Frambozen cheesecake

Wow, ik ga over in het Nederlands. Ik ben namelijk niet meer zo internationaal. Ik woon weer lekker in Amsterdam en kook het liefst voor mijn vrienden. En die spreken voornamelijk Nederlands - dus dat Engels is eigenlijk overbodig. Jammer dat de rest van de wereld mijn kookperikelen niet meer zal kunnen volgen, maar zo'n enorm verlies zal dat nou ook weer niet zijn. They'll live.

Het allereerste recept dat ik in het Nederlands met jullie wil delen is een cheesecake recept. Het komt van de site www.bbcgoodfood.com, en ik heb het iets aangepast. Het is lekker lekker lekker!! En snel klaar, en niet moeilijk. Wat wil je nou nog meer. Ps. de foto is genomen met mijn telefoon, onder het motto beter iets dan niets.



Frambozen cheesecake

stap 1 - de bodem

12 Digestive koekjes (of andere koekjes)
75 g boter
springvorm

* verwarm de oven voor op 180 C
* smelt de boter in een pannetje
* maal de koekjes (zie tip onderaan)
* doe de gemalen koekjes in een kom en voeg de gesmolten boter toe
* roer tot het gemengd is, en doe de massa in de springvorm
* druk het aan met de bolle kant van een lepel
* zet de vorm in de oven, en haal 'm er 5 minuten later weer uit. laat dan afkoelen.

stap 2 - de vulling

3 pakjes Philadelphia roomkaas naturel (185 g per bakje)
100 ml crème fraiche
2 eieren en 1 eidooier
2 eetl bloem
160 g fijne suiker
250 g frambozen
+ frambozen ter decoratie (optioneel)

Doe de roomkaas en crème fraiche in een grote kom en roer dit los met een (electrische) garde. Voeg de eieren één voor één toe, en klop tussendoor steeds weer alles door. Voeg daarna ook de bloem en suiker toe en klop tot er geen klontjes meer zijn. Je mag best wel even kloppen (1-2 minuten). Roer er dan de frambozen door.

Schenk deze roomkaasvulling over de afgekoelde bodem en zet ongeveer 30 minuten in de oven. Het is klaar als de bovenkant goudbruin is. In het midden mag het nog wel een beetje 'wobbly' zijn. Laat de taart afkoelen, en zet 'm dan nog een uurtje in de koelkast.
Versier met extra (verse) frambozen.

tips:

* Het malen van de koekjes: dit kan in de vijzel of in de keukenmachine. Je kan ze ook in een plastic zakje doen en er met iets zwaars op slaan.
* Je kunt een 20 cm springvorm gebruiken, dat heb ik gedaan. Als je die niet hebt, maar wel eentje van 24 cm is dat ook prima. Dan wordt de cake gewoon wat platter, ook prima.
* Bij de AH hebben ze doosjes frambozen van 250 g in de diepvries.
* Cheesecake is de volgende dag bijna nog lekkerder, dus dit is een handig toetje dat je van te voren kan maken
* Gebruik bevroren frambozen en laat ze niet ontdooien voor gebruik. Hierdoor vloeit de rode kleur minder door de cheesecake. Voeg wel een paar minuten extra aan de baktijd toe.

Apple and almond cake

That was a while ago! I'll just pick up where I left off, get straight to it. Because it's not as though I haven't been cooking, au contraire. This morning I even went a bit overboard: two cakes and a Middle Eastern lamb stew.
I'll share with you first the sweet. This cake is a bit juicy, it has apples in it, and nuts. Lovely combinations. The top caramelizes a bit, creating a nice crunch.



Apple and almond cake

125 g butter from the fridge
150 g selfraising flour
150 g caster sugar (NL: fijne kristal suiker)
40 g almonds with the skin on, chopped
40 g almond flakes
2 small apples, core removed, unpeeled and cut in cubes
1 large egg, whisked separately

* preheat the oven to 180 C
* place the butter and flour in a kitchen machine and mix until it looks like crumbs
* transfer to a large bowl and stir in the sugar, nuts and apple
* stir the egg into the mixture
* make sure you only stir enough to mix all the ingredients: don't stir too much
* place the mixture in a cake tin
* bake for around one hour
* let it cool in the tin

The recipe was inspired by Liz Franklin's Bread and Cake. She used pecan nuts instead of almonds, which sounds just as delicious. I think you can use any nuts you have at hand.

Serve the cake as dessert or with a cup of coffee.

Fred's brownies

When I was working in Amsterdam at the local television station, I had a sweet colleague from the US. Once he treated the whole floor to brownies and a huge New York cheesecake. Both were delicious. On request he gave me the recipes, and just now (years later) I finally made the brownies. Why did I wait that long? They were yummy yummy yummy. So please try them if you are in the mood for something very chocolaty, fudgy, smeary and yet crunchy.



Fred's brownies

230 g butter
225 g dark chocolate (70% cacao), roughly chopped
125 g flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
380 g sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
140 g walnuts, roughly chopped

* preheat the oven to 175 C
* grease a baking pan that is around 25x30 cm (or a little bit bigger or smaller) and then line it with two sheets of baking paper. also grease the top layer of baking paper. the paper can stick out some centimeters on the top to prevent the brownie mixture to overflow
* melt the chocolate and butter in the microwave at 350 watt, stirring each 30 seconds until completely melted
* in a bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt
* in another, large bowl, whisk the sugar with the eggs and vanilla extract until fluffy and white
* pour in the melted chocolate/butter mixture while stirring, and then add the flour mixture. continue stirring from the edges of the bowl to prevent lumps
* when all is mixed, stir in the chopped walnuts
* pour the mixture into the baking pan and place in the oven for around 40 minutes, the top should be shiny and edges should curl up a little
* let it cool down completely on a rack (yes, this is the hard part!), be patient.
* flip it over carefully and remove the paper. cut into squares and enjoy.

The brownies will taste even better the day after, so make them in advance, or try to save some for the next day.

Thanks Fred!

Summer strawberry cake

Before the thunder and lightning struck on Midsommar, we had a lovely lunch outside. Three different types of herring (very traditional); warm smoked salmon with a horseradish cream; a smörgåstårta or 'sandwich cake' with salmon and crayfish; Swedish strong cheese; dark bread and of course knäckebröd. No potatoes, as you could read in my last post.



And then the pièce de resistance: a strawberry cake, with lots of fresh strawberries and filled with strawberry mousse. I will give you the recipe for this cake now, as the strawberries are still in season and rather cheap.



Strawberry cake (adapted recipe from Dagens Nyheter)

Step 1
Mousse: (can be made 2-3 days in advance)
4,5 sheets of gelatin
200 g strawberries (not more or less)
4 dl cream
0,75 dl sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla sugar

* cover a springform (24 cm in diameter) with plastic foil. It's important that the filling will not leak, so make several layers of foil and press it down gently along the edges
* let 4,5 gelatin sheets soak in cold water
* purée the strawberries with a blender
* put the puréed strawberries in a pan, together with 4 dl cream, 0,75 dl sugar and 2 teaspoons of vanilla sugar
* bring to the boil and then take the pan of the heat
* take the gelatin sheets out of the water and shake excess water off
* put the gelatin sheets in the pan and stir until the sheets have dissolved
* let the mixture cool down for 5 minutes and then pour it into the prepared springform
* let it stand for 30 minutes and then place it in the fridge
* it needs to stiffen up in the fridge for at least 4 hours

Step 2
Cake: (can be made 1 day in advance)
100 g butter
3 eggs
2 dl sugar
180 g flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon of vanilla sugar
1,5 dl milk
some good strawberry cordial (NL: siroop, S: saft)

* preheat the oven to 175 C
* use a springform the same size as the mousse. Cover the bottom with baking paper and grease the form
* melt 100 g butter
* in a bowl, mix 3 eggs together with 2 dl sugar until fluffy
* while stirring, you can bit by bit add 180 g flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, a pinch of salt, 1 tablespoon of vanilla sugar, 1,5 dl milk and the melted butter
* pour the mixture into the springform and bake for 40-45 minutes
* when the cake has cooled down, take it out of the springform.
* using a sharp bread knife, cut the cake horizontally so you have two cake halves
* sprinkle both halves, on the cut side, with some cordial

Step 3

Take the mousse out of the fridge and, with a steady hand, flip the mousse on top of one half of the cake. Place the other half on top it. Cover the cake with some foil, and put in the fridge. This is best done the day before serving, so that the flavours can be soaked into the cake.

Step 4 - just before serving
2 dl cream
250 g strawberries
icing sugar

* whip the cream, but not too stiff
* clean the strawberries
* using a spatula, spread the whipped cream on all sides of the cake
* place the strawberries on top and dust with some icing sugar



This cake is quite a lot of work, but it tastes heavenly and looks spectacular (or so I think). If you really want to make something special, then let this cake be it. The good thing is that most is done in advance, so you don't need to do much before serving, which is nice when you have guests!

Apple and pear crumble

Now, my dear readers, it is time for something sweet. Something very simple and yet so good. I made this cake a few days ago for two friends who stayed with us for a few days. I didn't plan to make a dessert, as we had been eating so much during the course of their stay, but in the end I couldn't resist and threw some things together. They loved it (or so they said) and I can really recommend this recipe if you want to make something fast and easy. If you've never baked a cake before, then try this one!



Apple and pear crumble (serves 8)

3 small apples
1 ripe pear
lemon juice (fresh or from a bottle)
250 g flour
250 g sugar
150 g oats (NL: havermout/ S: havregryn)
200 g butter
3 handfuls of almonds or other nuts

* preheat the oven to 190 C
* peel the apples and pears, and cut them in cubes
* place them in a bowl and sprinkle some lemon juice on them
* put 250 g flour, 250 g sugar and 150 g oats in another bowl
* melt 200 g butter in a pan on low heat and add to the bowl with the flour mixture
* blend it all together with large spoon
* grease a spring cake tin (NL: springvorm)
* put two thirds of the pastry in the tin and use a spoon to press it down a bit
* place the apple and pear mixture on top
* chop 3 handfuls of almonds coarsely and sprinkle on top
* sprinkle the rest of the pastry mixture on top (it should be crumbly)
* place in the oven for 60 minutes, until brown
* leave to stand a little before cutting

Serve with some whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream (yes, or both). It's best served warm, but will also taste great the next day with a cup of coffee.

Rhubarb tart

To be honest with you: I never really had any rhubarb in my life up until now. I think I would remember - it has such a distinct flavour.
When I saw the first rhubarb coming into the supermarkets here a little while ago, I started thinking and reading - how to make a nice pie with that interesting ingredient. In the end I came up with this, and I think it's just really good. I love rhubarb! The tartness of the rhubarb contrasts the sweetness of the sugar, combined with a crispy pastry and served with cream...yummy. This is a beautiful dessert that is not too heavy or sweet.



Rhubarb tart (serves 8)

300 g puff pastry (NL: bladerdeeg, S: smördeg)
500 g rhubarb (around 6 stalks)
100 g sugar
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon potato flour
some flour for rolling
1 egg yolk
to serve: 2 tablespoons of creme fraiche and 1 teaspoon of sugar per person

* put the oven at 200 C
* defrost the puff pastry. You can use a little more or less, depending on the size of the puff pastry sheets, it doesn't really matter that much
* wash the rhubarb and cut the stalks in 2-3 cm pieces
* put these in a pan with 100 g sugar and 1 tablespoon water and let this cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring every now and then
* take the pan of the heat and stir in a tablespoon of potato flour
* place the sheets of puff pastry on top of each other and sprinkle your work surface with some flour
* roll your pastry, with a rolling pin, to a disc with 20-25 cm in diameter
* line a wire rack with baking paper and place the pastry on it
* take a sharp knife and cut a circle, around 2 cm from the edge. Make sure not the cut to deep, just make an incision.
* whisk the egg yolk lightly with a fork and use this to brush area outside the circle - make sure not to put any egg yolk inside the incision
* take a fork and pierce the area inside the circle. Just make rows of little fork holes, with around 1 cm in between
* at this stage you can put the pastry in the fridge for half an hour to get a more crispy base, but you can skip this step if you want (I did and it still tasted great)
* put the rhubarb mixture in the area inside the circle, spreading it out until 1/2 cm before the incision circle, so it really doesn't get inside the incision.
* put the tart in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until the crust is golden brown
* take it out of the oven and let it cool down before cutting
* serve with lightly sweetened creme fraiche (stir 1 teaspoon of sugar into 2 tablespoons of creme fraiche per person), or with some whipped cream and maybe some vanilla ice cream, or some warm custard..mmm. I think I am going to take another slice now.

Raspberry and banana muffins

Writing the introduction and conclusion to your thesis seems to be the easy part, but it's not! I've been staring at the screen for a few hours now, until I decided to just forget about it and bake some muffins instead. I kind of hoped they would give me some inspiration, but here I am again, in front of the screen, staring at the same letters and words. Oh, well. At least they tasted really good!



Raspberry and banana muffins (makes 6)

80 g butter
2 eggs
100 g sugar + 1 teaspoon
100 g flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 handfuls of muesli
1 ripe banana, squashed with a fork
6 muffin cases
12-18 raspberries (NL: frambozen) frozen or fresh

* preheat the oven to 200 C
* melt the butter in the microwave on the lowest heat
* whisk the 2 eggs with 100 g sugar until fluffy and white
* add the 100 g flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 2 handfuls of muesli and the squashed banana and stir with a wooden spoon to mix the ingredients
* leave some lumps: it's good for the muffins, and don't stir too long either
* place your muffin cases in a muffin pan (if you have one) and fill the muffin cases half way up using a spoon
* put 2 or 3 raspberries on each muffin and sprinkle a little sugar on top
* place in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until the muffins are golden brown

I used extra large muffin cases, and made enough filling to spoon them half full. Use medium sized cases, or make 4 muffins instead if you want the muffins to pop a little over the edge. Never fill the cases more than 3/4 though, as the muffins will rise in the oven.

By the way, I think these muffins are great to take on a picknick or to the beach as a little snack!

Oatmeal and raisin cookies

The nice thing with these cookies is that they feel a bit healthy. Of course you know that there is some sugar inside, but it's brówn sugar. Plus: oatmeal is really healthy, right? So dig into these cookies without feeling guilty - they are really good. And as they fill you up with complex carbohydrates, it's an ideal cookie to bring to work, school or a trip.



Oatmeal and raisin cookies (makes 30)
adapted recipe from Coming Home by John Burton Race

150 g butter, softened
225 g soft brown sugar (I used cane sugar)
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I only used one teaspoon)
125 g flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
235 g rolled oats (NL: havermout)
125 g raisins

step 1

* preheat the oven to 180C
* line baking tray with baking paper
* stir the 150 g butter with the 225 g sugar until it's creamy
* stir in 1 beaten egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* sift (NL: zeef) 125 g flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder and a pinch of salt into the bowl, stirring in between. make sure it's mixed, but don't over stir it
* add 235 g oats and 125 g raisins and stir. I also used my hands to make sure the oats and raisins were well divided

step 2

* roll tablespoons of the mixture into balls and place on the baking tray with 5 cm of space in between
* flatten the balls with a fork dipped in flour
* bake in two batches and put the remaining half in the fridge while the first is baking
* bake the cookies for 20 minutes
* remove from the oven and let them rest for 5 minutes on the baking tray
* transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely (but eat some while they are still warm)

Spicy muffins

After eating lunch, I didn't feel quite ready to face the computer and books again and I really felt like eating something 'lekker' (tasty/delicious). Desperately rummaging through my cupboards and fridge, I ended up with flour, sugar, one egg, a little bit of butter and some cream. Hmmm...
Flipping trough an old cookbook I came across this recipe for cardamom muffins. Yippee, it fitted exactly with what ingredients I had on hand.



Cardamom is a favourite spice here in Sweden: the famous kanelbullar have some cardamom in it, so do 'semlor' and you even have cardamom cakes and buns.
But cardamom is not every one's favourite. A visiting friend thought they had put black pepper in her cake! She refused to eat it.
I agree that too much cardamom is no good, so I took a little less cardamom than the original recipe requires, and replaced it with some cinnamon.

Cardamom muffins (cupcake size)
(12 pieces)

50 g melted butter (original recipe requires margarine, but I think that's all wrong)
paper cups + little butter for greasing
1 egg
130 g sugar
120 g flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 dl cream (NL: slagroom, S: vispgrädde)

* grease the bottom of the paper cups lightly
* preheat the oven to 170 C
* melt the butter: put it in the microwave on 450 watt for 1,5-2 minutes
* mix 1 egg with 1,5 dl sugar until it's white and foamy with a whisk (NL: garde)
* add half of the flour (60 g) and stir it in with a wooden spoon
* add 1 dl cream, stir
* add rest of the flour (60 g) with 1/2 teaspoon cardamon and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, stir
(don't stir too much: with muffins it is better to leave some lumps in the batter, even if it seems strange)
* add 50 g melted butter, that has cooled down a little bit and stir shortly, just so it's mixed
* put one big tablespoon of batter (NL: beslag, S: smet) in each paper cup, dividing it equally. it's best if the cups don't become too full
* place in the oven for 15 minutes

I think these fluffy cakes or muffins are really nice. A little bit spicy and not too heavy. Happy that I found the recipe in Mildas bästa recept from 1976!

EDIT: keep your muffins in a airtight container (NL: koekjestrommel, wat een leuk woord) and two days later they still taste great! The texture becomes a bit more dense, which is also quite nice.

Chewy meringue cookies

I have been trying to make the perfect meringue cookie for a while now and finally I had some success! These cookies have a marshmellow like texture in the middle and are crunchy on the outside. Very nice to eat the way they are, or you can use them in a dessert with some ice cream and fruit.

Last Sunday I made a nice spaghetti carbonara- the recipe will follow later. Anyway, I had some egg whites left over. While studying for my thesis I decided to turn those egg whites into something tasty. This is what I did:




Chewy meringue cookies
(18-25 cookies)

4 egg whites
1 lemon (not necessary)
150 g icing sugar (NL: poedersuiker)
1 teaspoon cornflour (NL: maizena)
1 teaspoon vinegar
100 g finely chopped almonds
little oil or butter
extra: baking sheet (NL: bakpapier)

* split 4 eggs - eggs are easier to split if they are cold from the fridge
* let the whites come to room temperature - or place them in a plastic container (make sure that it's not greasy) in some hot water for 10 minutes
* preheat the oven to 100 C
* take a mixing bowl and whisk (NL: garde) and rub them with some lemon - this is to prevent them from being greasy and gives a slight taste. if you don't have lemon on hand, wash the bowl and whisk with washing up liquid. you can also use an electric mixer.
* beat the egg whites until they are forming peaks
* sieve 150 g icing sugar and 1 teaspoon cornflour and blend with the egg whites and continue to beat
* add 1 small teaspoon vinegar and beat until shiny and thick. you need to be able to turn the bowl upside down (I held it above my head!)
* fold in the 100 g of finely chopped almonds
* place a baking sheet on a baking tray and grease it slightly with some oil
* form little heaps from the egg white mixture using two tablespoons
* place in the oven and leave it there for a loooooong long time, about 1 1/2 hour. when they are dry on the outside take them out and leave to cool on a rack.

Tip: I read somewhere that you can also have the oven on 150 C, place in the cookies, turn the oven off and leave the cookies overnight. I haven't tried that yet!

Kanelbullar - Swedish cinnamon buns

Last week I made some typical Swedish buns: kanelbullar. They turned out so nicely that I decided to take a picture of them. That turned out to be a nice picture (or at least not awful) and actually that's when I decided to join in and start a blog. Why not?

The recipe is from a bag of flour from Willy's, a supermarket here in Sweden. Try it!



Kanelbullar (18-25 pieces)

7 g bag of dried yeast
125 g butter (of which 50 g on roomtemperature)
2,5 dl milk
salt
1 dl sugar
1 small teaspoon ground cardamom
7 dl plain flour
1 large teaspoon cinnamon
paper baking cups
1 egg

step 1
* take the butter out of the fridge, and put 75 g of it in a saucepan
* melt the butter (don't let it get brown) and add 2,5 dl milk
* warm it up to bodytemperature
* put the yeast in a big bowl and add a bit of the milkmixture
* stir and then add the rest of the mixture
* add a pinch of salt, 0,5 dl sugar and 1 teaspoon ground cardemom and stir again
* add 7 dl flour in stages; stir in between
* when you can't stir anymore, start kneading until it becomes a supple dough
* put a kitchen towel over the bowl, put the bowl somewhere warm and let it rise for 30 minutes

step 2
make the filling by stirring together 50 g butter (roomtemperature) with 0,5 dl sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon

step 3
* sprinkle a little flour on you worksurface and on a rolling pin
* roll out the dough to a rectangle of 20 x 50 cm
* spread the filling out on the dough and roll the dough up (start with the long side)
* cut this into slices of 1,5 cm
* place these in the baking cups and put them on a baking tray
* cover with a kitchen towel and let it rise again for 30 minutes
* preheat your oven to 225 C

step 4
* whisk 1 egg and coat the buns (use a brush if you have one, or your fingers)
* sprinkle some pearl sugar on top
* place in the oven for 10-15 min until goldenbrown and firm
* place them on a rack to cool down

These kanelbullar are best eaten fresh. If you don't eat them all in one day, put some in a bag in the freezer. When you get the munchies, put one in the microwave for 30-60 seconds and let it stand for 30 seconds. Yummie!

* the recipe requires 25 g of fresh yeast, but dried worked fine for me