There isn’t anything lovelier than the first crop of locally grown strawberries, sweet, juicy and a taste of summer. Following a warmer than usual climate so far this year, British strawberries are ready to eat much earlier, I’m totally happy with that! Last weekend was a productive one, I was out amongst the hedgerows picking…
Desserts
Kladdkaka – Sticky Chocolate Cake
This decedent dark chocolate torte is possibly Sweden’s most popular cake. Without exception, every cafe boasting its own unique version. This rich, dense, incredibly simple cake has few ingredients. Baked just long enough to form a crisp exterior, while remaining gooey and mousse like in the centre, kladd means sticky in Swedish. Serve at room…
Rhubarb & Blood Orange Frangipane Tart
Time both flies and stands still when you’re looking forward to something. I have a holiday booked and I’m happy to say it’s now imminent. Lots to sort out before we depart though so my desk is littered with list upon list. When we do have the opportunity to travel we endeavour to explore somewhere…
Spelt, Apple, Blackberry & Cobnut Crumble Cake
If you’re located in the city, it can be hard to reconcile romantic ideas of autumn (a time of plenty, harvest festival) with the reality of ever shorter, darker days. This cake puts two ingredients together that make the season worth celebrating: apples and blackberries. Paired with warming spices, they make the most delicious treat…
Quince Crumble Tart with a Hazelnut Crust
Knobbly pears or misshapen apples? Nope. Quince may look like a cross between the two but infact it is a fruit in its own right. In it’s raw form, the skin is rough and woolly, and the flesh is hard and unpalatable, with an astringent, acidulous taste because they are high in tannins, however sufficient…
Liquorice Ice Cream and Homemade Cones
Quite why the Nordic countries are so obsessed with liquorice is a mystery to me but what I do find is that there are the lovers and the haters, there doesn’t seem to be a middle ground. The Finns love really strong salty lakritsi or salmiakki, in Iceland they seem to favour chocolate-liquorice combinations, whether it’s lakris, lakrids…
White Peach, Raspberry and Greek Yogurt Cake
I’m taking full advantage firstly of the slightly cooler temperatures this week by testing some new cake recipes and secondly to utilise the wonderful summer fruits we have available to us at the moment. Yellow and white peaches are determined by their skin colour – deep, golden yellow with a red or pink blush for…
Midsummer Strawberry & Elderflower Cake
Today is the National day of Sweden (Sveriges nationaldag), the tradition of celebrating 6th June as Flag Day began in the 1890s, when Artur Hazelius held such celebrations at his Stockholm-based open-air museum named “Skansen.” In 1916, the tradition gained yet more steam when it was honoured at the Stockholm Olympics. Every year, the King…
Strasberry & Mint Sundae, Prosecco Sabayon, Oat & Almond Clusters
If you’ve ever been strawberry picking, you know how incredible strawberry fields smell. On a hot, early summer’s day, you could get drunk off the sweet scent. Sometimes you can mimic the experience by sticking your nose into a punnet of strawberries, but it’s not really recommended. My kids were fortunate when they were growing…
Rhubarb and Blood Orange Curd
This past couple of weeks, the weather has been frustrating here in Buckinghamshire. Shifting quickly from low double figures to below freezing, with wind chills feeling minus degrees. Snow one day, and warm sunshine the next day; it seems that my outfit changes every hour. I am definitely and totally ready for spring weather to…
