Chocolate sour cream cake

200 g (~1 3/4 sticks) butter
125 mL (1/2 cup) milk
240 g (1 2/3 cups) all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
68 g (2/3 cup) cocoa powder
315 g (1 1/2 cups) granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
2 medium eggs
150 mL (2/3 cup) sour cream
125 mL (1/2 cup) hot coffee

Chocolate filling

75 g (2.6 oz) semi-sweet chocolate (50%)
35 g (2 1/2 tbsp) butter
pinch of salt

Chocolate hazelnut frosting

150 g (~1 1/4 sticks) butter, softened
100 g (~1/2 cup) cream cheese, cold
60 g (1/3 cup + 2 tbsp) powdered sugar
250 g (3/4 cup + 2 tbsp) chocolate hazelnut spread (such as Nutella, or make your own -recipe HERE)
pinch of salt

Dark chocolate glaze

75 g (2.6 oz) dark chocolate (70%)
45 g (3 tbsp) butter
pinch of salt

Decoration

chocolate sprinkles

Instructions

Chocolate sour cream cake

Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F). Butter three 6-inch (15 cm) cake pans and dust them with cocoa powder.
Melt the butter, add milk and set aside to cool.
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, cocoa powder, sugar and salt. Add the butter mixture, eggs and sour cream to the dry ingredients and beat until just smooth.
Add the hot coffee and stir until smooth (batter will be quite liquid).
Divide the batter evenly between the three cake pans. Bake the cakes on the lower rack for 32-35 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in their pans for 15 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Chocolate filling

Coarsely chop the semi-sweet chocolate and place it in a saucepan together with butter, over low heat. Stir often until everything is melted. Add a pinch of salt. Let cool to spreadable consistency – meanwhile you can prepare the frosting.

Chocolate hazelnut frosting & assembly

Beat butter until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the cream cheese, powdered sugar, chocolate hazelnut spread and salt and beat until frosting is completely smooth and fluffy. If frosting feels loose, put the bowl in the fridge for a while.
Place the first cake layer on a plate or cake stand. Spread with chocolate filling, then pipe or spread a layer of frosting on top (make sure to save some frosting for piping the top of the cake). Don’t pipe or spread all the way out to the edge as the weight of the cake will make it spread.
Place the second layer on top of the first layer. Spread second layer with chocolate filling, then pipe or spread a layer of frosting on top. Put the third layer on top. Put the cake in the fridge to stabilize it while you prepare the dark chocolate glaze.

Dark chocolate glaze & decoration

Coarsely chop the dark chocolate and place it in a saucepan together with butter, over low heat. Stir often until everything is melted. Add a pinch of salt. Let cool to room temperature (but make sure it doesn’t thicken too much, it should still be liquid). Pour the glaze over the cake and quickly spread it over the edges of the cake to make it run down the sides.
Pipe some blobs of frosting on top of the cake and decorate with chocolate sprinkles.

Spara

Cinnamon bun cake with lingonberries

November 14, 2016 By linda 18 Comments

No matter how many delicious things I try, cinnamon buns will always be on the very top of my list. Definitely in top five at least. Possibly even top three. I’ve been toying with the idea of turning the classic Swedish cinnamon bun into a cake and this is definitely it. I guess this recipe should be called ‘cardamom cake with lingonberries, brown butter cinnamon frosting and cream cheese glaze’ but I don’t think I have space for that on here. Cinnamon bun cake with lingonberries it is.

Those who have been following for a while probably know how much I love cardamom and cinnamon. There is just something about that smell that makes me… feel things. I just want to sit down by the fireplace I wish I had, and enjoy a big cup of tea or coffee and eat this cake. Really, having a fire place is one of my biggest dreams.

The brown butter cinnamon frosting in between the layers of this cake reminds me of cookie dough, in the best way possible. And if you have access to it, I recommend using pearl sugar for “dusting” the pan as it gives the cake a lovely crunch and definitely makes it more cinnamon bun-like. Pearl sugar (‘pärlsocker’ in Swedish), or nib sugar, is a large granule sugar that doesn’t melt when baked. Here in Sweden it’s most commonly used for cinnamon buns and chocolate balls. I read somewhere that dusting the pan with granulated sugar instead of flour will create a lovely crunchy crust on the outside of the cake but I have yet to try. The lingonberries add some tartness to an otherwise quite sweet cake. I’m sure cranberries would work well too!

Cinnamon bun cake with lingonberries

Yields one 6-inch cake, serves 6-8

This cake is absolutely delicious and reminds me of Swedish cinnamon buns. Note that if you use the pearl sugar in the pan it gets quite sweet, but it does add a lovely crunch to the cake which makes all the difference.
Cake recipe adapted from the book “Allt om det goda – Kaffekalas”.

Ingredients

Cardamom cake

300 g (2 cups) all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp whole cardamom seeds, finely ground
100 g (1 scant stick) softened butter
270 g (1 + 1/4 cup) granulated sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla powder
1 large egg
100 mL (1/3 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp) sour cream
150 mL (2/3 cup) milk
60 g lingonberries (fresh or frozen)
Pearl sugar (can be omitted)

Brown butter frosting

100 g unsalted butter
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
45 g (1/3 cup) powdered sugar
pinch of salt
1-2 tbsp. milk

Cream cheese glaze

75 g cold cream cheese
75 g (1/2 cup) powdered sugar
1-2 tbsp. milk

Decoration

Cinnamon
Pearl sugar

Instructions

Cardamom cake

Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Grease two 6 inch (15 cm) cake pans. “Dust” the sides and bottom of the pans with pearl sugar. If you don’t have pearl sugar – bread crumbs or all purpose flour also work, but you won’t get that lovely crunch. Dusting the pan with granulated sugar might work as well, but I haven’t tried it.
In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and ground cardamom. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar and vanilla until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and beat until smooth.
Fold the dry ingredients into the butter and egg mixture. Add the sour cream and milk and stir until batter is smooth.
Divide half the batter (1/4 of the batter in each pan) between the prepared cake pans and smooth the tops with a spoon. Sprinkle lingonberries on top – then divide remaining batter between the pans, smoothing the tops again with a spoon. Sprinkle with more pearl sugar.
Bake cakes on the lower rack for about 50 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in their pans for 5 minutes, then invert cakes onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Brown butter frosting & assembly

Place unsalted butter in a small saucepan on medium heat and stir until it melts completely. Continue cooking, stirring frequently until the milk solids turn brown and the butter smells nutty, about 5-10 minuter longer.
Scrape the melted butter and browned bits into a small bowl and chill until almost solidified but still soft enough to be beaten with an electric mixer (about 20-30 minutes in the freezer, an hour or so in the fridge).
Beat the butter until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the cinnamon, powdered sugar and salt and beat until completely smooth and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add milk and beat until frosting is smooth.
Put the first cake layer on a plate and spread with frosting. Place the second layer on top of the frosting.

Cream cheese glaze & decoration

Beat cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth. Add milk to desired consistency.
Pour or spoon glaze over the cake. Dust with cinnamon and sprinkle with pearl sugar.

Spara