Pokémon Birthday Cake Pokémontårta

This weekend we got to celebrate our sons' buddy, Dany, who turned six years old. Dany loves Pokémon, so I made him a cake with his favorite character, Pikachu. (That's the yellow little creature, for all of you who don't know.)

It's funny, I talked to some parents at the party, and we realized we know nothing about Pokémon, even though it was a big hit in the late 1990's. We do, however, remember the Tamagotchi. We all had key chains with our own little pet that we had to feed, put down for naps, and potty train. Basically, we all unknowingly got ready for parenthood!

Instead of a regular vanilla cake, I tried a new recipe for a buttermilk cake from The Sweetapolita Bakebook, and I really liked it. I filled the cake with a strawberry mousse and covered it with a vanilla bean buttercream and fondant. The number six and Pikachu were made out of fondant as well.

Happy Birthday once again, Dany!

I helgen firade vi pojkarnas kompis, Dany, som fyllde sex år. Han älskar Pokémon och speciellt Pikachu, så jag gjorde en Pokémoninspirerad tårta till honom. Tårtan hade buttermilkbottnar (ungefär som filmjölk och kärnmjölk) och var fylld med jordgubbsmousse och täckt med vaniljsmörkräm och fondant. Figurerna var även gjorda med fondant.

Meringue Nests with Fresh Berries Marängnästen med färska bär

Meringues bring back so many childhood memories for me. My dad used to eat them crushed over vanilla ice cream, and my aunt would use them to make the most delicious dessert with ice cream, bananas, chocolate sauce and whipped cream, called Marängswiss. Meringues are one of those special treats that makes me feel like a kid, just the way cotton candy does!

These meringue nests are easy to whip up and makes a perfectly light dessert for these last days of summer. Delightfully crisp on the outside and wonderfully chewy on the inside, just the way I like them! Fill them with fresh strawberries, blackberries, blueberries and raspberries, and garnish with mint leaves.

Vi har fortfarande runt sommarvärme här i Washington, så en lättare sensommardessert som de här marängnästena med färska bär är perfekt. Marängerna är krispiga på utsidan, men sådär mumsigt sega i mitten. Precis som de ska vara. Fyll dem med hallon, jordgubbar, blåbär och björnbär och toppa med lite mynta. Det blir inte enklare än så här!

Meringue Nests with Fresh Berries

(from "bake" magazine, spring 2016)

Makes 8 servings

4 egg whites, room temperature

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

3/4 cup sugar

4 cups fresh berries

fresh mint leaves for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 215 degrees.
2. Beat egg whites, vanilla extract and cream of tartar until foamy. Add sugar, a little at a time, and beat until stiff peaks.
3. Make 8 mounds on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Using the back of a spoon, shape each mound into a nest.
4. Bake for 2 hrs, then turn off the heat and let it sit for another hour in the oven.
5. Fill the nests with fresh berries and garnish with mint.

Marängnästen med Fäska Bär

(anpassat från tidningen "bake", vårnumret 2016)

för 8 pers

4 äggvitor, rumstemperatur

1 tsk vaniljpulver

2 dl socker

0,5 tsk vinäger

9 dl färska bär

Färsk mynta till garnering

1. Sätt ugnen på 100 grader. 

2. Vispa äggvitor, vaniljpulver och vinäger till ett skum. Tillsätt sockret, lite i taget, tills marängsmeten är fast.

3. Gör åtta stora klickar på en plåt med bakplåtspapper. Gör fördjupningar i varje maräng med en sked. 

4. Baka i ugn i 2 h. Stäng sedan av värmen och låt stå en 1h till med ungsluckan stängd.

5. Ta ut marängnästena och fyll med färska bär och garnera med mynta.

First Day of School Party

It's a strange feeling when all of the sudden you have a kid in school. My little 'baby' now picks out his own clothes when we're out shopping, loves to eat 'fancy' cheese and smoked salmon, makes up his own jokes (they never make sense), and watches family game night shows. It's been a joy to have him home with me for the past five years, and to see him grow up to be this funny, little person with a heart of gold.

Needless to say, there were some watery eyes on first day of school. Mommy's eyes, that is. Thankfully, I kept myself busy by putting together a First Day of School Party for the kids and parents from the playground. The kids got to play and have fun, while we parents celebrated that we survived the first day!

I made two cakes, one vanilla cake with a chocolate buttercream and fresh strawberry filling, covered with a vanilla buttercream and chocolate ganache. The second was the traditional Swedish gooey chocolate cake, topped with a chocolate buttercream and an Italian meringue, that I garnished with white raspberries.

This was such a fun party, I think it needs to become a tradition! That is, until it's not "cool" any more...

An Old Fashioned Birthday Cake

My amazing hubby, Matt, turns 35 years old today! He's a hard working father, a caring husband and a wonderful best friend. And he makes mean cocktails. 

Some nights he will be working on making his own bitters and syrups, while I bake, and it's somehow become our "thing". We are having so much fun hanging out in the kitchen together.

So, for his birthday cake I wanted to surprise him by making a cake that resembles an Old Fashioned cocktail. A bourbon butter cake with an orange buttercream. I decorated this naked cake with fresh flowers, by inserting the stems (which I had first covered with florist tape) into straws, and then putting the straws in the cake. Hey, men deserve flowers too!

Happy Birthday, my love!

Chocolate Brownie and Lemon Cheesecake with Italian Meringue

I can't begin to tell you how excited I am that summer is finally here! We've had a series of rainy weeks here on the East coast, but we can finally switch out our rain jackets and boots for shorts and flip-flops. And of course, we need to make a summery dessert to celebrate!

This tasty goodness is a perfect composition of decadent chocolate brownie, creamy lemon cheesecake and a light Italian meringue. I mean, what's not to love?

I love rustic looking desserts, mainly because they're usually easy to assemble and let the ingredients be the star of the show. This was my first time using frozen raspberries, and I love how beautiful they look! They add a nice colorful touch to the dessert and pairs nicely with the lemon flavor, too.

In the making of this dessert I am especially proud of two things, 1) I didn't light the kitchen on fire using the blow torch, and 2) I restrained myself from eating half of the dessert before it made it to the table. I might have had a few "test bites".

Happy baking!


Fudge Brownies
from Passion for Baking

9 oz. (250 g) dark chocolate (55-60% cocoa solids)
½ cup (120 g) unsalted butter
4 large eggs
1 ¾ cups (350 g) granulated sugar
½ cup (60 g) all-purpose flour
3 tbsp cocoa powder
½ tsp sea salt
7 oz. (200 g) dark chocolate, chopped
1 tsp vanilla extract


Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line a 9 x 12-inch (25 x 30 cm) baking pan with baking parchment.
2. Place the 9 oz. (250 g) chocolate into a heat proof bowl with the butter and melt over a pan of simmering water. Remove from the heat.
3. Place the eggs and sugar into a mixing bowl and stir with a hand whisk. Stir in the melted chocolate mixture.
4. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder and salt and fold into the mixture. Fold in the chopped chocolate and vanilla. 
5. Pour the batter into the lined pan and bake for 30 minutes, no longer. Let cool completely.

Lemon Cheesecake
from Passion for Baking

150 g sugar
Finely grated rind of 2 lemons
1 ¼ dl lemon juice (ca. 3–5 lemons)
3 large eggs
2 gelatin leaves
300 g cream cheese


Directions:

1. Combine sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and egg in a pan and heat it over low heat, stirring constantly. 
2. Add gelatin leaves in cold water for a few minutes to soften them. 
3. When the batter begins to thicken, squeeze water out of the gelatin leaves and have them up in the boiler. Stir well so the gelatin is completely dissolved. 
4. Pour the mixture into a blender. Let lemon mixture to cool for 5 minutes (or until the mixture is 60 ° C) before adding cream cheese. Then run the blender for a few minutes so that the lemon mixture is completely smooth. 
5. Pour it over the cooled brownies bottom and set the cake cool, for a few hours or overnight.

For the Italian Meringue recipe, check out this earlier post.

Hawaiian Birthday Cake

I recently had the great honor of making a surprise birthday cake for the Swedish Ambassador's Chef, Frida, whom I've become friends with through the Swedish community here. This is an incredibly talented woman who, before the age of 30, had already served her amazing dishes to both royalty and celebrities. No pressure, Eve!

Frida has always wanted to go to Hawaii, so her closest friends had planned a surprise Hawaii themed birthday party at Archipelago, a cool new tiki bar here in D.C. I was asked to make a cake to go with the theme, and the result was this coconut cake with a coconut and pineapple filling.

I had so much fun working with the design on this one, which included a few new "firsts" for me. The bottom tier is hand painted palm leaves on fondant. I used edible dusts that I mixed with vodka to create a watercolor consistency, and it definitely gave me an itch to try to paint more cakes. The second tier is a fondant cake that has been covered with confetti sprinkles, and then painted with a mixture of gold dust and vodka using a painting brush. Now, before you think "that's one boozy cake!", I should let you know that the alcohol evaporates and leaves no taste at all.

The Hibiscus flowers are made out of gum paste, which is a sturdier, more elastic and faster drying version of fondant. I  got a book by Alan Dunn, called Sugar Flower Skills, that has detailed step-by-step instructions. It is a little intimidating at first, but I can't wait to learn more!

Once again, Happy 30th Birthday, Frida!