Swedish Citronkladdkaka with Blackberry Syrup

Happy snow day! I hope my East coast friends are all snuggled up cozy and warm with a hot cop of coffee or tea. This little snow-inspired cake is delicious and so easy to whip up. Perfect for a day like this!

This was the first time I tasted a kladdkaka made with anything but the traditional chocolate, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. The lemon version was gooey, but light, and not too heavy like flourless cakes sometimes can be. Besides, anything sweet made with lemon is a thumbs up in my book.

The original recipe doesn't call for syrup, but I had some blackberries at home and thought it would be a nice touch to the lemon flavor. And it was delicious! I also used some graham crackers as a crumb coating for the spring form pan. Because, why not?

Stay warm, and have fun baking!


Citronkladdkaka
from Hembakat

1 lemon 
150 g butter
3 eggs 
270 g sugar (1 heaping cup)
2 tsp vanilla sugar*
150 g flour
powdered sugar for garnish

*you can substitute with 1 tsp of vanilla extract


Blackberry syrup

1/2 cup blackberries
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cornstarch and  1 tsp of water


Directions:

For the blackberry syrup:

1. Put the rinsed blackberries and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and mush the berries with a fork. Mix the cornstarch with 1 tsp of water, then add to the berries and stir. Let simmer for a couple of minutes.
2. Take out a clean bowl and put a fine mesh strainer on top. Pour the syrup into the strainer and press the mushed berries. Let cool.

For the kladdkaka:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Wash the lemon and pat dry. Zest the lemon and squeeze out 2 tbps of juice.
2. Melt the butter. Add all the ingredients and stir until smooth.
3. Pour the batter into a greased and floured spring form pan. (I used graham cracker crumbs as coating instead)
4. Put the blackberry syrup in a zip lock bag and cut a small hole in one corner. Gently squeeze thin horizontal lines across the batter. Take a toothpick or a small pairing knife and run vertically trough the lines. First downwards, then do the next one upwards and continue until you have created a pattern over the whole batter.
5. Bake for 25 minutes, and then let cool. Remove from pan and dust with powdered sugar along the edges. It's delicious when served with whipped cream!

Meringues

"WOW!" You should have seen the kids this morning, when I showed them what I had been up to last night. These bright, colorful sweets are bound to make anyone smile.

I don't know about the US, but in Sweden, meringue desserts like Marängswiss (Ice cream with bananas, chocolate sauce and meringues) where huge in the 1970-80's, and I remember those little crunchy meringues being such a treat. Now they're back in the spotlight again, this time in all different colors, used for decorating cakes and tarts, or just to be eaten by themselves.

Since this was my first time making meringues, I searched the web for recipes and insider tips and tricks. I found one by the Meringue Girls, that I found to be easy, fun and straight forward. Here are a few useful tips I learned:

1) Fool proof recipe is 2:1 ratio of sugar and egg whites. That's all you need!

2) Make sure not to get any egg yolk in the egg whites you're using. A tiniest amount of yolk will mess up your meringues. A lot of people use liquid egg whites you can buy in a box, but make sure it's the 100% egg whites version, that doesn't have any additives. (If you don't know what do do with left over egg yolks, whip up some delicious vanilla custard, or why not some lemon curd!)

3) Make sure that the bowl and whisk you are using is completely free from any type of grease by using a half lemon to rub over all the surfaces. Avoid using plastic bowls as these can harbor traces of fat. Dry with a paper towel to remove any moisture. The smallest amount of grease or moisture will prevent the egg whites from getting stiff.

4) Heat up the sugar before adding to your egg whites to create glossy, beautiful meringues.

5) Oh, and if you have any, use disposable plastic gloves when dealing with the food coloring. I forgot, and by the look of my fingers, I'm turning into an avatar.

Meringues
by Meringue Girls

500 g sugar
250 g egg whites
food coloring

1. Preheat your oven to 390 degrees F (200 C). Line a small baking tray with baking parchment, pour in the caster sugar and heat it in the oven for 7 minutes. Heating the sugar helps to create a glossy, stable mixture. 
2. Pour the egg whites into a mixer and whisk them slowly, allowing small stabilizing bubbles to form, then increase the speed until the egg whites form stiff peaks. 
3. Take the sugar out of the oven, and turn oven down to 210 degrees F (100 C). With your mixer on full speed, very slowly spoon the hot sugar into the beaten egg whites, making sure the mixture comes back up to stiff peaks after each addition of sugar. Once you have added all the sugar, continue to whisk on full speed until you have a smooth, stiff and glossy mixture. You should continue to whisk for at least 5 minutes once sugar has incorporated. Feel a bit of the mixture between your fingers; if you can still feel the gritty sugar, keep whisking at full speed until it has dissolved and the mixture is smooth, stiff and glossy. You are ready to go!
4. Paint the inside of your piping bag with food coloring by turning the bag inside out first. We usually do about 4-5 spaced out stripes. Turn outside in again, and spoon your meringue into your disposable piping bag and cut the tip off. Pipe out your kisses by keeping the bag tight, straight and directly above your baking tray. Squeeze from a 3/4 inch hight from the baking tray and then let go before pulling up to form the lovely peaks. Place in the oven. We like to keep our meringues mallowy and soft in the middle, so take them out of the oven as soon as they lift off the baking paper with the base intact, about 35-45 minutes.

Wienerbröd (Danishes)

Flaky, buttery, vanilla-creme goodness is a great way to start off the new year, if you ask me. Danishes, or Wienerbröd as we Swedes call them, is a popular pastry on the fika table. We used to get them all the time growing up, and to this day it gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling whenever I have one. 

This wonderful recipe makes danishes that are airy and flaky on the outside, while rich and buttery on the inside, just like the ones you would get from a bakery. You can use different fillings, such as chocolate, raspberry, strawberry or blueberry jam, or you can go Swedish style and stick to the vanilla custard. Either way, it's delicious. 

Look at all those beautiful layers of puff pastry! It comes from folding and rolling out the dough several times. This was the first time I made my own puff pastry dough, and even though it's time consuming, it's not hard. It uses only a handful of ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry. So, as long as you follow the steps and make sure that all of the ingredients and the rolling pin are chilled, you'll be fine. If there is one thing I struggled with, it was making the danishes look pretty. They kind of want to do their own thing!

Here's an easy step-by-step tutorial for you, so you can enjoy this lovely pastry, too! Happy baking!

Wienerbröd

from Hembakat

Makes 18 danishes

50 g fresh yeast

250 ml milk

1 egg

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp sugar

480 - 600 g flour

400 g butter

Icing

200 g icing sugar

milk (as little as needed to create a slowly running consistency) 

(For the vanilla custard/crème anglaise recipe, see this post.)

Directions:

1. Make sure all of your ingredients are cold (I'm talking flour, sugar, everything!). I put mine in the fridge the morning of baking. Oh, and per other bakers' advice, I even put the rolling pin and baking sheets in there. 

2. Now for the dough: crumb the fresh yeast into a bowl. Add the egg, sugar, salt, and flour, a little bit at a time. The recipe calls for between 480 g to 600 g flour, but I ended up using the lower amount. Quickly form it into dough, then let it rest in the fridge for 10 minutes.

3. On a floured surface, roll the dough out into the shape of a rectangle, about 12 x 16 inches in size.
Cut the butter into thin slices, and arrange them on one-half of the dough. Leave about 1 inch on each side and fold the edges over the butter.

Fold the other half of the dough over the buttered side, and pinch the edges together.

4. Turn the dough 90 degrees, so that the folded edge is towards you. Gently roll out the dough to a rectangle again, to about 3/4 of an inch in thickness.

5. Fold the dough in three parts (like you would with a business letter), and turn it so that the folded edge is towards you. Once again, roll the dough into a rectangle and fold it in three parts. Repeat this procedure two more times, then put it in cling wrap and let rest in the fridge for 15  minutes.

5. Remove from the fridge and roll out the dough into a rectangle, a little less than 1/2 inch in thickness. Cut it into 1/2 inch wide strips.

Twist the strips and shape them into the shape of the number eight.

Put them on a baking sheet, that has been lined with parchment paper. Let rise covered with a kitchen towel for about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 435 degrees.

6. Put some vanilla custard in the two holes of the shape. I prefer using a decorating bag, but you can also use a zip lock bag that you cut a small hole in. Bake for 8-10 minutes in the oven, and let cool on baking racks.

7. For the icing, mix icing sugar with milk and swirl over the danishes, again using a decorating bag or a zip lock bag.

Give it a few more minutes to set, and then, enjoy!

Strawberry Champagne Birthday Cake

Yesterday was my birthday, and just as everyone suspected, I couldn't stay away from the kitchen! I know, who makes their own birthday cake, right?!

There has been a lot of cakes in the making recently, so I wanted keep it rustic and simple, while trying some new flavors (read: not spend hours working with fondant). I love the idea of a so called naked cake, where you cover the cake with a very thin layer of buttercream, but let the cake underneath show through. It has a romantic look to it, and was perfect for this Champagne cake with a strawberry buttercream.

This cake actually tastes like Champagne. It uses two whole cups in the batter, but it doesn't turn out boozy. That Champagne taste, together with fresh strawberries made into a syrup, is a perfect combination, and would make a great New Years Eve cake. 

If you are using real flowers as cake decorations, there are small white plastic tubes, flower cake spikes, you can use. You simply put the flower stem in the tube and stick it on the cake without the stem actually touching the cake. It's an easy and cheap way to make a cake look beautiful, without having to spend hours making sugar flowers that no one will eat anyway. Well, except that one three year old who eats anything.

This cake was a great way to start off my 31st year. Happy birthday to me!

Champagne Cake

by 10th Kitchen

3 cups all-purpose flour

3 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

2 cups sugar

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

6 egg whites

2 cups champagne

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees (175C). Butter and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.
2. In a bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar 3-5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add extract and beat in egg whites one at a time.
3. Beat in flour mixture and champagne in three alternating additions, starting and ending with flour to prevent curdling.  
4. Pour batter into pans and bake 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (Start checking cake for doneness around the 30-minute mark, and remove from oven as soon as the toothpick comes out clean.) Let cool for a few minutes, then invert onto wire rack to cool fully before frosting.

Strawberry syrup

1 cup strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
(1 tbsp of cornstarch if needed)

Bring the strawberries and sugar to a boil. Mash the strawberries with a fork and let simmer until tick. If you like it to be thicker, mix a little water with a tbsp of corn starch. Add to the strawberries and remove from heat when it has thickened.

For the buttercream, I use this vanilla buttercream and simply add the strawberry syrup.



Champagnetårta
från 10th Kitchen

375 g mjöl
3 tsk bakpulver
1/2 tsk salt
226 g osaltat smör
400 g socker
1 tsk vaniljextrakt
6 äggvitor
473 ml champagne

Fiery Wedding Cake

I had the great honor to make my first wedding cake this weekend! My friend Millie wanted to surprise her best friend, who married a firefighter in a small ceremony. Since a big part of their new life together has to do with a move and a new fire station, Millie wanted the cake to have a fire theme.

I have to be honest, I was just as much terrified as excited to make this cake. As a self-taught baker, making a wedding cake feels like the ultimate challenge, because you want it to be perfect. I can't say it was, but I'm happy overall with how it turned out.

This was my first time making ruffles, and even though it's time consuming, it's not that hard. You start by covering your crumb-coated cake with a base of white fondant. To create the ombre effect ruffles, take some additional fondant and color it the colors you want to use. I made red, orange and yellow. Then, take some of the colored fondant and add plain white to create the lighter hues. Roll out the lightest color you are using and cut long strips. Using a ball tool, roll it along one side of the edges to thin out the fondant, and create the ruffle effect. Brush some water on the cake where you would like the ruffles to start (you will want to go top to bottom of the cake) and add the fondant strip. This will work as glue. Continue with the darker hues until you have covered the cake, but make sure you let the last row of fondant ruffle downwards to cover the cake base. 

Making cakes is a humbling experience, and I learn something new every time I make one. This cake was a lot of fun to decorate, and I'm looking forward to making more wedding themed cakes in the future!

Pumpkin Tiramisu Cake

Happy Thanksgiving, friends and fellow bakers!

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite American holidays. We don't celebrate this day in Sweden (we should!), but I think we can all agree that we have so many things to be grateful for. And what better way to celebrate than to eat delicious food with your loved ones!

One thing I love about Thanksgiving is the use of pumpkin. And, as you might know, I also love coffee. Now, how about combining both into a cake, filling it with mascarpone buttercream, and topping it all with chocolate shavings? I nearly fell off my chair when Teresa Huff posted the Pumpkin Tiramisu Cake on the Cake Blog. I just had to make it!

Whatever you're making today, enjoy your dinner and hug your loved ones a little extra. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!



Pumpkin Tiramisu Cake
by Teresa Huff of Style Sweet CA

For the Pumpkin Spice Cake:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup grapeseed or vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 eggs
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour two 8-inch cake pans and set aside.
Sift together the flour, baking powder and pumpkin pie spice.  Set aside.
Using an electric mixer, beat the butter until creamy.  Add in the oil, sugar, brown sugar and mix until combined.
Add in the eggs, one at a time, and mix until combined.
In two batches, stir in the dry ingredients.
Fold in the pumpkin puree.
Divide the batter between the two prepared pans and bake for about 25 to 28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before removing the cakes from their pans.


For the Coffee Soak:

1/4 cup coffee liqueur
1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
1/2 cup sugar


Directions:

Combine all of the ingredients in a saucepan and place over medium-high heat.  Bring the minute to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.  Simmer for about 10 minutes or until the syrup thickens slightly.  Remove from heat and let cool slightly before using.


Mascarpone Buttercream
by Evesfika

1 stick butter, softened
6 oz mascarpone
3-4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 tsp vanilla
a pinch of salt
a pinch of cinnamon


Directions:

Beat the butter and mascarpone with a stand mixer. Add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, until combined. Add the vanilla, salt and cinnamon. Mix until fully incorporated.


For the Assembly:

Once the cake has cooled, generously brush on the coffee syrup.  Fill a pastry bag fitted with an open star tip with the frosting and pipe stars on one of the layers of cake.  Place the second layer of cake on top and repeat.  Dust the top of the cake with cocoa powder or a generous handful of chocolate shavings.

Salomon's Birthday Cake!

Our boys' little buddy Salomon turned 3 years old last weekend. Like every other kid on the planet, he loves Mickey Mouse, and I got to make his cake. I mean, who doesn't like Mickey? Especially when he's made of vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream and a raspberry mousse.

I found the inspiration for this cake on Pinterest, and I also came across a great tutorial on how to make the ears from Rose Bakes.

Something tells me you will soon see another Mickey inspired cake on the blog, since my youngest has requested a Mickey Mouse themed cake for his upcoming birthday. Stay tuned!

Golden Chocolate Rose Cake

One of my guilty pleasures is to stroll down the baking isle in grocery stores (I know, shocker!), even when there's nothing I need. Usually there isn't much of interest besides baking ingredients, but sometimes they'll carry something a little more fun, like, say, edible gold spray.

I made a chocolate birthday cake for a friend this past weekend, and decided to give the gold spray a try. I love how easy it was to use. You just shake, spray, and voilá! You have yourself a fancy dessert. The brand I used is called Duff Cake Graffiti and was bought at Giant.

Just a tip for when you want to turn things up a notch!

And if you're looking for a great chocolate cake recipe, check out this one I posted a couple of weeks back. I have used the same for this rose cake, and it never disappoints!

Happy baking!

Carrot Cake

It's really not fair for a cake this delicious to bear the name of a vegetable. But then again, as my four year old pointed out, we all know eating carrots help you see better in the dark. So, it's good for us right?!

This three layer carrot cake is, if nothing else, good for the soul. I love the touch of crushed pineapple and shredded coconut in the batter, which gives it a wonderful flavor. Every layer is then drenched with a buttermilk glaze that tastes like caramel, and it's all topped with a perfect cream cheese buttercream. 

Need I say more?

It might seem like a lot of steps for a carrot cake, but you'll know it's worth it once you've taken that first bite. 

Happy baking, friends!

Best Carrot Cake
From Southern Living

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 large eggs
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated carrot
1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
1 (3 1/2-ounce) can flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts


Preparation:

1. Line 3 (9-inch) round cakepans with wax paper; lightly grease and flour wax paper. Set pans aside.
2. Stir together first 4 ingredients.
3. Beat eggs and next 4 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Add flour mixture, beating at low speed until blended. Fold in carrot and next 3 ingredients. Pour batter into prepared cake pans.
4. Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Drizzle Buttermilk Glaze evenly over layers; cool in pans on wire racks 15 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks. Spread Cream Cheese Frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake.

Buttermilk Glaze

1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Bring first 5 ingredients to a boil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Boil, stirring often, 4 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla.



Best Ever Cream Cheese Buttercream
Altered, from Wicked Good Kitchen

1 cup (2 sticks or 226 grams) butter, slightly softened
1 (8-ounce or 226 grams) package chilled cream cheese
2½ teaspoons (12.5 ml) pure vanilla extract
4 to 4½ cups (480 to 540 grams) confectioners’ sugar


Preparation:

Using an electric stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, or handheld mixer and large bowl, beat butter on medium speed until creamy. Add cream cheese and vanilla; beat until fully incorporated. Gradually increase mixer speed to high and continue beating until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of bowl as necessary with rubber spatula.

Gradually add 4 cups confectioners’ sugar, beating on low speed (stir), until well combined. Add additional confectioners’ sugar until desired consistency for spreading and level of sweetness is reached. Beat on high speed until well combined and smooth while scraping down sides of bowl as necessary, about 1 to 2 minutes.

Swedish Kladdkaka

Tomorrow is National Kladdkaka Day in Sweden. Okay, so it's not like every Swede stops whatever they're doing to celebrate, but they should! Apart from IKEA, ABBA and kanelbullar, this chocolate cake is as Swedish as it gets. And it's delicious.

I have posted two recipes for kladdkaka on the blog earlier, one is a cardamom version with Baileys Cream Truffle and one is made with mint chocolate. This time I used my favorite recipe for traditional kladdkaka and topped it with Baileys Cream Truffle.

To decorate, I made some chocolate swirls by melting chocolate and piping onto parchment paper. Let the swirls cool in the freezer for a few minutes to harden, then put them upright in a little piped whipped cream.

Since it was just hubby and I eating it, I made sure I cut the rest of the cake in portion pieces and put in an airtight container in the freezer. I can't keep it in the fridge, because I know I would talk myself into having it for breakfast the next morning! It's great when you have guests coming over, just remove from the freezer and let sit in room temperature for ten minutes, and it's ready to be enjoyed.

If you haven't tried kladdkaka before, you're definitely missing out. Good thing there's an easy recipe for you to try here below!


Kladdkaka
from the magazine Hembakat

150 g butter
100 g chocolate
270 g sugar
3 eggs
3 tbsp. cacao
105 g flour
1 pinch salt
2 tsp vanilla sugar*

*If you can't get your hands on vanilla sugar, just substitute with confectioners sugar and add a 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract.

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 355 degrees. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Remove from stove, and add the chocolate to the butter and stir.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and mix until smooth. 
3. Line the bottom of a 9" spring form pan with parchment paper, then butter and flour it. (I used a 6 inch pan and let it be in the oven for a little longer) Pour the batter into the pan.
4. Bake in on the center rack for about 25-30 minutes. Make sure it's not too wobbly when you take it out. Let cool in the pan.

You will find the recipe for the Baileys Cream Truffle here.

Kladdkaka

från Hembakat

150 g smör

100 g choklad
3 dl strösocker
3 ägg
3 msk kakao
1 ¾ dl vetemjöl
1 nypa salt
2 tsk vaniljsocker

Gör så här:

1. Sätt ugnen på 180 grader. Smält smöret i en kastrull. Tillsätt chokladen och när den smält, tillsätt resten av ingredienserna och blanda snabbt ihop allt till en slät smet.
2. Häll smeten i en smord och mjölad springform, 23–24 cm i diameter. Jag lägger alltid smörpapper i botten för att lättare kunna ta bort kakan från formen.

3. Grädda kakan mitt i ugnen i 25–30 min beroende på hur kladdig du vill ha den. Låt den svalna i formen.