Friday Morning Recipes - Part 9
September 2011 - June 2012
| English/Swedish |
| Brandy Cake/Mormors fruktkaka |
| Finnish Sticks with Lemon/Finska pinnar med citron |
| Granny's Cake with Crispy Oat Topping/Mormors kaka med havretäcke |
| Pear Cake/Päronkaka |
| Saffron Rolls with Marzipan and Orange/Saffransbullar med mandelmassa och apelsin |
| Spicy Rusks with Hazelnuts/Pepparkaksskorpor med hasselnötter |
| Stina's Party Biscuits/Stinas kalaskakor |
| Poppy Seed Rolls/Vallmosnäckor |
Brandy Cake/Mormors fruktkaka
This is a Swedish fruit cake using my grandmother's recipe. It is lighter than a British one. It does need to stand for about a week while you feed it rather like a British one though.
It contains my grandmother's style of measuring which is done mostly through feel and if it looks right. Please do not be put off by that! Try it, it is very easy!
Finally it does not contain any baking powder. The cake will not be flat and heavy - trust me. It is baked slowly at a low temperature for quite a long time.
The Night Before:
Two big and very generous handfuls of raisins
One smallish but generous handful of glacé cherries
One normal handful of cut chopped mixed peel
Nice bit of brandy so that you can smell it easily
Mix well and cover with cling film. Mix when ever you walk past it and first thing in the morning as well as just before using it.
Next Day:
200g margarine
2dl (200ml) granulated sugar
3 eggs
3½dl (300ml) plain flour
1. Prepare your baking tin. It should be about 1½ litres either a round or a long one.
2. Preheat the oven to 150°C.
3. Cream the margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. Whisk in the eggs one at a time. Fold in the flour before finally adding the fruit.
4. Spoon into the baking tin, making sure that it is even.
5. Bake for about 75-90 minutes.
6. Allow to cool before removing from the tin, cover in grease proof paper and store in an airtight container.
7. The following day you should remove the cake from the container, keeping the grease proof paper and go wild poking holes in the top and bottom of the cake. Feed generous amounts of brandy morning and evening to the cake. Mornings from the top and afternoon from the bottom. Don't be mean with your brandy! This cake should be ready about 5-6 days later.
Finnish Sticks/Finska pinnar med citron
(Makes about 60)
This is a really common biscuit across the whole of Scandinavia that is really easy and quick to make. I have added lemon as I think it makes it even lighter and tastes good too. Proper 'finska pinnar' are really made without any lemon. The choice is up to you.
Dough:
4½dl (450ml) plain flour
1dl (100ml) icing sugar
Grated rind of one non-waxed lemon
200g butter at room temperature
Garnish:
1 egg white
Pearl sugar
Chopped almonds
1. Work all the ingredients for the dough together in a bowl.
2. Allow the dough to rest for about half an hour in the fridge.
3. Preheat the oven to 175°C.
4. Roll out the dough into finger thick rolls and cut into 5cm long logs.
5. Brush with or dip in egg white and then a mixture of pearl sugar and chopped almonds.
6. Bake on baking sheets covered in baking paper until they are a light golden colour - not golden brown for about ten minutes.
7. Cool on a cooling rack before storing in an air-tight container.
Granny's Cake with Crispy Oat Topping/Mormors kaka med havretäcke
Granny's Cake with Crispy Oat Topping/Mormors kaka med havretäcke
1 egg
4dl (400ml) granulated sugar
100g melted margarine
3dl (300ml) milk
8dl (800ml) plain flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
4 teaspoons vanilla sugar
Topping:
200g melted butter
2dl (200ml) unrefined/brown granulated sugar
3dl (300ml) rolled oats
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1. Preheat the oven to 175°C.
2. Cream the egg and the sugar and vanilla sugar. Whisk in the melted margarine, flour mixed with the baking powder and the milk.
3. Mix the dry ingredients for the topping in a small bowl. Pour the melted butter over and mix well.
4. Pour the cake mixture into a lined baking tin, click the oat mixture all over.
5. Bake at the bottom of the oven for about 45 minutes until the cake is ready.
6. Cool for a while on a cooling rack before removing from the baking tin.
Pear Cake/Päronkaka
1-2 large pears ( I used La France)
4 eggs
4dl (400ml) brown granulated sugar
5dl (500ml) plain flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
4 teaspoons vanilla sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
100g margarine
2dl (200ml) milk
1. Preheat the oven to 175°C.
2. Mix the flour, baking powder, spices and vanilla sugar in a measuring jug.
3. Line a long baking tin with baking paper.
4. Whisk the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy.
5. Melt the margarine and then add the milk. Remove from the heat.
6. Sift in half the flour mixture, before adding in half of the margarine/milk mixture. Then add the rest of the flour mixture before finishing off with the margarine/milk mixture.
7. Pour into the baking tin and then cover the cake with pear slices.
8. Bake for about 50 minutes until the cake feels ready.
9. Allow the cake to cool a little first before turning out on to cooling rack.
Poppy Seed Rolls/Vallmosnäckor
(Snegle med birkes på dansk)
Makes about 80 rolls
Dough:
150g butter
5dl (500ml) milk
50g yeast
½ teaspoon salt
1½dl (150ml) granulated sugar
1 egg
1-2 teaspoons cardamom seeds, freshly ground
about 1kg strong plain flour (high protein content)
Filling:
Poppy seed paste:
200g blue poppy seeds
60g butter
100g raisins
1 tablespoon cinnamon
peel of one non-waxed lemon
200g good quality marzipan (50% almonds)
Garnish:
Glaze:
1 egg yolk
a touch of milk
a few grains of salt
Pearl sugar
1. Melt the butter, add the milk and allow to cool to 37°C - so it does not feel hot or cold if you put your clean finger in.
2. If using fresh yeast crumble it into a large bowl, pour over the mixture from 1 and stir until the yeast is completely dissolved. If using easy mix/fast action yeast mix it into the flour like baking powder.
3. Add the salt, sugar, egg, cardamom and the flour (with possible dried yeast).
4. Mix well - it should contain enough flour so that the dough does not stick to the sides of the mixing bowl.
5. Sprinkle a little four over the top and cover with a clean tea towel and allow to rise in a draught free place for about 30-40 minutes until it has doubled in size.
6. While the dough is rising, prepare the poppy seed paste:
a. Place the poppy seeds and raisins in a bowl and just cover with boiling water. Allow it to cool.
b. Squeeze out the remaining water either in a sieve or in a clean tea towel.
c. Put the mixture in a saucepan, add the butter, sugar and cinnamon and boil for about 2 minutes.
d. Add the grated lemon rind.
7. Knead the dough until it is smooth and divide into four parts.
8. Roll out into a thin rectangles.
9. Spread the poppy seed paste over the dough and grate marzipan over them.
10. Roll up like a swiss roll and cut into 2cm thick slices. Lay them out on baking sheets covered with baking paper or in paper moulds.
11. Allow to rise again under a clean tea towel for about half an hour while preheating the oven to 200 - 220°C.
12. Brush with egg and sprinkle pearl sugar over them.
13. Bake for about 15 minutes until golden brown.
14. Allow to cool under a tea towel on a cooling rack - not on the baking tray as they will go soggy.
Saffron Rolls with Marzipan and Orange/Saffransbullar med mandelmassa och apelsin
(Makes about 60)
Traditionally for Advent we have coffee breads baked with saffron in the dough. The colour of the dough together with the light of candles looks very festive.
The basic recipe comes from a new book (Sju sorters julkakor by Cecilia Vikbladh) which I have adapted for ingredients that we can buy here in Japan.
Dough:
150g butter
5dl (500ml) milk
½g saffron
50g yeast
1 egg
½ teaspoon salt
1½dl (150ml) granulated sugar
About 1kg or just under of strong plain flour
Filling:
freshly grated rind of two unwaxed oranges (impossible to find during this time of the year in Tokyo so I used 2 unwaxed Meyer lemons from New Zealand: an orange lemon)
3dl (300ml) raisins - I used organic as some are covered with a coating
150g butter, softened at room temperature
150g good marzipan (50% almonds)
Glaze:
2 egg yolks
little bit of milk
a few grains of salt
pearl sugar
flaked almonds
1. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the milk and the saffron and allow to cool down to 37°C.
2. If using fresh yeast, crumble in a bowl, pour over the melted butter/milk mixture and then add the salt, egg,granulated sugar and plain flour. If using dry easy-blend yeast mix it in with the flour. Pour the melted butter milk into a mixing bowl and then add the salt, egg, granulated sugar and plain flour mixed with the easy-blend yeast.
3. Work for about ten minutes. Sprinkle some flour over and cover with a clean tea towel. Leave to rise for about an hour.
4. Meanwhile boil the raisins in a little orange juice until absorbed being careful not to burn the raisins. Leave to cool. In a separate bowl mix the filling: granulated sugar, butter and orange/Meyer lemon peel together.
5. Knead the dough a lightly floured surface. Divide into four equal parts. Roll out each to a rectangle. Spread the butter/sugar/peel mixture over. Sprinkle raisins and grated marzipan all over. Roll up like a swiss roll towards you from the long end. Without pressing too much, gentle cut into 2-3cm thick slices and lay out on baking sheets covered with baking paper or in paper cups for muffins. Leave to rise for a further half hour under the tea towel.
6. Preheat oven to 225°C
7. Brush with egg mixture and sprinkle pearl sugar and flaked almonds over the top.
8. Bake for about 10 - 15 minutes until they are golden in colour.
9. Cool on a cooling rack under a tea towel.
Original recipe from: VIKBLADH, C. (2010), Sju sorters julkakor, ICA bokfö
Spicy Rusks with Hazelnuts/Pepparkaksskorpor med hasselnötter
Makes about 40
This is such an easy recipe, very fast apart from the drying part at the end. They taste really good with a nice, strong black coffee. Maud Onnermark, the author, suggests also making them with any spices as well.
100g hazelnuts
2dl (200ml) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
5dl (300g) plain flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2/3 tablespoon ground ginger
1/3 tablespoon ground cloves
100g butter at room temperature
2 eggs
1. Preheat the oven to 175°C.
2. Roast the hazelnuts in a dry frying pan being careful not to burn them. Rub off the paper like skins if they are still on them. Chop roughly by hand or in a food processor.
3. In a large bowl mix the sugar, baking powder, flour and spices. Work in the butter then add the nuts. It should be quiet a crumbly, dry mixture. Work in one egg at a time.
4. Divide into thirds and roll each one into a sausage. Place on them on baking sheets lined with baking paper.
5. Bake for about 30 minutes towards the bottom of the oven.
6. Take them out of the oven. Reduce the heat to 100°C. Cut the still warm biscuit rolls into diagonal slices. Return them to the oven to dry of for 60 - 90 minutes depending on your oven.
7. Allow them to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
From: ONNERMARK, M. (2009), Lättbakat: Småkakor, mjuka kakor, bullar, tårtor och pajer, Bokförlaget Semic, Sundbyberg.
Stina's Party Biscuits/Stinas kalaskakor
Makes about 60
Dough:
200g butter
1½dl (150ml) icing sugar
50g good marzipan (50% almonds)
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
grated rind of half an unwaxed lemon
3½dl (350ml) plain flour
Glaze/Garnish:
1 egg
½dl (50ml) granulated sugar
1. Cream the butter and the icing sugar.
2. Grate the marzipan and add it together with the vanilla sugar and lemon peel to the mixture from step 1.
3. Form into two rolls about 3cm thick. Wrap them in cling film and leave them in the fridge until the next day or at least a couple of hours.
4. Brush the rolls with whisked egg and then roll them in the granulated sugar.
5. Cut them into ½cm thick slices and lay out on baking sheet covered with baking paper.
6. Bake in a preheated oven, 200°C, for about 9 - 10 minutes until golden brown.
From: OLSSON, B. 1994 (80th edn.), Sju sorters kakor, ICA Bokförlag, Västerås.
Updated: Saturday, 26th May 2012
