A Swedish Tiger ~ Tiger Cake that is.

I was 19 when I left Sweden for the US. I was to stay for a year, working as an au pair in both Boston and LA. My goal was to learn English and also to do some traveling. I couldn't wait to leave Sweden and explore the world.

My dream had always been to go to college in America. I wanted the whole experience; take interesting classes, the football games, crazy fraternities, and the outrageous parties. However, attending school was not in the cards - it was way too expensive. But college looked like so much fun on TV and in the movies. In 1983, the 2 TV stations and 3 radio stations that existed in Sweden, where all run by the government. There was no commercials. No cable. No internet. Shows started promptly at 5pm and ended before midnight. Sounds boring? I certainly thought so. I left Sweden as soon as I could. After finishing high school and working 6 months in a restaurant to save up, I was on my way...

What I didn't know was that I would fall in love. I met Doug at a night club in Boston, and 3 years later, we got married. Within a few years, we had two beautiful children, Laura and Erik. While raising the kids, I got a college degree. And after attending university, I began teaching. So, I'm happy to say, I did fulfill my dream. Every summer, we took the kids to Sweden. Now, Erik is in college and Laura lives and attends university in Sweden.

It's time for me to return; to get back to my roots.

This time, I'm in Sweden for two whole months. It's really nice to be back, hanging out with family and reconnecting with old friends. I love to spend time with my sisters and extended family. We do a lot of cooking together. One of the best things in life is to enjoy a meal together with the people you love. To say the least, I'm happy to be back for more than just a vacation. I also plan to teach at Medborgarskolan in Stockholm; both Gluten-Free cooking and Creative Writing classes.

So, this first recipe from Sweden is a tribute to my mother. She was a fantastic baker. She could just throw together some simple ingredients, and voila...out came masterpieces: breads, cookies, pies, and cakes. One of my personal favorites was Tiger Cake ~ Tiger Kaka. A true old-fashioned sponge cake flavored with both vanilla and chocolate. The dark and light cake batters are swirled together, resulting in a gorgeous contrasting pattern resembling a tiger. Hence its name.




I've included the ingredient list and measurements in both the US & Metric systems. So, you can easily make this recipe from anywhere; whether you're in Sweden, US or elsewhere. This cake is also my contribution to the blog Månadens Sötsak, at www.sotsaker.com. Here, bloggers share their favorite recipes; and many are gluten-free.

Tiger Cake ~ Tigerkaka

Ingredients

2 oz butter, plus extra for pan (50 gr smör, plus extra till formen)

1/3 cup + 2 TBSP water (1 dl vatten)

2 eggs (2 ägg)

3/4 cup + 1 1/2 TBSP sugar (2 dl socker)

1 TSP vanilla extract (2 tsk vaniljsocker)

1/3 cup + 2 TBSP almond meal/flour* (1 dl mandelmjöl)

1/3 cup + 2 TBSP rice flour (1 dl rismjöl)

3 TBSP potato starch (3 msk potatismjöl)

3 TBSP fine corn flour (3 msk majsmjöl)

1 TSP ground cardamom (1 tsk kardemumma)

2 TSP baking powder (2 tsk bakpulver)

1/2 TSP lime zest (1/2 tsk lime zest)

1/4 TSP salt (1/4 tsk salt)

3 TBSP cocoa (3 msk kakao)

3 TBSP milk (3 msk mjölk)

1 1/2 TBSP cold coffee (1 1/2 msk kallt kaffe), if desired

shredded coconut for the pan (kokos till formen)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (175 C).

Generously butter a 9-inch cake pan, or bread loaf pan. Line the pan with shredded coconut, take care to cover the bottom and sides of the pan. If you prefer, line the pan with rice or corn flour.

Melt butter. Add the water and bring to a boil. Set aside.

With an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugar until lightly yellow and doubled in volume. Add vanilla extract and blend until combined.

In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the flours, cardamom, baking powder, lime zest, and salt.

Fold the flour mixture into the egg batter.

Add the melted butter liquid to the cake batter, and blend until smooth.

Pour 1/2 of the batter into the prepared pan.

In a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa, milk, and cold coffee. If you prefer the cake without coffee, just mix the cocoa with 6 tablespoons of milk.

Add the cocoa mixture to the remaining batter, and blend until combined. Drizzle the chocolate batter into the pan. With a knife or spoon, slowly swirl the two batters together. Take care not to over-mix. You want to end up with a nice contrast between the yellow and chocolate cake batters.




Bake for 35-40 minutes until cake tester or toothpick inserted into the middle of cake comes out clean.




Cool in pan for 15 minutes before inverting cake onto a platter. Using a large spatula, or a plate, invert the cake again. This way, the cake faces up, and displays the beautiful 'tiger' pattern. Let cool until room temperature.




Serve as is, or with a dollop of whipped cream.

Låt dig väl smaka ~ Taste and enjoy!

*It's easy to make your own almond meal/flour. And it's great to have on hand; and lot cheaper than store-bought almond flour. I use it all the time in my baking recipes, especially in pie crusts! Place 2 cups whole almonds (blanched or un-blanched) into a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Store leftover flour in the refrigerator.







- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Stockholm, Sweden

Celebrating Valentines Day with Neapolitan Cakes with Swiss Meringue Buttercream

This dessert has it all, good looks and a sweet attitude. Nothing can compare with its three layers of buttercream, unfolding in your mouth in soft waves. Each cloud-like layer is infused with its own heavenly delights, rich chocolate, delicate vanilla, and sweet raspberry. It's a beauty, all right.

The original recipe is from Sweetapolita. A place full of gorgeous photographs and inspiring recipes. I happened up on this site by default. A fellow blogger was in the thrals of baking a rainbow-colored cake for her daughter's birthday. She, in turn, had found her cake recipe on the aforementioned blog. It was fate (I think). True happiness is to find a cookbook or blog that shares your philosophy. I can always tell by the photographs, and these are good enough to eat.

My version is, of course, gluten-free, and, of course, heavenly. The cake recipe is my own, and I used Sweetapolita's Swiss Meringue Buttercream. When I served it to my husband, five seconds later, it was gone... It was well received. Try it yourself!

Neapolitan Cakes with Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Makes 6 mini cakes

Ingredients

3 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

6 tbsp potato starch

4 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1/3 tsp kosher salt

1/4 cup shredded sweetened coconut

Sweetapolita’s Swiss Meringue Buttercream

5 large fresh egg whites

1 1/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, cut into cubes

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

Baking Instructions

Preheat oven to 475 degrees.

Line a jelly roll pan (rectangular pan about 16”x 11” x 11”) with parchment paper.

In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat the eggs and sugar until thick and pale yellow ribbons form.

In a medium sized-bowl, mix the potato starch, cocoa, baking powder, salt, and coconut.

Gently fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture.

Spread batter into the prepared pan and bake for 5 minutes.

Remove from oven.

Meanwhile, cut a piece of parchment the same size as the jelly pan, and place on the kitchen counter. Sprinkle sugar all over the parchment paper.

Let the cake cool in the pan for 6 minutes.

Invert cake onto prepared parchment paper.

Slowly, starting at one corner, remove the parchment from the bottom of cake. If the paper sticks to the cake - using a pastry brush, brush the paper with a little cold water, then remove the paper.

Place a clean kitchen towel on top of the cake. Let cool completely.

Prepare Sweetapolita’s Swiss meringue buttercream: This buttercream is just amazing. I found it on a www.sweetapolita.com - a blog featuring gorgeous cakes, with tons of tips. Even for a gluten-free baker!

Add egg whites and sugar to the bowl of an electric mixer, and simmer over a pot of water (not boiling), whisking constantly but gently, until temperature reaches 160°F, or if you don’t have a candy thermometer, until the sugar has completely dissolved and the egg whites are hot.

With whisk attachment of mixer, begin to whip until the meringue is thick, glossy, and the bottom of the bowl feels neutral to the touch (this can take up to 10 minutes or so).

Switch over to paddle attachment and, with mixer on low speed, add softened butter in chunks until incorporated, and mix until it has reached a silky smooth texture (if curdles, keep mixing and it will come back to smooth).

Add vanilla and salt, continuing to beat on low speed until well combined. You can also add a wide variety of flavorings, extracts, and more, but always add the vanilla first, as it brings out the true taste of the other flavors.

Makes approximately 5 cups of buttercream.

Divide buttercream evenly into 3 bowls. Flavor 1/3 with chocolate, 1/3 with 4 tbsp raspberry jam, and leave final 1/3 vanilla.

For Chocolate Buttercream: melt 4 oz of semi-sweet chocolate in the microwave oven for 10 seconds, stir, continuing in 10 seconds intervals until melted. Blend with buttercream until smooth. Use good quality chocolate. I like Ghirardelli Chocolate.

For Raspberry Buttercream: add 3-4 tablespoons of raspberry jam to taste. Blend until combined.

You’ll end up with leftover buttercream. Not a problem. Keep buttercream in airtight container in refrigerator for up to one week, leaving out at room temperature when needed, re-whipping in mixer for 5 minutes. Or freeze for up to 6-8 weeks. To thaw, place on counter overnight, and rewhip for 5 minutes with paddle attachment in an electric mixer.

Assembly of the Neapolitan Cakes

Using a 3-inch round cookie cutter, cut out 18 rounds of the cake. The recipe makes 6 mini cakes - 3 rounds for each cake. Lay out 6 cake-circles in front of you on the kitchen counter or on a platter.

Spread the bottom layers with the chocolate buttercream. Add the second cake layers. Spread with vanilla buttercream. Add the top cake layers, and spread with raspberry buttercream. Top with GF chocolate sprinkles, if desired.

Cover the cakes loosely with plastic wrap or a cake dome. The cakes keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Remove from refrigerator 3 hours before serving, to let the buttercream soften. If eaten the same day, keep the cakes covered at room temperature.

Share something sweet with someone...

A Winter Sunday ~ Turkey Mushroom Lasagna & Frozen Mexican Chocolate Mud Pie

On Sundays we usually relax and take it easy ~ read the paper while eating breakfast.

Go for a walk or hike in the woods.

Prepare dinner, most of the time just for the two of us; my husband & me.

Bake some delicious dessert, and then to top off the day, watch a movie. Nice way to spend the day!

This past sunday, we did just that. I love trying out new recipes and found a recipe for an amazing looking pie in Cooking Light Magazine; Mexican Chocolate Cream Pie. My challenge is always to make the recipe gluten-free. Reading through the recipe, I came to think of the frozen mud pie they serve at Joe's American Bar & Grill, which is one of my husband's favorite desserts. I've never made one, so I decided to adapt the Cooking Light recipe and make it into a Frozen Mexican Chocolate Mud Pie. I was up to the task. It was not that hard, but it did take several steps before we could dig in; bake the crust, make the filling, freeze, fill with ice-cream, freeze, fill with whipped cream, and freeze again. With dessert all set, what then, to make for dinner?? After looking through some cookbooks, I decided on Turkey Mushroom Lasagna. A combo between the recipes I found in Barefoot Contessa @ Home, and Every Day Italian by Giada De Laurentiis. Yes, it was a great dinner. The lasagna turned out fabulous, if I do say so myself, and OMG, the pie was so worth the time. Totally delicious!

Turkey Mushroom Lasagna

kosher salt

freshly ground pepper

10 oz dry gluten-free lasagna noodles, I used BiAglut PastaMia Lasagna Noodles

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 1/4 lb. ground turkey breast

3 cups Marinara sauce, make your own, or store-bought (I used 1 jar, 25 oz)

4 tbsp red wine

2 tbsp tomato paste

2 tbsp gluten-free ketchup

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp ground red pepper

1 pound portobello mushrooms

3 tbsp butter

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

2 tomatoes, sliced and coarsely shopped

3/4 cup mozzarella cheese, or use your favorite cheese topping

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil with 1 tablespoon salt. Add the lasagna noodles and cook according to package (BiAglut Noodles took 4 minutes). Make sure the noodles are al dente; the center of the pasta should remain somewhat hard so that it won't overcook and become soggy when baked). Drain, then rinse the noodles under cold water to stop the cooking. Cover lightly with a damp towel to prevent the pasta from drying out. Set aside.

Slice and chop the mushrooms to 1/4-inch thickness. Heat 1 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp olive oil in a large sauté pan. When the butter melts, add the mushrooms, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until mushrooms are tender. Set aside.

In a large saute pan, heat 2 tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the ground turkey and 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp ground pepper, and sauté until turkey is lightly brown, breaking up any large clumps. Add the marinara sauce, tomato paste, garlic, wine, ketchup, and ground red pepper. Simmer the sauce for 10 minutes. Taste for extra salt and pepper, if needed. Set aside.

Spread 2 tbsp butter over a 13x9-inch baking dish.

To assemble the lasagna, spread some of the turkey-marinara sauce in the bottom of the baking dish. Arrange a layer of noodles on top, then some of the mushrooms and some chopped tomatoes, then another layer of noodles. Repeat a layer of sauce, noodles, mushrooms and tomatoes. Top with a final layer of noodles and a thin layer of sauce. Sprinkle with the mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.

Bake the lasagna for 35-40 minutes, or until the top is browned and the sauce is bubbly and hot. Allow to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes and serve hot.

Frozen Mexican Chocolate Mud Pie

Adapted from The Best of Cooking Light 13: Special Edition

Crust:

1 1/2 cups gluten-free graham crackers crumbs, store-bought or make your own*

2 tbsp light brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp kosher salt

2 tbsp egg white

2 tbsp butter, melted

Canola Cooking Spray

Filling:

1/2 cup sugar

2 tbsp cornstarch

1 tbsp fresh orange juice

1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp ground red pepper

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 3/4 cups 1% or 2% reduced-fat milk

3 oz dark chocolate, chopped, plus 1 oz for decoration

14 oz gluten-free coffee ice cream

Whipped Cream

1 1/2 cups heavy cream, whipped

1 tbsp confectioner's sugar

pinch of kosher salt

Gluten-Free Chocolate Syrup, or Fudge Sauce; store-bought, or your own

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

To prepare crust: Add graham crumbs, sugar, cinnamon, salt to the bowl of a food processor.

Pulse to blend the dry ingredients in the food processor. Add the eggs and melted butter. Pulse to blend into sticky dough. Press the crumb mixture into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie plate coated with canola cooking spray.

Bake the pie shell for 15 minutes or until lightly toasted; cool completely on a wire rack.

To prepare filling; combine sugar and next 7 ingredients (through egg yolks) in the bowl of a stand mixer, like a Cuisinart, stirring well with the whisk attachment.

Place milk in a medium, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until milk reaches 180 degrees or until tiny bubbles form around edge. Make sure not to boil the milk. Gradually add hot milk to egg mixture, whisking constantly in the mixer. Return milk mixture to the pan; cook over medium heat 10 minutes or until thick and bubbly, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add 3 oz of the dark chocolate; stir until smooth.

Place pan in a large ice-filled bowl for 10 minutes or until chocolate mixture cools, stirring occasionally.

Spoon filling into crust, and cover surface of filling with plastic warp. Freeze for 3 hours, or until set.

Remove the ice cream from freezer and soften in the microwave for 15-20 seconds. Spread the ice-cream over the frozen filling. Return to freezer for 1 1/2 hours, or until set.

Spread the whipped cream over the frozen pie. Return to freezer for 1 hour, or until set.

Drizzle the pie with chocolate syrup or fudge sauce. For decoration, grate 1 oz of the dark chocolate over the pie. Return to freezer for 30 minutes, or until ready to serve.

Smaklig Måltid ~

Bon Appetit!

*Graham Crackers

1 cup Anna’s GF Cake Flour Mix, or your own favorite blend*
1 cup brown rice flour
¼ cup quinoa flour
1 tsp xantham gum
1 tsp salt
1 ½ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp baking soda
½ cup light brown sugar
1 ¾ tsp cinnamon

Mix all ingredients together in a food processor.

Add 10 tbsp chilled butter

Add to food processor until crumble like texture.

Add 4 tbsp honey, and 1 tsp vanilla extract, and blend.


Add 6 tbsp water, blend until forming dough. Gather the dough ball and refrigerate at least 1 hour (or overnight), covered.

Preheat oven to 325 F.

Using 1/4 of the dough, work in more corn starch/ flour if necessary. Roll out on a piece of parchment paper, about 1/3-inche thickness. Cut out squares (2-3”), prick lightly with fork, and sprinkle with some sugar and cinnamon mixture. Bake for 12 – 15 minutes, or until golden.

Makes 4 trays of cracker. Remove from oven, cool slightly before placing on racks. Repeat with the rest of the dough.

*Anna's GF Cake Flour Blend

2 cups brown rice flour

2 cups white rice flour

1 cup potato/or corn starch

1 1/4 cups tapioca starch

GF baking mix ~ $19. Brownies, ice-cream and a movie with husband and son. Priceless!

Last night I made Shrimp Scampi for dinner and brownies for dessert. I didn't make the brownies from scratch but from a mix. A very expensive mix. I had bought it at William-Sonoma the same day while I was at the mall checking out the holiday sales. It's always fun to browse through this upscale kitchen store. Here, you can find anything a cook might desire, from celebrity cookbooks, designer bakeware to cutlery. My motto is - one can never have enough cookbooks or kitchen tools. Right? Right. Most times, I don't buy. But it's fun to look. This time I went into the store searching for a Gluten-Free flour mix: Cup4Cup. People had raved about it on-line. This product was created by Thomas Keller, a celebrated and highly acclaimed Chef from The French Laundry in Napa Valley. I'm dying to eat at this restaurant. Every one of my friends who has dined there says it's beyond gourmet, just divine. Logic follows that his baking products must be equally divine. Well, when I got to William-Sonoma, it was sold out! What to do?? On the shelf was another product by Keller, a Gluten-Free Brownie Mix.

But hold onto your wallet. The price was $18.95. I know gluten-free flours are more expensive that regular flour, but this is crazy. Why pay this much, for a mix at that? Hey, it's Thomas Keller @ William-Sonoma. Need I say more. Not Target (I wish). Throw in the eggs and butter, and you have some dreamy brownies costing you over $20. A must try. I'm being a little bit sarcastic, but I mean it. I had to try it, if only to find out how it compared to my own (homemade) flour mix.

The directions were easy to follow. You only needed to add butter and eggs. My only gripe (besides the price) is that the Nutrition Facts reads 19 Servings per Container, 230 calories per piece. But according to the directions, the recipe makes 16 squares. Shouldn't the number be the same? I don't usually worry about calorie content while eating brownies, but with this one I was curious to find out. The recipe called for lots of butter, 12 Tbsp to be exact, 4 eggs, and melted Guittard chocolate. This recipe made one small 9-inch pan! Can't really feed a crowd with that. ,However, the brownies turned out delicious, rich and very chocolaty. So will I buy this product again? Not often, but I will if I'm craving chocolate and don't feel like baking. My next task is to try to replicate the recipe using my own flour mix. I'm up to the challenge. My husband, who is not gluten-free, loved them. So did I. Served with some vanilla ice-cream, it was heaven!

Going once, going twice...

Gone!!!