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Gooseberry Crumble
Posted on August 6, 2014
A few years back we planted a gooseberry bush at our house in Dalarna, and then we practically forgot about it. Honestly, it's not that much to look at either. But this year when Tomas was mowing he realized it was completely full of gooseberries, so we excitedly picked our first harvest. We were expecting them to be pretty sour, but they were perfect, so we ate some on vanilla ice cream, but then I wanted to find a recipe to bake the rest. After a lot of browsing through several recipes, I just made up my own, similar to other crisps I have made in the past. I will post this here so you can try it too, but it is also for my own sake, so I can easily find this again, since I am sure the Post-it note it is scribbled on will disappear rather quickly.
I brought this to a potluck yesterday and everybody loved it! The best part is: it is super simple. Enjoy!
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| Warm from the oven |
Ingredients:
Gooseberries, enough to fill your pie plate
Whole wheat flour (or use regular), 2 dl (about 1 C)
Oats, 2 dl (about 1 C)
Brown sugar ("brun farin" in Sweden), 1/2 dl (about 1/4 C)
Vanilla sugar ("vaniljsocker" in Sweden) (or use 1/2 tsp vanilla extract)
Cinnamon, 1 tsp
Margarine or butter, about 80-90 grams (however you like it--I used 80) (.4-.5 C)
Sugar, 3-5 Tbsp., to sprinkle over berries (I used 3, but I like fruit pies a little tart, so adjust according to taste)
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 C (about 350 F)
2. Grease bottom and edges of a pie plate.
3. Melt the margarine. Let stand while you do the rest.
3. Gently rinse the gooseberries, and snap off the hard ends with your fingers, if you like (some recipes do not think this is necessary, but I did it). Then spread the gooseberries in your pie plate, and sprinkle with the 3-5 Tbsp. sugar, and give it a gentle stir.
4. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, oats, brown sugar, vanilla sugar, and cinnamon. Then add the melted margarine, and stir until it becomes crumbly. At this stage, you can adjust the crumble if you like--I might add even more oats next time.
5. Cover the berries with the crumble topping, spreading around with your fingers.
6. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the topping is golden brown, and the berries have bubbled up around the sides. (I baked for the longer time, so my berries were barely visible when we ate it, but a shorter baking time might also be nice).
Serve warm with whipped cream, vanilla sauce, or ice cream.
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| Berries are covered with crumble topping, and the crumble is ready to go in the oven. |
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| Warm and delicious! |
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Creamy Pumpkin Pie with Pecans
Posted on October 20, 2013
I like to try new recipes, but when it comes to all things pumpkin, I tend to use tried and true favorites. However, when a new recipe for pumpkin pie appeared in the Swedish grocery store magazine, "Mer Smak," I couldn't resist trying it. I loved it! This is the recipe that I have adapted a little, inspired by a few different pie recipes I usually use. It is creamy and rich-tasting, yet the pecans are crispy, and it is delicious served with cinnamon whipped cream.
Ingredients and method:
Pie crust recipe:
Even if Sweden had pre-made pie crusts, I would never buy them anymore. Make a homemade, simple crust (and then you can use organic ingredients whenever possible) simply by using your food processor and mixing:
Flour, 3 dl (about 1.3 Cups)
Baking margarine, 125 g (little more than one stick of butter: about 1.2 sticks), cut up into cubes
1 Tbsp (matsked) cold water
Mix together four and margarine, cut into cubes, until it is crumbly (just a few seconds). Then add water. Mix only until it holds together. Dump the dough into your pie plate and push out with your hands. Then refrigerate while you finish the pie filling (or at least 10-15 minutes).
Pie filling:
Ingredients:
Canned pumpkin, 1 can (or make your own pumpkin purée--bake it in the oven, then purée it. Use the equivalent of one can, so about 1 3/4 cups)
Sweetened and condensed milk(kondenserad mjölk, sötad), one can
Eggs, 2
Brown sugar (brun farin), a little shy of 1 dl (about 1/2 C), packed
Pumpkin pie spice, 1 generous Tbsp (matsked). Next time I will increase to 1.5 Tbsp for even more flavor!
Ground cloves, (malda nejlikor), a few generous pinches
Flour, 1 Tbsp (matsked)
Salt, a generous pinch
Pecan halves, one bag (about 100 grams or to taste)
1. Preheat oven to 200 C (400 F).
2. With a fork, poke the bottom of the pie crust in several places. Then pre-bake it for 10 minutes. It will be a little bubbly.
2. While the crust is baking, mix the dry ingredients for the pie filling first in a large bowl. Then add the pumpkin, condensed milk, and eggs. (Save the pecans for later).
2. Pour pie filling into pie crust, turn oven down to 150 C (about 300 F) and bake for 20 minutes. Then remove from oven and quickly spread the pecans on top. Bake for another 25 minutes (approx). (about 45 minutes total, according to how firm you like it).
3. I think it is delicious served with cinnamon whipped cream (whipped cream with a few generous pinches of cinnamon added).
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Blueberry Lavender Pie
(Blåbärssmulpaj med havregryn och lavendel)
Posted on July 28, 2013)
My dad, who is visiting us in Sweden this summer, told me that he does not usually like blueberry pies, since they are too sweet. But he really liked this pie. Crustless, it is a Swedish-style pie/crumble that is often taken with a spoon, like apple crisp. Like the rhubarb pie recipe I have posted a while back, the beauty of these pies is that they are fast, simple, and can easily be varied according to taste. The next time I make this I might add chopped almonds to the crumble topping, or chopped white chocolate (my husband's idea of course). The amounts are the ones that I have used, and my pie was just as I like it--a little tart. Adjust amounts to taste. If you find a good combination or a new idea, please tell share in the comments field, below! I have been looking for a blueberry lavender pie recipe for a while; I love baking with lavender.
Ingredients
Pie filling:
Blueberries to fill your pie plate generously (mine were frozen)
Potato starch (to thicken a little. Works without this, or try cornstarch), about 1 Tbsp
Sugar, about 1/2 dl (1/4 cup)
Crumble topping:
Sugar, a little shy of 1 dl (about 1/2 cup)
Oats, 3 dl (about 1.3 cups). Adjust to taste--I love them and they add nutrition so I will try even more next time!
Flour, 1 dl (about 1/2 cup)
Margarine, 150 grams (about 1.3 sticks)
Vanilla sugar, about 1-2 tsp (or use vanilla extract, try 1/2 tsp or acc to taste). Next time I will increase this amount.
Culinary lavender, 1.5 tsp, chopped well
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| Culinary lavender (can be found on-line, in health food stores or tea shops. Mine is from Gotland) |
Method:
Turn oven on to about 200 C (about 400 F).
Pour blueberries into pie plate. Mix potato starch and sugar in a small bowl. Sprinkle over blueberries and stir gently.
Melt the margarine. In a larger bowl, mix the remaining ingredients together well. Then add the melted (still warm is fine) margarine and stir with a spoon. Using your fingers, spread the crumble mixture over the blueberries.
Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the topping is golden (but watch that it does not burn). I had mine in for about 25 minutes.
Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream. (The pie smells delicious while baking in the oven!) Enjoy.
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Raspberry and Lemon Birthday Cake by Tomas
(Tårta med hallon och lemon curd)
Posted on April 30, 2013
I was very busy this year for my birthday so I expected we would need to buy a cake for my party. But Yaminah was sick so Tomas was home with her, and he came up with this cake. It is now one of my all-time favorites! I love the combination of homemade lemon curd and raspberries!
Cake Recipe
Original recipe, in Swedish, found on this lovely blog: Cake Recipe from Blog
Ingredients:
5 eggs
2 dl sugar (.8 C)
1 dl potatismjöl, (about 1/2 C) potato flour (perhaps called potato starch in the US)
1 dl all-purpose flour (about 1/2 C)
2-3 tsp baking powder
Method:
Turn oven on to 175 C (350 F). Whisk eggs and sugar together until white and fluffy. Mix potato flour, all-purpose flour, and baking powder in a bowl. Add flour mixture to egg mixture, but stir as little as possible. Grease and flour a round cake pan (about 23 cm in diameter). Bake on a lower rack for about 45-50 minutes. When the cake has cooled, cut it into three layers.
Homemade Lemon Curd:
This delicious recipe is from the gorgeous blog, http://sotasaker.com The recipe can be found here: Homemade Lemon Curd Recipe I will translate it and add a few comments.
Ingredients:
2 lemons (organic if possible; my addition)
3 eggs
2 dl (about .8 C) sugar
75 grams butter (equal to about .7 sticks of butter)
Wash the lemons and zest them finely. Also squeeze them. Whisk together eggs and sugar and add lemon zest and juice. Place in a bowl of water and stir until the lemon curd thickens. Add the butter and place to cool in cleaned jars. This will make more than you need for the cake, but the leftovers can be stored in a jar and used later for scones or other yummy treats!)
Putting the cake together:
When the cake has cooled and been cut, fill one layer with a mixture of frozen or fresh raspberries mixed with some sugar to cover the layer. Fill the second layer with the homemade lemon curd mixed with whipped cream. Then cover the whole cake with whipped cream, and decorate as you wish, such as with fresh raspberries and fresh mint leaves, as Tomas did. I loved it!
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Delicious and Simple Homemade Chocolate Frosting
Posted on January 20, 2013
I have used this recipe a few times now for cupcake frosting. Warning: it is irresistible! The recipe made quite a lot, since I had made miniature cupcakes, so then I was able to use the rest to frost several full-sized cupcakes I also made. YUM.
This recipe is from the lovely Swedish cookbook, Hello Cupcake! by chef Leila Lindholm. I will translate it here and add my own comments.
These are the amounts listed in the recipe. I actually started with these and then just continued adding more of each item, and tasting it, until I was happy with the results!
1 dl (about 1/2 C) Nutella
4 dl (about 2 C) powdered sugar
4 Tbsp cocoa powder
2 tsp vanilla sugar (or 1 tsp vanilla extract if you have that instead)
150 g Philadelphia Cream Cheese (about 6 ounces)
1 Tbsp coffee (brewed; I am sure I added quite a bit more)
Stir Nutella, powdered sugar, cocoa, vanilla sugar, and cream cheese together until creamy. Then add coffee and whisk together until fluffy.
Spread over cupcakes or cake. (I used my new bag and decorating tips, and then topped with M & M's, Yaminah's favorite chocolate).
Cupcakes recipes
For the cupcakes themselves, I used Martha Stewart's recipes, and they turned out great, for her chocolate cupcakes, and her recipe for miniature carrot cake cupcakes. (I added a handful of chopped walnuts to the carrot cake cupcakes, but otherwise I just followed the recipes!)
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Creamy Green Pea Soup
served with shrimp, crème fraîche, croutons, and fresh parsley
Posted on November 12, 2012
I have been way too busy to cook or bake lately, but tonight this soup turned out so well, I have to write it down quickly before I forget it. And so I thought I would share it with you as well! Yaminah (soon 3 yrs old) ate well and Tomas loved it as well. It is very simple, yet has great flavor. And as a vegetarian I should eat more legumes, but unfortunately I strongly dislike split pea soup (vanlig ärtsoppa). But this was delicious and quick, with a really fresh flavor. And nothing like what the words "pea soup" usually bring to my mind!
Ingredients: (I made this soup big so we would have leftovers for lunches!)
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, smashed and chopped (next time I will use 2)
1 1000 g bag of frozen green peas (2.2 lb-bag)
zest of one lemon (then I use the rest of the lemon for lemon water)
1 organic, vegetarian vegetable bullion cube (I always use organic to avoid msg!)
About 8 dl water (about 3.5-4 C)
2 dl (about 1 C) white wine (I used cooking wine today, nonalcoholic, but you could use anything you have or like)
2.5 dl light cream (a little more than 1 C) (in Swedish: matlagningsgrädde)
fresh parsley
salt
shrimp to serve with the soup
crème fraîche to serve with the soup (you could use sour cream/turkish yoghurt/even whipped cream otherwise, to taste)
croutons (I just toast whole wheat bread and cut into cubes!)
Directions:
First, sauté the onion on medium heat, in olive oil (or other; I always use olive). Add the garlic. Then pour over the water and add the lemon zest, bag of peas (frozen), and wine. Bring to a boil and let boil gently for a few minutes (perhaps five). Add the parsley (I forgot to add it before boiling but it turned out well added later too).
Mix the soup with an immersion blender until very smooth. Then bring pot back onto the stove, add the cream, and bring to a boil again. Then remove from heat.
Add salt, to taste. Serve with shrimp, croutons, and generous sprigs of the fresh parsley.
Delicious and healthy! Enjoy!
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Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
with White Chocolate, Cranberries, and Sunflower Seeds
Posted on October 3, 2012
Yaminah and I made these delicious pumpkin cookies recently. They are so good that I want to make sure to include the recipe here as well. For my international friends, I can say that I used canned pumpkin as we often do in the United States (and I bring it to Sweden when I can) but it would work just as well to roast pumpkin in the oven first and then just purée it. Also, once again, 1/2 Cup is about 1 deciliter. The temperature in many of my American recipes is given in Fahrenheit; generally, you can divide it by two (so if it is 400 F, I simply use 200 C). I never have pumpkin pie spice on hand, so I just make it myself; 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice = 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ground ginger, 1/8 tsp ground allspice and 1/8 tsp cloves. (I just take 1/4 tsp cloves when I make it).
These cookies are wonderfully chewy, yet with nice texture from the white chocolate and seeds. And as always, I add more spices than the recipe calls for! (usually I double the spices).
The original recipe can be found here on a great blog.
Here I have re-written the recipe to reflect my own changes. As always, I doubled the recipe so I have many cookies now in my freezer to easily pull out when we have company. This recipe stated, however, is for one batch (when doubled it made a lot of cookies!)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1.5 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter; softened (For one cup I use about 230 grams, and I used baking margarine, so in Sweden bakmargarin)
1 cup packed light brown sugar (in Sweden I use brun farin)
3/4 cup granulated sugar (Original recipe calls for 1 cup. 3/4 is enough!)
1 cup pure pumpkin puree (fresh pumpkin could be roasted and then puréed)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (pure vanilla extract is best, but if I do not have it, in Sweden I use vaniljsocker but double the amount)
1 cup white chocolate chips (I used roughly chopped white baking chocolate bars)
1 cup dried cranberries; roughly chopped
1/2 cup (approx) of sunflower seeds (next time I will add a little more)
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1.5 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter; softened (For one cup I use about 230 grams, and I used baking margarine, so in Sweden bakmargarin)
1 cup packed light brown sugar (in Sweden I use brun farin)
3/4 cup granulated sugar (Original recipe calls for 1 cup. 3/4 is enough!)
1 cup pure pumpkin puree (fresh pumpkin could be roasted and then puréed)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (pure vanilla extract is best, but if I do not have it, in Sweden I use vaniljsocker but double the amount)
1 cup white chocolate chips (I used roughly chopped white baking chocolate bars)
1 cup dried cranberries; roughly chopped
1/2 cup (approx) of sunflower seeds (next time I will add a little more)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line your baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
2. Combine flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and salt in medium bowl. Beat butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until light and fluffy.
3. Add pumpkin, egg and vanilla extract; mix well. Add flour mixture; combine until all ingredients are incorporated. Fold in white chocolate chips and dried cherries.
4. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto prepared baking sheets.
5. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.
~~~~2. Combine flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and salt in medium bowl. Beat butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until light and fluffy.
3. Add pumpkin, egg and vanilla extract; mix well. Add flour mixture; combine until all ingredients are incorporated. Fold in white chocolate chips and dried cherries.
4. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto prepared baking sheets.
5. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.
Miniature Apple Pies
Posted on September 21, 2012
My sister Sarah found the recipe for these on Pinterest, and I only waited a few hours before making them. I am looking for recipes to use up all of the apples we picked recently in our neighborhood. They turned out great! They are so cute, and the kitchen smells wonderful right now with the last batch in the oven.
The recipe can be found on this lovely blog, Little Bit Funky. For my Swedish friends, I can say that for a butter conversion for the pie crust, 1 Cup butter is about 225 grams.
Since we live in Sweden where there are no frozen pie crusts--and actually, I prefer homemade in any case--I used Martha Stewart's pie crust recipe that was super easy in my food processor. Then I cut round circles using a little dish that was big enough for my muffin pan.
Now I am looking forward to tomorrow morning's fika with Mom here visiting, and my good friend Maria and children coming as well, even though it is now 1 AM and the final batch is just about to go in the oven. But so it is when one is actually too busy to bake, but really wants to anyways...
This recipe made 26 little pies, and I will freeze most of them right away. But I did sample one just now, warm from the oven, with a dollop of whipped cream on top. Wow.
Happy fall baking!
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Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Posted on August 22, 2012
These cupcakes are light, but still flavorful, with all of my favorite spices: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice. I usually make cupcakes and then freeze them. With the cream cheese frosting, these freeze really well.
Recipe from Martha Stewart (a web site I love for finding delicious recipes for baked goods made from scratch!)
Ingredients:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon (I used about double)
- 1 tsp ground ginger (I used about double)
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg (I used about double)
- 1/4 tsp ground allspice (I used about double)
- 1 cup packed light-brown sugar (I used about 5/6 cup)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (I used about 3/4 cup. I don't like the sugar to take over my cupcakes, as the pumpkin is already sweet, and a little less sugar brings out the spices better, I think)
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners (I used foil but any will do); set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and baking powder, and add salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together, brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, and eggs. Add dry ingredients, and whisk until smooth. Whisk in pumpkin puree.
3. Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about halfway. Bake until tops spring back when touched, and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating pans once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.
Cream Cheese Frosting
This recipe is from a lovely blog, www.browneyedbaker.com You can find the recipe here:
Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 pound (4 cups) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and cream cheese until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add sugar, ½ cup at a time, and then vanilla, and mix until smooth and combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
I usually frost the cupcakes by piping around the cupcakes with a decorator tip, but on these pictures I simply spread it using a spatula.
I like to decorate pumpkin cupcakes with either candy corn, walnuts, or a piece of chocolate.
~~~~Swedish Strawberry Rhubarb Pie/Crisp with Oat and Cinnamon Crumble
Posted on June 19, 2012
This is an amazingly simple, yet delicious way to use rhubarb. In Sweden this is called a pie, but without a crust, it is perhaps more like a crumble or a crisp. I have mixed a few different recipes to make this combination that is tart and very moist! The first time I made it I used just rhubarb, and that was also good.
The original recipe can be found here, in this nice Swedish blog, http://matlyckan.blogspot.se/2009/05/rabarberpaj-med-havregryn.html although my adapted version follows.
Ingredients:
My pie plate is quite deep, so these amounts can be adjusted as you wish. I probably made 1.5 times the topping the second time around.
Filling:
Rhubarb and strawberries, cut up, to fill your pie plate generously (I first filled with rhubarb, then added a few handfuls of strawberries) and I used a lot more than the original recipe called for to make it really deep
About 1/2 Cup (1 dl) sugar (but I used about 3/4 C)
About 1 Tbsp potato starch (potatismjöl) but I used about 1.5
Crumble topping:
About 150 g melted margarine (= approx 1.3 sticks margarine)
About 2 dl oats (approx 1 Cup) but I love it so added more
About 1.5-2 dl flour
1/2 dl (1/4 cup) sugar
Cinnamon--I added a generous dusting of cinnamon that really brought out the flavors
Heat oven to 225 C (about 430 F). Mix fruit with sugar and potato starch in a large bowl, then tip into your pie plate. (I greased mine a tiny bit).
Then combine the crumble topping ingredients, which will be wet, with a spoon. Using your fingers, spread the topping all over the pie. Then bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes.
When I only used rhubarb the pie was not wet, but with strawberries the pie was very moist. Delicious! Note that these Swedish pies/crisps are taken with a large spoon. Delicious when served with Swedish vanilla sauce, whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!
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Dry ingredients with a generous dusting of cinnamon  |
Classic Cupcakes with Cream Cheese and Lemon Frosting
Posted on May 26, 2012
I am posting this recipe on request; (here you go, Laurie!) I love getting requests. :) I have started to enjoy making cupcakes more and more, partially because they look nice and are just the right size. Decorations and toppings are easy to vary. Also, I love them because I make cupcakes that freeze well, so if someone comes over, I am prepared to serve "fika."
These are from the lovely Swedish cookbook "Hello cupcake!" by Leila Lindholm. As usual, I will translate it to English for you. I was a little surprised that these cupcakes did not rise as much as I expected they would, but they were delicious, with a really fresh, nice lemony flavor. I decorated them with a piece of white and dark chocolate, but if I have a cupcake party in the future (an idea I have), then I would vary the toppings, and use things like a raspberry, chopped strawberries, colored (vegetarian) sprinkles, little flags, etc...
As always, I doubled the recipe but will list it for one batch.
12 cupcakes
3 organic eggs
2.5 dl sugar (one rounded Cup)
1 tsp vanilla sugar (or you could use 1 tsp vanilla extract)
100 g baking margarine (nearly 1/2 Cup)
1 dl milk (about 1/2 Cup)
3.5 dl flour (1.5 Cups)
2 tsp baking powder
1 pinch of salt
zest and juice of one lemon
1. Turn over on to 175 C (about 350 F)
2. Beat eggs, sugar, and vanilla sugar until very white and fluffy.
3. Melt margarine, add milk, and mix it with the egg mixture.
4. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt, and fold carefully to the batter.
5. Add lemon zest and juice.
6. Place liners in muffin tray and fill to 2/3 full with batter.
7. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 15 mins (look nearly 20 for me).
Cream Cheese Frosting
60 g soft margarine (about .3 Cups)
5 dl powdered sugar (a little more than 2 Cups)
1 tsp vanilla sugar (or use vanilla extract)
1 Tbsp (msk) fresh-pressed lemon juice
100 g (about 1/2 Cup) cream cheese
1. Mix the ingredients until creamy.
2. Spread frosting on the cupcakes and decorate as desired!
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(Amazing) Chocolate Cake with Fresh Raspberry Mousse
Posted on April 21, 2012
It's that time again...time for a birthday! I love birthdays; I love throwing parties, so for a few special occasions I like to try to make it special. This cake is quite special so I want to share it with you. The recipe is from the lovely Swedish blog Söta Saker by Therésia Erneborg, and for those of you who read Swedish, here it is directly: Original recipe in Swedish But here I will share it with you, with my own comments as well, in English.
Warning: it's delicious!
Once
again, 2 dl = about .8 Cups;1 dl = about .4 Cups, etc.
Cake3 eggs
2 dl (.8 C) sugar
1 dl (.4 C) potato flour
1 dl (.4 C) (regular) flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp cocoa
Beat eggs and sugar (I did until they were fluffy). Add remaining ingredients and pour the batter in a greased round cake pan. Bake for 35 minutes at 175 C (350 F) until done. Cool and then cut into three layers.
Chocolate mousse:
2 dl (.8 C) whipping cream
1 egg yolk (in the US I would use a pasteurized egg!)
100 grams (4 ounces) chocolate with nuts
Melt the chocolate over hot water. Whisk in egg yolk. Whisk in cream and carefully mix into the chocolate batter. Let stand in fridge to thicken some before using.
Raspberry mousse:
200 g (about 7 ounces) raspberries (I used frozen)
½ dl (.2 C) sugar with thickening agent (in Sweden it is called “gelésocker”)
50 g (2 oz) cream cheese
2 dl (.8 C) whipping cream
Bring the raspberries to a boil on the stove and mash them. Add the sugar and let it simmer until sugar has dissolved. Let cool; whip cream. Mix the cream cheese into the raspberry mixture and then add everything to the cream. Let stand in the fridge before using (I did this the day before).
Ganache:
2 dl whipping cream
200 grams (7 oz) dark chocolate
Chop up the chocolate and put into a bowl. Bring the cream to a boil in a pot on the stove and pour immediately over the chocolate. Stir until it is mixed. Use it immediately.
Put the bottom cake layer on your serving plate. Spread raspberry mouse on it. Add second layer; cover with chocolate mousse. Add top layer. Then carefully pour the ganache over the whole cake. It will coat it all over although I used a spatula as well to help it. Then when I was finished I used a wet cloth and carefully wiped around the whole cake to remove; worked well.
Then I decorated the cake with fresh raspberries, and the unanimous vote was that the cake was almost even better the next day (the ganache hardended beautifully); next time I will completely make the cake the day before the party!
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Easter Cupcakes
Posted on April 7, 2012
Recipe from the lovely cook book ”Hello Cupcake!” by Leila Lindholm. Recipe is in Swedish, but I will write it in English here and add a few (hopefully) helpful comments.
Leila writes that this recipe will make 12 cupcakes, but I doubled it, and still ended up with only 16 because my muffin cups were larger. This meant that they took a little longer in the oven as well, but I took them out after about 25 minutes, when they were slightly golden brown. I will write the measurements as they are in the cookbook, in dl (deciliters). 1 dl = a little less than ½ cup (actually .4 C).
For 12 cupcakes
2 eggs, organic
1 ½ dl sugar
100 grams hazelnuts
1 ½ dl flour
1 tsp baking powder
¾ dl milk
1. Turn the oven on to 175 C (about 350 F).
2. Beat eggs and sugar until white and fluffy.
3. Mix nuts to a fine powder in the food processor or use a small grinder (I used a small antique grinder that worked great).
4. Mix nuts, flour, and baking powder and add to the egg batter.
5. Add the milk.
6. Fill muffin cups (with paper muffin liners) to 2/3 full.
7. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 20 minutes. Test for doneness.
Nutella frosting1 dl nutella
4 dl powdered sugar
4 Tbsp good quality cocoa
2 tsp vanilla sugar (or I would try 1 tsp vanilla extract)
150 grams cream cheese
1 Tbsp coffee
Bird’s nest
400 grams marzipan
Chocolate eggs for decoration (I used Divine Fair Trade eggs—gorgeous!)
1. Mix nutella, powdered sugar, cocoa, vanilla sugar, and cream cheese until smooth (I used a hand-held beater).
2. Add coffee and beat until fluffy.
3. Spread the frosting over the cupcakes (I just used a knife).
4. (Press the marzipan in a garlic press, over a plate). Form the marzipan “threads” in your hand to make a little bird’s nest shape; place on cupcake.
5. Decorate with little bird’s eggs chocolates!
Pear and Ginger Muffins
Posted on March 26, 2012
I was browsing around on Pinterest the other night when I spotted a recipe for Pear and Ginger Muffins. Since Tomas had just bought tons of pears and we even had sour cream for once, I decided to try these. They are deeeeeelicious! Tomas said they are probably the best muffins I have ever made. He probably liked that they are a little sweeter than my usual muffins. But I did make a few changes to the recipe that I will write here (different flour, reduced sugar, and more ginger).
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| Pear and Ginger Muffin |
I will show my changes below. I doubled the recipe (as I always do for muffins and then freeze most of them right away--super convenient. The amounts shown here are for 1 batch; just double it if you want to). For those of you working with dl instead of cups, there are about 2.4 dl in 1 C (1 Cup). Before baking I just put a little sprinkle of brown sugar on each muffin; this added a light little crunch to the top that was nice.
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1/2 all-purpose and 1/2 whole wheat "grahamsmjöl" in Sweden)
3/4 cup granulated white sugar (Note: used slightly less than 1/2 C. It's plenty!!)
1/2 cup + 6 teaspoons light brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger (I used about 1.5 tsp ginger and will even add a little more next time)
2/3 cup sour cream (used organic "gräddfil")
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon honey
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups pears, peeled & chopped to 1/4-inch dice
3/4 cup granulated white sugar (Note: used slightly less than 1/2 C. It's plenty!!)
1/2 cup + 6 teaspoons light brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger (I used about 1.5 tsp ginger and will even add a little more next time)
2/3 cup sour cream (used organic "gräddfil")
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon honey
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups pears, peeled & chopped to 1/4-inch dice
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper muffin cups
2. Whisk dry ingredients in a large bowl: flour, granulated sugar, the 1/2 cup of brown sugar, baking powder, and ground ginger.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the sour cream, oil, honey, and eggs together and then fold this into the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated (don't over-mix).
4. Stir in diced pear and then divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.
5. Sprinkle each one with 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar and then bake for 20 minutes.
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2. Whisk dry ingredients in a large bowl: flour, granulated sugar, the 1/2 cup of brown sugar, baking powder, and ground ginger.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the sour cream, oil, honey, and eggs together and then fold this into the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated (don't over-mix).
4. Stir in diced pear and then divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.
5. Sprinkle each one with 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar and then bake for 20 minutes.
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Super-simple Oven-baked Vegetables with Feta
Posted on March 21, 2012
Since we eat vegetarian food at home, we often eat this meal as a main course. Tonight I served it with just a salad, and for Yaminah, I also added a huge spoonful of peas to make it more colorful for her (and capture her interest since she loves peas). She ended up loving in this dish! I think the feta really helped make it tasty and the cheesier flavor helped make it toddler-friendly.
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| Veggies, right out of the oven |
Vegetables to fill an oven-safe baking dish. Tonight's delicious combo included:
Carrots (I used about 4) (julienne or similar)
Potatoes (when we have them, sweet potatoes are healthier but often super expensive in Sweden, so regular potatoes work as well), thinly sliced
1 fennel bulb, thiny sliced and then cut into smaller pieces
1/2 bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed and minced
feta cheese
olives (if you like them)
olive oil, rosemary, salt & pepper
1. Heat oven to about 225 C (about 400 F)
2. Cut up all the veggies, enough to fill your baking dish about half full. Stir.
3. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and a generous amount of crushed rosemary (delicious!)
4. Drizzle with olive oil, then stir. Add olives.
5. Bake in oven for about 10-15 minutes, then take out and stir.
6. Bake for about another 10 minutes, then stir again. Continue like this until veggies are getting done--how you like them. This varies. We make them a little softer now that we have a toddler, but usually a little crispy is good.
7. Whenenever you think about 5-10 minutes remain, add feta cheese (cut into cubes) and stir gently. Bake until done.
Today I prepared this dish in the early afternoon, and covered with plastic until it was time to make supper. Super simple, and delicious! I loved the fennel in the dish, and the rosemary and feta are a great combination!
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Creamy Broccoli Soup with Lentils
posted on March 14, 2012
Hungry but too busy to make anything fancy, I decided to make this soup. I found a few recipes and used them to inspire this one, which I must say is possibly one of the most delicious soups I have ever had. It is unbelievably simple and quick! I often add lentils to soup for added nutrition.
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| Creamy Broccoli Soup with Lentils, served with freshly grated cheese and fresh oregano |
olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 onion, chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
2 heads of fresh broccoli, cut into smaller florets
1 organic vegetarian bullion cube (organic to avoid msg!)
3 Cups of water
1/2-1/3 Cup red lentils, rinsed (about 1 dl)
for a thickener:
about 3 Tbsp of margarine
2-3 Tbsp flour (soup became quite thick, but I liked it, and it was kid-friendly!)
2 dl (about 1 C) light cream (I used 15 % fat "matlagningsgrädde")
fresh oregano for decoration & flavor for serving, if desired
1. Sauté the onion and celery for a few minutes over medium heat in a generous splash of olive oil. Then add the garlic and sauté a little longer.
2. Add the broccoli, lentils, bullion cube, and water. Gently boil for about 10 minutes.
3. Remove from stove and mix very well with an immersion blender.
4. On the stove, melt the margarine, then stir in the flour and then the light cream. (mine was a little lumpy but it turned out fine anyways). Stir constantly, until the mixture bubbles up a lot.
5. Add the thickener to the soup, and stir in well. Then add salt & pepper, to taste.
This soup had tons of flavor, and was really thick and creamy. I served it with freshly shredded flavorful cheese, and a large sprig of fresh oregano. Delicious!
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| Soup just about to boil |
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Lavender Chocolate Biscotti
posted on March 9, 2012
about 60 small biscotti
Recipe from Anne's Food blog
http://annesfood.blogspot.com/2006/08/lavender-chocolate-biscotti.html
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| Lavender Chocolate Biscotti. I paired them with Florida Orange tea, here shown in my grandmother's antique cup |
120 g almonds
2 eggs
200 ml (0,8 cups) sugar
1 tbsp dried lavender
1 tsp salt
400-500 ml (1,6-2.1 cups) flour
1 tsp baking powder
100 g dark chocolate
Roughly chop the almonds and the chocolate. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Mix together almonds, eggs, sugar, lavender and salt. Add 300 ml (1,2 cups) of the flour and the baking powder, then the chocolate. Mix carefully and add just as much flour you need to hold the dough together.
Roll out into thick rope shapes and place on a lined baking sheet. (I got three long ropes about 2 cm thickness)
Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the dough is lightly golden. Remove from oven, and when cool enough to handle, cut into small biscotti. Dry in the oven, at 100°C for 30-40 minutes.
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| Ropes of dough after first baking |
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| Biscotti after second baking, fresh out of the oven |
Banana Walnut Oat Muffins
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| Banana Walnut Oat Muffins Teapot from Vietnam |
Recipe, by from All Recipes.com, at: http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/banana-oat-muffins/Detail.aspx
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup mashed bananas
Directions
- Combine flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, soda, and salt.
- In a large bowl, beat the egg lightly. Stir in the milk, oil, and vanilla. Add the mashed banana, and combine thoroughly. Stir the flour mixture into the banana mixture until just combined. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper bake cups, and divide the batter among them.
- Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 18 to 20 minutes.
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