Sarah Bernhardt Cookies

Sarah Bernhardt Cookies

Sarah Bernhardt cakes originates back to 1911, where a Copenhagen pastry chef (Johannes Steen) created this cake as a tribute to the world-famous french actress, Sarah Bernhardt, when she came to Copenhagen to mark the publication of her memoirs in Danish. 

The cake is a Danish makron cookie topped with a ganache covered with dark chocolate and decorated with candied violets.

I use the traditional recipe from "Kager & konfekt fra Kransekagehuset" with a few modifications.

Makes about 12 cakes.

Ingredients:

Cakes:

• 12 Danish makroner
• 150 g dark chokolate min. 60% cocoa, (a good one, I use Valrhona)
• 100 g milk chocolate (a good one, I use Valrhona)
• 1⅔ cup (4 dl) heavy whipping cream (use an organic with milk as only ingredient)

Coating:

• 200 g min. 60% cocoa, (a good one, I use Valrhona)
• candied violets

Directions:

Ganache:

Chop the chocolate fine. Bring the cream to a boil in a saucepan, remove the pan from the heat and let the cream cool down to 60℃. Add the chocolate while stirring, and continue to stir until the chocolate is completely melted. You should now have a shiny chocolate sauce/ganache. Cool the ganache in the refrigerator overnight. 

The next day whip the ganache with a stand mixer, be careful not to over mix the ganache, this will cause the ganache to curl and become grainy.

Put the ganache into a pastry bag (decoration bag) with a plain round tip. Pipe the ganache on the back side on the makron cookie as a peak. Transfer to freezer until very firm, about 1 hour. (This is where I made a mistake. My cookies were in the freezer overnight, and this made the filling to cold, and caused the condensation on the covered cookies).

Tempering dark chocolate:

Chop the chocolate finely, set just under ⅓ of the chocolate aside, and add the rest into a stainless steel bowl. Set the bowl on to a saucepan with very hot water. Let the chocolate melt while stirring. When the chocolate reaches 122℉ (50℃), take the bowl off the hot water. While stirring let the chocolate cool until it reaches 95℉ (35℃), add the rest of the chopped chocolate and stir vigorously until its all melted. When the chocolate reaches 82-84℉ (28-29℃) put the bowl over the hot water again, and heat the chocolate to 88℉ (31℃), and now its ready to use for coating.

Remove cookies from freezer. Working quickly so that the filling doesn't melt, use a fork to hold cookie above bowl of chocolate, and spoon melted chocolate over cookie. Place filling-side up on cooling rack placed over a baking sheet, sprinkle the candied violets on the tip of the cookie. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Red Velvet Cake for Valentine's day

Red Velvet Cake for Valentine's day

This cake is as American as apple pie. I had never heard about it before moving here, but it was love at first bite for me. But I quickly learned that not all cakes are made the same. The cake should be moist, light and fluffy. Most store bought cakes are dense and on the dry side. 

I think my care fulfilled the three criteria. I added a splash of coffee to enhance the cocoa flavor, but it will also darken the red color, but I think it's worth it.

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 1 cup (210 g) safflower oil

• 300 g sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste

• 2 eggs

• 225 g all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 20 g cocoa powder

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon vinegar

• 1 tablespoon strong cold coffee

• 1 cup (250 g) buttermilk

• 1 oz (30 ml) red food coloring

Frosting:

• 200 g cream cheese, room temperature

• 120 g salted butter, room temperature

• 250 g confectionary sugar

• 1 lemon, the juice of

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two 9 inch cake pan with baking spray. I also put a round sheet of parchment paper in the pan, to be sure that the cake comes out smooth.

Stir together buttermilk, vinegar, coffee and red food coloring. Set aside.

Cream together oil and sugar until fluffy in a stand mixer. Mix in the eggs. 

Add Cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt and buttermilk mixture and mix well Lastly add the flour and mix until it's just incorporated. Be careful not to over mix the batter.

Pour batter into cake pans, and level off the surface. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove pan from oven and allow cake to cool in the pan for a while, and cool completely on a wire rack.

Frosting:

Cream the butter and cream cheese with the confectionary sugar and the lemon juice. Whip the frosting for about 5 minutes to get a light and fluffy frosting.

Place one cake on a cake stand, spread about half the frosting on the cake. Add the next cake on top, and finish the cake by spreading the rest of the frosting on top of the cake.

Enjoy, and happy valentines.

Fastelavnsboller

Fastelavnsboller

Fastelavn is a old tradition dating back hundreds and hundreds of years. Danes celebrate fastelavn aka the night before Lent. Fastelavn sunday is 49 days before Easter Sunday. In 2014 fastelavn will be celebrated on marts second.

Children will dress up and "slå katten af tønden"  - the danish version of piñata, where you hit a wooden barrel filled with candy and fruit. The one that get the bottom to fall out will be crowned “kattedronning”, queen of cats, while the the person getting the last plank of the rope is crowned "kattekonge", King of cats. You might think that it would be hard to break the barrel, but they are made for different age ranges, so everyone has a chance. 

The picture on the right shows me dressed as Little Red Ridinghood having a go at the barrel. My mom and brother is standing behind me to the left. 

The children also get a fastelavnsris, a branch decorated with candy, black cats, masks and paper flowers.

This tradition is very similar to the American Halloween.  The dressed up children walk door to door singing the song "Boller op, boller ned, boller i min mave, hvis jeg ingen boller får så laver jeg ballade"  Buns up, buns down, buns in my stomach, if I get no buns, I’ll make trouble. Kinda like the trick or treat song: "Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat! If you don't, I don't care. I'll pull down your underwear!" But unlike the American tradition the Danish children beg for small change and not candy.

Another tradition is fastelavnsboller, or fastelavns buns. There are different ways to make fastelavnsboller. You can make them from puff pastry or cream puffs  and filling them after they are baked. Or you can make a simple yeast dough and fill it with a almond paste and/or vanilla custard. I'll make the later. I also add remonce as filling. Remonce is butter creamed with sugar and marzipan (almond paste).

Next year I'll make twice as much custard, because I ran out before I had filled all the fastelavnsboller. I made rolls with remonce from the leftover dough - not bad at all!!

Ingredients:

Vanilla custard:

• 200 g milk

• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste

• 3 egg yolks

• 25 g sugar

• 1½ teaspoons all-purpose flour

Dough:

• 300 g all-purpose flour

• 14 g (2 packs fleischmann's) dry yeast

• 20 g sugar

• 100 g milk

• 1 egg

• 125 g butter (salted)

• ½ teaspoon vanilla paste

Remonce:

• 50 g butter room temperature

• 50 g sugar

• 50 g marzipan

Icing:

• confectionary sugar

• water

• cocoa or food color

Directions:

Vanilla custard:

Beat the egg yolks and sugar until pale in color. Whisk in the flour and vanilla paste.

Heat the milk to a slow boil, set aside. While whisking vigorously drizzle the warm milk into the egg yolk mixture, just a tiny bit at a time at first. Once you’ve added about 1/4 of the milk, you can add the rest in a thin stream, whisking constantly.

Pour the mixture back in the saucepan and reheat it over medium heat. Whisk constantly until it thickens. Remove from heat and chill the custard in a bowl in the refrigerator. Sprinkle with sugar or press a film of plastic wrap against the custard in the fridge so it doesn’t form a pudding skin.

Remonce:

Mix the sugar and marzipan well. Add butter little by little until it’s just incorporated.  Be careful not to over mix or the remonce will be runny when baked.

Preheat oven to 400℉ (200℃).

Dough:

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Just before all the butter is melted remove pan from heat and add the milk. 

In a large bowl mix sugar and dry yeast. When the milk mixture is finger warm pour it in the bowl. Mix well and add vanilla paste, egg and salt. Mix in the flour a little at a time, you want the dough to be soft but nut sticky. 

Kneed the dough on the kitchen counter until the dough id smooth and soft. Let the dough rise in a covered bowl for about 90 minutes until it doubled in size.

Divide the dough in two, roll each portion into a rectangle and divide it into 6 squares.

Put a tablespoon custard and a teaspoon remonce in the center of each square. Fold the four corners up to the center and press to seal all edges, letting the air inside escape. Put fastelavnsboller onto a parchment paper lined baking sheets with joint side down. Leave to rise covered for about 30 minutes. Brush with egg wash  and bake for about 10-12 minutes until golden. Let them cool on wire rack before decorating with chocolate or colored icing.

Icing:

Heat the confectionary sugar over very low heat (this makes the icing set faster) add water and cocoa or food coloring.

Enjoy.

Fragilite Roulade with Liquorice and Berries

Fragilite Roulade with Liquorice and Berries

This recipe came about due to a mini competition launched by Lakrids by Johan Bülow on their Facebook page. So off course I had to try to make a cake with the yummy marzipan with licorice.

This is my contribution to the competition.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 75 g marzipan with liquorice

• 25 g marzipan (I used ren rå from Odense)

• 3 egg whites

• 150 g sugar

Sprinkles:

• almond slivers

• raw liquorice powder

Filling and topping:

• heavy whipping cream (whipped to medium soft peaks)

• strawberries, cut into small pieces

• blackberries

Directions:

Preheat the oven for 360℉ (180℃)

Mix the marzipans with one of the egg whites using your hand, it’s a bit messy, but it's the easiest way to get a homogenous mass.

Whip the other two egg whites until you have soft peaks. Add the sugar and keep whipping until you have a shiny meringue with stiff peaks. You should be able to turn the bowl upside down.

Fold the marzipan mixture in.

Line a baking pan with parchment paper and spray it.  

Spread the meringue evenly in the pan, sprinkle with slivered almonds and raw liquorice powder on top.

Bake the meringue for about 15 minutes. The top should be lightly brown.

When the cake is room temperature turn it upside down on a sheet of parchment paper. Cut of the edges of the cake, and it will roll easier.

Filling:

Whip the cream, and spread it onto the cake, except for the last inch in the top. The filling will be pressed out when you roll it.

Cut the strawberries in pieces and drizzle them over the whipped cream.

Use the parchment paper to roll the cake tightly. 

Enjoy

The Danish version:

Fragiliteroulade med Lakrids og bær

Ingredienser:

• 75 g lakridsmarcipan

• 25 g marcipan (Jeg brugte ren rå from Odense)

• 3 æggehvider

• 150 g sukker

Sprinkles:

• mandelflager

• raw liquorice powder

Fyld og topping:

• Flødeskum

• jordbær, i små stykker

• brombær

Vejledning:

Fragilite:

Ælt de to marcipaner med den ene æggehvide.

Pisk resten af æggehviderne sukkeret til de er helt stive. Vend forsigtigt de stive hvider i marcipanmassen. Smør dejen ud på en bradepande beklædt med bagepapir. Jeg smør altid bagepapiret for at sikre mig, at kagen slipper. Drys med mandelflager og lakridspulveret. Bag bunden ved 180 grader i cirka 15 minutter. 

Når bunden er helt afkølet, vendes den om på et nyt stykke bagepapir, så nødderne vender nedad.

Fyld: Pisk fløden stiv. Fordel flødeskummet på fragilitébunden, men undlad at komme noget på de sidste 2-3 cm i den ene ende, da fyldet presses ud, når kagen rulles. Skær jordbærene i grove stykker og drys dem over flødeskummet. Brug bagepapiret til at rulle rouladen så stramt som muligt. Skær rouladen i skiver på sned, server med friske bær.

Kransekage with Liquorice

Kransekage with Liquorice

With all the liquorice I've been using, I had to try liquorice in the kransekage

Kransekage: 

• 50 g almonds blanched
• 100 g sugar
• 1 egg white
• 250 g marzipan (I used Ren Rå, a 60% almond paste)
• 15-25 g marzipan with liquorice from Lakrids by Johan Bülow

Icing:

• white chocolate
• a sprinkle raw liquorice powder

Directions:

Put almonds and sugar into food processor with the steel blade in place and process until finely pulverized. Add the egg whites and process until smooth. Be careful not to heat the mass to more than 95 - 104°F, else the egg white will cook. 

Shred the marzipan and add it and the almond/egg white mixture to a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat it until it's completely smooth and free of lumps. Form the dough into a ball, and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

Preheat oven for 375℉ (190℃).

Roll the dough into logs as thick as your finger, and cut into 3 inch long pieces. Cut about 1 inch of each the pieces. Roll the 2 inch piece thinner, and flatten the log, and form a little slit where you put some marzipan with liquorice. Top the piece of with the rest of the dough you cut of.

Bake for about 12 minutes or until golden.  Allow to cool completely before decorating.