Mazarintårta (Swedish Mazarin Torte)

 

I got a little homesick yesterday. Back home in Sweden, family and friends were posting pictures of everyone celebrating Valborg (also known as Walpurgis). Valborg is such a great holiday - whole neighborhoods and towns gather around huge bonfires at night to set off some fireworks and sing traditional Swedish songs to celebrate that spring has finally arrived. Growing up, it was always that night I got to break out my new white Adidas sneakers, because even though it was still freezing outside, it was officially spring.

So, to get into the spirit of Valborg, without setting anything on fire, I baked a Swedish Mazarin torte.

Mazariner are normally small, oval pastries made out of pastry dough with an almond paste center, and topped with a powdered sugar frosting. They have always been a part of my childhood, but this was the first time I've had it in the form of a torte.

This cake is very easy to make, but has an amazing almond flavor and complexity that sets it apart from your average pound cake. It's very moist, but still feels very light. My hubby even says it's  better than the ones he had in Sweden!

Traditionally you would use a few bitter almonds together with the sweet almonds in the batter, but they are really hard to find here in the States. It might have something to do with them being very poisonous when digested in large amounts. The almond extract that we use in baking is actually made from bitter almonds, which is why it works excellent as a substitute (and oh, it's not poisonous!). It has such a wonderful aroma, and I even love to put a little in my pancake batter or in my oatmeal in the morning.

This recipe also calls for vanilla sugar, which is very common in Swedish baking. It resembles confectioners sugar, but has been mixed with vanilla beans. You can find it at World Market and in other specialty stores that sell European products. If you have trouble finding it, you can make your own by putting 2 cups of white sugar in an airtight container. Take one vanilla bean, slice it open and mix the specks with the sugar and then bury the pod in the sugar. Cover, and let stand for a week before you use it.

To top this cake off, I used some edible flowers that I bought at Whole Foods in the herbs section. It's a beautiful way to take any dessert up a notch.

We tried our best to save half of the cake, but we just couldn't resist. Something tells me this will be a Raymer household staple.

 

 

 

 

Mazarin Torte

from the Swedish Baking Magazine Hembakat

 

7 oz butter 
>1 - 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tbsp vanilla sugar
30 almonds (grind, or mix in a blender until grinded)
2 tsp almond extract
> 1 - 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
< 2/3 cup milk, cold
 
Frosting: (I doubled this)
> 3/4 cup confectioner's sugar
2 tsp water

 

 Ps. Since this is a Swedish recipe with metric measurements, it was hard to get the exact amounts. I have used the symbols > and < to show when to use heaping cups and when to spare some.

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 355 degrees. In a large bowl beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Add the eggs, one at a time.
3. Add the ground almonds and the vanilla sugar.
4. Mix the flour and baking powder and add to the batter. Stir in the milk and almond extract.
5. Pour the batter into a greased and floured 9 inch spring form pan.
6. Bake for 50-60 min.
7. Let the torte cool. Mix confectioners sugar and water. Pour over the cake and let it set before cutting it. Enjoy!

 

 

 

Mazarintårta

från tidningen Hembakat

 

200 g smör
3 dl strösocker
2 ägg
2 msk vaniljsocker
25 st sötmandlar
6 st bittermandlar
3 dl vetemjöl1 tsk bakpulver
1 1/2 dl mjölk, kall

Glasyr:
2 dl florsocker
2 tsk vatten


Gör så här:

1. Sätt ugnen på 180 grader. Rör smör och socker vitt och pösigt.
2. Tillsätt äggen, ett i sänder, och rör om.
3. Rör ner de malda mandlarna och vaniljsockret. Tillsätt mjölet blandat med bakpulvret och till sist den kalla mjölken.
4. Häll smeten i en smord och bröad form med löstagbar kant, ca 24 cm i diameter.
5. Grädda kakan mitt i ugnen i ca 60 min. ¨
6. Låt kakan kallna. Blanda florsocker och vatten till glasyren. Glasera kakan och låt den stelna innan du skär i den.



Apple Rose Mini Tarts

 

 

I love finding beautiful recipes that are both easy to make, and use ingredients you most likely already have at home. These little beauties are one of those recipes that you can easily throw together after dinner one week night to have with that late night coffee (it's not just me right?). Or if you have guests coming over, simply plate the roses with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on the side, drizzle with caramel, and you have yourself a fancy dessert.

 

 

 

 

Did I mention they are delicious?

 

 

 

 

My soon-to-be 4 year old loved these, and I'm sure you will too! Be sure to check out this tutorial to see how easy they are to make. Happy baking!

 

 



 

Apple Rose Mini Tarts
from Cooking With May Lynn 

1 red apple
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon honey
3 tablespoons water
1/2 cup butter
1 cup flour
Cinnamon
Powdered sugar for dusting


Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (175C).
2. Slice an apple in half and remove the core.
3. Make thin slices and put them in a pot. Add sugar, honey and water and cook for about 5 minutes.
4. Move the apples to a bowl and let them cool.
5. Take the butter and add 3 tablespoons of the apple water and the flour. Mix well and form into a ball. Divide dough in half, and roll it into a rectangle on your counter.
6. Slice strips horizontally, about 1 inch wide.
7. Put 5-6 slices of apple, overlapping, on top of the strips. Sprinkle some cinnamon and roll them up so it looks like roses.
8. Put the roses in cupcake molds and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
9. Dust some powdered sugar on top and voilá!

Små Äppelrosor
 
2,25 dl mjöl
Ett rött äpple
2 msk socker
1 msk flytande honung
3 msk vatten
60 gram smör
Kanel

White Chocolate Lavender French Macarons

Ever since I had my first macaron at Bottega Louie in downtown LA last year - a perfect, powder blue Earl Grey macaron with gold dust on top - I knew I was in love. It was sweet and had a crunchy outside, while soft on the inside, and simply delicious. Macarons are the perfect treat for an afternoon fika, when you just want something little, but sweet, to go with your hot cup of coffee.

This past Saturday, I decided to try making macarons for the first time. I had read countless recipes and directions for making French macarons, so I was well aware of the fact that it would be a challenge. I found one recipe that offers two important things: a) the recipe uses weight rather than volume to make it more precise, and b) it has a useful trouble shooting video and lists the common errors when baking macarons. Still, it took me three batches and staying up till two in the morning, to succeed. Here's what I learned.

- Drawing circles using a compass on a non-stick parchment paper will help make the macarons the same size. Make sure to leave some space between them so that they don't bake into each other.

- Sift the sugar and almond flour. This will get rid of any lumps and help you get a smooth batter.

- It's all about how you stir the batter. I knew I had to be careful when folding the batter, but what I also learned was that it's easy to over-mix. The first batch of rose water macarons with a buttercream filling, were over-mixed and turned out flat. With the second batch I was overly cautious and mixed the batter until the dry ingredients had just been incorporated. These guys turned out under-mixed, chubby and lumpy. The correct way is to carefully fold the batter along the sides, until it's slowly running off the spoon like a ribbon. These white chocolate lavender macarons turned out perfect. You know what they say - third time's the charm!

- It's important to tap the baking sheet hard on the counter to get rid off all of the air bubbles in the batter. This will also help the macarons not to crack.

- Leave the piped macarons on the counter for about 20 minutes to form a little dry shell, before putting them in the oven. This will help them keep their shape.

- Make lots of them, because they'll be gone in no time.

The wonderful thing about macarons is that you can make any filling you like, the basic recipe is always the same. I made a rose water buttercream and a white chocolate lavender ganache. Even though the rose water macarons didn't have the right consistency, I still loved the delicate rose flavor. Another great thing is that they freeze well, so you can always make them in advance if you're having a party. 

Bon appétit!

French Macarons
from HowToCookThat

4 large egg whites (or 5 small) 140g (4.94 ounces)
1/3 cup or 70g (2.47 ounces) caster sugar [*US cups 1/3 cup plus 1 tsp.]
1 1/2 cups or 230g (8.11 ounces) pure icing sugar [US cups 1 1/2 cups plus 4 tsp.] 
1 cup or 120g (4.23 ounces) almond meal [US cups 1 cup plus 3 teaspoons]
2g (0.07 ounces) salt (tiny pinch)
gel food coloring (optional)



Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 300F (150 grader)
2. Place egg whites and cater sugar in a bowl and mix with electric mixer until stiff enough to turn the bowl upside down without it falling out, continue to whip for 1-2 more minutes. How long this takes will depend on you mixer. Add gel or powdered food coloring and continue to mix for a further 20 seconds.
3. 514Sift the almond meal and icing sugar and salt twice, discarding any almond lumps that are too big to pass through the sieve.
4. Fold into the egg white mixture. It should take roughly 30-50 folds using a rubber spatula. The mixture should be smooth and a very viscous, not runny. Over-mix and your macarons will be flat and have no foot, under mix and they will not be smooth on top.
5. Pipe onto trays lined with baking paper, rap trays on the bench firmly (this prevents cracking) and then bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Check if one comes off the tray fairly cleanly, if not bake for a little longer (make sure you are using NON-stick baking paper or they will stick).

Rose water buttercream
altered recipe from addapinch

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 - 2 cups confectioners sugar
1 tsp rose water
pinch salt
1-2 tbsp heavy cream


Instructions:

1. Place softened butter into the bowl of a stand mixer that has been fitted with the paddle attachment. Turn the mixer on a medium setting and cream the butter until it is smooth and has lightened in color, about 3 minutes.
2. Add confectioner's sugar, ½ a cup at a time. After each cup has been incorporated, turn the mixer onto the highest speed setting and for about 10 seconds to lighten the frosting.
3. Add rose water and a pinch of salt and combine until well-incorporated.
4. Add heavy cream until the frosting has reached the preferred consistency. For a firmer frosting, add more confectioner's sugar.

Lavender White Chocolate Ganache
altered recipe from butter sweet symphony

1/2 cup white chocolate
1/3 cup cream
2 teaspoons dried edible lavender


Instructions:

1. Place the chopped chocolate in a mixing bowl.
2. Heat the cream gently with the dried lavender.
3. Pour the lavender-infused through a strainer over the chopped chocolate. Mix until it forms a smooth consistency.
4. Pour the mixture into a piping bag and let chill until the ganache is at the correct consistency to be piped.

French Macarons

4-5 stora äggvitor 140g
70g fint socker
230g florsocker
120g mandelmjöl
2g salt (en nypa)
Hushållsfärg i gelform



Rosenvattensmörkräm

55 g smör, rumstemp
2,5 - 3,5 dl florsocker
1 tsk rosenvatten
nypa salt
1-2 msk grädde



Lavendel- och vit chokladganache

1,2 dl vit choklad
0,8 dl grädde
2 tsk torkad lavendel

Lemon Lavender Pound Cake

 

 

There are two kinds of dessert I am most likely to never turn down, and that is anything made with chocolate or lemon. Now that spring is here, I feel like my usual baking of rich chocolate desserts are being switched out for lighter, fruity ones. Since I happened to have some lemons sitting on the kitchen counter that looked kind of lonely, I decided to try a new recipe for lemon pound cake. Because honestly, is there anything more wonderful than a perfect slice of lemon pound cake? I think not. 

 

 

This weekend we stopped by Union Market in DC and found this amazing little stand, Bazaar Spices, which sell spices and herbs from all over the world. Among other things, I picked up a bunch of dried lavender that I wound up using in the pound cake. By adding a teaspoon of lavender buds to the sugar, and grinding them together in a mortar, it releases the flavor of the lavender into the sugar. It smelled amazing and added a whole new dimension to the cake.

I have tried a couple of lemon pound cake recipes in the past, and I must say this one is one of my favorites. I made a few minor changes, such as using buttermilk instead of milk, adding lemon peel when it only called for juice, and including lavender. The result is a lemon flavor that isn't overpowering, and a crust that gives a nice texture to an otherwise moist cake.

I have found that a lot of recipes call for mixing sugar and lemon juice together, and soaking the cake just as it has come out of the oven. Sometimes I find that it makes the pound cake too sticky, so if you're like me and enjoy a little crust on your pound cake, I would say, just let it be. Sift some powdered sugar on top of the cake and call it a day!

Lemon Lavender Pound Cake

altered recipe from food.com 

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon dried lavender buds

2 eggs, well beaten

1 tablespoon lemon juice

the peel from one lemon

1⁄4 teaspoon salt

1 1⁄2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1⁄2 cup buttermilk (milk + 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar. Let stand for 10 minutes before using.)

Instructions:

1. Put the sugar and lavender in a bowl and with a mortar, grind the lavender.
2. Run the sugar through a fine sifter to get rid of any big lavender pieces.
3. Mix together 1 cup lavender sugar and butter.
4. Add eggs,1 tablespoon of lemon juice and lemon peel; mix well.
5. Add salt, flour, and baking powder to mixture.
6. Add buttermilk.
7. Bake at 325°F in a well greased loaf pan for 1 hour, or until golden brown.
8. Dust some confectioners sugar on top before serving. Enjoy!

Citronkaka med lavendel
 
113 g smör
2,5 dl socker

1 tsk torkad lavendel

2 ägg, vispade

1 msk citronjuice

skalet från en citron

1 krm salt

3,6 dl mjöl

1 tsk bakpulver

1 dl buttermilk (mjölk + 1 tsk citronjuice eller vinäger som får stå i 10 minuter innan användning)

Speckled Easter Cake



 

 

Easter is one of my favorite holidays. Not only is it a key celebration in the Christian faith, but it's also such a bright and colorful holiday. The heavy jackets have been put away (depending on where you live), the trees are budding, colorful tulips and lilies are standing on our tables, and most importantly, it's a time for family to come together. Oh, and candy. Lots of candy.

This year we were invited over to our friends Brandon and Sarah's house for an Easter potluck, and I just had to bake a cake. Well, I didn't have to bake a cake, but this was a great excuse. I'm always browsing on Pinterest for some inspiration and remembered how impressed I'd been with a speckled cake I saw from the Cake Blog. It's not your traditional fluffy bunny butt cake or hatching chicken cupcake. I had never seen anything like it, and as a learning baker, I love a challenge.

 



 

 

As a base, I used this incredibly moist and rich coconut cake recipe. I baked this cake for my husband a couple of months back, and he swears it was the best cake he has ever had. To keep it light and fresh, I made a pineapple curd filling. Oddly enough, there are not a lot of recipes for pineapple curd out there (let me know if you have one!), so I tried the one that had the best reviews. Unfortunately, it came out a little too sweet for my taste, so I ended up making a lemon curd and mixed the two together. The tartness from the lemon cut the sweetness from the pineapple, and vice versa. It worked perfectly.

Now, a cake needs frosting. Before I found this buttercream recipe, I was walking around thinking I was a cream cheese frosting kind of girl. Because, frankly, how appealing does a butter spread on a cake sound? But I was wrong, it's delicious. This recipe is not overly sweet and has a nicely hidden salty note in it. It's definitely a crowd pleaser. 

 

A tip though, when using gel food coloring, be careful to not put in too much. The frosting will get darker the longer it sits. My light aqua cake turned a lot darker within just a few hours.

 

The eggs were the easy part. I just dyed some fondant and then rolled them into the shape of eggs. Make sure you put them in the fridge to cool so the fondant hardens. That way they will keep their shapes nicely when they're on top of the cake.

 

The most fun, and the messiest, part was speckling the cake to look like an egg. I used a clean paint brush and then gently dabbed it in a small bowl of water and cocoa. Then I splattered the cake to get the effect I wanted. My hubby laughed at me, because not only did I get cocoa spots all over my kitchen counter, cabinets and stove, but I also ended up looking like a polka-dotted version of myself! Next time I'll remember to put down some towels first.

 

So, if you're looking for a delicious springtime cake recipe, this one's great. It's light and has a perfect balance between sweetness and tartness. You'll love it!

 

 

 

 



Incredible Coconut Cake 

from Taste of Home

5 eggs, separated

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon coconut extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
2-1/4 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups flaked coconut, chopped - I used finely shredded coconut
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar


Instructions:

1. Place egg whites in a large bowl; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. 
2. Preheat oven to 325°. In another large bowl, beat sugar, butter and oil until well blended. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in extracts. 
3. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition. Stir in coconut. 
4. Add cream of tartar to egg whites; with clean beaters, beat on medium until stiff peaks form. Fold a fourth of the egg whites into batter, then fold in remaining whites. 
5. Transfer to three greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Bake 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

 

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
from add a pinch

1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened
3 - 4 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons vanilla
pinch salt
2-3 tablespoons heavy cream


Instructions:

1. Place softened butter into the bowl of a stand mixer that has been fitted with the paddle attachment. Turn the mixer on a medium setting and cream the butter until it is smooth and has lightened in color, about 3 minutes.
2. Add confectioner's sugar, ½ a cup at a time. After each cup has been incorporated, turn the mixer onto the highest speed setting and for about 10 seconds to lighten the frosting.
3. Add vanilla and a pinch of salt and combine until well-incorporated.
4. Add heavy cream until the frosting has reached the preferred consistency. For a firmer frosting, add more confectioner's sugar, a ¼ cup at a time. For a softer frosting, add more cream, a tablespoon at a time.

 

 

Fantastisk Kokostårta

från Taste of Home

5 ägg, separerade

4,7 dl socker
113 g smör, rumstemp
1 dl veg olja
1 tsk kokosnötextract
1/2 tsk vaniljextract
1 krm mandelextract
5,4 dl mjöl
1 tsk bakpulver
1/2 tsk bikarbonat
1 krm salt
2,4 dl buttermilk (mjölk + 1 tsk vinäger. Låt stå i 10 min före användning)
4,7 dl kokosflingor

 Vaniljsmörkräm Frosting
från add a pinch220 g smör, rumstemp
7-9 dl florsocker, siktat
2 tsk vaniljextrakt
nypa salt
2-3 msk grädde