Toscakakku - Finnish almond-topped cake

My Mum lives about 1200km away, so on the odd occasion she comes to town I get a tad excited. When she called to say she would be in town AND she was going to visit, I got to thinking about what I could prepare for her. Being a recent convert to baking, a Finnish treat was the natural choice. I dug into my Nordic Bakery Cookbook and decided to make a Tosca Cake, otherwise know by the Finns as Toscakakku. My grandmother used to make Toscakakku but she used to make it into more of a slice. This version of Toscakakku is a thicker cake variety.

As with most Finnish recipes this one calls for few ingredients, all of which I already had in my pantry and fridge, and is as simple as a cake can get. The smell of the almond/butter topping fresh out the oven is amazing! The husband wanted a slice immediately, I had to disappoint him by telling him he had to wait until the mother-in-law arrived. 

Toscakakku is the perfect morning or afternoon tea accompaniment. I actually pulled out some of my grandmother’s fine china to enjoy it with, the two (cake and china) went hand in Finnish hand. I recall my grandmother baking Toscakakku for her friends when she used to entertain, it is an old reliable favourite.

* Recipe from Nordic Bakery Cookbook with variations to cream and almond portions.

Ingredients:

4 eggs

170g caster sugar

100ml cream

100g unsalted butter, melted, cooled

1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or 2 tsp vanilla extract)

2 tsp baking powder

260g plain flour

Tosca topping:

75g unsalted butter

75g caster sugar

50ml cream

25g plain flour

100g flaked almonds

Method:

Preheat oven to 200^oC. Grease 29cm springform tin. 

Whisk eggs and caster sugar well with electric whisk until mixture is fluffy and lighter in colour. Gently fold in cream, melted butter and vanilla bean paste.

In a separate bowl sift flour and baking powder together, fold into the egg mixture. Pour mixture into cake tin and bake for 30-35 minutes.

While cake is baking heat Tosca topping ingredients in a saucepan over low heat, mix well and bring to the boil.

Once cake is cooked remove from oven and gently spread Tosca topping over the top of the cake, return to the oven for a further 15 minutes or until the topping is golden in colour and slightly caramelized.

Cool, slice and devour with a good cup of coffee!

No bake mango cheesecake

I am a huge fan of mangoes. I used to have a tree right outside my house when I lived in the tropics many years ago, and I had never tried mangoes up until then so assumed I didn't like them. They used to fall from the tree and stay where they fell on the ground. Years later I discovered I really love them. Now I miss that tree.

I also never used to like cheesecake and now suddenly I love it. I found this cheesecake recipe here. I changed a few things but basically stuck with the same ingredients. One ingredient I am not fond of is gelatine, it has the strangest smell! Next time I will find a substitute however I used it in this cheesecake.

Now I have to say I am not one to blow my own trumpet, well ok sometimes maybe when I master a new dish, but my husband called me a 'legend' after he sampled a slice of this cheesecake. 'Legend'.

Base:

1 packet Granita biscuits, blend to crumbs

100g unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

200ml whipping cream

250g cream cheese

60g caster sugar

3 medium sized mangoes, pureed (about 300ml)

1 tbs gelatine

3 tbs hot water

Topping:

I mango, sliced

50g mango jelly crystals

2 tsp gelatine

¼ cup hot water

¼ cup cool water

Grease round springform cake tin. ** tip: turn removable base of tin upside down so the cheesecake base won’t stick into the groove that forms at the join. I didn't do this and had a lot of fun trying to ease the cake out of the base of the tin. Mix biscuit crumbs and butter well and press firmly into base of tin. Place into the fridge while making the filling.

Whip cream to medium stiffness (mousse-like texture) and chill. In an another bowl mix cream cheese and sugar together until smooth and creamy.

Dissolve gelatine in hot water and stir until cool. Once cool, mix into mango puree. Add mango puree to cream cheese and sugar mixture and stir until mixed in well. Fold in the whipped cream until well combined. Pour combined mixture into base and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour, until set.

To make the topping combine the jelly crystals and gelatine, add hot water and stir until crystals have melted and mixture is smooth. Add cool water and stir.

Place the mango slices in decorative pattern on top of set cheesecake, slowly pour jelly topping on to the top of the cheesecake and chill overnight (or at least 4-5 hours to fully set).

I dare you to stop at one slice!

Oatbake with berries

Being the last day of my holidays I decided to see it out with some good old hearty baking. And what makes me happier than baking? Finnish baking! As I have previously mentioned I am in love with my Nordic Bakery Cookbook so when I stumbled across some delicious looking berries I grabbed some knowing the Nordic Bakery Cookbook would deliver. Berries of all sorts are very popular in Finnish baking, as a kid my Mum used to go and pick the berries for my grandmother whenever she was about to bake. Oh how I wish I could go skipping into the forrest with a basket to hand pick berries!

Anyhow, this is what I bought.

They're pretty special. I have not actually ever seen fresh blackberries at the grocer before and have only ever purchased the frozen ones.

The recipe I decided on from the Nordic Bakery Cookbook was oatbake with berries. In the original recipe they use blueberries and raspberries however I substituted the blueberries with blackberries. Aside from the berries I followed the recipe to the T, which I usually do when I am first trying a recipe out.

Ingredients:

100g rolled oats

300ml hot milk

100g unsalted butter, at room temperature

60g caster sugar

50ml honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg, lightly beaten
120g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 punnet blackberries

1 punnet raspberries

Icing sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 180^oC and grease loaf tin.

Place oats into a bowl with hot milk and allow to sit so the oats absorb most of the milk and to cool slightly. In another bowl cream butter and sugar with a wooden spoon until fluffy and light in colour. Stir in honey and vanilla extract. Gradually add egg in portions, mixing after each addition. Sift flour and baking powder together, then fold into the butter mixture. Strain remaining fluid from oats and stir into the butter mixture. Pour combined mixture into a greased loaf tin and top with berries.

Bake for 50-60 minutes, until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Leave to rest in the tin for 10 minutes then turn onto a wire rack. Once cool dust with icing sugar, slice, serve and enjoy! 

*The Nordic Bakery Cookbook suggests adding a dollop of whipped cream or custard if that's your thing however I like it as is. The berry flavours go hand-in-hand with the oats. Ihana!

Finnish Blueberry Tart

I am a sucker for a good Finnish dish. I haven't tried one I don't like yet...although I wasn't a fan of Kaalilaatikko as a kid which is a cabbage bake. I remember my brother and I cringing when we knew it was coming knowing it was cabbage, although I do recall I didn't actually mind the taste. I think I would like it now though, I will try it out myself one day.

A few months ago I got my hands on a cute little cookbook called the Nordic Bakery Cookbook, I wrote about it here. I decided to try the blueberry tart a few weekends back. Although I don't recall ever eating blueberry tart as a kid my Mum has said my grandmother often made berry desserts when she was a kid and she had to go out and collect the berries herself. We don't have that luxury here in the city, unfortunately, however in Finland the forrests are full of berries so berry based desserts are very popular.

In the Nordic Bakery Cookbook they use a rye crust however I decided to use my grandmother's famous ricotta pastry (quark pastry). You will find this pastry appears in quite a few of my recipes, sweet and savoury, and they are the basis for the Finnish Christmas Jam Tarts known as Joulutorttu. The pastry calls for a whole 250g block of butter, and as much as I can hear my arteries screaming out NOOO, my taste buds are screaming out YEEES! The pastry simply melts in your mouth. Although initially I wasn't sure how this quark pastry would tie in with the crème fraiche filling of this tart I was very pleasantly surprised. Of course after I had a wee slice (or two) I took the rest into the office, and the compliments were abundant. So I can confirm now the pastry was a hit with this very light but tasty filling.

This recipe is adapted from the Nordic Bakery Cookbook using my grandmother's famous quark pastry.

Pastry:

250g butter, cubed at room temperature

250g ricotta

250g plain flour

Mix butter and flour together with your fingers to form a crumby consistency.  Add ricotta and combine well to make dough. Roll out into a disc shape, wrap in cling wrap and place into the fridge for 30 minutes.

Take the pastry dough out of the fridge and roll out on a floured surface, fold into three (like an envelope) and roll out again. You need to make a circular shape to cover a 25-27cm flan tin, at about 10mm thickness. You may need to add a bit of flour to the dough to make it workable and less sticky. Once rolled out gently lift the dough with rolling pin and place into the greased tin. Press into the sides and cut off any excess.

Filling (adapted from the Nordic Bakery Cookbook):

150ml crème fraiche

150ml sour cream

1 egg, lightly beaten

40g caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

250g blueberries

To make filling simply place all filling ingredients except the blueberries into a bowl and mix well.

I didn’t blind bake the pastry case before adding the filling but I would recommend you do so. Cover the base with baking paper and baking weights or a handful of rice and bake in preheated oven at 180^oC for 10-12 minutes, until slightly golden. Remove from oven and add filling, top with blueberries and bake at 200^oC for 25 minutes or until set and crust is golden brown.

Pulla - traditional Finnish sweet bread

Traditional Finnish Pulla is sweet, cardamom flavoured bread that encapsulates the essence of Finnish baking. It is simple to make with few ingredients, but tastes like home. When I made my very own first batch of Pulla the smell of cardamom brought childhood memories flooding back. My Mum used to make Pulla when we were kids and is one of my longtime favourites. In the past I have made scroll type Pulla with cinnamon as posted here, and the traditional (although mine took on a somewhat rogue shape!) Korvapuusti shaped Pulla as posted here.

Kneading Pulla dough isn’t for the faint hearted. I estimate it takes a good 15 minutes of kneading to get the dough perfect. My Mum’s tip is the softer the dough, the softer the Pulla. There is quite a bit of mixing prior to kneading as well. I have recently heard that the Thermomix makes light work of the kneading, and my sister in law uses a dough hook on her Kitchen Aid and that reduces the risk of RSI that comes from kneading. I must say the kneading does not turn me off, clearly, since I made Pulla on Sunday and again today.

My son has decided Pulla is a must-have for his lunchbox. My son has great taste.

Ingredients:

500ml warm milk

2 eggs

150g sugar

1tsp cardamom

1tsp salt

900g plain flour

6tsp dry yeast

200g melted butter

Sugar to dust on top

30g flaked almonds

1 egg (to brush on top)

** You can add a handful of raisins to the dough before you roll it out if you like.

This recipe makes 2 Pulla loaves. You can halve the ingredients if you wish to make 1 loaf but I prefer to make 2 loaves after the effort of kneading. Pulla freezes well in an airtight freezer bag and can be defrosted in the oven.

Method: 

Mix warm milk, 2 eggs, sugar, salt and cardamom together until the sugar has melted.  In a separate bowl mix the flour and yeast together.  Using your hands start adding a little of the flour and yeast mixture by kneading it through the mix.  Keep adding the flour a little by little until the dough comes off your hand (don’t worry if you have not used all the flour).  Add slightly cooled melted butter and keep kneading until it is all absorbed into the mix. *Note: when you first add the butter the dough seems to float in it, keep mixing, the butter will absorb into the dough. If the dough is too moist and sticks to your hand, add a little more flour. Knead the dough for about 15 minutes until soft.  Cover the kneaded dough with a tea towel and let it rise to double its size in a warm place, away from draft, for about 30 or so minutes.

Once risen, punch the dough, then pour out onto a lightly floured work bench.  Divide into 2 to make 2 loaves. Divide the first portion into 3 pieces and roll out each piece into a long rope shape approx 50cm in length. Place each piece onto a baking tray side by side, press one end of all 3 rope pieces together then plait. Tuck both ends under to make loaf neat. Cover with a teatowel and let rise for about 15-20 minutes.  Brush the top and sides of the loaf with beaten egg, then sprinkle sugar and a handful of flaked almonds on top. Bake in a preheated oven at 225^oC for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Do not overcook as the Pulla will dry out.

Best eaten fresh out the oven. I can guarantee you won’t be able to resist, the smell of freshly baked Pulla is amazing! Accompany with freshly brewed coffee for a delicious afternoon tea treat.

Don’t forget to pop some into your kid’s lunch box!

I eat cupcakes in bed!

I have a dirty little secret. I eat cupcakes in bed! I can hear the collective “But what about the crumbs?”. Well, when the cupcakes are as good as the ones I am about to tell you about, you too might just be tempted to eat one (or two) in bed.

I went to a lovely wedding last year and on my way out I was handed two boxes of cake. I have to tell you I was not previously a big fan of cake, the cake has to be pretty special to excite me. Anyway, I got home feeling all loved up and happy as you do after weddings and spending a wonderful day with dear friends, and I stood in the kitchen and opened one of the boxes of cake. The smell was intense! Jaffa. So, I made myself a cup of hot milo, got into my pjs, and climbed into bed with the cupcake...s (there were two of them, the second one was mint chocolate). And for the first time ever, I mean ever, I fell in love with cake. This jaffa marble mudcake was amazing, simply amazing. Imagine your mouth bursting with citrus and chocolate and that which makes the whole world good again. I was hooked.

Naturally I contacted my friend from the wedding to find out which angel made these delicious morsels and I was given the details of Queen of Cakes. The name says it all, she truly is the Queen of Cakes. I promptly contacted the Queen (Julie) to firstly thank her for my Saturday night love fest with cupcakes in bed, then I promptly found a reason to order some. Christmas was around the corner, how convenient. I spent many hours ogling her various cakes and cupcakes online and finally decided on some Christmas themed cupcakes. This is what I got:

Seriously, mouth-watering jaffa marble mud with a layer of ganache and icing. I promptly ordered another batch  (well why not!) and by my 3^rd love affair with these jaffa delicacies my dirty little secret was well and truly established. I eat cupcakes in bed.

For my son’s birthday earlier this year I ordered an army themed cake and matching cuppies. Julie is amazing to deal with. I threw the army theme idea at her and this is what she produced:

A chocolate mud cake in the shape of a helmet with matching jaffa marble mud cupcakes.

Another one for late night crumbs. At my son’s party there were oohs and aahs from not only the kids at our party but from neighbouring parties. A few of the kids were eyeing off the cupcakes and I was quick to point out, with fingers crossed behind my back, that they were ‘orange’ flavoured and "not half as nice as the chocolate cake". I wanted those babies for myself. A party for 13 (me and 12 cupcakes) was on the horizon! I did  wind up sharing one or two, reluctanctly.

Now you know what inspired the ‘cake crumbs’ in my blog title.

If you want to contact Julie from Queen of Cakes you can find her on Facebook. She is located south of Perth. I have to warn you this pocket rocket is in HOT demand and as such bookings need to be made well in advance. Well worth the wait.

** This is not a sponsored post. I would however happily write more posts on Queen of Cakes should a dozen jaffa marble mud cupcakes happen to land on my doorstep. Got my pyjamas at-the-ready.

Lime Tart

I have never made a citrus tart or pie before, which is surprising since lime would have to be one of my favourite flavours. All week I could not get the craving for lime tart out of my mind. So of course come Saturday morning I was off to the grocer to get me some limes.

This tart was so simple I couldn’t imagine it would be that nice but it was just lovely. My Mum is in town this week so I made it for her visit today. She loved it. Of course I packed half of it up for her to take home otherwise I would wind up eating it all! Husband thought it was a tad tangy but I think it was just right. Being a huge fan of lime it hit the spot for me.

In this recipe from Martha Stewart it says to put ½ cup of sugar into the filling. Initially I thought it may not need more sugar with the can of condensed milk however after tasting it I think it would be too tangy without the sugar to balance it. I did add the sugar and it found it works well.

Ingredients:

1 packet of granita biscuits

70g unsalted butter, melted and cooled

400g can of skim sweetened condensed milk

¾ cup fresh lime juice (5-6 fresh limes)

½ cup sugar

4 egg yolks

Pinch salt

Method:

Process granita biscuits into fine crumbs, add butter and mix well. Transfer into a 9” tart pan with a removable base, pat down firmly to ensure it will not break apart once cooked. Place the tart pan onto a baking tray and bake until the crust is fragrant, approx 10 minutes at 200^oC.

Combine condensed milk, lime juice, eggs, sugar and salt; whisk until smooth. Pour mixture into crust and return to the oven for about 20 minutes. The edge should be set and the centre still slightly loose.

Cool tart completely at room temperature and refrigerate until chilled for at least 2 hours.


** Can be garnished with fresh cream.

Slice and get your tart on!

Korvapuusti - Traditional Finnish Cinnamon Buns

As I have recently discovered, traditional Finnish pulla dough can be used to make all sorts of various delectable treats. I have indulged in making Korvapuusti on numerous occasions, which is essentially the pulla dough with cinnamon added. In our family the original Korvapuusti shape wound up into a scroll instead, like this. This weekend I decided to try out the traditional Korvapuusti shape like my Mum used to make in my much younger days. This pulla dough is the same recipe as my previous post.

Ingredients:
500ml warm milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
150g sugar
1tsp cardamom
1tsp salt
900g plain flour
6tsp dry yeast
200g melted butter
Cinnamon, sugar and margarine to smother over the dough
1 extra egg (to brush on top)

2 tbs milk (to brush on top)

Mix warm milk, 2 eggs, sugar, salt and cardamom together in a bowl until the sugar has melted.  In a separate bowl mix the flour and yeast together.  Using your hands start adding a little of the flour and yeast mixture by kneading it through the milk mix.  Keep adding the flour a little by little until the dough comes off your hand (don’t worry if you have not used all the flour).  Add slightly cooled, melted butter and keep kneading until it is all absorbed into the mix.  If the dough is too moist and sticks to your hand, add a little more flour.  Once the dough has formed into a workable state, roll onto a floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes. Mind the shoulder. The dough should take on a flexible texture. ** Mum's tip: the softer the dough, the softer the pulla. Then, place dough back into the bowl and cover with a tea towel and let it rise to double its size in a warm place, away from draft, for about 1 hour.

Once risen, pour the dough onto a floured surface. Knead a little to get the air out. Cut into 3 portions, roll out the first portion into a rectangular shape. Spread a little margarine all over the surface of the dough, sprinkle generously with cinnamon and sugar. Roll the sheet up to make a long, log shape, then make alternate 3cm diagonal cuts like shown below.

Place the pieces onto a baking tray, long side down, and press the centre of each one firmly so that the sides push out, as such:

** Note: now what I did not do, which ultimately shapes the Korvapuusti correctly, is push the dough right in. As the dough rose my buns pushed back out of shape as I hadn’t pushed them down far enough in the centre.  According to the Korvapuusti extraordinaire (my Mum) you need to push the centre right down. Clearly mine are a bit misshapen (but not lacking in taste I might add).

Cover the tray with a tea towel and let rise again for about 30 minutes. You may need to press the centres down again once risen. Brush the Korvapuusti with combined lightly beaten egg and milk, and sprinkle with pearl sugar, or white sugar. Repeat with the other 2 portions of dough.

Bake in oven at 225^oC until a nice golden brown colour for about 10-15 minutes. Do not overcook as this will make them too dry.

My Korvapuusti have a mind of their own!

** Suitable to freeze, simply pack in airtight freezer bags and when you have unexpected company warm them up in the oven for a superb last minute baked treat!


** Tip: I personally think these are best fresh out of the oven. If they have been sitting for awhile, simply warm up in the microwave for 10 seconds prior to eating, yum!

Sticky Date Pudding

I am big on warm, rich desserts in winter. I may have missed the boat as we are just entering spring but I just had to try making Sticky Date Pudding. I was thinking about trying out something different on the weekend and after posting the question on my facebook page, a clever young lady suggested Sticky Date, so why not!

Ingredients:

200g fresh dates, chopped and pitted
250ml boiling water
1 tsp bicarb soda
60g unsalted butter
135g brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

¼ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp nutmeg

150g self raising flour

Toffee sauce:

125g unsalted butter
125g brown sugar

140ml cream

Method:  

Put dates in a bowl with bicarb soda and cover with boiling water. Leave to stand for a few minutes until the dates soften, then drain. If you prefer your pudding without chunks of date you can puree the mixture.

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease an 8 jumbo cupcake holed tin with butter. Cream together butter and brown sugar using a wooden spoon until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla extract, mix well. Fold in flour and then fold in the dates.

Pour mixture into the cupcake tin. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

To make the toffee sauce put butter, sugar and cream into a saucepan over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Simmer for a few minutes until the sauce has thickened and is golden in colour.

** You can keep the toffee sauce in the fridge. It will thicken when chilled, simply reheat prior to serving.