Category: Cakes/Cookies

Nigella’s snowflecked brownies

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I used to bake these snowflecked brownies courtesy of Nigella a lot before, pre-blog, and somehow I thought of them again and made it for my brunch between Christmas and New Year. That made me realise what a great recipe this is! A lot of recipes I used to love before the blog are now disappointing, but this is definitely not one of them. These brownies have begun a revival in my kitchen; I’m planning on making them for the office this month and probably some dinner parties too.

The texture is absolutely wonderful; moist and dense, but in a good way, speckled with white chocolate. What’s not to like?!

Nigella’s snowflecked brownies, makes 20 pieces

Adapted from the recipe in Feast by Nigella Lawson

375 g salted butter

375 g dark high quality chocolate

6 eggs

350 g caster sugar 

1 tbsp vanilla

225 g plain flour

1 tsp salt

250 g roughly chopped white chocolate

Icing sugar for serving 

Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Line a baking tin measuring 33 x 23 cm with baking parchment. Melt butter and dark chocolate in a large heavy pan on low heat. Leave to cool. Beat eggs and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the vanilla and the chocolate mixture. Fold in the flour and salt. Add the white chocolate and pour the batter into the tin. Bake for 25 minutes. The top layer should be pale with a dark still moist layer underneath. Leave to cool and cut into squares. Dust with icing sugar and serve. They freeze well. 

Saffron cheesecake

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This saffron cheesecake would be considered christmassy in Sweden, where we use saffron mainly for the holiday season (apart from in fish soup), however in the rest of the world it would probably just be a nice cheesecake with saffron, which is why I’m posting it post-Christmas (well that, and the fact that I didn’t have time around Christmas).

Saffron cheesecake, serves 10

Base:

200 g digestive biscuits

100 g melted butter

Filling:

400 g cream cheese

100 ml milk 

115 ml caster sugar

1 tsp gelatin powder 

1 1/2 tbsp saffron strands 

1 egg 

Mix the digestives into crumbs in a food processor, add the butter and press onto the base of a Ø 20-25 cm springform and pre-bake for 10 minutes at 150 C.

Meanwhile mix the cream cheese with caster sugar in a bowl. Heat up the milk with the saffron and add the gelatine. Leave to cool a little and mix in with the cream cheese. Lastly, mix in an egg and pour the filling into the tin. Bake for 20 minutes in 150C oven. It should still be quivering in the middle but set otherwise. 

Chocolate Viennese whirls

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I found this recipe in one of my Christmas cookbooks and thought they looked super cute. And since it’s chocolate I knew they would go down well at the office. Needless to say I was right.

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Chocolate Viennese whirls, makes 12

200 g softened butter

100 g caster sugar

200 g plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

25 g cocao

30-50 ml milk

100 g dark chocolate

Beat butter and sugar pale and fluffy. Mix in flour, baking powder and cocoa. Add the milk bit my bit until the batter is loose enough to be piped.

Fill a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle and pipe the batter into cupcake cases in a circle, leaving a whole in the middle. 

Press a whole in the middle of each cake (or make the one there is a little bigger). Break the chocolate into pieces and melt over a bain marie. Pour a spoonful of chocolate into each whole. Leave to cool/set. 

Vanilla cupcakes with white chocolate frosting

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I know, cupcakes are so very 2010, but they’re still delicious (and I have a box full of cupcakes cases I need to use up). These are plain vanilla cupcakes made fromThe Hummingbird Bakery’s foolproof recipe topped with a cream and white chocolate frosting and some raspberries for fruitiness. My colleagues loved them and I was really glad I made them, as I rediscovered how fun piping is.

These were so scrumptious!

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Hummingbird Bakery’s vanilla cupcakes, makes 12

120 g plain flour

140 g caster sugar

1 ½ tsp baking powder

a pinch of salt

40 g unsalted butter, at room temperature

120 ml whole milk

1 egg

¼ tsp vanilla extract

For the frosting:

300 ml double or whipping cream

170 g good quality white chocolate

Decoration: fresh raspberries

 

Preheat the oven to 170°C.

Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) and beat on slow speed until you get a sandy consistency and everything is combined. Gradually pour in half the milk and beat until the milk is just incorporated.

Whisk the egg, vanilla extract and remaining milk together in a separate bowl for a few seconds, then pour into the flour mixture and continue beating until just incorporated (scrape any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula). Continue mixing for a couple more minutes until the mixture is smooth. Do not overmix.

Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until two-thirds full and bake in the preheated oven for 20–25 minutes, or until light golden and the sponge bounces back when touched.

A skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean. Leave the cupcakes to cool slightly in the tray before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Chop the chocolate and place in a bowl. Bring the cream to the boil in a saucepan then pour into the chocolate. Stir until all melted. Leave to cool, keep in the fridge for a few hours. Whip with an electric whisk and pipe onto the cooled cupcakes. Decorate with raspberries. 

Chocolate and creme fraiche tart

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My colleagues are serious chocoholics so I try to bake something chocolatey for them every time I bring cakes into the offices. Last time it was this chocolate and creme fraiche tart that really went down well, and no wonder – it’s delicious!

The sweet pastry dough is the same as I always use nowadays; Raymond Blanc’s. It has never let me down and this time I defrosted a piece from the freezer and it was as easy to roll as the fresh dough.

The chocolate filling is from Rachel Khoo’s wonderful book  My Little French Kitchen and consists only of chocolate, creme fraiche and milk. It’s a little tart which nicely contrasts the sweet pastry.

Chocolate and creme fraiche tart, serves 10-12

Adapted from Rachel Khoo’s My Little French Kitchen.

1/2 batch sweet pastry dough

150 g mörk choklad

50 g mjölkchoklad

250 g creme fraiche

1/2 dl mjölk

en nypa salt

On a lightly floured work surface, evenly roll out the pastry into a circle 3 mm thick. Roll the pastry over the rolling pin and unroll it over a 24 cm loose-bottomed tart tin. With one hand lift the pastry and with the other gently tuck it into the bottom edge of the tin so that it fits tightly. Be careful not to stretch it. Cut off excess pastry by rolling the pin over the top edge of the tin. Take a small ball of pastry and gently press it all around the base of the tart to ensure a snug fit. Refrigerate for 30 minutes (this helps prevent shrinkage during cooking). Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to 160°C.

Line the pastry case with aluminium foil and fill with baking beans, pushing them against the side. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and lift out both foil and beans. Return the tart tin to the oven and bake for a further 20 minutes. Leave to cool completely. 

Chop the chocolate and place in a bowl over a bain marie with the creme fraiche, milk and salt. Stir occasionally until melted. Leave to cool a little then pour into the pastry case. Leave to cool completely then place in the fridge to set. 

Sticky ginger cake

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This slightly spicy sticky cake feels very autumnal and although I’m not wild about the dark musty flavour myself I realise that this is a very classic type of cake in Britain. It’s sticky and although I served like a cake on it’s own when I made it for the office it is often served with butter, almost like a bread. I love trying classic British recipes and although all are not to my taste I enjoy coming closer to the food culture.

It was my first time baking with treacle, which is surprisingly unsweet considering it is a sugar product.

Sticky ginger cake, serves 8-10

Adapted from the cookbook Cooking for Chaps.

175 g plain flour

110 g soft brown sugar

2 tbsp ground ginger

175 g black treacle

30 g butter

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

125 ml boiling water

Preheat the oven to 175C. Butter and line a 20 cm springform.  

Mix flour, sugar and ginger in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, mix treacle, butter, bicarb and boiling water. Mix until the butter is melted then pour the mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients. Mix well.

Pour the batter into the tin and bake in the middle of the oven for 30-40 minutes until a toothpick comes out dry. Remove from oven and cover with a clean tea towel for 5 minutes, then remove from the tin and leave to cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container.  

Zuleika cake (chewy almond base with custard topping)

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When I last baked for the office, this cake from the Swedish baking bible Swedish Cakes and Cookies, was very popular. I have a similar recipe on the blog already, that I must say I prefer, but it is always fun to try different recipes and make comparisons.

This is still a very nice cake, it’s smaller than the other recipe and especially the custard tastes different, almost lighter actually.

Zuleika cake, serves 10

From Sju Sorters Kakor (the Swedish version of Swedish Cakes and Cookies).

Base:

100 g almonds, ground

3 egg whites

100 ml / 80 g caster sugar 

Topping:

3 egg yolks

75 ml / 60 g caster sugar

200 ml double cream

50 g butter

35 g almond slivers

BUtter a regular cake tin. Beat the egg whites stiff. Mix the ground almonds and sugar in a bowl and fold in the stiff egg whites. Spread out the mixture in the tin. Bake in the bottom of the oven, 160C (fan oven) for 30 minutes. Leave to cool. 

Mix egg yolks, sugar, cream and butter in a saucepan. Simmer until thick while stirring. Leave to cool a little. Pour over the base. Garnish with almond slivers. Best served really cold.

Elderflower crème brûlée with biscotti

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The pudding at the crayfish party was one of my favourite puddings; homemade crème brûlée. This one was flavoured with my homemade elderflower cordial and served with crispy biscotti (and some chocolates and Swedish pick ‘n mix) and went down a treat with ice-cold homemade limoncello.

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Fläder crème brûlée, serves 4

300 ml double cream

150 ml elderflower cordial

50 ml caster sugar

6 egg yolks

some more caster sugar 

Bring cream, cordial and sugar to the boil, Leave to cool a little. Beat the egg yolks lightly and add first some of the cream mixture and then the rest. Divide between pots/ramekins and bake in 100C fan oven until just set, about 35-40 minutes. Leave t cool completely and keep in the fridge until serving. Before serving cover the top with a thin layer of caster sugar and use a crème brûlée burner to create a crisp sugar layer on top. Serve immediately, decorated with a strawberry, and biscotti on the side. 

Biscotti, makes about 20

Adapted from Delia’s recipe.

110 g plain flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

a pinch salt

25 g ground almonds

50 g whole almonds (skin on)

75 g golden caster sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Add ground and whole almonds and sugar. Mix thoroughly and add the egg. Mix with a wooden spoon/using your hands to a smooth dough. Place on a floured surface and roll into a 28 cm long roll. Place the roll on a lined baking tray. Bake for 30 minutes in 170C oven. Leave to cool completely.

Reduce the heat to 150C. Use a serrated knife to cut the biscotti into slightly diagonal slices about 1 cm wide. Place on the lined baking tray and bake for another 30 minutes, until golden and crisp. Leave to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.  

Crispy oat and raisin cookies

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Last week I baked for the office again after a little break over the summer. I made chewy meringues, Zuleika cake (recipe to follow) and these wonderful oat and raisin cookies. The recipe is courtesy of my mother who got it from a baker, so no wonder they’re good!

They are wonderfully crisp and the whole batch disappeared in a few hours, which certainly is proof that they are delicious.

Crispy oat and raisin cookies, makes about 40

200 g caster sugar

130 g plain flour

130 g oats

100 g raisins

220 g salted butter, softened

1 2/3 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Mix butter and sugar in a bowl. Mix flour, oats and bicarb separately and add to the butter mixture. Add the raisins and combine. Roll teaspoon sized balls and place with plenty of space in between on a lined baking tray. Bake until golden (approx 12 mins) at 175C. Leave to cool completely. Keep in an airtight container. 

Elderflower cheesecake

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With inspiration from Swedish blog Matrepubliken I decided to use up some of my homemade cordial and make an elderflower cheesecake for the office. As you may know by now my colleagues are terribly retro and love cheesecake so I try to come up with new seasonal flavours once in a while. This one is not too sweet and actually feels quite light.

Elderflower cheesecake, serves 8

200 g digestives

75 g salted butter, melted

400 g Philadelphia

2 eggs

2 gelatin leaves

50 ml milk

250 ml concentrated elderflower cordial (after taste)

Crumble the biscuits in a food processor and mix in the butter. Flatten on the base of a springform and bake for 10 minutes in 175C oven. Lower the temperature to 150C. 

Beat Philadelphia and the eggs until smooth. Soak the gelatin. Heat up the milk, squeeze the excess water out of the gelatin and add it to the milk. Stir to dissolve. 

Add the elderflower cordial and the milk mixture to the cheese mixture. Mix well and pour it onto the base and bake for 20-30 minutes until just set in 150C oven. Leave to cool.