Call Me Cupcake

Sweet food & photography

Cardamom

Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake

By 12 Comments

Ahh, my favorite season is finally here, apple season! There is just something so inspiring with a new season, and especially autumn when the air gets crisp and you can just stay inside and bake caramel apple upside down cake. Hehe.

I made my first upside down cake back in 2017 but without caramel, a blood orange upside down cake. While that was so delicious and pretty, I absolutely love fruit baked in caramel, so I made a banana upside down cake later that year and that is the recipe I used when I made this, with a few tweaks here and there.

Remember, when you make the apple pattern, what you see when you make it is not what you will see when you turn the cake upside down! I know, it’s a little confusing. I started making a beautiful pattern but then remembered, it won’t look like this when it’s baked so I sort of had to make the opposite. You can see how I placed the apple slices in one of the photos. Let me know in the comments if you try this recipe!

CARAMEL APPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

6-8 servings

This cake is best served slightly warm, with a dollop of whipped cream with yoghurt, since the cake itself is already rather sweet. But if you have a sweet tooth it would be delicious with some vanilla ice cream too! Feel free to experiment with the spices, maybe add some ginger or allspice, or use lemon instead of orange! Do make sure to use flaky salt and not table salt, because that would make it veeery salt.

INGREDIENTS

TOPPING

  • 75 g salted butter
  • 125 g (1/2 cup + 1 tbsp, tightly packed) light muscovado sugar
  • 1/8 tsp. flaky salt
  • 2 apples

CAKE

  • 200 g (1 1/3 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp.) all purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
  • 1/4 tsp. flaky salt
  • 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.
  • zest from 1 orange

INSTRUCTIONS

TOPPING

  1. Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Butter a 22 cm (9 inch) springform pan and cover the bottom of the pan with a round piece of baking paper.
  2. Slice the apples thinly.
  3. Melt 75 g butter in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Stir in the muscovado sugar and cook for 2-3 minutes over medium heat until combined and sugar is melted. Stir in the salt. 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 apple slices in a pattern on top of the caramel.

CAKE

  1. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cardamom and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, beat 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 dry ingredients in three additions, and the yoghurt in two, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Add orange zest and beat until just smooth.
  3. Gently spoon the batter into the prepared pan, over the caramel and apples. Smooth the top with a spatula.
  4. Make sure to place 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 on the middle rack, for 40-45 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Start checking around 35 minutes, as you might need to cover the cake with foil if it’s browning too much.
  5. 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 5 minutes, carefully remove the sides of the springform pan (they’re hot!). Invert the cake onto the platter and peel off the piece of baking paper. Let cool a bit before serving with yoghurt whipped cream.

Blueberry Cardamom Crumble

By 6 Comments

Lately, I’ve noticed a resistance in me whenever I try to come up with a new recipe for the blog. I’m always looking for the next incredible thing, like a purple lattice pie or a pink layer cake with chocolate glaze, but recently I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s not possible for me to always make things like that. There has to be a balance. And what do I prefer to eat? Usually quite simple things, to be honest! And anything with cardamom.

I sometimes get frustrated with making a decision, and I stop before I even get started and just thinking about what recipe to make, what props, what surfaces, which lenses should I shoot with makes me exhausted. It can get overwhelming! After telling my friend Emelie about this, we decided I would bring some props and ingredients to her house to shoot a recipe. Making something easy like a crumble, and not being able to choose from aaaaall of the props and background turned out to be exactly what I needed. In addition, she has the most incredible wooden surface right outside her door so shooting there was easy. I might steal the surface, or shoot all my future photos there. Hehe. She has the cutest cats and lives in the most picturesque area, too!

I hope we’ll make this a weekly thing because it was the most fun I had in a while! We were also working on her project which you’ll be able to see on Youtube very soon. 🙂 I hope you’ll like these less advanced recipes as much as I do! By the way, I’ve edited all these photos with the ‘Aqua’ preset from my preset collection ‘Dark Food’ which you can find HERE!

BLUEBERRY CARDAMOM CRUMBLE

Serves 4

Feel free to use any berries or fruit with this recipe! Note that if you’re using a berry that is very tart or very sweet, you may need to adjust the sugar slightly. The cardamom can also be replaced with cinnamon, or your favorite spice. If you’re using frozen blueberries, don’t thaw them before using. Here is my favorite vanilla sauce/custard recipe!

INGREDIENTS

CRUMBLE

  • 35 g (3 tbsp) granulated sugar
  • 90 g (2/3 cup) all purpose flour
  • 60 g (2/3 cup) rolled oats
  • 3/4 tsp baking powder
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 tsp freshly ground cardamom
  • 100 g (1 scant stick) cold salted butter

BERRY FILLING

  • 250 g (400 ml/1 3/4 cups) blueberries, fresh or frozen
  • 35 g (3 tbsp) granulated sugar
  • 2 tsp cornstarch (or thickener of your choice)

INSTRUCTIONS

BLUEBERRY CRUMBLE

  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F). Combine sugar, flour, rolled oats, baking powder, salt and cardamom in a medium bowl. Stir with a spoon until mixed.
  2. Add the butter to the mixture and rub it in using your fingers until you have a crumbly mixture.
  3. Place the blueberries in a pie dish, then toss them with sugar and cornstarch. Spread the berries evenly in the dish. Sprinkle the crumble over the berries.
  4. Bake the crumble for 30-35 minutes, or until filling is bubbly and the top is golden. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving, then enjoy the crumble with vanilla custard or ice cream.

How to make Swedish Semlor

By 25 Comments

I know you’ve seen these before but I think I finally have the perfect recipe for semlor! Last time I posted a recipe for semlor was 6 years ago so an update was due. The buns are quite similar, I’ve tried several recipes but I keep coming back to this one. The almond filling is made with whole, toasted, organic almonds which adds a lovely texture and crunch and most importantly there is a LOT of cardamom in the dough. Freshly ground cardamom, one of the most important things in this recipe. Please don’t skip it!

Maybe you noticed in my last post, or maybe you didn’t but either way I started a YouTube-channel! It has been on my mind for some time and I’ve just been dabbling in video making for years but it’s probably one of my favorite things to do. So now I’d love to know if you have any thoughts on things you’d like to see there. Maybe more about photography? Styling? Life? More baking? Mozart? Hehe. You get the idea. Feel free to give me all your thougths, if you have any. Or just go ahead and make these delicious pastries. And make sure to eat them on February 25th (before and after works too), which is Fat Tuesday this year!

SWEDISH SEMLOR

Makes 9

My favorite recipe for Swedish semlor! I’ve tried several different recipes by now but I keep coming back to this one. I can’t stress enough the importance of using freshly ground cardamom for these, so do buy cardamom pods and grind by yourself. These are best served the same day they are made but if you have leftovers, you can eat them in a bowl with hot milk. in Sweden we call this ‘hetvägg’. You can also freeze the buns as soon as they have cooled and fill them later on.

INGREDIENTS

BUNS

  • 25 g fresh yeast
  • 125 ml (1/2 cup + 1 tsp) cold milk
  • 75 g (1/3 cup) granulated sugar
  • 1 tbsp freshly ground cardamom
  • 1 medium egg
  • 325 g (11.4 oz) all purpose flour
  • 1/2 tbsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp flaky salt
  • 100 g (1 scant stick) very soft salted butter

ALMOND FILLING

  • 100 g (3.5 oz) whole almonds
  • 100 g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • 100 ml (1/3 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp) milk
  • pinch of cardamom

EGG WASH

  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbsp water or milk
  • pinch of salt

    • FILLING & TOPPING

    • 300 ml (1 1/4 cup) heavy whipping cream
    • Powdered sugar, to dust

INSTRUCTIONS

BUNS

  1. Crumble the yeast into the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl if you’re working by hand. Stir in a little bit of the cold milk until the yeast has dissolved.
  2. Add the rest of the milk, sugar, freshly ground cardamom and egg and stir. Combine flour and baking powder in a medium bowl. Add about half of the flour & baking powder mix to the dough, then stir until the dough just comes together.
  3. Add the salt, the remaining flour mix and the butter. Work the dough using the dough hook on a stand mixer, for 10-15 minutes or until the dough is very soft and elastic. The dough will be a little sticky but don’t be tempted to add more flour! Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
  4. On a floured surface, divide the dough into 9 equally sized pieces. Using your hands (which should also be floured), shape each piece of dough into a ball using a circling motion until the bun is smooth and shiny. Cup your hand around the bun without too much pressure and swirl it around in a circling motion to shape it into a round and smooth ball (see video!).
  5. Gently transfer the buns to a baking sheet with baking paper, and remember to leave some space between them so they can rise. Cover the buns with a clean kitchen towel and leave to rise for 60-90 minutes. Meanwhile, go through the next steps to prepare the almond filling.

ALMOND FILLING

  1. Heat oven to 200°C (390°F). Spread the almonds on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 8-10 minutes, or until fragrant. Let cool.
  2. Combine almonds, sugar, salt, milk and cardamom if desired, in a food processor/mixer. Pulse until everything comes together, the mixture should be quite runny but with a slightly chunky texture from the almonds. Place the almond filling in the fridge while going through the next steps.

BAKING & ASSEMBLY

  1. Increase the oven temperature to 225°C (435°F). Whisk together the egg, water and salt in a small bowl. Gently brush the buns with the egg wash.
  2. Bake the buns for 11-13 minutes or until golden brown in color. Let cool on a wire rack.
  3. Cut the tops of the buns to create a lid using a serrated knife, and make a small well in the middle of the bun using a fork. Save the crumb from the buns and add to the almond paste. Add a splash of milk to the almond filling if it gets too thick in consistency. Spoon the almond filling into the well in each bun.
  4. In a medium bowl, beat the cream to soft peaks.
  5. Pipe the cream onto each bun and place the ‘lid’ on top. Dust with powdered sugar. Best eaten the same day they are made.

Gingerbread Cookies

By 12 Comments


Some years ago I thought lace doilies where.. uhm, let’s say something you would find at your grandma’s house (absolutely no offence to grandmothers, they’re the best). And now all of a sudden, you can find them in my house. It’s funny how some things change. I see lace doilies a lot since I go to flea markets every week, and one day when I saw a huge stack of them I got an idea.

The pattern is often quite beautiful and would translate well onto cookies. So I picked out a few, the trick is to choose the ones that are smooth and non hairy (in lack of a better word) or you’ll end up with hairs in you cookies. And of course, it should also be clean!

I see myself as decent at piping gingerbread houses, but cookies? Nope. Not sure why! That’s why I looove these cookies. They look fancy and there’s almost no extra work! I’ll be using some of them as gift tags together with wax paper and silk ribbons from Nåde.


Gingerbread cookies

Makes approximately 75 cookies

INGREDIENTS

  • 100 g (1 scant stick) salted butter
  • 75 ml (1/3 cup) molasses or dark syrup
  • 135 g (2/3 cup) granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
  • 1 tsp. ground cloves
  • 1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
  • 75 ml (1/3 cup) heavy cream
  • 300 g (approx. 2 cups) all purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • pinch of salt

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Combine butter, molasses and sugar in a saucepan and place over medium heat. When the mixture is melted, stir in the spices, remove from the heat and let cool for 5 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream.
  2. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir until a soft dough forms. Cover the bowl and let it rest in the fridge for at least 24 hours.
  3. Preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C).
  4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out pieces of dough to about 5-6 mm thickness. Dust some flour over the dough. Place a clean lace doily on top and gently press it onto the dough, then roll out the dough to 3-4 mm thickness. The cookies need to be quite thin or they will puff up too much in the oven and the pattern will fade. Gently remove the doily and cut out cookies using cookie cutters or a knife.
  5. Bake the cookies for 5-6 minutes depending on size. If you’d like to use them as gift tags, make a small hole with a toothpick as soon as the cookies come out of the oven. Let cool completely.

Homemade Chai Concentrate + Chai Latte

By 8 Comments

It’s been a couple of years since I made a post about edible gifts, so I thought it was about time!  Thses posts are actually some of my favorite things to create and this recipe is just SO good. I already made three huge batches (I didn’t give any of it away though, hehee), some of which is waiting for me in the freezer. I’m pretty sure I will make a couple more batches before Christmas, some to keep and some to give away.

What’s also great about this recipe is that it’s so forgiving, and you can tweak it to your own liking. I for example, love my chai lattes to be quite sweet, but if you’re giving it to someone who isn’t keen on sweet things, you can make it with less sweetener.

It also feels more sustainable to not buy so much new stuff, I simply used bottles and jars that I already had at home! I bought a couple from a flea market too, I just cleaned them with a bottle brush and sterilized them in the oven. A lot of people don’t want more things to clutter their homes and minds, so edible gifts are just perfect. And if you have the patience, making some gingerbread house toppers to go with the gift, I’m sure that would be appreciated too! I didn’t use a template for them, I just cut out the pieces with a knife. I did cheat and used store bought dough though..

Here are some more edible gift ideas – flavored sugar from a couple of years ago, and muffin mix, herb salt, cookie mix, another chai latte mix, nutella and granola.

Homemade Chai Concentrate

Makes 6 cups / 1 1/2 litre

This recipe is very forgiving so you can tweak it to your own liking. I’ve tried it with both granulated sugar and a mix of honey and maple syrup and both are delicious! You can’t really taste any difference. I like my chai latte really sweet so I used 200 ml of honey in the recipe, but you can make it without any sweetener too! Don’t worry if the mixture is cloudy, I had that happen when I used honey and loose tea. Any leftover chai concentrate can be frozen in freezer proof containers. And don’t forget to write a little note with instructions to the lucky person who receives the gift!

INGREDIENTS

  • 6 cups (1500 ml) water
  • 100-200 ml (approx. 1/3 cup – 3/4 cup + 1 tbsp) honey or maple syrup OR 90-180 g granulated sugar
  • 25 g fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
  • 25 whole cloves (about 1/2 tbsp)
  • 4 cinnamon sticks
  • 4 whole star anise
  • 15 cardamom pods (about 1/2 tbsp), lightly crushed
  • 10 black peppercorns
  • a few pieces of fresh orange peel
  • 5 bags of black tea or 3 tbsp (10 g) loose black tea

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Combine water and honey/sugar in a large saucepan. Let the mixture come to a boil and stir until honey/sugar is dissolved, then add all ingredients except for the tea. Place a lid on the saucepan and let the mixture simmer for 15 minutes.
  2. Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the tea. Let steep for 10 minutes.
  3. Discard the tea bags and let the mixture cool.
  4. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve, then pour into clean and dry airtight jars or bottles. Store in the fridge for up to one week.

Chai Latte

Serves 2

Depending on how sweet you made your chai concentrate and how strong you like your latte, I’d say you’ll want at least 1/3 part chai concentrate to 2/3 parts milk. For more flavour, use equal parts. You can leave out the whipped cream and use a milk frother for the milk. As for the tiny gingerbread houses, I made them using storebought dough, and I basically just cut out pieces with a knife and then ‘glued’ them together with icing!

INGREDIENTS

  • 200 ml (3/4 cup + 2 tbsp.) chai concentrate
  • 300 ml (1 1/4 cup) milk of your choice
  • whipped cream for topping
  • cinnamon, for dusting

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Heat the chai concentrate and milk in a saucepan. Pour into cups and top with whipped cream, cinnamon and a tiny gingerbread house/cookie if you want!

Gingerbread Village Cake

By 43 Comments


I have to say, I absolutely LOVED creating this cake. It’s the most fun I’ve had in the kitchen in a long time, and I definitely felt like I was a kid again. Which I think is exactly what baking and blogging should feel like! I can’t say it was without a little bit of frustration too, which is also part of baking, photographing and blogging I guess.

I can’t even remember the last time I piped icing on gingerbread cookies and at first it was just frustrating but after a good night’s sleep (it never fails me), I sort of got the hang of it. I will probably never be a master at it but I do enjoy it! Perhaps this year will be the year I make a gingerbread house again? We’ll see, we’ll see…

I love experimenting with recipes and tried a couple of different versions for the gingerbread layer, but in the end, this one with lingonberries was definitely my favorite. Lots and lots of flavor and so moist (I know a lot of people hate that word but I don’t know what other word to use, hehe).

I also experimented with getting that blueish grey shade on the cake. I was thinking about how blueberry powder reacts when I add lemon juice to it – it becomes pink when you add something acidic, so I figured it would become more blue when adding something alkaline. And it totally worked! Feel free to try it if you want, or don’t if you think it sounds weird. I promise you it’s not though! Hope you like it!

GINGERBREAD VILLAGE CAKE

Makes one 9-inch layer cake

Some notes about this recipe:
-If you can’t find lingonberry jam for this recipe, I bet frozen lingonberries would work too, just thaw them and stir them together with a little bit of sugar. Apple sauce might work too but I haven’t tried either of those suggestions.
-I used store-bought gingerbread dough for this cake but feel free to make your own! If your cookies float out too much during baking, be prepared with a sharp knife as soon as they get out of the oven – and cut the edges again. The cookies are still soft when they get out of the oven!
-Because I prefer not to use artificial food coloring, I experimented with black sesame and blueberry powder! I wanted the cake to be slightly grey/blue so I added some black sesame paste which does give a slight taste to the cake. Omit the sesame seeds if you know you don’t like them. I added baking soda to blueberry powder to change the ph of it. This doesn’t affect the flavor at all, but feel free to omit this from the recipe if you want. Or use a food coloring of your choice! Or just leave the cake white. All options are totally fine!

INGREDIENTS

Gingerbread cake

  • 200 g (1 3/4 stick) salted butter
  • 360 g (2 1/2 cups) all purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp. flaky salt
  • 1 tbsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp. ground ginger
  • 1 tsp. freshly ground cardamom
  • 2 tsp. freshly ground cloves
  • 1 tsp. allspice (can be omitted)
  • 4 large eggs
  • 360 g (1 2/3 cup) granulated sugar
  • 250 ml (1 cup) sour cream
  • 150 ml (2/3 cup) lingonberry jam

Gingerbread cookies

  • about 500 g of gingerbread dough (I used store-bought but feel free to use homemade)
  • 150 g (1 cup) powdered sugar
  • 1 1/2 – 2 tbsp. lemon juice (or as needed)

Frosting

  • 200 g (1 3/4 stick) softened butter (I use salted but feel free to use unsalted)
  • 250 g (1 2/3 cup) powdered sugar
  • 300 g cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1/4 tsp. vanilla bean powder
  • zest from 1 orange
  • 2 tbsp. black sesame seeds + 2 tbsp. maple syrup (can be omitted)
  • 2 tsp. blueberry powder + 1/4 tsp. baking soda + 1-2 tsp. water (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

GINGERBREAD CAKE

  1. Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Grease and flour two 23-24 cm (9 inch) springform pans. Set aside.
  2. Melt the butter and set aside.
  3. Mix flour, baking soda, salt and spices in a medium bowl. Set aside.
  4. Beat eggs and sugar until fluffy and lighter in color, about 3-4 minutes.
  5. Add the dry ingredients and butter to the egg mixture in additions, and stir until completely smooth. Stir in the sour cream and lingonberry jam.
  6. Divide the batter between the prepared pans. Bake on the middle rack for 25-27 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
  7. Let cool in the pans for 15 minutes, then unmold onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

GINGERBREAD COOKIES

  1. Knead the dough lightly with floured hands to make it soft and pliable. Lightly flour the table and the rolling pin and roll out to 2-3 mm thickness.
  2. Cut out little house shaped cookies using a knife, or a cookie cutter if you have one (I made my cookies between 5-8 cm high, as the cake is around 8 cm high). Bake the cookies at 175°C (350°F) for about 5-8 minutes depending on size. Let cool completely.
  3. Stir together powdered sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl. Start with a small amount of juice and add more until icing reaches a good piping consistency. Your mixture should be thick enough that it will not run when piped, but not so thick that you can’t squeeze it through a piping bag.
  4. Transfer icing to piping bag and cut a tiny hole in the bag for piping. Decorate the cookies and let the icing harden before placing the cookies on the cake.

FROSTING

  1. Beat butter and powdered sugar until pale and fluffy. Add cream cheese and vanilla and beat until just smooth. Stir in the orange zest.
  2. Place the black sesame seeds and maple syrup in a mortar and pestle. Crush and grind the seeds until a paste forms. Stir the paste into the frosting.
  3. If the frosting seems soft, place the bowl in the fridge while you prepare the next steps.

ASSEMBLY

  1. Cut both cake layers in half using a serrated knife so you get four cake layers.
  2. Place the first cake layer on a cake board or directly onto a plate or cake stand. Spread a layer of frosting on the first layer. Repeat this until you’ve used up all layers.
  3. Spread a thin layer of frosting all over the cake. Place the cake in the fridge for a few minutes if the frosting is soft.
  4. Place the blueberry powder and baking soda in a small bowl and stir in some water. Let stand for a couple of minutes, then add to the remaining frosting. Stir until smooth.
  5. Cover the cake with the remaining frosting and decorate with the gingerbread cookies. I placed toothpicks behind the cookies on top of the cake to get them to stand up. Dust with snow (aka powdered sugar) if desired.

Apricot blueberry galette

By 35 Comments

What a summer we’ve had so far. 2 1/2 months and I can only remember like.. two days of rain. Basically it’s too hot to do anything, let alone bake, but I just couldn’t resist these beautiful apricots.

I was going to pick blueberries in the forest, but turns out they’re teeny tiny. Perhaps it’s not a good summer for blueberries, or maybe I need to wait a little longer? Anyway, galettes are my absolute favorite thing to make with fruits. Pie crust makes literally everything better, and you can basically just throw in any fruit you have at home. Doesn’t need much else to be honest.

Speaking of summer, I’ve come to realize these past two years that summer is in some ways my least favorite season. Don’t get me wrong, I love some things about summer – like the produce, being able to hang out at the beach, finally getting some vitamin D, etc. But it also completely stresses me out.

I have zero inspiration and suffer from major FOMO. I feel like I should be doing fun and amazing things every day, preferably every minute of every day too, and it takes me to a point where I just want to crawl under my blanket (no wait, it’s too hot for that) and watch Netflix. Actually I’ve read a little about it and seems like I’m not alone (it’s called reverse seasonal affective disorder). Do you feel the same way or do you love summer? If not, which is your favorite season?

APRICOT BLUEBERRY GALETTE

Yields one tart, 6-8 servings

INGREDIENTS

PIE CRUST

  • 180 g (1 1/4 cups) all purpose flour
  • 1 tbsp. granulated sugar
  • 1/4 tsp. flaky salt
  • 150 g (about 1 + 1/3 stick) very cold salted butter
  • 3-5 tbsp. ice water

FILLING & TOPPING

  • 500 g (about 7-8 depending on size) apricots
  • 125 g (about 1 cup) fresh blueberries
  • zest and juice from 1/2 small lemon
  • 50-75 g (4-6 tbsp.) turbinado or granulated sugar
  • 1/4 tsp. vanilla bean powder
  • 1/4 tsp cardamom
  • 2 tsp. cornstarch
  • 1 egg
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 tbsp. turbinado sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

PIE CRUST

  1. Mix together flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Use a cheese slicer, if you have one, to slice the butter thinly – if not, you can simply dice the butter with a knife. Add the sliced or diced butter to the dry ingredients, and using your fingers or a pastry cutter, cut in the butter until dough is crumbly but there are still some small visible pieces of butter.
  2. Drizzle with ice water, 1 tbsp at a time, and mix gently with a fork until dough just comes together, do not knead the dough.
  3. Form the dough into a ball and place it on a piece of plastic wrap. Flatten into a disc, wrap in the plastic wrap and place in fridge for at least one hour but preferably overnight.

ASSEMBLY & BAKING

  1. Let the dough rest for a few minutes at room temperature. Roll out the dough into a large circle about 1/8 – 1/4 inch (3-5 mm) thick, on a lightly floured surface. Make sure to roll and turn the dough so it doesn’t stick to the surface.
  2. Using the rolling pin, transfer the dough to a baking sheet covered with baking paper.
  3. Halve the apricots and remove the pits, then place the apricots in a bowl with the blueberries. Toss with the lemon zest, juice, sugar (adjust to sweetness of fruit), vanilla, cardamom and cornstarch. Arrange the fruit on top of the dough, leaving a border around the edges. Fold the dough over the fruit and press gently to seal. Transfer the galette to the freezer for 15 minutes, meanwhile preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F).
  4. Whisk together the egg with a pinch of salt in a small bowl. Brush the edges with the egg wash, then sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
  5. Bake until golden brown, about 35-40 minutes. Let cool, then serve with vanilla ice cream.

Apple pie with a purple blueberry crust

By 30 Comments


Purple pie crust. It’s a thing of beauty. To be honest I had no idea if it would even work! But I knew I had to give it a shot as soon as the idea popped up in my head. And since we have some beautiful winter apples, I figured that would be the best way to go. Because you can never really go wrong with apple pie, am I right?

Some tips if you’re thinking about making this pie, or pies in general. Make sure not to brush the pie with any egg wash if you want to keep the purple color. It won’t be as impressively purple after baking, but as you can see it will keep some of the color! I wasn’t really thinking too much during my first try, so I brushed the pie with egg white.

Needless to say, the pie browned a lot and you could see very little of the purple. The second time, I left it as is (as you can see in the photos) but used a little less (maybe 1 1/2 tbsp.) blueberry powder so the pie came out a lot lighter. Next time, I’ll use more blueberry powder and I might brush it with a syrup right after baking, like I did HERE. I bet that would be delicious and it would also give a nice sheen to the pie!

Blueberry powder is easily accessible in Sweden, where you can find it in super markets and in health stores. I used the brand Kung Markatta, and it gave this beautiful color. Different brands can give slightly different colors of purple/red. The blueberry powder doesn’t really give any blueberry flavor, and it also doesn’t affect the consistency of the crust.

You can totally make this pie without the blueberry powder too! It’ll still be SO incredibly delicious. I say apples and oranges were meant for each other. You can totally use lemon zest and juice too, if that’s more up your alley. Make sure to use apples that are not overly ripe. That’ll make the filling mushy. Oh, and the pie dough can be made up to a day ahead.

If you’re making a very tight lattice like I have here, make sure there are still some small holes for the filling to seep through, or your lattice might puff up during baking and break. And always let the pie cool completely after baking to make sure the filling firms up. If you want to serve the pie warm, re-heat each individual slice instead.

I think that’s about it.. although I can go on and on about pies!

APPLE PIE WITH A PURPLE BLUEBERRY CRUST

Makes one pie

Make sure to read the post above for tips and tricks on this recipe!

 

INGREDIENTS

BLUEBERRY CRUST

  • 2 tbsp. freeze dried blueberry powder
  • 3 tbsp. cold water
  • 300 g (2 cups + 1 tbsp) all purpose flour
  • 2 tbsp. granulated sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. flaky salt
  • 250 g (2 sticks plus 2 tbsp.) very cold salted butter
  • 1-3 tbsp. ice water (as needed)

APPLE FILLING

  • 1 kg apples (about 6, depeding on size)
  • 100 g (scant 1/2 cup) granulated sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • zest and juice from one small blood orange (about 3 tbsp. juice)
  • 3/4 tsp. freshly ground cardamom
  • 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 25 g salted butter
  • 2 tbsp. water
  • 2 tbsp. cornstarch

INSTRUCTIONS

PIE CRUST

  1. Stir together blueberry powder and water in a small bowl. Set aside. Mix together flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. If you have one, use a cheese slicer to slice the butter thinly – if not, you can dice the butter with a knife. Add the sliced or diced butter to the dry ingredients, and using your fingers or a pastry cutter, cut or rub the butter into the flour mixture until dough is crumbly but there are still some small visible pieces of butter.
  2. If you want the dough to have a completely smooth purple color – place the mixture in a food processor, add the blueberry powder and water mixture and pulse until just smooth. You might need too add an extra tablespoon or so of ice water if the dough is too dry. Make sure not to overmix the dough!
  3. Divide the dough into two pieces, one slightly bigger than the other (the bigger one will be for the lattice top). Place each piece of dough between two pieces of plastic wrap. Flatten into discs using a rolling pin. Place in the fridge for at least one hour.

APPLE FILLING

  1. Peel and core the apples and slice them in about 6 mm (1/4 inch) thick slices. Place the slices in a bowl and add sugar, salt, zest, juice, cardamom and cinnamon. Gently fold so that everything is distributed evenly. Let stand for about 5-10 minutes or until the apples start releasing liquids. Gently stir every now and then.
  2. Melt the butter in a large saucepan, and with the pan over medium heat, add the apple mixture and cook, stirring often, for about 2 minutes or until the apples release more liquid. Stir together the water and cornstarch in a small bowl, and add to the saucepan. Stir constantly until liquids thickens, about 1 minute. Spread filling onto a large plate or a wide bowl and let cool completely.

ASSEMBLE AND BAKE

  1. Preheat oven to 200°C (390°F).
  2. If the dough is very cold and hard, leave it in room temperature for a little while before rolling it out. Roll out the smaller piece of dough to a large circle on a lightly floured surface, about 1/8 – 1/4 inch (3-5 mm) thick. Make sure to roll and turn the dough so it doesn’t stick – or roll the dough out directly onto a piece of baking paper.
  3. Using the rolling pin, transfer the dough to a 8-9 inch pie pan. Trim the edges of the crust, but make sure to leave a little overhang if you want to crimp the edges. Set aside.
  4. Roll out the second piece of dough, and cut out 10 strips (or the desired amount) of dough using a knife or pizza cutter.
  5. Spoon the cooled filling into the pie pan. Place the strips in a lattice pattern on top of the filling (see a video on how to make a lattice top in THIS POST). Trim excess dough around the edges using a knife or kitchen scissors.
  6. Place the pie in the freezer for 15 minutes.
  7. Remove the pie from the freezer. Place a baking sheet or a piece of baking paper (to catch drips from the pie) on the lowest rack of the oven. Bake the pie for 10 minutes at 200°C (390°F), then lower to 175°C (350°F) and bake for an additional 35 minutes. If the edges are browning too much, cover them loosely with aluminum foil. Turn the oven off and leave the pie in the warm oven for an additional 10 minutes. Remove the pie from the oven and let cool completely before serving with sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Spara

A trip to Norway + Brownies with salted caramel and toasted meringue and a gingerbread bundt cake

By 56 Comments

Last week, I was lucky enough to spend a few days in winter wonderland… errr, I mean at Melgården in Norway with some wonderful friends, Olivia of Adelasterfoodtextures, Samantha of The Botanical Kitchen, Kati of Blackwhitevivid and of course, the lovely lady of the house, Live of Melgården. Only sweet Krissy of Cottage farm missing!

Melgården truly looked like my idea of winter wonderland, SO cold (-19°C one day, brrr) and lots and lots of snow. Rolling hills, fog and frost on the windows. Like a dream come true. It made me feel like a kid again on so many levels. My fingers and toes weren’t as excited as I was though, nor was my camera gear or my phone battery which died within 10 minutes outside.

Melgården is like something out of a fairytale, or possibly a Wes Anderson movie, and I dare to say it’s every food photographer’s dream with all the rustic backdrops and props, and that GORGEOUS scenery. We drove through a snowy Sweden all the way up to snowy Rena, Norway, with the car full of fresh vegetables and props. We almost couldn’t fit in there!

I couldn’t believe how efficient we were. With about 5 hours of daylight each day and in two days, I shot FOUR cakes (I can only share two of them here though.. 🙂 ) and a whole bunch of other beautiful things that you can see in this post. That’s why I love working in a team so much, especially this team <3

And this is why I’m delighted to share that Olivia, Krissy and I will be hosting a workshop again, at Melgården in 2018! I literally can’t wait!! If you’re interested, make sure to subscribe by e-mail for more details and prerelease. You can fill in your e-mail address in the sidebar on the right 🙂

I’d also like to take the time to thank you for your continued support this year! It wouldn’t have been the same (or at all!) without you. Wishing you all Happy Holidays and a very Happy 2018!

BROWNIES WITH SALTED CARAMEL AND TOASTED MERINGUE

9-12 servings

Some notes about this recipe: If you’re not a fan of hazelnuts, you can definitely make these brownies with walnuts, pecans or almonds (I’ve tried all and they’re all delicious!). The brownies are also super delicious without caramel and meringue if you prefer that. When test baking, I baked my brownies for 32 minutes – it was almost set, slightly wobbly in the middle and it came out gooey and delicious. After a day in the fridge it has exactly the consictency I like in brownies! Make sure to have a look HERE in case you’d like to make an edible gift out of this recipe.

INGREDIENTS

Brownies

  • 100 g (3.5 oz) hazelnuts
  • 150 g (about 1 + 1/3 stick) salted butter
  • 4 tbsp. (1/4 cup) coffee
  • 150 g (1 cup) all purpose four
  • 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  • 30 g (1/3 cup) cocoa powder
  • 1/2 tsp. flaky salt
  • 135 g (1/2 cup + 2 tbsp.) granulated sugar
  • 110 g (1/2 cup + 2 tbsp.) light brown muscovado sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 150 g (5.2 oz) dark chocolate, chopped

Caramel

  • 110 g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
  • 50 g (3 tbsp.) salted butter, in small cubes
  • 75 ml (1/3 cup) heavy cream
  • 1/4 tsp. flaky salt

Meringue topping

  • 2 large egg whites
  • 90 g (1/3 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp.) granulated sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. lemon juice
  • zest from 1 orange

INSTRUCTIONS

Brownies

  1. Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Place the nuts in a baking dish and toast for 10-12 minutes or until fragrant and slightly browned. If the nuts aren’t already skinned, wrap them in a kitchen towel and rub until most of the skins come off. Let cool completely, then chop them coarsely.
  2. Melt the butter in a saucepan and set aside to cool.
  3. Butter a baking pan, approximately 17 x 17 cm (measured at the bottom of the pan, the top is 20 x 20 cm) and cover it with baking paper.
  4. In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, salt, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Add the melted butter, coffee, eggs, chopped nuts and chocolate and stir until completely smooth.
  5. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until cake is almost set but the center wobbles slightly.
  6. Remove from the oven and let the cake cool in the pan.

Caramel

  1. Place the 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 gently with a wooden spoon until sugar is completely melted and golden brown. Be careful not to burn the sugar! Stir in the butter, piece by piece, stirring between each addition.
  2. Little by little and very slowly pour the cream into the saucepan with the melted sugar and butter (it will bubble up so make sure to be careful as this stuff is hot!). Stir until smooth. Pour caramel into a heat proof bowl and let cool completely.

Meringue topping

  1. Place egg whites, lemon juice and sugar in a clean and heatproof bowl (preferably stainless steel or glass).
  2. 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 egg whites 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.
  3. 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 orange zest.

Assembly

  1. Place the cake on a plate or serving platter. Drizzle/spoon caramel on top, then spread the meringue over the caramel. Brown the meringue using a kitchen torch.

GINGERBREAD BUNDT CAKE

Makes 1 bundt

Some notes about this recipe:I used a 10 cup bundt pan to bake this cake and it was actually slightly too small for the batter so I would suggest putting a piece of baking paper underneath the pan while baking so the batter doesn’t end up on the floor of your oven, or reserving some of the batter to bake some muffins. A 12 cup pan would probably be more suitable.

 

INGREDIENTS

Gingerbread bundt cake

  • 540 g (3 3/4 cups) all purpose flour
  • 2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. flaky salt
  • 1 tbsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp. ground ginger
  • 2 tsp. freshly ground cardamom
  • 2 tsp. freshly ground cloves
  • 1 tsp. ground bitter orange peel (can be omitted)
  • 4 large eggs
  • 240 g (1 1/4 cup) light brown muscovado sugar (or regular light brown sugar)
  • 200 ml (3/4 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp) cane syrup
  • 250 g (2 + 1/4 stick) salted butter
  • 200 ml (3/4 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp) heavy cream
  • 300 ml (1 1/4 cup) milk

Cream cheese glaze

  • 120 g (3/4 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp) powdered sugar
  • 100 g cream cheese
  • 1-3 tbsp. freshly squeezed orange juice

INSTRUCTIONS

Gingerbread bundt cake

  1. Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Grease and flour a large bundt pan with 10-12 cup (preferably 12 cup) capacity. Set aside.
  2. Mix flour, baking soda, salt, spices and ground bitter orange peel in a bowl. Set aside.
  3. Beat eggs and sugar until fluffy and lighter in color, about 3-4 minutes. Add cane syrup and beat until smooth.
  4. Melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in cream and milk.
  5. Add dry ingredients and butter mixture to the egg mixture in additions, and stir until completely smooth.
  6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake in the lowest oven rack for 55-65 minutes, but start checking doneness after 50 minutes. Keep an eye on the cake during the whole baking time so the top won’t brown too fast (if it does, carefully place a piece of baking paper or aluminum foil on top).
  7. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then unmold onto a cooling rack to cool completely. The cake will most likely come out domed, so feel free to even that out with a sharp serrated knife once the cake is cool.

Glaze

  1. Combine powdered sugar and cream cheese in a bowl. Beat until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute.
  2. Stir in orange juice to desired consistency. Pour the glaze over the cooled cake.

Apple Frangipane Honey Tart

By 31 Comments

Have I told you how much I enjoy making anything that involves a pie crust? You wouldn’t think so looking through my blog (there are so few pie recipes), but I do. I really do. There’s something so satisfying about mixing together flour and butter to the perfect texture with your hands. You can make it in a food processor too of course, but I don’t own one and would probably still do it by hand. One of my new obsessions is slicing butter thinly with a cheese slicer. Mmmm.. so satisfying! Why haven’t I thought of that before?

Speaking of my love for pies (and tarts, galettes, crumbles… you get the idea), my new book Lomelino’s Pies will be available very soon (October 24th!) and I couldn’t be more excited about this one! It contains all of my favorite pie recipes. Classics like Apple Pie, Strawberry Rhubarb Galette and Lemon Meringue Pie to Nutella and Cream Cheese Pie Pops, Blackberry and Chocolate Crumbles and Cinnamon Bun Apple Pie just to mention a few. It also contains my best techniques for making a beautiful and decorative crust and delicious ice creams and sauces. If you want to see some more photos from my book and read a little more about it, make sure to check out my publisher Roost books. And you can also pre-order it from Amazon right here!


APPLE FRANGIPANE HONEY TART

Yields one tart, 6-8 servings

INGREDIENTS

PIE CRUST

  • 240 g (1 2/3 cups) all purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 tbsp. granulated sugar
  • 1/4 tsp. flaky salt
  • 175 g (about 1 1/2 sticks) very cold salted butter
  • 5-8 tbsp. ice water

CINNAMON HONEY FRANGIPANE

  • 75 g (2/3 stick) softened salted butter
  • 3 tbsp. honey
  • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1 medium egg
  • 75 g (2/3 cup) almond flour
  • 2 tsp. all purpose flour

TOPPING

  • 5-6 (450-500 g) medium apples (I used ‘Discovery’)
  • juice from 1 small lemon
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp. water
  • 1/4 tsp freshly ground cardamom
  • 1 tbsp. turbinado sugar

HONEY GLAZE

  • 1 tbsp. honey
  • 1 tbsp. water

INSTRUCTIONS

PIE CRUST

  1. Mix together flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. If you have one, use a cheese slicer to slice the butter thinly – if not, you can dice the butter with a knife. Add the sliced or diced butter to the dry ingredients, and using your fingers or a pastry cutter, cut in the butter until dough is crumbly but there are still some small visible pieces of butter.
  2. Drizzle with ice water, 1 tbsp at a time, and mix gently with a fork until dough just comes together, do not knead the dough.
  3. Form the dough into a ball and place it on a piece of plastic wrap. Flatten into a disc, wrap in the plastic wrap and place in fridge for at least one hour.

CINNAMON HONEY FRANGIPANE

  1. Beat butter and honey until creamy, about 1 minute. Add the cinnamon, egg and almond flour and beat until smooth. Fold in the flour. Cover the bowl and set aside.

ASSEMBLY

  1. Roll out the dough to a large rectangle (slightly larger than the sheet pan in the next step, if using one) on a lightly floured surface, about 1/8 – 1/4 inch (3-5 mm) thick. Make sure to roll and turn the dough so it doesn’t stick to the surface.
  2. Using the rolling pin, transfer the dough to a 28 x 18 cm (11 x 7 inch) sheet pan, or put the dough directly on a baking sheet covered with a piece of baking paper. Trim the edges of the dough if desired, but make sure to leave a little overhang to shape the edges. You can use the leftover dough to cut out decorative shapes. If you’re baking the tart in a pan, prick a few holes in the bottom using a fork.
  3. Spread the frangipane over the rolled out dough, leaving the edges free from filling. Place in fridge while you prepare the topping.

TOPPING & BAKING

  1. Preheat oven to 225°C (437°F).
  2. Peel the apples and slice them thinly, removing the seeds. Place the slices on top of the frangipane filling. Squeeze the lemon over the apples.
  3. Fold the overhang of the dough over the filling and use a little bit of water to stick any shapes or decoratives cut-outs to the crust. Put the tart in the freezer for 15 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile, mix the egg with 1 tsp. of water in a small bowl. Grind cardamom and mix with 1 tbsp. turbinado sugar. Remove the tart from the freeezer, brush the crust with egg wash and sprinkle crust and fruit with the cardamom sugar.
  5. Bake the tart at 225°C (437°F) for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 175°C (350°F) and bake an additional 30-32 minutes or until crust is golden.
  6. While the tart is baking, combine honey and water in a saucepan and let come to a boil. As soon as the tart comes out of the oven, brush edges and fruit with the glaze. Drizzle any leftover glaze over the fruit. Let cool a little, then serve with sweetened whipped cream.

Spara

Spara

Privacy Policy