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Archive for Anne’s food

Kladdkaka

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The famous Swedish kladdkaka - photo Anne Skoogh

Well, what good would a Swedish food blog be without at least one recipe for Kladdkaka? Translated, it means “sticky cake” and I bet it’s one of the first things a lot of children learns to bake. It’s reminiscent of brownies, but even more gooey. You have to eat it off a plate, rather than hand-held. And it should be served with whipped cream, or possibly ice cream.

You’ll find it in most cafés. Some have good ones, some.. well, some are not as sticky, which is in this case, bad. There even exists frozen ones, if you’re feeling extra-lazy – they’re actually pretty good, but since this is so quick to make, there’s really no excuse.

There are tons of recipes. All of them include butter, sugar, cocoa, flour and eggs, but in different proportions. Some add vanilla, some add real chocolate. All are quite similar. This is a forgiving sort of cake. And it’s really, REALLY easy to make. My husband made the one in the photo while I took a nap. Perfect for a Sunday afternoon!

This is my last post here at Sweden.se for the time being. I hope I’ll get the opportunity to be back sometime in the future, but for now, I hope you’ll join me at my own Anne’s Food.

Perfect Kladdkaka
Serves 8

450 ml sugar
225 ml all-purpose flour
4 tbsp cocoa powder
3 eggs
225 g butter

Generously butter a cake tin, about 24 cm in diameter, with removable sides. Coat the butter with breadcrumbs – or for a twist, dessicated coconut.

Stir together the sugar, flour, cocoa and eggs. Melt the butter and add to the batter. Pour into the prepared tin.

Bake at 175°C, for about 30 minutes. It should NOT be set all the way through, but sticky and gooey. Let the cake cool before eating – it’s even better on the next day, but it’s nice right away as well.

Anne Skoogh

September 15, 2011

Kroppkakor

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Swedish dumplings. Photo: Anne Skoogh

Kroppkakor is traditional Swedish food – one that has been forgotten by many, as it’s not all that easy to make, and it’s also pretty heavy. And it can NOT be made with new potatoes, so it’s not an option for the summer… however, it’s perfect for fall. And delicious!

A kroppkaka is quite simply a large potato dumpling filled with bacon and onions. (Although it translates a bit scarily into “body cake”.)

It’s slightly different depending on where in the country you are but I grew up with my grandmother’s version, and those kroppkakor were always white – made from mashed boiled potatoes. Some people prefer grey kroppkakor, made with half raw potatoes. You can eat these with lingonberries and melted butter, or with a white sauce flavored with allspice. I prefer the sauce. And extra filling on the side, please!

Cook the whole batch, even if you won’t eat all of them. Leftovers can be sliced and fried on the next day, and they’re delicious that way, too!

Kroppkakor
8-10 large potatoes (750g-1 kg)
1 egg yolk
150-200 ml flour
salt

For the filling:
100 g bacon or pancetta (ideally salted, but unsmoked, pork.)
100 g smoked ham
1-2 tbsp minced yellow onion
1/2 tbsp butter
1/2-1 tsp allspice

Peel the potatoes and cut into smaller pieces. Boil until soft, drain the water and let the potatoes dry. Press through a potato ricer into a large bowl, and wait until it’s completely cold.

Cut the bacon and the ham into small dice. Fry the onion and the meat in the butter until lightly browned. Season with allspice, and let cool completely.

Mix together the riced potatoes, the flour and the egg yolk, and a bit of salt. The dough should be well mixed and easy to handle. Roll into a sausage-shape, and cut into even pieces. Each dumpling should be between a golf ball and a tennis ball in size – fairly large. This recipe makes about 12.

Roll each piece into a round, and make a hole with your thumb. Fill with plenty of filing, and close the hole. Roll again so you get a nice, even dumpling, and flatten it slightly.

Boil the dumplings in plenty of boiling, salted water, a few at a time. They need about five minutes on each side. Serve with melted butter, lingonberries or sauce béchamel with allspice.

Anne Skoogh

September 12, 2011

Caramel Apple Cobbler

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Caramel Apple Cobbler, photo: Anne Skoogh

Nothing says fall in Sweden like apple pie. Most people with a garden has apple trees – and often a lot of them. Don’t be afraid to ask for some, if you see a tree with a lot of fruit. Few people manage to keep up with their trees and pick all the apples, so if you ask politely, I’m sure they’ll let you have as many as you like.

When I grew up, we had at least seven apple trees in our garden, with different varieties on them. Some would be ready by early August, and some not until late September or even October. It was a real luxury, having all those apples – and I remember baking a lot of apple crumbles after school.

You can make a simple crumble topping by combining 300 ml flour, 2 tbsp sugar
and 125 g butter – just rub together with your fingertips until crumbly, top your apples, and bake at 225°C for 20 minutes or so.

Nowadays, I often go for this caramel apple pie. While perhaps not a traditional crumble, it’s more in the territory of cobblers. Dead easy to make too – just stir together all the topping ingredients, and pour over your pre-seasoned apples.

Golden syrup is readily available in all Swedish groceries and I believe easy to find in the UK as well – but perhaps harder in the US. I think honey will work nicely as well – in fact, I think I need to try that myself.

If you don’t want to bake, but you have a yearning for apple pies, you must check out Svindersviks Brygghus in Nacka outside Stockholm. They serve an apple pie buffet, with at least seven kinds of apple pie, on September 3-4, and 10-11.

Caramel Apple Cobbler

Serves 4-6

4-5 apples, peeled and sliced into wedges
1 tbsp sugar
cinnamon – optional

150 g butter
1/2 dl golden syrup
1 dl cream (half and half works well, doesn’t need to be full fat)

2 dl rolled oats
2 dl sugar
2 dl flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

Put the apples in a deep oven-proof dish, and preheat oven to 175° C. Sprinkle with a little bit of sugar, and cinnamon if you want it.

Mix the oats, sugar, flour and baking powder in a bowl. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the syrup and the cream, and take off the heat. Add the mixed dry ingredients, stir well. Pour this on top of the apples, and bake for 25-30 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream or custard.

Anne Skoogh

September 1, 2011

Crawfish Cous-Cous salad

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A lovely salad with crawfish and halloumi cheese Photo: Anne Skoogh

So, perhaps you’ve already been to a crawfish party this year? Or not? Have you even tried crawfish? I realise that it’s not the most common of seafood, but it’s very popular in Sweden. Crawfish tails in brine is sold in just about every grocery store, and it’s a good option for a light protein with more flavor than prawns.

They’re ready to eat, which makes them pretty perfect for adding to a salad. I especially like them with a grain like bulgur wheat or cous-cous, and avocado is another great partner for them. (In fact, one of my favorite salads has crawfish tails, avocado, oranges and bulgur wheat. Very yummy!)

This recipe has two other ingredients that perhaps are a little unusual. Halloumi is a cheese from Cyprus – it’s been described as edible styrofoam and I think that’s pretty spot on! It’s dense, salty and chewy, and it squeaks a bit. Delicious when grilled! And then, edamame beans which are fresh soy beans. You can substitute broad beans if they’re in season, or ordinary green peas. I buy frozen edamame in bulk, and add them to just about all my salads – they’re delicous and nutritious!

Oh – and start with the onions, as you need to pickle them. It’ll just take ten minutes or so.

Crawfish Cous-Cous with Halloumi
Serves 2-4, depending on if you want it a as a main course or a starter

200 ml cous-cous (about 0,8 cups)
250 ml water (1 cup)
olive oil
200 g crawfish tails in brine
2 cloves of garlic, minced
250 g halloumi cheese
neutral oil for frying
a handful of fresh or frozen edamame (soy) beans, podded
1/2 cucumber, diced
a handful of pickled red onions (mix thinly sliced red onion with a pinch of sugar, some salt and white wine vinegar)
a tablespoon of vinegar from the onions

Put the cous-cous in a bowl. Bring the water to a boil, add a small splash of olive oil and pour this onto the cous-cous. Cover with plastic foil and leave it for five minutes as you prepare everything else.

Cube the halloumi, and fry in the neutral oil on medium-high heat. As it starts to brown, add the crawfish tails and the minced garlic, and fry for a minute or two.

Combine everything on a large plate or in a pretty bowl, and eat at room temperature, or cold. Leftovers make a great lunch.

Anne Skoogh

August 29, 2011

Apple Jelly Roll

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Jelly Roll with Apple Jam Photo: Anne Skoogh

Jelly roll, swiss roll – in Sweden, we call them “rulltårta“, which literally translates into “rolled cake”. Regardless of the name, it’s definitely one of the easiest things to bake, and it’s super quick too! Some people are scared that it will crack horribly as you roll it up – and while that might happen, I’ve never had a problem. Just be quick about it, and don’t worry too much.

Admittedly, this particular recipe does take a bit of effort since it involves making your own apple jam, but it’s well worth the work – which isn’t that hard, or time consuming. It’s perfect now that Swedish summer apples are in season – the winter apples will be ready in another few weeks time. But you can certainly use store-bought applesauce, or any kind of jam. It’ll still be a delicious cake. If you want to make it more of a fancy dessert, you can add a dollop of cream, and perhaps some apple wedges, sautéed in butter and cinnamon, for serving.

This freezes very well.

Apple Jam
700 g apples, peeled and pitted
200 g raw sugar – demerara or turbinado are two popular varieties
100 g white sugar plus 1/2 vanilla bean, or 100 g homemade vanilla sugar
1 cinnamon stick

Cut the apples into small pieces. Scrape out the seeds from the vanilla bean, if using, and place in a small saucepan with all the other ingredients, including the scraped out bean itself. Cook on medium heat until soft and slightly mushy – about 20-30 minutes.

Apple Jelly Roll
3 eggs
185 g white sugar
2 tsp baking powder
120 g all-purpose flour
60 g toasted hazelnuts, finely chopped
50 ml milk
extra sugar, to sprinkle
cinnamon

Line a rimmed baking sheet (often called a jelly roll pan) with baking paper.

Whisk eggs and sugar until very fluffy. Stir in baking powder, flour, nuts and milk. Pour the batter into the pan, and bake at 225°C for five minutes.

Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle with a little sugar and cinnamon. Turn the cake out on a second baking paper, and carefully remove the first baking paper that was previously on the bottom. You can moisten it with a damp cloth, if it doesn’t release easily. Cover the cake with the rimmed baking sheet, and leave to cool completely.

When it is cooled, spread with apple jam and carefully roll, long side first. Wrap in plastic, and place in the fridge for an hour before cutting into slices.

Anne Skoogh

August 25, 2011