Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries
Chokladdoppade jordgubbar



I love chocolate dipped strawberries! They're so easy to make, delicious, and present beautifully. 

I recently came across a picture of chocolate dipped strawberries that had been arranged with flowers, and loved the idea. All you need is some floral foam (you'll find it in a hobby store like Michael's or a florist), a bouquet of flowers, some ribbon, and of course, strawberries and chocolate. 




The easiest way to coat strawberries with chocolate is to insert a toothpick by the stem, and gently dip the strawberry in the tempered chocolate. Make sure you melt the chocolate carefully, since it will become thicker if exposed to too much heat and end up looking lumpy. If you want to add some color to the white chocolate, mix with a few drops of gel coloring, or buy already colored candy melts. Put the other end of the toothpick in a styrofoam block to dry. This will make the strawberries evenly smooth on all sides.

To make the arrangement, take the floral foam and arrange the flowers and the dried chocolate covered strawberries. Make sure you're not leaving too much space so you expose the foam underneath. Wrap a wide ribbon along the sides and secure with some tape, and voilá!




Vem älskar inte jordgubbar doppade i choklad? Nyligen såg jag en rolig idé, där någon hade gjort ett arrangemang av blommor och chokladdoppade jordgbbar, och var tvungen att prova. Allt du behöver är oasis (finns att köpa i blomaffär eller hobbybutik), blombukett, jordgubbar, choklad och band att knyta runt arrangemanget. Det viktiga att tänka på när du doppar jordgubbarna är att chokladen värms upp långsamt, så att den inte blir för tjock. Använd gärna en tandpetare som du sätter in i jordgubben för att underlätta doppandet. Lycka till!

Thursday, October 13, 2016

Éclairs Three Ways
Éclairs på tre vis



Éclairs have been on my mental baking bucket list for a long time. They are so beautiful to look at, and even more delicious to eat! The only problem is that they look incredibly hard to make, right?

If there's one thing I've learned from my late night baking adventures, it's that just because a dessert is fancy looking, doesn't necessarily mean that you need a pastry degree to pull it off. What if I told you that these are actually easy to make and not very time consuming? 




Let's look more closely at these beauties. Éclairs are made from a choux dough, the same that is used to make beignets, churros and cream puffs. The only ingredients are butter, water, flour, salt and eggs. That's it! The key to this pastry dough is to stir the ingredients together in a saucepan using high heat. This makes the dough really high in moisture and will later make it 'puff' in the oven. You also want to start baking them at a higher temperature, only to lower it after about half of the cooking time. This makes a beautiful crust and creates a little vacuum in the middle of the pastry. A vacuum that will later be filled with all sorts of yumminess.




I made three different kinds oéclairs. The first one is filled with a home made nutella, covered with a dark chocolate glaze, and topped with a gold leaf that I made out of fondant and dusted with a gold luster dust. The second éclair is filled with lemon curd and topped with a torched Italian Meringue. The third is filled with a vanilla custard (or Mousseline), topped with a sugar glaze, and decorated with a few dried rose bud petals. Of course, you can always use jam or store-bought nutella as a filling.




There are different ways to fill an éclair. Some people cut the pastry length-wise, pipe the filling onto the lower part, and then put the top part back on. I made three small, evenly-spaced holes underneath and piped the filling into them. It doesn't leave any visible marks, but makes sure you get some filling with every bite, which is exactly what you want!

To frost them, simply make your glaze, gently dip the top of the éclair, and let set.




You will find the recipe for the choux dough below. If you want some tips on fillings, check out this chocolate buttercream recipe and this vanilla custard. Or you can just have fun with flavors and be creative!




Jag har länge velat prova att baka éclairs, men har alltid tyckt att det sett svårt ut. Det visade sig däremot vara både enkelt och snabbt! Éclairs är gjorda på chouxdeg som blandas samman på  en varm spisplatta och sedan bakas på först hög, och sedan låg värme i ugn. Detta gör att de blir härligt spröda på utsidan, men mjuka och ihåliga på insidan. Till sist fylls de med en god kräm av något slag och toppas med glasyr. Jag gjorde tre varianter - en variant var fylld med egengjord nutella, en annan med lemoncurd, och den tredje med vaniljkräm. Här följer ett gott recept på chouxdeg, som kan användas till att göra bland annat éclairs, petit choux eller churros. Lycka till!



Choux Pastry
from Allrecipes


1/2 cup (113 g) butter 
1 cup (235 ml) water 
1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour 
1/4 teaspoon salt 
4 eggs 


Instructions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Grease a cookie sheet.

In a medium saucepan, combine 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, stirring until butter melts completely. Reduce heat to low, and add flour and salt. Stir vigorously until mixture leaves the sides of the pan and begins to form a stiff ball. Remove from heat. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well to incorporate completely after each addition. With a spoon or a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip, spoon or pipe dough onto cookie sheet in 1 1/2 x 4 inch strips.

Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven, then reduce heat to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) and bake 20 minutes more, until hollow sounding when lightly tapped on the bottom. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Tuesday, October 04, 2016

Swedish Cinnamon Buns
Kanelbullar



Happy Swedish Cinnamon Bun Day!

Today my Instagram feed was so full of cinnamon bun posts, I almost convinced myself I could smell the cinnamon! Of course I had to bake some of my own.

I used an easy and yummy recipe that I posted last year (you will find it here.) It makes the traditional Swedish cardamom buns, that are filled with a buttery cinnamon and sugar mixture, and sprinkled with pearl sugar. So delicious!

Needless to say, my Kindergartner was really happy about the surprise that was waiting for him when he came home from school!




Happy baking!


Glad Kanelbullens dag! Idag var mitt instagramflöde fullt med bilder på kanelbullar i alla dess former. Självklart var jag tvungen att baka egna! Jag använde samma goda recept jag lade ut här på bloggen i fjol (ni hittar det här.) Trevlig bakning!


Sunday, October 02, 2016

Mini Double Chocolate Raspberry Cakes
Minichokladtårtor med hallon



There's been this recipe by the Swedish master baker, Roy Fares, that I have been eyeing for the longest time. A chocolate cake with a hint of coffee, a to-die-for dark chocolate crémeux with raspberry puree, and a silky smooth milk chocolate meringue buttercream. 

Oh, and a chocolate glaze dripping down the sides. When it comes to cakes, there's no such thing as too much chocolate.




We had two good friends over for some late night fika this weekend. One of them, Charles, had just celebrated his birthday, and our friend Paul is moving back home to Los Angeles for a new job opportunity. This seemed like the perfect time to try out the recipe. Usually I would make one big cake, but I thought it would be fun to do something different and more personal.  (Besides, having a half leftover cake in the fridge when you're a stay at home mom is not the best idea...)

I'll be honest, mini cakes can be pretty time consuming, but they make for a beautiful presentation. Besides, doesn't it feel more special to get your own little cake?




Also, can we stop for a minute and talk about the chocolate crémeux? I'd never heard the term before, but learned that it means 'creamy' in French. I would describe it as a silky, smooth, and rich chocolate filling. It has a dark chocolate taste, almost bitter, but a sweet raspberry finish. I'm in love.




Big cake, little cake, doesn't matter. You'll love it!


Vi hade våra vänner Charles och Paul över på en fika i helgen för att fira en födelsedag och ett nytt jobb. Jag har länge velat baka Roy Fares berömda Double Chocolate Raspberrytårta, så det blev ett perfekt tillfälle! Istället för att baka en stor tårta, gjorde jag miniversioner som blev väldigt uppskattade. En fantastiskt god tårta som kommer att bakas igen. Receptet hittar du här nedan - du kommer att älska den!



Double Chocolate Raspberry Cake
by Roy Fares

Dark Chocolate Cremeux 

200g dark chocolate 64%
45g sugar (1/2 dl)
60g egg yolks (4st)
175g heavy cream (1 3/4 dl)
150g raspberry puree(1 1/2 dl)
(35g Cognac (2 msk) if you like)

  1. Chop the chocolate and put in a bowl. 
  2. Mix the egg yolks with sugar in a separate bowl. 
  3. In a saucepan, boil the heavy cream and raspberry puree. Add it to the egg yolk mixture and stir. 
  4. Pour it back into the saucepan, and on low heat, stir until the mixture thickens. Pour over the chocolate. (If using cognac, add to the chocolate mixture.)
  5. Let stand for a few minutes and stir until a smooth creme.
  6. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.



Cake

330g flour (5 ½ dl)
510g sugar (6 dl)
120g cacao (3 dl)
15g baking soda (1 msk)
7g baking powder (1 ½ tsk)
10g salt (1 ½ tsk)
10g vanilla sugar (1 msk)
165g eggs, room temp (3)
350g milk, room temp (3 ½ dl)
180g vegetable oil (2 dl)
350g hot coffee(3 ½ dl)

  1. Preheat oven to 310 degrees. Butter and flour four 8" cake pans, and cover the bottoms with parchment paper. 
  2. Sift together all dry ingredients into a bowl. 
  3. In a seperate bowl, whisk together eggs, milk and oil. 
  4. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and blend until a thick and smooth batter. Add the coffee and mix well. 
  5. Pour the batter into the prepared pans (about 410 grams in each) and bake on the center oven rack for about 40 minutes.
  6. Check with a toothpick to see if it comes out clean and the cake is ready.
  7. Let the pans cool.
  8. If you can'r fit all of the pands in the oven at the same time, it is fine to let it sit until the first batch is done.
  9. Let cool completely and remove from the pans. 



Milk chocolate meringue buttercream 

300g milk chocolate
450g unsalted butter, room temp 
10g vanilla sugar (1 msk)
150g egg whites (4–5)
220g sugar (2 ½ dl)
1 pinch salt

  1. Chop the chocolate, and in a bowl, melt over a water bath. 
  2. Set aside and let cool to room temp. 
  3. Put egg whites, sugar and salt in a bowl, and heat over a water bath until the sugar crystals have melted. Whisk every now and then. Lägg äggvitor, socker och salt i en skål. 
  4. Remove from heat, and with a whisk or kitchen aid, beat the meringue until it has cooled and stiff peaks form.
  5. Add the butter while whisking, a little at a time, and then add the chocolate.



Chocolate Glaze

100 g unsalted butter
50 g water (1/2dl)
140 g dark choclate

  1. Melt the butter and water in a saucepan over medium heat.
  2. Add the chocolate, and stir until the choclate is completely melted. 
  3. Take off heat, set aside and let cool.