Dessert – Page 4 – Scandelights

Elderflower parfait cake with berries and oat crisps

Published on July 9, 2014 by Hanna1 Comment

This elderflower parfait has featured on the blog before, but it was such a success at my last dinner party I had to post it again.

Actually, I dare say this is the perfect summer pudding! Perfect for your guests because it is delicious, refreshing, has different textures and simply tastes of summer. And perfect for you because apart from washing the berries you can make everything ahead. Plus you will get standing ovations and plenty of compliments.

Elderflowerparfait cake, serves 8-10

6 egg yolks

200 ml caster sugar

600 ml whipping cream or double cream

130 ml concentrated elderflower cordial (only a guideline as different concentrations for different cordials)

Beat the yolks and sugar until pale and fluffy in a mixing bowl. In a separate mixing bowl whip the cream. Fold the cream into the egg mixture. Add the elderflower and stir to combine. Pour into a clingfilm lined springform. Cover with more cling and freeze for at least four hours. Place on a cake plate and top with berries before serving.

Oat crisps, makes about 50

300 ml oats

200 ml granulated sugar

50 ml syrup

150 g melted butter

50 ml cream

150 ml plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

Combine all the ingredients and place dollops the size of a teaspoon on parchment paper on a baking tray quite far apart, they expand a lot in the oven. I only placed 9 on each sheet and that worked perfectly. Bake in 175 C oven for 8 minutes. Leave to cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container.

Cooking is my yoga (and a three course dinner)

Published on April 9, 2014 by HannaLeave a comment

Sometimes I forget how much I love to cook. It’s true. When I have a busy work week and come home exhausted in the evenings and haven’t hatched a plan for what to cook for my evening meal I usually surrender to a cheese toastie or just toast with cheese and cucumber slices, which in my world does not constitute cooking.

On Friday I had promised to cook for my flatmate as it was one of those rare occasions when we were both spending a night in. Although I almost regretted my decision as I noticed how very tired I was when I was on the tube home.

But when I got home, put my pinny on and started prepping I got second wind. And it was so much fun! I wasn’t stressed because my flatmate Daisy was happily perched on the sofa in front of the TV with a glass of wine in hand and I let the cooking take its time. Because it’s usually the time aspect that is my downfall. I can be a bit of a time optimist and when I realise that I am running late I get stressed and become clumsy and a not-so-great cook. But when cooking without the time pressure I am truly happy. Cooking is my yoga. It relaxes me and keeps me sane.

What I cooked? My favourite spring time starter; steamed (British) asparagus with wild garlic mayonnaise and Parmesan shavings (and some watercress) followed by caramelised pork fillet, an amazing mushroom crème, roasted new potatoes and steamed purple sprouting broccoli. To finish vanilla icecream, chewy meringues, whipped cream and chocolate sauce.

Eating it would make anyone happy, so lucky me who got to cook it too.

Dinner party with winter gino

Published on February 6, 2014February 6, 2014 by Hanna1 Comment

The first weekend in January was the last of my Christmas holiday and on the Friday we had a lovely dinner party at my parents’. It was just my parents, my best friend Emma, her husband Claes and me. And lots of food and wine, as it should be. I love that the people closest to me get on so well and that we can socialise like we’re all just old friends regardless of the age difference.

We had some bubbly and a large batch of Toast Öjeby to start before moving on to the dinner table for the maincourse:

Topside of beef with dauphinoise potatoes (my mother’s version with leek and no cheese), port wine sauce and steamed broccoli. Although a complete classic I never tire of good quality beef and potatoes au gratin!

The only newish dish this evening was a wintery take on the classic Swedish dessert gino. I have no idea who invented it or when but a classic ino is like a warm fruit salad covered with white chocolate. The classic combination of fruits is banana, strawberry and kiwi but I opted for some wintery fruits instead; banana, clementine, pineapple and pomegranate seeds. This was probably even better as I prefer the pineapple and pomegranate to the kiwi. You can serve this with lightly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream but I definitely think the ice cream works best.

Winter gino, serves 4

2 bananas, sliced

2-3 clementines, in wedges cut into half

1/3 fresh pinapple, in chunks

1 pomegranate, seeds only

150-200 g white chocolate, chopped

Mix banana, clementine and pineapple in an oven-proof dish. Scatter the pomegranate seeds on top and then the chocolate. Bake in 200C oven until the chocolate has melted and browned a little. Serve with vanilla ice cream (or lightly whipped cream).

NYE 2013

Published on January 15, 2014 by Hanna2 Comments

My bestie Emma and I have always liked a good party and quite often organised New Year’s Eve parties ourselves. Although it has always been lots of fun it takes quite a lot of time and effort to do it well so, in lieu of a big NYE party to go to, we decided to go back to basics for once. Just a few people, four in fact. Easy but classic and very tasty food, champagne and nice wines to drink and just lots of fun because you’re among great friends.

I wouldn’t mind a repeat this year, guys!

After watching some ice hockey in the afternoon (the Junior World Championship was on in Malmö) we started our evening with Champagne and canapès consisting of crispy bread fried in butter topped with creme fraiche, Swedish caviar (löjrom), red onions, dill and lemon slices. It doesn’t require much cooking but it is so delicious it still impresses your guests!

Our starter was lobster with melted garlic butter and puff pastry twists. Again very simple, but absolutely gorgeous!

The even bigger hit was the main course with incredibly tender fillet of beef that I managed to buy in a regular (but very good) supermarket (where I also found bone marrow – I was in heaven!). Served rare with a wonderful mushroom crème, tenderstem broccoli, caramelised shallots, Hasselback potatoes and creamy red wine sauce, I think this was everyone’s favourite dish. So so delicious!

I made the same dessert as last year, as it was such a success! Fluffy parfait with chopped dark chocolate and caramelised hazelnuts served with honeycomb and butterscotch sauce. Delicious!

Just before midnight we walked down to the Opera in Malmö where the fire work display was going to be, toasted in some more bubbly, watched the fireworks and went back inside to eat and drink some more. It was a great evening!

The Recipes

Swedish caviar with butter-fried bread, serves 4

4-6 slices of nice white bread

2 tbsp salted butter for frying

1 packet Swedish caviar (löjrom – bleak roe)

200 ml creme fraiche

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

dill lemon slices to decorate

Heat up a frying pan on medium heat and melt half the butter but don’t let it burn. Fry the bread slowly first on one side and then on the other until crispy and golden brown. Add more butter when you turn the bread. Cut into smaller pieces.

Chop the red onion and let it soak in icecold water a few minutes before serving to lose some of the sharpness. Drain before serving.

Either place a dollop of creme fraiche, caviar and some red onion, dill and a small lemon segment on each bread piece or serve in bowls and let people assemble their own canapès.

Lobster with garlic butter and puff pastry twists, serves 4

2 fresh lobsters

100 g salted butter, at room temperature

1 medium garlic clove, pressed

1 handful fresh parsley, chopped

white pepper

1 roll all butter puff pastry

sea salt flakes

lemon slices to serve

Start with the puff pastry twists. Cut the roll of puff pastry into 2 cm wide strips. Twist each strip a few times and place on a lined baking tray. Sprinkle with sea salt flakes and bake in 225C oven for 8-10 minutes or until golden and crisp. Leave to cool. Keep in an airtight container.

Mix the softened butter with garlic, parsley and some white pepper.

Cut the lobsters in half lengthways with a sharp yet sturdy knife. Remove the black vein and any roe. Rinse very carefully. Remove and open the claws and keep the claw meat on the side. Place the lobster halves on a baking tray, spread with butter and place in a 200C oven for about 10 minutes. Serve with a lemon wedge, a fresh claw each and the puff pastry twists.

Fillet of beef with Hasselback potatoes, tenderstem broccoli, mushroom crème, caramelised shallots and creamy red wine sauce, serves 4

1 kg good quality beef fillet, trimmed of any tendons and cut into 3-4 cm thick medallions

1 kg medium Maris Piper potatoes (or another firm type)

2-3 broccoli stems per person

1 batch red wine juswith approx 400 ml liquid

200 ml double cream

Start with the sauce, crème and onions (recipes below). Add the cream to the red wine jus, let it thicken and season to taste. Can be reheated before serving.

Peel the potatoes and cut in half lengthways. Put them flat side down and make small incisions creating a ridged effect with a sharp knife. Don’t cut all the way through and leave 1-2 mm between the incisions. Place the potato halves on an oiled baking tray, drizzle with mild oil and add salt and pepper. Bake until crisp and golden brown, approx 30-40 minutes in 200C.

Brown the meat on all sides. Season well with salt and black pepper. Place in oven on 150C until the inside temperature of the meat is 55C (for medium-rare). Rest the meat a few minutes before serving.

Cook the broccoli in salted water until soft but not mushy. Drain and add some more salt.

Plate with the mushroom crème underneath the meat.

Mushroom crème, serves 4

125 g chestnut mushrooms

1 handful dried ceps (porcini) in pieces

1 shallots, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, pressed

2 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp Cognac

50 ml double cream

salt, white pepper

Soak the ceps for a few minutes then squeeze out the excess liquid. Chop all the mushrooms roughly. Heat up a knob of butter in a frying pan/sauteuse on mediun heat and add shallots, garli and mushrooms. Fry slowly adding more butter if needed. Once the mushrooms have browned, add the mustard and Cognac and let the liquid evaporate. Add the cream and let the mixture thicken. Blend to a smooth paste using a stick blender. Adjust the seasoning. Heat up again before serving.

Caramelised shallots, serves 4

10-12 shallots, peeled and cut in half

1 knob salted butter

200 ml red wine

100 ml beef stock

2 tsp Acacia honey

salt, pepper

Use a non-stick pan. Caramelise the onions in the butter on medium heat, it takes about 5 minutes. Add red wine, stock and honey and let the liquid evaporate (without a lid) until you have sticky dark brown onions. Add salt and pepper.

Lemon posset

Published on November 5, 2013 by Hanna2 Comments

So I finally got around to trying lemon posset – this – in my mind typically British pudding.

Tt is basically a pannacotta without gelatin; instead the acid in the lemon juice helps the fat in the cream to solidify so the mixture sets. The texture is even better than that of pannacotta and the sharpness from the lemon makes the dessert feel lighter than it actually is.

I served mine with blueberries for added freshness but Tom Kerridge’s fennel biscotti seems like a divine pairing. After watching his BBC series on proper pub food I completely trusted his recipe to be perfect – and it was.

Lemon posset, serves 6

After Tom Kerridge’s recipe.

425ml double cream

125g sugar

2 lemons, juice only

Bring the cream and sugar to the boil in a pan. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the lemon juice and mix thoroughly. Pass through a fine sieve and set aside to cool for five minutes.

Skim off any air bubbles from the surface and pour into six serving glasses. Transfer to the fridge for at least two hours, or until set.

Chocolate pots

Published on September 26, 2013 by HannaLeave a comment

When I grew up my mother didn’t really use shortcuts in the kitchen, apart from the odd stock cube here and there, so I was fed wholesome food made from scratch. My grandmothers were equally good cooks and cooked in the same way, so I was a very lucky child.

But then I started preschool and although we had our own cook I got exposed to new foods (some of them processed) and then in school it was almost a traumatic experience eating the often processed food made hours before lunch time and kept warm that whole time.

I definitely preferred the food my mother cooked and she would always pack my school bag full of homemade snacks to keep me going if the school lunch was awful (which was more often than not). But certain processed foods I got used too; like this type of dessert. The most common version of this chocolate dessert was a prepackaged powder in sachets to be mixed with milk and put in the fridge to set. It was tasty, but in a very artificial way and then I actually preferred it to my mother’s homemade additive free version that I just wouldn’t eat as it to me tasted wrong.

Nowadays I certainly don’t fancy the sachets anymore but because they were part of my childhood and teenage years I never learnt how to make these lovely chocolate pots myself. Which is why I had my sweet mother on the phone while I tried this recipe, courtesy of Swedish TV-chef Per Morberg. The instructions were quite sparse I thought, so I have provided a few more details below.

And the result?Absolutely lovely and eons away from the prepackaged sachets. Hurrah!

Chocolate pots, serves 4

Translated and adapted from Per Morberg’s recipe.

800 ml whole milk
100 ml maizena
100 ml light brown sugar
2 egg yolksr
50 ml cocoa
1 tbsp vanilla sugar or 2 tsp vanilla essence

Mix all the ingredients in a sturdy saucepan. Start whisking from the start while heating up the ingredients. When the mixture starts to thicken, lower the heat and keep whisking. It mustn’t boil but let it thicken as much as you dare, then remove from heat. Pour into serving bowls and leave to cool. Then refridgerate until serving. It is nicely served with lightly whipped cream and sprinkles.

Vanilla ice cream with blackberries in lime sugar

Published on July 3, 2013 by Hanna2 Comments

One thing I have in common with my mother, is that the worst thing that could happen when having people over is if they were to leave still feeling hungry. On Friday, however, there was no chance of that happening. We were so full that I had to rethink the pudding.

My plan was to make molten chocolate cakes served with homemade vanilla ice cream, but instead we opted for a more refreshing approach; the same ice cream served with blackberries in lime sugar.

Although I love berries I think they can be a bit bland on their own which is why I like to serve them like this, with some caster sugar, fresh lime juice and zest.

Vanilla icecream, makes about 1 litre

400 ml double cream

200 ml whole milk

1 tsp vanilla

4 egg yolk

150 ml caster sugar

Beat the egg yolks and sugar until pale and fluffy. In the mean time heat up the cream, milk and vanilla in a saucepan. Pour the warm cream mixture into the sugar mixture while whisking. Place the bowl in a bain marie and whisk while the mixture thickens (about 10 minutes). Leave to cool in room temperature, then place in fridge to cool, preferably over night.

Make the ice cream using an ice cream maker, about 40 mins. In the mean time place the intended container in the freezer to cool down. Freeze for at least 45 minutes before serving.

Blackberries in lime sugar, serves 4

300 g blackberries, washed

1/2 lime, zest and juice

1-2 tbsp caster sugar

Mix the zest and juice with the sugar and mix with the berries. Serve straight away.

The best Pavlova!

Published on June 1, 2013May 31, 2013 by HannaLeave a comment

I know that it is promising a lot saying that this is the best Pavlova, but it is. Just ask my colleagues who demolished this earlier in the week. And praised it. A lot.

The recipe is my mother’s and it always goes down a treat. It requires quite a lot of beating so use an electric whisk or a standing mixer. It only needs baking for 16 minutes and then to cool leaving a crispy outside and gooey middle that you then fill with whipped cream and berries just before serving.

It is a real showstopper and looks impressive because of its size. But don’t let this fool you, it disappears quickly. Even though the recipe says serves twelve, it doesn’t. More like six or seven.

Pavlova roll, serves 12 although count about 6-7

7 egg whites

500 ml caster sugar

plain flour for dusting

Filling:

500 ml whipping cream (or double cream)

500 g fresh berries, I used strawberries, washed and hulled

Pre-heat oven to 175C. Beat the whites until stiff foam. Add the sugar (all at once) and beat for another 10 minutes until very firm peaks. Line the largest baking tray you can find (that fits your oven) with parchment paper. Dust with flour and spread out the meringue evenly onto it with a spatula. Bake in the middle of the oven for exactly 16 minutes. Remove from oven and leave to cool in a dry place.

To assemle, cover the meringue with a parmchment paper and flip it over. Beat the cream and spread it onto the meringue in an even layer. Add the fruit. Carefully roll the meringue from the longer side into a roll, using the parchment paper to steady it. Place on a serving tray and serve immediately.

Vanilla pannacotta with rhubarb

Published on May 16, 2013May 16, 2013 by Hanna1 Comment

As much as I love this time of year when you suddenly have an abundance of fresh spring produce, I get a bit stressed by it too because they all come at the same time. For me, choosing between rhubarb and strawberries or asparagus and broad beans, would be a bit like choosing between your children. I love them all and want to cook as much with them all without forsaking the others. Sadly, that’s impossible.

But when I have time to cook I try and make the most of it, and last Saturday I invited my friend Maria over for a supper consisting of wild garlic soup (I’m obsessed with wild garlic, I admit it), squid and chorizo with beans and spinach followed by this pannacotta with rhubarb.

In Sweden we call the rhubarb prepared this way for melted rhubarb, which indeed it is. The rhubarb releases juice because of the heat which mixes with the sugar and creates the most wonderful rhubarb syrup full of soft rhubarb bits. It is wonderful served warm on vanilla icecream or with just some cold pouring cream, but I must say it was wonderful in this pannacotta too.

Make sure you don’t use an aluminium pan as the oxalic acid in the rhubarb will free the aluminium and you will end up with rhubarb with aluminium which is poisonous.

Vanilla pannacotta, serves 4

500 ml single cream

1 vanilla pod

50 ml caster sugar

2 gelatin leaves

Cover the gelatin leaves with cold water in a bowl. Make a cut lengthways in the vanilla pod (too free the seeds) and add to a saucepan. Add sugar and cream. Bring to the boil and let it simmer for a few minutes while stirring. Remove from heat. Squeeze the excess water out of the gelatin and add to the pan. Stir to dissolve. Divide between four small bowls or glasses. Leave to cool then let them set in the fridge for at least 3 hours.

Melted rhubarb (or rhubarb compote)

300 g rhubarb, washed and trimmed

80-120 g caster sugar

1/4 lemon, the juice

Slice the rhubarb coarsely and place in an ovenproof dish (not aluminium, see above). Scatter the sugar on top (start with the smaller amount if you like) and place in 180C oven. Stir after 10 minutes and taste. Add more sugar if needed. Leave in the over for 30-40 minutes more until the syrup has thickened. Add the lemon juice and stir. Leave to cool.

Top the pannacottas with a few spoonfuls of the melted rhubarb and serve.

Rhubarb crumble

Published on May 8, 2013 by Hanna1 Comment

When visiting my parents this past weekend it was (as usual) a lot of focus on food and seasonal produce.

My mother loves gardening and even though she doesn’t grow as much as she used to when I was younger, there is still plenty of fruit and vegetables to pick in the garden throughout the summer. Around this time of year it is only really the rhubarb that’s ready for picking, so that’s what we did.

And for me, there is nothing better than making a crumble out of the first fruit of the season, and this crumble recipe (a modified Delia-ism) is absolutely divine, especially when served still warm with either vanilla icecream or homemade raw custard (N.B. contains raw eggs so not suitable for everyone).

Rhubarb crumble, serves 4

ca 250 g rhubarb, washed and cut into smaller pieces

100-120 g soft brown sugar (to balance the acid from the rhubarb)

Crumble:

100 g softened butter

200 g plain flour

135 g soft brown sugar

1 tsp baking powder

Butter an ovenproof dish. Place the rhubarb pieces in the bottom. Scatter the sugar on top. Combine the ingredients for the crumble in a mixing bowl using a wooden fork. Pour on top of the rhubarb. Place in 175C oven for about 30 minutes or until the fruit is soft and the top golden brown.