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Posts Tagged ‘dessert’

Rumtopf – Romkrukke – Rum Pot

Posted in Dessert, Drinks, tagged , , , , , , , on April 1, 2013 | 2 Comments »

Making Rumtopf

Rumtopf is a very popular drink in Denmark and Germany. I recall my father making this when I was a girl and that it was a huge hit in the house. Of course my parents let me taste it and I liked the fruit :) although very strong, but I didn’t care for the rum liquid. It was much too strong for my young taste buds, however, that is not the case today. Today it is delicious, but don’t forget that this is straight flavored rum you are consuming and the wonderful fruit is loaded with alcohol. So beware when your enjoying this delicious Rumtopf.

I choose to pit my cherries, however, the pits can be left in place for added flavor.

Traditionally the Rumtopf is started in late spring and fruit is added during the summer as they come into season. However, since fruit is now available pretty much year-round you could start it at any time but ideally you want to follow the season for the best flavors. When you choose your fruit make sure they are not over-ripe. Small fruit that contain pits (like cherries) can either be pitted or the pits can be left in place for added flavor. Larger fruit need to be pitted and cut into bite size pieces.

Rumtopf

The Rumtopf is typically made in a large stoneware pot that has a lid. I don’t have a Rumtopf pot so I used a large glass jar which worked out well except for the fact that I was not able to add very much fruit. My Rumtopf only had two kinds of fruit, cherries and mangoes and hindsight being 20/20 I would not choose mango again with other dark colored fruit because the darker fruit (cherries) give off color and ended up discoloring my beautiful yellow mango. Not esthetically pleasing, but delicious nonetheless. The other dilemma I had was that you want to store the Rumtopf in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight. Well it’s been such an extremely hot summer here in Virginia and our house has been comfortable, but not cool per se, so I choose to store it in the refrigerator to avoid too much fermentation.

Rumtopf fruit and liquid mixed with a little strawberry jam over vanilla ice cream…
über delicious.

Suitable fruit: Cherries, Mangoes, Plums, Pears, Peaches, Apricots, Nectarines, Pineapple, Raspberries, Strawberries, Gooseberries, Red Currants, Grapes

Fruit not suitable:

Banana (too soft)

Watermelon and Cantaloupe (too watery)

Citrus (too much acid)

Apple (takes on an odd texture)

Blackberries and Blueberries (may discolor other fruit)

Rhubarb (too sour)

Mix half and half Rumtopf and Champagne for a cool delicious drink

Rumtopf

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh fruit

1/2 pound sugar

good quality rum, unflavored, enough to cover fruit

Directions:

Add fruit to jar. If fruit is large, cut into bite-size pieces. If fruit has pits they may either be left in place for added flavor or removed if you desire. If you choose to leave the pits in place don’t forget to tell your guests that pits are present, to avoid accidents.

Pour sugar over fruit and add rum to cover fruit by 1 inch. Give a quick stir and seal with a tight-fitting lid. Store in a cool dry location away from direct sunlight. Allow fruit to sit for at least 4 to 6 weeks, tasting periodically. Serve Rumtopf fruit and liquid over Ice Cream, cakes, cheese cakes and waffles or inside rolled-up crepes. Serve strained Rumtopf liquid as an after dinner cordial or mix with other drinks of your choice. Enjoy!

Source: My Danish Kitchen

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Krumkake – Norwegian Waffle Cookies

Posted in Christmas, Cookies, Dessert, Norwegian, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 4, 2013 | 6 Comments »

Norwegian Krumkager

Back in 2005, Joe and I took a week long class at John C. Campbell Folk School. We were at the school during their Scandinavian Heritage week which we figured would be the ideal time for us to be at the school. Joe took a blacksmithing class and I took Scandinavian baking which was so much fun and gave me a lot of confidence in my baking skills. Campbell Folk School is located in the southern Appalachian mountains by Brasstown, North Carolina and the campus is set in the most beautiful and serene location. The school is based on the Danish concept of Folkehøjskole which is an adult non-competitive learning experience. Campbell Folk School offer a wide variety of classes based on American traditional arts and crafts such as basketry, dance, drawing, enameling, leather, metalwork, music, photography, woodworking and so much more. I have written about my experience at Campbell Folk School before when I made Wienerbrød and making these Norwegian Krumkaker brought back wonderful memories about our experience there. I can honestly say that is was one of the most rewarding, exciting and at the same time peaceful experiences I have ever had. To get a feel for the atmosphere at the Folk School check out their blog.

Me at John Campbell Folk School practicing decorating a delicious layered cake.

Me at John Campbell Folk School practicing decorating a delicious layered cake.

Krumkake is a delicate and delicious Norwegian waffle cookie which is traditionally served during the Christmas holiday. I first learned to make this classic waffle while taking my Scandinavian baking class at Campbell Folk School. Making the waffle does require an Krumkake iron and a cone shaped roller which can be purchased pretty easily these days online. The cookies can seem a little tricky to roll at first (careful, they are hot) but after a couple of cookies you’ll quickly get the hang of it. They can be rolled into a cone shape, a cylinder (by using the handle of a wooden spoon) or simply served as a flat round disc. The filling choices are numerous and only limited by your imagination but traditionally they are served with whipped cream and fresh berries.

Norwegian Krumkake

Krumkake – makes 38 Krumkaker

Ingredients:

4 large eggs, at room temperature

200 gram butter (7 oz.)

200 gram sugar (7 oz.)

200 gram flour (7 oz.)

2 tsp vanilla extract or 1/2 tsp ground cardamom

warm water to get correct batter consistency (I used 14 tbsp)

Special equipment required: Krumkake iron and a Krumkake roller (if not already included with your iron)

Directions:

Melt butter and set aside. Add eggs and sugar to a bowl and beat on high until thick and pale yellow in color. While continuing to mix, pour the melted butter, in a thin stream, into the egg mixture. Add your choice of either vanilla extract or cardamom and while continuing to mix, add  flour in small increments. If batter is too thick, add warm water to correct consistency.

Note: follow your Krumkake iron manufactures instructions regarding temperature settings, if iron needs to be greased and cooking time. Using the krumkake roller will give you a cone shape and using the end of a wooden spoon with give a cylinder shape.

Place a large piece of parchment paper onto your counter top next to the Krumkake iron. I taped the corners of the paper down to keep it from moving around.

Pour a generous tablespoon of batter onto your hot krumkake iron, close lid and cook until ready (30-45 seconds). Using a small offset spatula or a butter knife, quickly lift the soft krumkake onto the parchment paper and roll into desired shape. Keep the cookie on the roller for 1-2 minutes to allow it to take its shape before sliding the cookie off the roller and placing it onto a baking sheet to cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight tin until ready to serve. Fill cones with your favorite filling right before serving and enjoy.

Krumkake serving suggestions: whipped cream with fresh berries, soft ice cream, preserves or jams, pudding, custard or Carole’s Almond Pudding (recipe follows)

Carole’s Almond Pudding:

Ingredients:

1 small package instant vanilla pudding (95 gram or 3.4 oz.)

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 cup milk

1/4 – 1/2 tsp almond extract

Directions:

Beat all ingredients together for 1-2 minutes until desired consistency and keep cool in refrigerator until ready to serve. Pipe into krumkaker cookies and serve immediately.

Source for Krumkake: adapted from Tine.no

Source for Carole’s Almond Pudding: my friend and coworker Carole Yoder

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Mandelmusslor – A Swedish Dessert

Posted in Dessert, Swedish, tagged , , , , , , on November 5, 2012 | 6 Comments »

Mandelmusslor

Mandelmusslor is a Swedish dessert which is a delicate little morsel but big enough to satisfy your sweet craving. The shell is crisp and has a wonderful sweet almond flavor which is nicely contrasted with the soft and cool whipped cream and strawberry preserve. I choose to use a strawberry preserve here but you can certainly use any flavor you like.

Pressing dough into shells

This is not exactly a quick and easy dessert to make. It is a bit tedious pressing the dough into the tins, however, the Mandelmusslor can be made ahead of time and stored in a cookie tin so when you are ready to serve them, it’s very quick to whip up the cream and top with a teaspoon of jam. Viola, dessert anyone?

Let Mandelmusslor cool upside down

Word of advise, make sure tins are greased very well and when you go to remove them from the tins try to “bang” them straight down onto the baking sheet to release them. It may take just a couple of tries.

Mandelmusslor (makes 18)

Ingredients:

100 g margarine (3.5 oz.), at room temperature

150 g unsalted butter (5.3 oz.), at room temperature

150 g sugar (5.3 oz.)

1 teaspoon almond extract

30 g ground almond meal (1 oz.)

360 g all-purpose flour (12.7 oz.)

Filling:

1 pint (16 oz.) heavy whipping cream

Strawberry preserves (or use whichever is your favorite flavor)

Directions:

Beat margarine, butter and sugar until soft and smooth. Add the almond extract and the almond meal. While continuing to beat the mixture, add the flour in small increments until the dough comes together.

Preheat oven to 390 degrees F (200 degrees C)

Prepare tins by generously spraying them with baking spray. Pinching off a ball of dough the size of a small golf ball and press the dough into greased tin. You want the dough to be a pretty thin layer. Place tins on a baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden.

After tins are pulled out of the oven, using your oven mitts or a tea towel, turn the tins upside down on the baking sheet and let sit for a couple of minutes. Then lift tins up (careful tins will still be hot) and drop them firmly down onto the baking sheet to release the Mandelmusslor from the tins. Let the pastries cool upside down to maintain their shape.

For the filling: beat the whipping cream just until the cream starts to thicken. Serve Mandelmusslor with whipped cream and a teaspoon of preserve. Enjoy!

Source: adapted from Anne’s Food

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Vetekrans – Swedish Tea Ring

Posted in Pastry, Swedish, tagged , , , , , , , , on June 25, 2012 | 7 Comments »

Vetekrans – Swedish Tea Ring

Vetekrans aka Swedish Tea Ring is a very delicious coffee cake. The cake is called a coffee cake but there is no coffee in it, it just means it’s served with coffee or tea. The dough is surprisingly light in texture and the cake is simply just amazing when served right out of the oven, which I would recommend.

This recipe uses the cold rise method. It tells you to let your dough rest in the refrigerator for 2 to 24 hours. I was pressed for time when I made this wonderful Tea Ring because my husband Joe was taking it with him to his Blacksmith meeting, so I could only let it rest in the fridge for 1 hour but it still turned out beautifully. The recipe makes a huge amount of dough which I thought was a bit much, so I cut off four 1 inch pieces of the rolled up dough and baked them separately as cinnamon rolls, yum! And as you can see there was still plenty for the Tea Ring to go around.

Word of advise: Just to simplify rolling out the dough, I marked off the tabletop diameter for how big the dough was supposed to be. I used four pieces of white sticker labels (you could also use small pieces of post-it-notes). Also, make sure the dough is rolled out as even as you can get it on your tabletop. This will ensure your finished roll/ring will be the same thickness throughout. If you have a thicker area in your ring, baking can be a little uneven. ;)

This post will be submitted to YeastSpotting.

Ingredients:

For the dough:

2 packages active dry yeast

1 cup warm water (105-115 degrees F)

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup sugar

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

4 to 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

vegetable oil, for greasing bowl

For the filling:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

For the glaze:

1 cup confectioners sugar

2 tablespoons milk

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Directions:

Pour warm water (105-115 degrees F) into a bowl and sprinkle active dry yeast into water, let sit for 10 minutes. In the bowel of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, add the 1/2 cup melted butter, sugar, eggs, salt, cardamom and dissolved yeast/water. With the mixer on medium-low speed, add the flour in increments and mix until dough is smooth (you may not need all the flour). Lightly grease a large bowel with vegetable oil. Place dough into oiled bowel, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate dough for 2-24 hours.

Fit a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Place dough onto a floured work surface and roll out to a 20 x 24 inch  diameter. Make sure dough is rolled out evenly without any high spots. Gently spread a thin layer of the softened butter all the way out to the edge of the dough. Mix sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle over the butter. Starting from the long edge, roll dough tightly as a jelly roll. Move roll from work surface to baking sheet and shape into a ring. Gently press edges together to seal. With scissors, cut 2/3 way through the ring at 3/4 inch intervals. Twist each cut piece so the inside is visible. Cover ring with a dry, clean tea towel and let rise for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Allow Tea ring to cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes. Mix glaze ingredients together and sprinkle on top of ring. Enjoy!

Source: The Great Scandinavian Baking Book

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Kammerjunker – Twice-baked Biscuits

Posted in Breakfast, Danish, Dessert, Koldskål, tagged , , , , , , , , , on May 28, 2012 | 6 Comments »

Kammerjunker – Twice Baked Biscuits

Kammerjunker is a small twice-baked biscuit which is served with the Danish summer dish Koldskål. I have been promising to write a post about Kammerjunker for quite some time now and with summer right around the corner I find myself day-dreaming about cold, sweet and tart delicious Koldskål with some crunchy homemade Kammerjunker. And so here they are!

Kammerjunker – Twice baked biscuits

I have to say that the home-made Kammerjunker completely beats the store-bought kind. These turned out crunchy and so tasty that I had to fight off my husband for them. Btw he told me to tell you that they are also great with a little jam and Nutella on them (shaking her head in disbelief). They are not overly sweet like the ones from the store, which I really like, besides I find the store-bought kind more like a cookie anyway. I hope you enjoy these as much as we have.

Kammerjunker – makes 48 whole or 96 half sliced biscuits

Ingredients:

250 grams all-purpose flour (8.8 oz.)

2 teaspoons baking powder

100 grams sugar (3.5 oz.)

1/2 vanilla bean

1/2 teaspoon cardamom

100 grams butter, room temperature (3.5 oz.)

1 egg

1/2 deciliter milk (1.7 oz.)

Directions:

Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and mix with a small amount of the sugar to separate the seeds. In a large bowl add flour, baking powder, sugar, seeds from vanilla bean and cardamom, stir to combine. Cut butter into pieces, add to flour mixture and using your clean hands work butter and flour together until crumbly. Add egg, mix only until incorporated. Add milk and mix only until dough comes together. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 345 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Roll small pieces of dough into approx. 2 centimeter (0.8 inch) balls and place on baking sheet 2 centimeter apart. Bake for max 10 minutes. Remove from oven and while biscuits are still warm slice into halves using a serrated knife. Place back onto baking sheet with cut-side down.

Lower heat in oven to 200 degrees F (100 degrees C) and continue to bake for another 45 minutes to dry biscuits out. Allow to cool completely before storing Kammerjunker in a cookie tin. Enjoy!

Source: adapted from Det Søde Liv

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Citronfromage – Danish Lemon Mousse

Posted in Danish, Dessert, tagged , , , , , , , on April 16, 2012 | 8 Comments »

Citronfromage

Citronfromage is a classic Danish dessert, a familiar old friend to all Danes. It can of be served any time of the year but I associate it with long summer days when the sun sets late in the evening. The mousse is a beautiful pale yellow color and it is filled with air making it a very light dessert. The tart lemon flavor is complimented with sweet whipped cream which gives it nice contrast. Make sure to serve the Citronfromage cold with a dollop of whipped cream and enjoy!

Disclaimer: this recipe is made with raw eggs, and as we all know, these days eating raw eggs is frowned upon due to a potential risk of salmonella food poisoning.  You can certainly use pasteurized eggs for this dessert but I chose to use fresh eggs lade the old fashioned way by a happy chicken. For more info on safe handling of eggs check out this FDA site, it has a lot of good information.

Citronfromage: serves 6

Ingredients:

For the Mousse:

1 tablespoon granulated gelatin

3 tablespoons cold water

3 organic lemons, juiced

1 teaspoon lemon zest

3 eggs, separated

1/3 cup superfine sugar

generous 1/3 cup heavy cream

For Serving:

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon confectioners sugar

For Candied Lemon Zest:

1 lemon

1/3 cup superfine sugar

1/4 cup water

Directions:

To make the Mousse: Place gelatine and cold water in a heat-proof bowl and let sit for 5 minutes. Meanwhile in a small bowl, using an electrical mixer, beat the egg yolks and sugar until thick and pale in color. In the bowl of your stand-mixer with the whisk attachment (or using a large mixing bowl with clean beaters), whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. In another bowl beat the heavy cream until soft peaks form.

Place the bowl with the softened gelatin over small saucepan of simmering water to melt gently. Once gelatine is melted, add lemon juice and zest. While continuing to beat the egg yolks, add the gelatine/lemon mixture in a thin stream. Fold the stiff egg whites and whipped cream into the egg/gelatin mixture until smooth. Pour into individual serving dishes or a large serving bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator to set for at least 3-4 hours.

To make Candied Lemon Zest: Using a zester, cut the peel from the lemon into long strips. Squeeze the juice from the lemon and set aside. In a small saucepan add water, sugar, lemon juice and lemon peel, bring to a boil and continue to simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the lemon strips from the hot liquid. Separate the lemon strips from each other and spread them out on a baking sheet, allow to cool.

To serve: whip the remaining 1/2 cup heavy cream with confectioners sugar until soft peaks form. Serve the lemon mousse cold with the whipped cream and candied lemon zest. Enjoy!

Citronfromage

Source: adapted from The Scandinavian Cookbook

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Berry Chip Ice Cream

Posted in Dessert, Frozen Dessert, tagged , , , , , , , , on March 26, 2012 | 13 Comments »

Berry Chip Ice Cream

The other day I had the pleasure of meeting Ree Drummond from the Pioneer Woman. I was thrilled when I found out she was doing a book signing at our local book store here in Virginia Beach. Our normally sleepy Books-A-Million was filled with people and the lines were as long, as if you were waiting to get on the roller-coaster on a warm summers day, but it was well worth the wait. Ree was as sweet and personal as she appears on her blog. She did not rush people and made small talk with everyone. It was a real pleasure.

Pioneer Woman and My Danish Kitchen

Now, I have been plowing through Ree’s new book Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food From My Frontier and it is loaded with tons of delicious food made in traditional Pioneer Woman style. What caught my eye in her new book was her Blackberry Chip Ice Cream which seems very fitting since we have already had some warm days here in VB. I decided to add some raspberries to the blackberries and I also gave the ice cream time to rest and cool down before tossing it into the ice cream maker. The ice cream turned out creamy, silky and delicious with a gorgeous purple/pink color and it was consumed very quickly by a person who shall remain nameless ;)

Ingredients:

For the Berries:

12 oz blackberries

4 oz raspberries

1/2 lemon, juice

1/4 cup sugar

For the Custard:

1 1/2 cup half and half

1 cup sugar

5 egg yolks

1 1/2 cup heavy cream

4 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips, lightly chopped

Directions:

Place blackberries and raspberries in a saucepan, add lemon juice and 1/4 cup sugar. Simmer over medium heat for 25 minutes until berries are soft and syrupy. Place hot berries in a strainer and with the back of a spoon press juices completely out until only the pulp and seeds remain. Set juice aside, discard pulp and seeds.

In a saucepan over medium-low heat, warm the half and half and 1 cup sugar. Meanwhile in a small bowl beat the egg yolks until thick and pale yellow in color. Temper the egg yolks, by pouring a very thin steam of the warm half and half into the eggs while continuing to beat. Then pour the tempered egg yolks into the saucepan with the remaining half and half. Cook while stirring constantly until  custard has thickened, remove from heat.

Mix the heavy cream into the berry sauce. Then add the custard to the berries and stir to combine. Place mixture in refrigerator to  cool down completely. After mixture has cooled down, freeze according to your ice cream maker’s instructions. At the end of the freezing process, add the chopped chocolate chips. Store ice cream in a freezer safe container. Enjoy!

Berry Chip Ice Cream

Source: adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food From My Frontier

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Devil’s Food Cupcakes With Perfect Chocolate Frosting

Posted in Cake, Chocolate, Dessert, Frosting, tagged , , , , on March 12, 2012 | 7 Comments »

Devil's Food Cupcake With Perfect Chocolate Frosting

Attention all chocolate lovers…this one is for you! These cupcakes are double trouble. The cupcake is super moist with an intense chocolate flavor and the frosting is silky soft with an intoxicating chocolate aroma. Careful not to overbake the cupcakes, you don’t want to loose that perfect moisture.

Devil's Food Cupcakes

I was taking a cake decorating class and had brought this chocolate frosting in with me for my project and we were about an hour into the class when all of the sudden the girl next to me burst out ”omg that frosting smells amaaaazing” :) It really does have a fantastic aroma.

Perfect Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients for Cupcakes:

3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

3/4 cup hot water

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter (3 sticks)

2 1/4 cups sugar

4 large eggs, room temperature

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream, room temperature

Ingredients for Frosting:

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate (120 grams), coarsely chopped

2/3 cup unsalted butter (150 grams), room temperature

1 1/3 cups confectioners sugar (160 grams), sifted

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions for Cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.

Whisk together cocoa and hot water until smooth. In another bowel, mix togther flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Melt butter with sugar over medium-low heat until dissolved and stir to combine. Remove from heat and pour into mixing bowl. On medium-low speed beat until cooled (4-5 minutes). Add eggs one at a time, mixing until each is combined. Add vanilla and cocoa mixture, beat until combined. Scrape down sides as needed. On low speed, add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the sour cream, beat just until combined after each.

Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full with batter. Bake, rotating muffin tins halfway through cooking time, for approximately 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Transfer muffin tins to baking racks and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Remove cupcakes from baking tins and place on baking racks, allow to cool completely.

Note: cupcakes can be store at room temperature overnight or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.

Directions for Frosting:

Melt chocolate over a hot water bath. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

In the bowl of an electrical mixer, beat butter until smooth and creamy (about 1 minute). Add confectioners sugar and beat until smooth and light (about 2 minutes). Add vanilla extract and chocolate, beat on low speed until incorporated. Increase speed to medium high and beat until frosting is smooth and glossy (2-3 minutes).

Pipe or spread frosting onto cupcakes. Enjoy!

Source: Cupcakes – Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes, Frosting – Joy of Baking

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Fastelavnsboller – revisited

Posted in Danish, Dessert, Pastry, tagged , , , , , , , , on February 13, 2012 | 6 Comments »

Fastelavnsboller

Fastelavn (Shrovetide) is right around the corner in Denmark and so this time of year you see these wonderful fresh-baked filled rolls everywhere. I have posted about the Danish Fastelavn tradition before but I think the Fastelavnsboller is totally worth revisiting, especially since they are one of my favorite Danish treats. :) If your curious to learn more about this fun tradition for the children check out my previous post on Fastelavnsboller here.

Fastelavnsboller

These particular Fastelavnsboller are lighter in texture than my previous recipe. The dough is soft and elastic and very easy to work with. Also there is no rolling out the dough. Simply just divide the dough into smaller portions, roll in your hands, then flatten and fill. Easy peasy!  I choose to do several different fillings. I made a delicious kagecreme (custard) and I also used seedless raspberry jam and Nutella.

This time though, I had to convert from cake yeast (aka fresh yeast, compressed yeast, bakers yeast) to dry yeast because my good-ol-familiar cake yeast was nowhere to be found in any of the stores around here. Having to work with the unfamiliar dry yeast caused me a little anxiety and I had serious doubts that the dough would rise at all. I went over my conversion again and again and how to handle the dry yeast, but everything went beautifully and the dough rose like a tower. Here is the link to the conversion table which I used.

Ingredients:

For Fastelavnsboller dough:

2 deciliter milk (7 ounces)

50 grams cake yeast = 7.25 teaspoon active dry yeast (I used active dry yeast)

50 grams sugar (1.7 or 1  3/4 ounce)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

1 teaspoon vanilla sugar

1 deciliter heavy whipping cream (3.3 ounces)

125 grams butter, melted (4.4 or 4 3/8 ounces) or (8.4 tablespoons)

500 grams all-purpose flour (1 pound + 2 ounces) or (4 cups + 2 tablespoons)

1 beaten egg for brushing

seedless raspberry jam, for filling, if using

Nutella, for filling, if using

For Kagecreme (custard), for filling, if using:

1 deciliter heavy whipping creme (3.3 ounces) or (0.4 cup)

1 1/2 deciliter milk (5 ounces) or (0.6 cup)

50 grams sugar (1.7 or 1 3/4 ounce)

2 whole eggs

1 vanilla bean

2 tablespoon cornstarch

For the Icing:

1 cup confectioners sugar

warm water

food color, if desired

Directions:

Heat the milk to between 100-110 degrees F (37-43 degrees C) and sprinkle active dry yeast over the warm milk, let sit for 10 minutes. I do this in the bowl of my stand mixer. Melt butter and add cream to butter, set aside. To the yeast mixture add sugar, salt, cardamom, vanilla sugar and butter/cream mixture. With the dough hook in place start mixing on medium-low adding the flour in increments. Mix until a ball of dough forms. Place dough in a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a clean tea towel and place bowl in a warm draft free area. Allow dough to rise for 1 hour or until double in size.

Meanwhile make the Kagecreme (custard), if using. Mix together the creme and milk, pour into a saucepan, holding back 1/4 cup of the liquid. Add the cornstarch to the 1/4 cup liquid and stir to combine, set aside. Add sugar, eggs, seeds from vanilla bean + vanilla bean pods. Over medium low heat, whisking frequently, add the remaining 1/4 cup cornstarch liquid mixture. Continue to whisk until liquid starts to thicken and simmer. Remove from heat, discard vanilla bean pods and place in a small bowl. Cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface of the custard to prevent skin from forming. Place in refrigerator to cool

Back to the dough. Cover two large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Beat egg for the egg wash and set aside. Pour dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Briefly knead the dough. Cut the dough into 12 equal portions. Using your hands, roll first piece of dough into a ball, place on work surface and flatten with the palm of your hand spreading it into a 5 inch (13 centimeter) circle. Place filling of your choice onto circle of dough. Brush the edge of circle with egg wash to act as a glue. Fold four edges up to the center and press to seal all edges, letting the air inside escape. Brush a little more egg wash over the seam, turn the dough ball over, tuck under all edges and place on baking sheet with seam side down. Repeat with remaining dough pieces.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Allow filled dough balls to rise on the baking sheets, covered with clean tea towels, for 30 minutes. Right before baking, brush dough balls with remaining egg wash. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

To make the icing, mix together confectioners sugar with a little warm water at the time, stirring until smooth. Glaze should be somewhat thick but spreadable. Add food color if desired. Enjoy!

Source: adapted from Maden I Mit Liv

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Cornflakes Tops With Strawberries And Nougat

Posted in Chocolate, Quick and Easy, Valentine, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on February 6, 2012 | 3 Comments »

Cornflakes Tops with Strawberries and Nougat

I don’t get into the hype of Valentine’s Day but for those of you looking for a quick and easy little treat to serve for your loved ones, these Cornflakes Tops are just that. I realize of course that nougat is not readily available in the grocery stores in the States, so I purchase it online and to me it’s well worth the effort. But if you don’t want the trouble of having to purchase something online, simply just leave the Nougat out of the recipe and add a little more chocolate instead. The Nougat adds a slightly nutty flavor to the chocolate and the freeze-dried strawberries gives it a sweet yet tangy sensation.  I love how every bite of these Cornflakes Tops stay crunchy. The cornflakes are perfect for holding its crispness even after they have been smothered with chocolate. I hope you enjoy these lovely little bites as much as we did. :)

Cornflakes Tops with Strawberries and Nougat

Ingredients:

7 oz semi-sweet chocolate (200 grams)

3.5 oz nougat (100 grams)

2 oz cornflakes, original (60 grams)

5/8 oz freeze-dried strawberries (15 grams), plus more for sprinkling on top

Directions:

Give dried strawberries a rough chop and place in a bowl with cornflakes. Over a warm water bath, melt nougat and chocolate. Remove bowl from water bath and pour chocolate over cornflakes and chopped strawberries. Stir gently but thoroughly to ensure dry ingredients are completely covered with chocolate. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and drop spoonfuls of cornflakes into little haystack shapes. Top with additional finely chopped strawberries and place in refrigerator for two hours to cool and set. To store, keep refrigerated. Enjoy!

Source: My Danish Kitchen

Nougat

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