Swedish

How to make Swedish Semlor

February 7, 2020 By linda 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

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.
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.
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.
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!).
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

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.
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

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.
Bake the buns for 11-13 minutes or until golden brown in color. Let cool on a wire rack.
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.
In a medium bowl, beat the cream to soft peaks.
Pipe the cream onto each bun and place the ‘lid’ on top. Dust with powdered sugar. Best eaten the same day they are made.

A Swedish Classic – Rosehip soup with vanilla ice cream and almond macaroons

September 14, 2018 By linda 16 Comments

Rosehip soup is probably the epitome of childhood for many Swedes. Served as breakfast (but without ice cream), a snack or dessert – warm or cold with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and chewy almond macarons. Basically the most perfect, warming autumn drink or dessert! Or if you serve it cold, it’s the perfect cooling summer dessert. I don’t think I ever had it with ice cream when I was a kid, but I’m an adult now and I choose to serve it with ice cream. Because I can!

This is actually the first time I’ve ever made rosehip soup by myself. I’ve always been intimidated by rosehips because if the itchy little seeds.. but let me tell you.. this was so easy! Living in a coastal town, we have an abundance of them growing by the beach. Make sure to look for plump, deep red, ripe rosehips. You don’t even have to remove the seeds from the rosehips when making this soup.. yes, you heard me! It’s actually a very fuss free recipe.

ROSEHIP SOUP WITH VANILLA ICE CREAM AND ALMOND MACAROONS

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

ROSEHIP SOUP

3 cups (about 400 g) fresh rosehips
5 cups (1,2 liter) water
75-110 g (1/3 – 1/2 cup) granulated sugar
1 1/2 tbsp. cornstarch + 2 tbsp. cold water

ALMOND MACAROONS

100 g finely grated almond paste
1 egg white (40 g)
1 tbsp. granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom

FOR SERVING

Vanilla ice cream or sweetened whipped cream

INSTRUCTIONS

ROSEHIP SOUP

Thoroughly clean the rosehips and make sure to remove the stem and all other green parts. Place them whole (you don’t have to remove the seeds!) in a large saucepan and cover with 5 cups of water. Bring to the boil and let simmer for about 25 minutes or until rosehips are soft.
Using an immersion blender, puree the rosehips together with the water in the saucepan. Pass the mixture through a fine sieve, discarding the pulp and seeds and reserving the liquid.
Pour the liquid back into the pan and bring to a simmer. Add sugar to your liking (I added 100 g). Mix cornstarch and 2 tbsp. cold water in a small bowl. Slowly add this to the pan, while constantly stirring. Simmer for a couple of minutes until slightly thickened. Let cool if you want to serve it cold. Store covered in the refrigerator.

ALMOND MACAROONS

Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F).
Place the grated almond paste in a medium bowl. Add the egg white, sugar and cardamom and beat until smooth.
Scoop the batter into a piping bag fitted with a round nozzle. Pipe little dots of batter on a baking sheet covered with baking paper.
Bake for about 10 minutes or until golden brown.

SERVING

Serve the soup cold or warm in a cup or bowl, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream and top with a handful of almond macaroons.

Ris à la malta – Rice pudding with whipped cream and marinated oranges

December 18, 2017 By linda 7 Comments

Ris à la malta is a very typical Scandinavian Christmas dessert made from rice pudding and whipped cream. Not exactly sure why it’s called ris à la malta as I don’t think it has anything at all to do with Malta. Some say it’s a version of the Danish name of the same dessert – Risalamande which is commonly served with cherry sauce and almonds.

In Sweden it’s more common to eat it with jam or ‘saftsås’, which is a cordial or sweetened fruit juice that is thickened with potato starch. I adore this dessert, it’s not overly sweet but it is quite heavy, so maybe not recommended to eat right after a big Christmas dinner.

Below I’m sharing two of my favorite ris à la malta recipes. One more common way of making it, where you basically make a rice pudding – then mix it with whipped cream, vanilla and some sugar. The rice pudding can of course be eaten as it is too, with cinnamon, sugar and milk!

An interesting tradition that might not be that common anymore is to hide an almond in the rice pudding, and whoever gets it in their bowl receives a gift. Some also say that if you get the almond in your bowl, you will be married before next Christmas… The second recipe, ‘apelsinris’, simply translates into ‘orange rice’ which I think is more of an old fashioned way of making it. My inspiration for this recipe comes from a cookbook from 1932 by Jenny Åkerström called ‘Prinsessornas kokbok’ – ‘The princesses cookbook’.

It’s super interesting to read through this book, the language is so very different and all the recipes are very vague, such as ‘bake in a hot oven until cake is done’. It also says to cook spaghetti for 40-50 minutes though.. hehe.

RIS À LA MALTA – RICE PUDDING WITH WHIPPED CREAM AND MARINATED ORANGES

Serves 4-6

Some notes about this recipe: You can also eat the rice pudding as it is without the cream – why not have it for breakfast, with some cinnamon, sugar and milk instead!

INGREDIENTS

Marinated oranges

100 ml (1/3 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp.) water
90 g (1/3 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp.) granulated sugar
2 cloves
2 cardamom pods
1-2 tbsp. dark rum (can be omitted)
2-3 oranges

Ris à la malta

90 g (100 ml) uncooked short grain white rice
200 ml (3/4 cup + 2 tbsp.) water
1/4 tsp. flaky salt
500 ml (about 2 cups) milk
1 cinnamon stick
150 ml (2/3 cup) heavy cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla bean powder
1-2 tbsp. powdered sugar, or to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Marinated oranges

Combine water, sugar, cloves and cardamom pods in a saucepan. Let come to a boil, then simmer for 6-8 minutes, swirling the pan every now and then, until syrup is slightly thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the rum. Let cool.
Cut away the ends of the oranges, then cut down the sides to remove the peel and the white pith. Thinly slice the oranges and place them in a bowl. Pour the syrup over the orange slices, cover the bowl and let marinate in the fridge for at least two hours. Discard the cloves and cardamom pods before serving.

Ris à la malta

Place the rice, water and salt in a saucepan. Let come to a boil and let simmer with the lid on for 10 minutes. Add the milk and cinnamon stick, and on low heat – let mixture simmer gently with the lid on until thickened, about 30-35 minutes, stirring every now and then to make sure it doesn’t burn. Remove from heat, discard the cinnamon stick and let cool completely.
Whip the cream to soft peaks together with the vanilla and sugar, then stir the whipped cream into the rice pudding. Serve the ris à la malta with the orange slices and syrup.

APELSINRIS (ORANGE RICE)

Serves 4

Some notes about this recipe: This is basically a simpler and quicker way to make ris à la malta. It’s also delicious to serve with some toasted almonds and grated chocolate.

INGREDIENTS

Apelsinris

90 g (100 ml) uncooked short grain white rice
500 ml (2 cups) water
1/4 tsp. flaky salt
1 small cinnamon stick
200 ml (3/4 cup + 2 tbsp.) heavy cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla bean powder
1-2 tbsp. granulated sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

Apelsinris

Place the rice, water, salt and cinnamon stick in a saucepan. Let come to a boil and let simmer with the lid on, stirring every now and then, for about 25 minutes or until the rice is soft. Pour into a sieve and rinse with cold water until rice is completely cold. Discard the cinnamon stick and spoon rice into a large bowl.
In another bowl, whip the cream to soft peaks together with the vanilla and sugar, then stir the whipped cream into the cooked rice. Cut the orange slices (see recipe for marinated oranges above) into smaller pieces and spoon into the rice mixture. Serve with some of the syrup.

Swedish cinnamon bun Lussekatter

December 2, 2017 By linda 21 Comments

I tried combining two Swedish classics in one gorgeous swirly bun, Lucia saffron buns (Lussekatter) and cinnamon buns (kanelbullar) for the first time last year, and I, for the life of me couldn’t remember why I never shared the recipe on the blog. The buns looked absolutely beautiful (more beautiful than these to be honest!). But when I took a bite out of these, I knew. These were SO much better. Like a million times better. Way fluffier with a buttery filling.

This is the second time I’ve tried brushing buns with syrup as soon as they come out of the oven and I think it’s such a great method. It makes the buns beautifully shiny, and I feel like it helps them retain moisture longer. Truthfully, I think that these are the best buns I’ve ever made – and that includes both Lussekatter and cinnamon buns!

As always, I started baking way too late in the day – I figured, I already had the photos I took last year – I don’t need to take new pictures. But then the buns came out looking so different, I felt I had to take some new photos. So like 5 minutes before the sun set, I managed to snap a couple of photos of these buttery, soft buns. I also wanted to take some tutorial photos of how to shape the dough, but there simply wasn’t time. As always these days, it’s a race against the clock for daylight.

Lussekatter are traditionally eaten on St. Lucia day (December 13) in Sweden, and I somehow always manage to post a recipe like.. the same day. But not this year! This year I’m even early. How unlike me 🙂

SWEDISH CINNAMON BUN LUSSEKATTER

Makes 17

Some notes about this recipe: If you wish to make regular cinnamon or cardamom buns, simply omit the saffron and raisins, and add about 1-2 tsp. ground cardamom in step 2. Should you have any leftovers, make sure to freeze them the same day they are made.

INGREDIENTS

0,5 g saffron
1 tbsp. hot water
25 g fresh yeast
250 ml (1 cup) milk
90 g (1/3 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp) granulated sugar
340 – 375 g (2.4 – 2.6 cups) all purpose flour
100 g very soft salted butter, in cubes
1/2 tsp. flaky salt

Filling

100 g softened salted butter
35 g (3 tbsp.) granulated sugar
1 tbsp. ground cinnamon
Handful of raisins

Syrup

35 g (3 tbsp.) granulated sugar
3 tbsp. water

Topping

1 egg, for brushing
1 tbsp. milk or water
Pearl sugar (demerara sugar would work too)

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine saffron and 1 tbsp. hot (not boiling) water in a small bowl. Let stand for 5 minutes.
Crumble the yeast into a large bowl. Pour the milk into a saucepan and heat to 37°C (98.5°F). Pour a little bit of the milk over the yeast and stir until yeast is dissolved. Add the rest of the milk, the saffron mix and sugar and stir until sugar is dissolved.
Stir in about half of the flour while working the dough with a dough hook in a stand mixer. Add the rest of the flour, starting with the smaller amount. Add the salt and the bits of butter and work until incorporated, then work the dough for about 10 minutes or until completely smooth and elastic. The dough will be a little sticky to the touch, so don’t be tempted to add more flour – this will make the buns dry.
Cover the bowl with a damp, clean kitchen towel and leave the dough to rise for 1 hour.

Filling

While the dough is rising, combine butter, sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl and beat until fluffy. Set aside.
Place the raisins in a small bowl and cover with cold water (mulled wine would be delicious too). Set aside.

Shape the dough, make the syrup

Line two baking sheets with baking paper.
On a floured surface, roll out the dough into a 50 x 32 cm (19.6 by 12.5 inch) rectangle. Spread the filling evenly over the dough, almost all the way out to the edges. Fold the dough once across the shorter side (imagine how you would fold a towel or an A4 paper once), so you end up with a 25 x 32 cm (9.8 by 12.5 inch) rectangle.
Use a pizza cutter or knife to cut alongside the shorter side (25 cm) of the dough into 17 strips, each strip will be about 1,8 cm wide and 25 cm long. With the cut side up, shape the strips into an S-shape and place on the prepared baking sheet, leaving some space between each bun. Put raisins in the buns and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Let rise for 45 minutes.
While the buns are rising, prepare the syrup by combining sugar and water in a saucepan. Let the mixture come to a boil and simmer until sugar has melted. Set aside to cool.
Preheat oven to 200°C (392°F).

Bake the buns

Whisk together egg and milk or water in a small bowl. Brush the buns with the egg mixture and sprinkle with pearl sugar.
Bake one sheet at a time, for 9-11 minutes or until the buns are golden brown. As soon as you remove the baking sheet from the oven, use a clean pastry brush to brush the buns with the syrup. Let cool for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Havreflarn – Thin oat cookies with chocolate and sea salt

October 29, 2017 By linda 38 Comments

I know these cookies don’t look like much, but they are just about the easiest cookies you’ll ever make. They’re SO chewy. And very, VERY addictive. I’ve been eating these cookies so many times throughout the years. It’s a classic old school type of Swedish recipe – and it’s definitely a classic for a reason. Now if you want to be really serious with your cookies you should temper the chocolate. I just sort of wanted to eat them so I simply melted the chocolate. I’ve tried tempering chocolate a couple of times but for me it just wasn’t worth while even though the chocolate hardens SO fast and it looks so much better. It totally makes sense if you’re into making fancy desserts though! I’ll leave that up to you!

HAVREFLARN – THIN OAT COOKIES WITH CHOCOLATE AND SEA SALT

Yields approximately 30 cookies

Some notes about this recipe: A classic way to make them more IKEA-esque is to brush melted chocolate on the back of one cookie and then sandwich it with another cookie. In that case you might want to up the chocolate to 100-125 g.

INGREDIENTS

75 g (2/3 stick) unsalted butter
2 tbsp. honey (or golden syrup)
2 tbsp. milk
60 g (1/3 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp.) all purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
45 g (1/3 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp.) rolled oats
90 g (1/3 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp.) granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla bean powder
75 g dark chocolate, melted
flaky sea salt, to sprinkle

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F). Prepare two baking sheets with baking paper.
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Remove from heat and stir in honey and milk.
Combine flour, baking powder, rolled oats and sugar in a medium bowl. Add the flour mixture and the vanilla to the butter mixture and stir until combined – batter will be quite loose.
Spoon about one heaping teaspoon for each cookie onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving lots of space between each cookie.
Bake for 6-8 minutes or until cookies are browned around the edges. Let cool completely, then brush with melted chocolate and sprinkle with flaky salt. Best eaten on the day they’re made.

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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Semla ice cream sandwiches

February 20, 2017 By linda 17 Comments

A “semla” is a typical Swedish pastry – a soft, sweet cardamom scented wheat bun, filled with almond paste, whipped cream and dusted with powdered sugar – eaten first and foremost on Fat Tuesday, which happens to be February 28th this year. And you’ve seen it on my blog before. The past couple of years, a number of semla hybrids have been emerging in Sweden – a semla wrap, princess cake semla, semla cake, semla smoothie (!) .. I think you get the idea.
These delicious ice cream sandwiches consist of a heavenly cardamom ice cream swirled with almond paste, pressed between two crunchy, yet soft cookies. It’s important to get the texture of the cookie right, or the ice cream will be pressed out on the sides when you take a bite.

I’ve been thinking about making this ice cream for a while, but putting it between two cookies was pretty much a last minute decision. A good decision if I may say so. It has taken me a couple of weeks just to get back to thinking about ideas for the blog, but here it is, finally! So what’s happened since my last update? Except for all the tax papers and VAT return stuff – well, I’ve been doing some really fun freelance work and it’s taken up most of my time, hence the lack of updates here. I’ve also gotten myself a little studio space which I’m so excited about! It’s really tiny, but I’m used to working in small spaces so I think it’ll be perfect for me. Working from home has a lot of advantages but it also comes with quite a few disadvantages. I can’t WAIT to move in there in a couple of weeks time, and to get out of the house more often. Right now I’m looking for the perfect rustic table for the studio (because I obviously need more, I only have FOUR at home). So maybe next time I post, the photos will be from my little studio.. Hopefully it won’t be that long until my next post!

SEMLA ICE CREAM SANDWICHES

Makes 10-12 small ice cream sandwiches

-If you don’t have an ice cream maker, pour the mixture into a freezer container and put in the freezer. When partially frozen (after 2-3 of hours), take it out and whip it with an electric mixer to break up the ice crystals. Repeat 3-4 of times during the freezing process. Freeze until firm enough to scoop. It won’t be exactly the same as when you use a machine for churning but it’ll still be delicious!
-The cookie recipe makes about 24-26 cookies, if you re-roll the leftover dough.

INGREDIENTS

CARDAMOM ICE CREAM

1 1/2 – 2 tsp. whole cardamom seeds
200 ml (3/4 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp.) milk, 3% fat
90 g (1/3 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp.) demerara sugar
pinch of salt
300 ml (1 1/4 cup) heavy cream, 35-40% fat
3 large egg yolks

ALMOND PASTE

100 g (3/4 cup) whole organic almonds
2 tbsp. demerara sugar
4-5 tbsp. water or milk
pinch of salt

COOKIES

165 g (1 cup + 2 1/2 tbsp) all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
pinch of salt
60 g (1/2 stick) softened butter
70 g (1/3 cup) demerara sugar
1 large egg
1/4 tsp. vanilla powder
Powdered sugar, for dusting

INSTRUCTIONS

ICE CREAM

Grind the cardamom seeds finely in a mortar and pestle. Put the cardamom in a saucepan together with milk, sugar and salt. Let mixture come to a boil, then remove from heat and put a lid on the pan. Let steep for 30 minutes.
Pour the cream into a large bowl and set a strainer inside. Keep this close while you go through the next steps.
Whisk the egg yolks in a medium bowl. Reheat the milk mixture over medium heat. Slowly pour the milk over the egg yolks while whisking – this is to temper the yolks and prevent them from curdling in the next step.
Pour the egg-milk mixture back into the pan. Return the pan to the stove and cook over low heat while stirring constantly until mixture thickens. The mixture is done when it’s thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Strain the thickened egg-milk mixture into the bowl with the cream. Stir until combined. If you wish to speed things up a little, put the bowl in an ice bath and stir until cool. Cover the bowl and store in fridge overnight.

ALMOND PASTE

Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Spread the almonds on a baking sheet and toast for 8-10 minutes or until fragrant. Let cool.
Put the toasted almonds, sugar and water (start with the smaller amount) in a blender or food processor and process until fairly smooth but some small bits of almonds remain.

ICE CREAM, CONTINUED

Churn the ice cream in an ice cream maker, according to your manufacturer’s instructions.
When the ice cream is soft serve consistency, swirl in the almond paste.
Transfer ice cream to an approximately 30 x 30 cm freezer container covered with wax paper. Smooth the top with a spatula, then loosely cover the surface of the ice cream with wax paper and freeze until almost solid, about 2-4 hours.

COOKIES

In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
Beat butter and sugar until light and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined.
Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir until a dough forms. Flatten into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F). Lightly flour your work surface, and roll the dough out thinly, about 5 mm thick. Use a 6 cm (2.3 inch) cutter to cut out rounds of dough. Re-roll dough if needed.
Put the rounds on a baking sheet covered with baking paper. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until edges start to brown slightly. Let cool completely.

ASSEMBLY

If the ice cream has been stored in the freezer for longer than 3-4 hours, you might need to leave it at room temperature for a few minutes to soften a little bit.
Use a 6 cm cutter to cut out rounds of ice cream – or simply scoop some of the ice cream and place between two cookies. Put the sandwiches in a freezer container and freeze for another hour or so before serving. Dust with powdered sugar.

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Swedish butterscotch gingerbread cookies, two ways

December 10, 2016 By linda 28 Comments

I know these cookies don’t look like much, but hear me out. Known as “Kolakakor” (or “kolasnittar” if baked as a long roll and then cut whilst still warm) in Swedish, they are just about the easiest cookies you’ll ever make. You’ll whip up a batch in no time, which I find perfect during Christmas.. I get stressed out so easily this time of year.

Usually they’re made without the gingerbread spices, but I wanted to make them a bit more Christmassy which was a great move. I made two batches, just to see the difference in texture between using a few different ingredients. I can say that both turned out very, very delicious. Only a slight difference in texture, they do look a bit different (scroll down to the bottom for batch number 2). A fair “warning” though, you’re gonna want to eat them all in one go!

Swedish butterscotch gingerbread cookies

Yields approximately 15-17 small cookies

I made two batches of butterscotch cookies, mostly because I wanted to see the difference between using baking soda and baking powder, but I did make some other small changes too. These are made with golden syrup, which is the classic way to make them in Sweden. I also swapped some of the granulated sugar for brown sugar. These are perhaps slightly more chewy than the other batch. This recipe is pictured above. Scroll down for batch number 2!

INGREDIENTS

100 g (1 scant stick) softened butter
45 g (3 1/2 tbsp.) granulated sugar
30 g (3 tbsp.) light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 tbsp. golden syrup
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
120 g (3/4 cups + 2 tbsp.) all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
pinch of salt

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F).
Beat butter, sugars, syrup, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and cloves until creamy and lighter in color, about 1-2 minutes.
Stir together flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir until a dough forms.
Cover a baking sheet with baking paper. Roll the dough into 15-17 small balls and put on the baking sheet, leaving some space between each cookie.
Bake for 10-13 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned. Let cool for 10 minutes, then enjoy with a nice cup of coffee.

Swedish butterscotch gingerbread cookies with maple syrup

Yields approximately 15-17 small cookies

These butterscotch cookies are made with granulated sugar, maple syrup and baking powder. They came out slightly flatter and possibly a bit more crunchy than the other batch.

INGREDIENTS

100 g (1 scant stick) softened butter
90 g (1/3 cup + 2 tbsp.) granulated sugar
2 tbsp. maple syrup
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
120 g (3/4 cups + 2 tbsp.) all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
pinch of salt

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F).
Beat butter, sugar, syrup, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and cloves until creamy and lighter in color, about 1-2 minutes.
Stir together flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir until a dough forms.
Cover a baking sheet with baking paper. Roll the dough into 15-17 small balls and put on the baking sheet, leaving some space between each cookie. Flatten each ball slightly with your fingers.
Bake for 10-13 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned. Let cool for 10 minutes, then enjoy with a nice cup of coffee.

Recipe adapted from IcaSpara

Spara

Mini princess cakes | Miniprinsesstårtor

May 3, 2016 By linda 31 Comments

Princess cake has been on my to-do list for a while now. Since last summer I think, but I never got around to making one. I’ve eaten so many slices of princess cake in my life and I figured it was high time to make my own. Princess cake is one of the most typical Swedish pastries, and I’ve been very into making Swedish pastries lately. I know there is always some debate as to whether a real princess cake should contain raspberry jam or not. Nowadays they usually always do, as far as I know. I chose to go with raspberry cream instead of jam, because why not? Raspberries are delicious. As they’re not really in season right now, I went for frozen ones.
And if I can, I always go for mini format. It does take a bit longer but aren’t they adorable? Totally worth it in my opinion, to be able to serve individual little cakes for your guests.
And what’s not to like? A light sponge, pastry cream, raspberry cream with a hint of lemon, more whipped cream and marzipan. They are actually lighter than you would think despite all that cream, and they aren’t overly sweet. Delicious.

MINI PRINCESS CAKES
Makes 10 small cakes

Notes on this recipe
-Sponge cakes can be prepared 1-2 days in advance as long as they are stored in airtight containers, pastry cream can be made one day in advance. The finished cakes taste best the first two days.
-Don’t use the marzipan that you buy already rolled out, it’s way too stiff and thick to cover these tiny cakes. Believe me, I tried (so much for being lazy..)!
-Marzipan tends to dry out quickly, if this happens, wet your hands ever so slightly with some water and knead until smooth again.
-It can be difficult to roll out all of the marzipan at once, especially to get the thickness even. My advice is to roll out half the marzipan, cover 5 cakes, and then do the rest.

Ingredients
Sponge cakes
3 tbsp + 1 tsp (30 g) all purpose flour
3 tbsp + 1 tsp (40 g) potato starch
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
2 large eggs
1/3 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp (90 g) granulated sugar
1/8 tsp vanilla powder

Pastry cream
(makes 1 cup, a bit more than you need)
1 cup (250 ml) milk
1/2 vanilla bean
3 tbsp (45 g) granulated sugar
2 tbsp (17 g) cornstarch
pinch of salt
1 large egg
1 egg yolk

Raspberry cream
75 g raspberries, fresh or frozen (thawed)
1 tbsp granulated sugar
finely grated zest from 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup (60 ml) heavy whipping cream

Topping
1 2/3 cup (400 ml) heavy whipping cream
2 tsp granulated sugar

350 g marzipan
green food coloring, if desired
powdered sugar, for dusting

Directions
Sponge cakes
1. Preheat oven to 175°C (350°C). Prepare a cupcake pan with 10 cupcake liners.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, potato starch, baking powder and salt with a fork (to get rid of any lumps).
3. In a large bowl, beat eggs, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy – about 2-3 minutes.
4. Fold in the dry ingredients and stir until batter is smooth.
5. Divide the batter between the 10 cupcake liners, filling them about 2/3 full.
6. Bake for 15-16 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let cool completely.

Pastry cream
1. Put milk in 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.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, cornstarch, salt, egg and egg yolk. Slowly whisk in half of the hot milk to temper the eggs. Pour everything back into the saucepan and remove the vanilla bean.
3. 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 cream. Put bowl in the fridge.

Raspberry cream
1. In a bowl, mash the raspberries with sugar and lemon zest. Set aside about 2 tbsp of the mixture for brushing the cakes.
2. In a medium bowl, beat 1/4 cup cream until stiff peaks form. Add the raspberry mixture (not the reserved 2 tbsp) and stir until smooth.

Assembly
1. Remove the cupcake liners from the cupcakes. Cut each cupcake into three layers.
2. Put the widest layers (the “top” of the cupcake) on small plates or a cutting board. Pipe or spread a layer of pastry cream onto the first cake layers. Put the second layers on top and brush with the reserved raspberry mixture. Pipe or spread a layer of the raspberry cream over. Put the last layers on top.
3. Beat 1 2/3 cups cream with 2 tsp sugar until stiff peaks form. Spread a layer of cream over the cakes. Put the cakes in the fridge while you prepare the marzipan.
4. Knead the marzipan with a tiny amount of green food coloring, if desired. Sprinkle some powdered sugar on your work surface to prevent the marzipan from sticking to it.
5. Roll the marzipan out very thinly, about 2 mm thick. Cut out rounds large enough to cover the whole cake, my rounds were approximately 14 cm (5.5 inches) across. Drape the marzipan over the cakes and smooth out any wrinkles with your hands. Cut off excess marzipan around the edges. Dust with powdered sugar and decorate with fresh roses or marzipan roses. Store cakes in the fridge.

Butterkaka – cinnamon bun cake with almond paste filling and vanilla custard

March 23, 2016 By linda 27 Comments

I’ve come to realize that the Swedish classics are grossly underestimated, in my book at least. I mean, the cinnamon bun and the semla are definitely on my top ten list of favorite pastries. Maybe even my top five list. So I’m kind of working my way through the classics and thoroughly enjoying it.
If you’re a fan of cinnamon buns (and my guess is that you are), you will looove this recipe. It’s exactly like cinnamon buns except filled with homemade almond paste (the classic recipe uses the “regular” cinnamon bun filling though) and vanilla custard.
And I know that everyone who ever made this recipe in Sweden makes a joke about it. ‘Butter’ means grumpy in Swedish. Tasting this will not make you grumpy. Quite the opposite. On the other hand, Swedish is kind of a funny language. We use the same word for ‘married’ as we do for ‘poison’ (‘gift’). Strange. And yes, I am aware of the fact that ‘kaka’ means something completely different in certain languages.. In Swedish it simply means cookie or cake. Today’s Swedish lesson. But I digress.

You know what is annoying? I was shooting a great tutorial to go with this recipe but when I was done, I realized I had accidentally set my camera on manual focus. Doh. The camera was on my tripod and could barely see what I was doing. Needless to say, I do not like working with a tripod. I do hope the instructions are clear enough anyway!

BUTTERKAKA
WITH ALMOND PASTE AND VANILLA CUSTARD
10-12 buns, makes two 20 cm cakes

Recipe adapted from here

Notes on this recipes
-This recipe does make 12 buns even if there are only 9 pictured. I baked three of them separately so we would have something to nibble on whilst I was shooting! And also, I was eager to use my smaller cast iron pan.
-If you can’t find fresh yeast, I’m sure the dry varieties would also work! I’m not so used to working with dry yeast though. Google is your friend!
-I always use salted butter when baking, if using unsalted, make sure to add en extra pinch where butter is used.
-The custard is enough for a fairly small blob in each bun, if you’re a fan of custard and think you want more, make sure to double the custard recipe.
-If you can’t find pearl sugar (I’m pretty sure you can buy some at Ikea!), coarse sugar like demerara would also work.

For the dough
20 g fresh yeast
250 ml (1 cup) milk
75 g (5 tbsp) salted butter, softened
70 g (1/3 cup ) granulated sugar
1 tsp ground cardamom
390 – 420 g (2 3/4 – 3 cups) all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt

For the custard
100 ml (1/3 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp ) heavy cream
3 tbsp milk
1/2 vanilla bean
1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch

For the almond paste filling
45 g (1/3 cup + 1 tbsp) ground almonds
2 tbsp granulated sugar
2-3 tbsp water
60 g (4 tbsp) softened butter
1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon
pinch of salt

For the eggwash
1 egg
Pearl sugar

Dough
1. Crumble the yeast into a large bowl. Heat the milk to 37°C (98°F) and pour over the yeast. Stir until yeast is dissolved.
2. Add the butter, sugar, cardamom, flour (beginning with the smaller amount and add more if needed) and salt, and knead the dough by machine about 15 minutes, or by hand about 20 minutes, until the dough is smooth and shiny and doesn’t stick to the bowl.
3. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let rise until doubled in size, about 60-90 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the custard and almond paste filling.

Custard
1. Combine cream and milk in a small saucepan. Scrape the seeds out of the vanilla bean and add seeds and bean to the saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until mixture is hot but not boiling. Remove from heat.
2. Whisk together the yolk, sugar and cornstarch in a bowl until combined. Pour the hot milk mixture over the egg yolk mixture, stirring constantly. Remove the vanilla bean.
3. Return mixture to saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. It should become quite thick, almost like softened whipped butter. Do not let it boil or it will curdle. Pour into a bowl and let cool. Cover the surface of the custard with plastic wrap to avoid a skin from forming.

Almond paste filling
1. Put the almond flour and sugar in a food processor or blender. Add water (beginning with the smaller amount) and pulse until a paste forms. Add the softened butter, cinnamon and salt and pulse until smooth. Set aside while rolling out the dough.

Roll out dough
1. Heat the oven to 200°C (390°F).
2. Roll out the dough to a large rectangle, about 48 x 25 cm (19 x 10 inches).
3. Spread an even layer of the almond paste filling over the dough. Roll up dough tightly from one long side (so you have a roll that is 48 cm long). Cut roll into 12 slices (you do not need to trim the edges, just put them cut side up in the pan).
4. Prepare two 20-22 cm (8-9 inch) pans. Put a piece of parchment paper inside as pictured, or grease them with butter. Put 6 dough slices in each pan, making sure to not crowd them too much – there should be a little bit of space between them (the picture below is after rising).
5. Cover the pans with clean kitchen towels and let rise for 40 minutes.

Filling the buns + baking
1. Carefully make a small hole in the middle of each bun, using the back of a spoon or your finger for example. Put the custard in a piping bag fitted with a round tip and pipe a blob of custard in each hole. You can also just spoon the custard into the buns, but piping makes it a whole lot easier.
2. Whisk the egg in a small bowl. Brush the buns with the egg, try to work around the custard filling with the brush. Sprinkle with pearl sugar.
3. Bake the buns in the lowest part of the oven until golden brown, about 30 minutes. If the tops are browning too much, carefully place a piece of aluminum foil where needed.
4. Remove from the oven and let cool under a clean kitchen towel. They’re best eaten the same day, but they’re also quite delicious the next. They also freeze well when baked. Just make sure to let them cool completely before freezing.