Kladdkaka - The famous Swedish chocolate cake

We arrived at the next stop of our series about Swedish desserts, the kladdkaka.

The Swedes has many national day around the year when they celebrate the day one of their national desserts such as kanelbullens dag (the Swedish cinnamon rolls) on 4th October or Fettisdagen (the Fat Tuesday) when the whole Swedish nation eats semla or like today, on 7th November when everyone bakes kladdkaka at home. 

The word "kladdkaka" means sticky cake. This cake is the first dessert what the Swedish children learn to bake from their parents. It's similar to the American brownie but the kladdkaka's middle is more soft and sticky because of the chocolate. Generally it's served with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. 

You can find kladdkaka in almost every café and restaurant all around Sweden, somewhere it's good, somewhere it's better but unfortunately you can meet with less good one also, whose middle is not soft - which is essential for kladdkaka. In addition like every other Swedish cake, the kladdkaka has also frozen version as well therefore who is too lazy to bake, they can also buy a quite delicious cake in the supermarket. Since it's as quick as lightning to prepare and doesn't need any special qualification or practise, it's hard to find an excuse why you couldn't bake it at home.

Like every dessert, million different kinds of kladdkaka exist but all consist butter, cocoa powder, flour, egg but with different rate. Moreover, kladdkaka has improved variant as well, which is added vanilla or chocolate in, but the result is always very similar.  

From the million versions I chose the famous kladdkaka of Leila Lindholm from her book, A Piece of Cake.

Ingredients:

50 g butter
1/2 dl oil
2 egg
2 dl castor sugar
1 dl brown sugar
2,5 dl flour
4 tablespoon good quality cocoa powder (I use only Holland!)
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
1 pinch of salt

butter and flour to grease the form
50 g dark chocolate (min. 70%)

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C.

2. Melt the butter in the microwave oven or in a small sauce pan then add the oil. 

3. In a big bowl whisk the eggs and the castor and brown sugar with a hand mixer till foamy then addmix the oily butter. 

4. In another bowl mix the dry ingredients, the flour, baking powder, salt, vanilla sugar and cocoa powder and stir into the egg mixture. 

5. When it's ready pour in the prepared, buttered and floured about 24 cm round cake pan with removable bottom and sprinkle with some breaken chocolate pieces. 

5. In the middle of the oven bake the cake for 25 minutes. When you will stick a knife in it, don't surprise, it'll be sticky a bit because of the melted chocolate on its top. 

Serve with freshly whipped cream. 

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Apple-cinnamon muffin with walnut crumb

I'm already in Christmas mood, especially when the cinnamon apple started to flavour from the oven. These muffins are simple (the recipe can be sum up in 3 steps) but delicious, soft and very Christmasish :)

Ingredients (6 pieces):
1 egg
1,5 dl yoghurt
3,5 dkg butter or marge
12 dkg flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of salt
8 dkg sugar
10 g vanilla sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 middle-sized apple

For decoration:
1 handful walnut + 1 tablespoon sugar

1. In a big bowl mix the egg and yoghurt. In another one mix the flour with the baking soda, salt, cinnamon, sugar then add the egg mixture and grated apple to this.Mix all the ingredients properly.

2. Preheat the oven to 200°C. 

3. Spoon the dough into the muffin paper lined forms, sprinkle with sugar-walnut mix and bake in the preheated oven for about 20-30 minutes.

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Leila Lindholm - my favorite Swedish blogger

The Swedish Leila Lindholm knew already as a child that she wants to devote her life to the art of gastronomy therefore went to restaurant schhol without saying. She collected experiences not only in Sweden but in New York's famous restaurants. 

A kép a leila.se-ről származik

She also worked as a food stylist for ads and commercials in Swedish and foreign food magazines. She started  to cooperate with the Swedish TV-channel, the TV4 in 2004, where she created a completely new type in the history of food television. 

Instead of posh and fancy restaurants' recipes she invented something new. She started to deliver food for stressed out families with small kids. Since then she made several tv gastro shows which hit high records. 

Besides the above she is the author of 5 cook books as well. Her books: Leilas middagtips (Leila dinner tips), Leilas guldkant på vardagen,  Hello cupcake!, A piece of cake and One More Slice. All her books has been sold in record numbers in Sweden. In consideration of the big success the books have been published in many other European countries too. In Great Britain, Germany, Italy and Netherlands. 

When she published her 4th book, the One More Slice, her publishing company, the Walter and Books started also. This book keeps going where her previous cake bible, the Piece of Cake finished. This new book became a bestseller immediately in Sweden, it jumped to the top of the sales charts, what is  also proved by that 50.000 copies were sold throughout the country within a half year. The book was published in Great Britain, Germany, France, Denmark and Finland in 2011 spring. Otherwise she awarded the Swedish Publishing Award as well. 

The 5th book, the Hello Cupcake! was published in 2011 October, and since 2012 spring it's availablein abroad too .

The nowadays many times awarded gastro blogger, businesswoman (who became a mother meanwhile) has besides her blog, an own online webstore too where own brand kitchen equipments, which is used by Leila too. 

Who is interested in the books One More Slice or A Piece of Cake szakácskönyv (and doesn't live in any of the Scandinavian countries) can order them on Amazon. I will purchase of Leila book next week for sure! :) 

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Kanelbullar with marzipan or Karlsbaderbullar with cinnamon?

I made a big decision at the weekend. I will bake all different kind of Swedish bullar. I will go to Stockholm from 11th June for a week, go to my favorite book store on Tuesday and buy that book what I have ogled for a long time and contains traditional Swedish cakes, biscuits. 

I know I owe you guys, I haven't forget what I promised a few days ago in my post about Kanelbullar that I will bring the recipe soon. So here we are!! 

I started the baking with Cupcakesfluffan's Karlsbaderbullar (it is filled with butter and marzipan) , followed the recipe step by step but right before rolling the buns up, I thought of why not to sprinkle some cinnamon on the dough? You can decide what it became in the end....kanelbullar with marzipan or karlsbaderbullar with cinnamon.

Ingredients (10-15 pieces):

75 g butter (room temperature)

3 dl flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1 egg

1/3 cup of milk

25g yeast

For the filling:

25 g butter (room temperature)

75 g almond paste

3-4 tablespoon cinnamon

+ egg and pearl sugar (pärlsocker - I have seen this kind of sugar only in Sweden yet so in Hungary I prepare it with normal sugar)

Crumb the yeast into a lukewarm milk, add a teaspoon sugar to it and let stand about 5-10 minutes in a warm place until the yeast doubles its size.

Mix and crumb the butter with the flour in a big bowl. Add rest of the sugar, egg and yeast. Knead the dough for about 5-10 minutes to make a smooth, soft dough. Set aside and let rest for 10-15 minutes.

After the dough rises, roll out it on a floured counter (about 20x30 cm). Grease with the butter first, sprinkle with cinnamon and grate marzipan on it.

Two different methods exist how you can shape or roll up the bullar at this step.

You can fold the dough, cut into 1 cm width stripes, hold the two ends, start to roll them to opposit directions then form spiral buns from it.

The other way which is maybe a shade faster, roll up the dough from long side, divide it into 10-15 pieces and place them bullar baking paper on the oven pan.

Allow to rise about 40-60 minutes. (I need to make a confession, yesterday I didn't wait for rising, put the bullar immediately to the preheated oven and they were perfect.)

Preheat the oven to 225°C. Grease the dough with egg, sprinkle with pearl sugar and bake in the middle of the oven for 8-10 minutes.

Afiyet olsun!

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Princesstårta (Swedish Princess Cake)

I wanted to surprise E. at her farewell party with something special. I was thinking of a Spanish dinner first, then Spanish dessert then the big idea came. Baking a cake which reminds her of Spain. But how should I carry this out? The more bigger idea came one week before the party. The cover of the cake will be Spanish.   

I wanted a special cake not only because of the cover but because of what is under it. My best friend deserves the best therefore I thought that one of my favorite, the Swedish Princess Cake would be perfect for this occassion, even the marzipan won't be green as the traditional one because the Spanish flag's colours - red and yellow - don't fit to the green. :) 

I'm quite satisfied with the outcome, it seemed E. was also happy for her surprise :) and within one day the cake was consumed.

Ingredients:

For the cake:

3 eggs

150 ml liszt (75 ml wheat flour + 75 ml potato flour)

75 g caster sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

Vanilla cream:

2 eggs 

3 dl milk

1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla sugar

2 big tablespoon flour

Topping:

3 dl whippable cream

+ jam (I used sour cherry jam)

+ ready made marzipan (around 30 dkg)

Preheat the oven to 175°C and prepare a 22-24 cm round cake pan for making the sponge, the base ok the cake.

In a big bowl whip the eggs and sugar with a hand mixer until it gets white. In an other bowl mix the flours with the baking powder then add to the egg and sugar mixture and mix them carefully. If it's ready pour the dough into the cake pan.

Bake the sponge in the bottom part of the oven for about 30 minutes. Let it cool in the pan for a few minutes before taking it out and put on a wire rack to chill completely.


For the vanilla cream mix the egg yolks, sugar and flour in a medium-sized pot, add the milk slowly to it, stir it constantly. Heat on low heat while stirring until the cream is thick and you can see bubbles. Lift away from the heat. Beat the egg whites up but don't overbeat them. It is ready when you titl the bowl and the mixture does not slide around. Admix the egg whites to the cream, mix them carefully.


Put the whippable cream in the freezer for 20 minutes before whipping to cool. You will see, you can whip it easier.


Split the cake into three layers. Place the bottom piece of sponge cake on a tray and grease some vanilla cream on it. Add the second sponge cake, grease a thin layer of jam, then another layer of vanilla cream. Add the last, top sponge cake layer.


Take the cream out from the freezer, whip in a big bowl (if you have dr. Oetker Whip it!, definitely add a pack also into the cream!!!! It's my jolly joker!) Add a thin layer of cream around the sides and the rest in the middle of the cake to create a dome on the top.


Roll out the marzipan to 3 mm thin, roll on the rolling pin, carefully put on the cake and decorate. I covered the cake with white marzipan, used red and yellow marzipan for Spanish flag and made roses also.


My cake's base was from Honey and soy.

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Kanelbullar - Swedish cinnamon buns

If I should choose one food which reminds me of Sweden, I would definitely say kanelbulle.


Kanelbulle (plural: kanelbullar) is a traditional Swedish pastry.

When you arrive in Sweden, you can already feel  the aroma of kanelbullar in the air. When you walk around the city in Stockholm you can also feel it passing by a café or the Pressbyrå at the metro stations (Pressbyrå is a company with small kiosk where you can buy newspapers, coffee with kannelbulle and other daily-use items such as chewing gum, fruits, mineral water.).

Kanelbulle is a typical accessories of fika. It's a social event when Swedish people take a break with colleagues, friends, family or for a date and drinking mostly coffee because coffee is an institution in Sweden.

Coffee is something that brings people together. This coffee culture influence to all aspects of society, even the workplace. Almost every workplace has a fika room with an unlimited amount of stuff. There is no location or time of the day where drinking coffe was unacceptable.

Traditionally sweet, baked goods is an indispensable accessory of fika, especially kanelbulle.

It is special and typical Swedish 

• because of the cardamom in the dough,
• because you need to bake it in very hot oven only for a few minutes,
• because it is always baked in individual paper cups,
• because of the cute pearl sugar (pärlsocker )on its top.

These kanelbullar were not baked by me, we had received free coupon (gratis kupong) to ICA supermarket to get it for free of charge. I was soo happy when I saw it!!! Of course I can make it also by myself but I didn't have time at that day so I used the semi-prepared version. When we arrived home from ICA I put some in the oven immediately. I think I don't need to specify how amazing kanelbullar aroma was at home.

Next time I will bring the original recipe as well what Swedes use.

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