Category: Cakes/Cookies

Swedish Tosca cake

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This Swedish classic – the Tosca cake – always proves popular, regardless the occasion. My friends enjoyed it at a picnic in the park and my colleagues love it when I make it for the office.

And who can resist a sponge topped with almond brittle, it’s soft, crunchy and wonderfully sweet and sticky.

Tosca cake, serves 8-10

Cake:

100 g salted butter, + extra to butter the tin

2 eggs

200 ml plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

50 ml milk or cream

Topping:

100 g salted butter

100 ml caster sugar

2 tbsp plain flour

2 tbsp milk

100 g chopped almonds

Butter a springform. Melt the butter for the cake and let it cool. Beat eggs and sugar until pale and fluffy and add flour and baking powder mixed together, the melted butter and milk/cream. Combine and pour into the springform and bake for 20-25 minutes in 175 C, at the bottom of the oven.

Meanwhile make the topping; put all the ingredients in a nonstick pan, heat it up while stirring carefully until everything has blended together and thickened. Pour the mixture on the cake and move it up to the middle of the oven. Bake for another 15 minutes or until it is golden and crispy.

Crumbly chocolate cookies

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These little darlings were very popular in the office a little while ago when I brought them in. In Swedish the name of these translates to ‘dreams’, but I have no idea why, but they certainly are dreamily delicious…. 🙂

Crumbly chocolate cookies, makes about 24

Translated from Karin’s recipe.

100 g salted butter

300 ml (240 g)caster sugar

100 ml rapeseed oil or other neutral oil

400 ml (240 ml) plain flour

100 ml (40 g) kakao

1 pinch salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baker’s ammonia / ammounium carbonate – this may be difficult to find in the UK supermarkets, but available on Amazon. It cannot be substituted in this recipe. 

Beat butter and sugar pale and fluffy. Add the dry ingredients and the oil and mix. Cover a baking tray with parchment paper and roll the dough into balls, approx the size of a dessert spoon. Bake in 175C for 8-10 minutes. Leave to cool on the tray before moving them. Leave to cool completely then transfer to an airtight container. 

Peanut butter brownies

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When I last baked for the office these brownies went down really well. I found the recipe in my latest cookbook purchase; Skinny Weeks and Weekend Feasts by Gizzi Erskine. The combination of dark chocolate brownie cake and crispy, sweet and peanutty layer on top works really well!

Don’t worry if the brownie mixture looks almost split when pouring it in the tin; as it cooks it comes together. The cake is really yummy, although not amazing looking on its own.

Peanut butter brownies, 24 st

Adapted from Gissi Erskine’s recipe. I made the full batch of the brownie but halved the peanut butter layer as I didn’t have a lot of icing sugar around. It worked well ratio wise too, but the more peanut butter the better, right?!

250 g unsalted butter

150 g dark chocolate, chopped

200 g caster sugar 

100 g cocoa

70 g plain flour

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp vanilla extract

4 eggs, beaten

Peanut butter layer: 

340 g chunky peanut butter

250 g unsalted butter

200 g light muscovado sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

150 g icing sugar

150 g cornflakes

Topping:

200 g milk or plain chocolate

30 g butter

Preheat the oven to 180°C. To make the peanut butter layer; put the peanut butter, butter, muscovado, salt and vanilla in a pan and heat until completely melted and just beginning to bubble. Stir constantly – make sure it doesn’t burn. 

Remove from the heat and add the icing sugar a little at a time, stirring, until completely combined. Stir in the cornflakes, then pop in a blender and pulse until the mix starts to break up but still has crispy shards of cornflake running through. Set aside.

To make the brownies; melt the butter and dark chocolate chunks together in a bowl over a bain marie. Put the sugar, cocoa, flour, salt and vanilla in a separate bowl and mix until well combined.

Stir in the eggs, then add the melted chocolate and mix together with 4 or 5 swift swoops. Pour into a 30 cm x 20 cm greased and lined baking tin and bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until it cracks across the top but the brownies should still be slightly gooey in the middle.

When the cake is cool enough to touch, spread over the peanut butter layer neatly. Leave to cool.

For the chocolate topping, melt the chocolate and butter together in a bain marie as before. Pour over the cooled peanut butter layer, smooth out and pop it in the fridge to set. Cut into squares and dust with icing sugar before serving. 

Lemon squares

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This recipe is courtesy of Katarina, and most Swedish food bloggers I know have already tried the recipe, it’s that popular! And I understand why. It is easy to make, and quick. The contrasting flavours and textures work really well; top and bottom is like an oat’s crumble and in between you find the smooth lemon filling which is sweet but the acidity from the lemon cuts through it nicely.

A winner when I last baked for the office!

Lemon squares, makes about 20

Adapted from  Katarina’s recipe.

Crumble:

120 g softened butter

150 ml brown sugar

250 ml rolled oats

200 ml plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Filling:

1 can sweetened condensed milk

75 ml lemon juice

2-3 tsp grated lemon zest

Preheat the oven to 175C. Mix butter and brown sugar until well combined. Stir in flour, rolled oats, baking powder and salt and mix into a crumbly texture. Press little more than half of the crumb mixture into the bottom of a lined  20 x 20 cm baking tray.

Mix together condensed milk, lemon juice and zest. Spread onto the crumble and sprinkle the other half of the crumb mixture on top. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Leave to cool and cut into squares. Store in the fridge. 

Lemon tart

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When it was a French colleagues birthday and I hadn’t made cakes for that day he got to wish what he wanted next time I baked for the office. His wanted a lemon tart and although it felt a bit daunting I gave it a go.

It was so much fun making sweet pastry from scratch, rolling it out without cracks and make this delicious tart! With a classic like this I wanted a really good recipe and chose Raymond Blanc’s which I was very happy with.

Only difficulty was to pour the filling into the pastry case without some ending up between the pastry and the tin. That unfortunately happened to me so it wasn’t the prettiest tart but still very tasty!

Lemon tart, serves 6

Adapted from Raymond Blanc’s recipe.

For the sweet pastry: 

120 g unsalted butter, at room temperature, diced

75 icing sugar, sifted, plus extra for dusting

3 egg yolks

250 g plain flour

2 tbsp water 

The lemon cream:

 5 medium eggs  

150 g caster sugar

85 ml lemon juice

2 tbsp finely grated lemon zest

150 ml double cream 

Making the sweet pastry: In a large bowl, with a spatula or wooden spoon, mix the soft butter and icing sugar to a cream; then beat in 2 of the egg yolks. Add the flour and, with your fingertips, rub the butter mixture and flour together to achieve a crumbly texture. Add the water and press the mixture together to form a ball. With the palms of your hands, knead the pastry on a lightly floured work surface until it is blended (maximum 30 seconds – do not overwork the pastry or it will be hard and lose its crumbly texture). Flatten the pastry slightly with the palm of your hand, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes (this helps the dough lose its elasticity).

Making the lemon filling: In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, sugar, lemon juice and zest and whisk for a few seconds. Add the cream and whisk it in, then place in the fridge.

Handling the pastry: 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. Prick the base of the pastry all over with a fork and refrigerate for 30 minutes (this helps prevent shrinkage during cooking). Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to 160°C.

Cooking the pastry: Line the pastry case with aluminium foil and fill with dried 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. Brush the inside of the pastry with the remaining egg yolk and return to the oven for 1 minute (this creates a seal on the pastry and prevents it becoming soggy when the lemon cream is added). Turn the oven down to 140°C.

Cooking the lemon tart: Pour the lemon cream mixture into a saucepan and warm it gently (this is to speed up the cooking time of the tart), being careful not to heat it too much or it will scramble. Pour the warm mixture into the pastry case and bake for 25 minutes, until barely set. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for at least 1 hour, then dust with icing sugar around the edge of the tart. Remove the tart from the tin and place on a serving plate. Serve with lightly whipped cream. 

Butterscotch biscuits with sea salt

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Before I start bombarding you with more restaurant reviews from Palma, I thought I’d intercept with a recipe.

In Sweden this type of biscuit is very common among grannies, home bakers and most people. So for me they’re nice but nothing special (although very scrummy), but every time I make biscuits for my friends or colleague they rave about them. And devour them in seconds (well minutes, but they disappear quickly) and then I’m bombarded with questions for the recipe, if they’re easy to make (yes!!) and personal orders.

So, on the recommendation of all my colleagues (who were the lucky ones to try this particular biscuit) – do make some!

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Butterscotch biscuits with sea salt, makes about 25

Translated and adapted from Anna’s recipe.

100 g softened unsalted butter

1 tbsp golden syrup

80 g caster sugar (or 100 ml)

2 tsp vanilla extract

150 g plain flour (or 250 ml)

1 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 175C.

Beat butter, syrup and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add vanilla, flour and baking powder. Stir to combine with a wooden spoon. Shape to a dough and divide into four. Shape each quarter into a roll and place two and two (far apart) on parchment paper covered baking trays. Flatten with your hand and/or a fork (not too much as they will flatten while cooking too). Scatter with sea salt.

Place the trays in the middle of the oven for approx.13 minutes or until golden (they will still be soft at this stage). Leave to cool slightly on the trays. Transfer to a cutting board and cut into slices on the diagonal. Leave to cool completely. Store in an airtight container. 

Cakes for the office

Published on by Hanna2 Comments

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Chocolate fudge cake with peanut butter frosting and salted peanuts

Last week I finally managed to have time for an evening of baking for the office. As the archives here on the blog are quite full already, I decided to stick to some tried and tested recipes that never fail to impress!

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Mary Berry’s white chocolate cheesecake is always a winner
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Swedish drömmar (crumbly vanilla cookies) went down a treat 

Sliced ginger thins with almonds

Published on by Hanna4 Comments

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I love traditions and leading up to Christmas I really enjoy all the [food] preparations. They help me prepare mentally for the fact that Christmas is waiting around the corner and being surrounded by the typical smells and scents from the food relaxes me and makes me look forward to the festivities.

Just like my mother does every year, I made sure to make some ginger thins before the first Sunday of Advent (we celebrate all the Advent Sundays in Sweden) and then a few days before St Lucia (13th December) it is time to make the proper ginger thins with cookie cutters. 

These biscuits are super easy to make and despite the name, they don’t actually contain any ginger, just cloves and cinnamon. But they’re still absolutely delicious! And I dare you; try to stop at one when eating them… 

Sliced ginger thins, makes approx 80

250 g butter

250 ml caster sugar

100 ml golden syrup

75 g toasted almond slivers

1/2 tbsp ground cloves

1 tbsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tbsp bicarbonate of soda

2 tbsp water

500 g plain flour

Heta up butter, sugar and syrup in a sauce pan. Add almonds and spices. Mix the bicarb with water and add to the batter. Lastly, add the flour and mix well with a wooden fork. Divide the dough in two and shape into rolls. Cover with clingfilm and let them rest in the fridge over night. 

Slice the rolls into 1 mm thick slices, place on a covered baking tray and bake for 10 minutes in 150C oven. Leave to cool then store in an airtight container. 

Chocolate fudge cake

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I baked this moist and lovely chocolate cake with fudge frosting for the office last month to celebrate the October birthdays and it certainly went down a treat among the colleagues.

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I had also made a very straight forward vanilla cheesecake (with the muscovado substituted for regular caster sugar) and my mother’s oat crisps – a real crowd pleaser.

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The recipe for the lovely chocolate cake is courtesy of Smitten Kitchen one of my favourite food blogs out there. It is really easy to make, very moist thanks to the buttermilk and not too sweet. It is also incredibly easy to spread frosting over as it doesn’t crumble. The frosting is quite sweet and therefore works well with the less sweet cake. However if you haven’t got a very sweet tooth I would recommend a less sweet frosting.

I am certain this will become a staple in my repertoire as it is so easy to handle and tastes great. The cake was demolished within a few hours but I am fairly certain it will keep for a few days in the fridge if not eaten immediately.

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Chocolate fudge cake, serves 12

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen’s recipe.

230 g butter, at room temperature
380 g dark brown sugar
135 g caster sugar
4 eggs
475 ml buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla 
345 g plain flour
115 g cocoa
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt

Fudge frosting:

55 g dark chocolate, melted and cooled
350 ml icing sugar (no need to sift)
115 g butter, at room temperature
2 tbsp single cream or whole milk
1 tsp vanilla 

Pre-heat oven to 160°C. Line the bottom of 2 approx 21Ø springform with parchment paper. Grease parchment and sides of tin. Using an electric mixer, beat butter with sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at time, beating each in until just incorporated and scraping down sides of bowl. Add vanilla, then buttermilk. 

Place flour, cocoa powder, bicarb, baking powder and salt in a sifter over the mixing bowl and sift ingredients in. Beat or stir dry ingredients into batter until just combined; scrape down bowl again. Divide batter between the two tins. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the tins then remove and leave to cool completely before frosting it.  

Beat the butter for the frosting until light and fluffy with an electric mixer, then add the sugar and melted chocolate, followed by the milk or cream and vanilla. 

Place one cake, upside down, on a cake plate and cover the top with half of the frosting. Place the next cake on top, also upside down, and cover the top with the rest of the frosting. Decorate and serve. 

Lemon yoghurt cake with lemon curd cream cheese frosting

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I made this fresh lemon cake for work a couple of weeks ago and it went down a treat! If using a smaller diameter baking tin than mine the cake can easily be made into three tiers which looks even more impressive than my version. The frosting made from cream cheese and lemon curd is just divine. Fresh and zingy and the cake isn’t too sweet either. A perfect summer cake!

Lemon yoghurt cake with lemon curd cream cheese frosting
Translated from Swedish blog Pickipicki’s recipe.

Cake:
250 g softened butter
3 lemons, zest and juice 
330 g caster sugar
4 eggs
300 g plain flour
1,5 tsp baking powder
140 g thick natural yoghurt

Frosting:
125 g butter
2 eggs
3 lemons, juice only
1 tsp lemon zest  
150 g caster sugar
250 g cream cheese

Cover a round baking tin with baking parchment. Beat butter, sugar and lemon zest untilm pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at the time. Then add yoghurt, lemon juice flour and baking powder. Pour the mixture into the tin and bake in a low oven, 160C for 90 minutes.

In the meantime, make the lemon curd: add butter to a saucepan to melt. Add eggs, lemon juice, zest and sugar. Stir continuously until the curd thickens, about 10 minutes on low heat. Leave to cool completely. 

Beat the cream cheese fluffy with an electric mixer, add about 100 ml of the lemon curd and combine. Once the cake is compltely cool, cut into three equally thick sponges. Spread 1/3 of the frosting on to the base layer, place sponge number two on top and spread with another 1/3 of the frosting. Add the final sponge and cover with the remaining frosting. Top with lemon curd and berries and serve.