Brunsviger cake

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Brunsviger

Happy 1 year Sweet•Sour•Savory

It has been a year already, it went by so fast. Looking back, I felt very exposed when I posted my very first post, like all eyes in the world would be on me. The fear dissipated, when reality set in. Nobody knew I was here, I had to work on getting people to find my blog.

I am very grateful to all the people that stops by, I'm really happy that you like my blog, and I hope you get inspiration for cooking and baking. I try to keep to my Danish roots in my cooking style, while learning and trying a lot of different cuisines.

Thank you for stopping by on my 1 year anniversary with Sweet•Sour•Savory

- o -

This cake is a traditional cake known from the island of Funen, or Fyn. I was once told that people from Funen eat this cake on top of a morning roll with butter - whereas the rest of the country eat this cake as a pastry or as a regular cake. 

During my lifetime, I've seen many different takes on the Brunsviger. Some think it's a cinnamon cake, some cakes lack filling and taste. This cake is all about the filling, otherwise it's just some brioche bread.

This recipe is not the old original from way back when. It's adapted from the different recipes I made through the years. A friend of mine told me that the secret to the best brunsviger is to add syrup to the filling. And I have to agree with her. This is by far the best brunsviger I have had in my life. 

Ingredients:

Dough: 

• 500 g all-purose flour
• 200 g butter (salted and room temperature)
• 50 g live yeast (or 4 teaspoons dry Yeast)
• 2 dl non-fat milk
• 2 eggs
• 50 g sugar
• a pinch of salt

Filling: 

• 200 g butter (salted)
• 450 g dark brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons thick syrup

Directions: 

Dough:

Heat the milk till finger warm and combine it with the yeast and half of the sugar. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. 

In the meantime mix the flour and butter in a stand mixer, until the butter is fully mixed in. Add the sugar, milk/yeast mixture, salt and eggs to the flour. Mix until the dough is shiny and not to sticky. Add a little more flour if its necessary.

Place the dough in a buttered springform, I would use a bigger pan next time. The brunsviger came out to high for my taste. Let dough rise for 20 - 25 minutes. 

The dough

Ready for the oven.

Poke your fingers into the dough, to make holes for the filling to rest in. Make sure to make a lot of holes.

Filling:

Melt the butter in a saucepan add ⅔ of the brown sugar and the syrup, mix it well. Spread the filling over the dough, carefully not to get in between the dough and the pan. Sprinkle the rest of the brown sugar over the cake. 

Bake the cake for 20-25 minutes at 400°F.

Let the cake cool in the pan. 

Notes:

The brunsviger can be made in advance. It freezes well after adding the filling. Defrost in the counter and let it rise before baking.

If you like more filling make 1½ time the amount, for a more sticky cake.

 

Peach Galette with Liquorice Whipped Cream

Peach Galette

We finally got some peaches from our three. The squirrels have been eating all the peaches for the last 5 years. But for the first year the humans are victorious! Well, to be honest we shared the peaches, we got about 20 small peaches, the squirrels got the rest.

I wanted to make a peach pie, but didn't have enough, so I had to scale down. So I had to try to make the more rustic peach galette. And Oh Boy, it was good. I'm definitely going to make this again.

Ingredients:

Crust:

Makes enough for two large galettes

• 375 g (4 cups) sifted all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 120 ml (½ cup) ice cold water
• 340 g cold salted butter, cut into small pieces
• ⅓ cup sliced almonds + extra sugar for sprinkling
• egg wash (1 egg + a few drops of water, beaten together)

Filling:

• 4 large peaches, sliced into slices
• 1½ tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 ½ tablespoons sugar
• 30 g marzipan
• ½ teaspoon vanilla paste
• fresh mint for garnish

Liquorice whipped cream:

• 250 ml heavy whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons fine raw liquorice powder

Directions:

Crust:

Add the flour, sugar and salt to a food processor and pulse just until combined. Add the cold butter pieces into the food processor and pulse until small coarse crumbs remain. Whisk mix  egg and water together. Drizzle the water/egg mixture over the flour and pulse again until the dough just comes together.

Divide the dough in two and wrap the dough disks separately in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes. 

If you only make on galette, the dough will keep for about 5-7 days in the refrigerator, or you can freeze it.

After 30 minutes, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Filling:

Add the sliced peaches to a bowl. Sprinkle the peaches with cornstarch, sugar and vanilla paste, and toss it all together and let the filling sit for about 10 minutes.

Remove one of the crusts from the fridge.

Roll one of the pie crusts into a ¼ inch thick disk. It's not important to shape the disk perfectly, you want it to look kinda rustic.

Place the dough on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Spread the grated marzipan in the center, leaving a 2-inch+ border of crust. Layer the peaches on top and fold border of the crust over the peaches. Brush the crust with egg wash, and sprinkle the slivered almonds and some sugar on the crust, and press it into the crust. Bake the galette until the crust and almonds are golden, about 40 to 45 minutes. 

Liquorice whipped cream:

Whip the heavy whipping cream until soft peaks. Fold in the liquorice powder.

Sprinkle with fresh mint leaves on the galette before serving. Serve the galette with liquorice whipped cream or a small scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Peach Galette with Liquorice Whipped Cream

Enjoy!

White Chocolate Brownie

White Chocolate Brownie

Normally a brownie is brown, but here is my take on a white brownie with white chocolate, dried cherries and almonds. The brownie is still moist and chocolaty, but the cherries gives a tangy taste, so the sweetness is not overpowering.

You can eat the brownie when it is just made, but it only gets better the next day.

Makes 12 small pieces

Ingredients:

Batter:

• 125 g butter
• 200 g white chocolate
• 3 eggs
• 300 g sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla pate or the seeds from ½ vanilla pod
• 150 g all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

Filling:

• 100 g white chocolate, chopped
• 75 g sun-dried cherries, chopped
• 50 g almonds, chopped

Topping:

• 150 g white chocolate
• 15 g butter 
• 40 g almonds slivers
• 50 g dried cherries, chopped

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 360℉ (180℃). Line a  8” by 8” baking pan with parchment paper, and set aside.

Melt butter and chocolate in a saucepan over very low heat, let cool for a few minutes.

Whisk eggs, sugar and vanilla till it is pale and foamy. Add the melted chocolate and mix until fully incorporated. Stir in the sifted flour and baking powder in the batter. Fold in chocolate, almonds and cherries.

Pour the batter into the baking pan and bake it for 35-45 minutes until the top is lightly golden.

Let the cake cool completely before decorating.

Topping:

Melt the chocolate over a double boiler while stirring, take the chocolate off the heat just before it's all melted, and stir until it all is melted. Stir in the butter, spread it on top of the cake, sprinkle almonds and cherries on top.

Cut the cake in small pieces and serve it with a nice cup of coffee. 

Enjoy!

The Danish version:

Hvide Chokoladebrownies

Giver 12 små stykker

Ingredienser:

Dej:

• 125 g smør
• 200 g hvid chokolade
• 3 æg
• 300 g sukker
• kornene fra ½ stang vanille
• 150 g mel
• 1 tsk. bagepulver

Fyld:

• 100 g hvid chokolade, groft hakket
• 75 g soltørrede kirsebær, groft hakkede
• 50 g hele mandler

Topping:

• 150 g hvid chokolade
• 15 g blødt smør
• 40 g mandelsplitter
• 50 g oltørrede kirsebær, groft hakkede

Fremgangsmåde:

Forvarm ovnen til 180℃. Kom bagepapir i en ca 20 cm x 20 cm bageform.

Smelt smør og chokolade i en tykbundet gryde over meget lav varme eller over vandbad.Lad massen køle lidt af i et par minutter. Pisk æg, sukker og vaniljekorn til en meget lys gul luftig masse. Bland chokoladen i æggemassen. Bland sigtet mel og bagepulver i og bland det forsigtigt sammen. Tilsidst tilsættes mandler, kirsebær og chokolade og de vendes forsigtigt i dejen.

Hæld dejen i kageformen og bag kagen i ca. 35-45 minutter. Køl kagen helt af før den dekoreres. 

Topping:

Smelt chokoladen over vandbad, indtil den er næsten helt smeltet. Tag chokoladen af varmen og bliv ved med at røre indtil den sidste chokolade er smeltet. Tilsæt smør og rør det i. Spred chokoladen ud over toppen på kagen, og drys med de tørrede kirkebær og mandelsplitter. Lad chokoladen sætte sig, og skær kagen ud i små stykker. 

Server kagen med en god kop kaffe.

Velbekomme!

Chocolate Ganache Fruit Tart

Chocolate Ganache Fruit Tart

Chocolate is the answer to everything, who cares what the question is?

Just another pie. Sweet, chocolaty and fruitful.

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 20 g almonds
• 20 g cocoa powder, unsweetened 
• 55 g all-purpose flour
• 35 g sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• ⅖ stick (45 g) butter, cold and salted
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla paste
• almost 1 egg

Ganache:

• 60 g dark chocolate
• 60 g milk chocolate
• 120 g heavy whipping cream
• 1½ teaspoon cognac

Topping:

• fresh fruit like cherries, raspberries and blackberries 

Direction:

Crust:

Chop the almonds in the food processor until it’s a coarse flour. Add, cocoa, sugar, flour and salt. Add diced cold butter, and blend until fully combined. Add vanilla paste and egg, and blend until just combined. Don't knead the dough, it will make the crust shrink when baked.

Form a disc or flat square of the dough and wrap it in plastic wrap, and store in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

Spray the small tart pans with nonstick spray.

Flour your work surface generously, place the cold dough on top and flour the dough. Roll it out so it fits the tart pan.

Transfer the dough to the pie pan, cut off the overhanging dough for the crust to fit perfectly in the pan. 

If the dough sticks, use at bench scraper or a spatula to get it off your work surface. If the dough get to soft, put it into the freezer for a few minutes. 

Prick dough all over with a fork. Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375℉ (190℃)

Line crust with parchment paper. Fill with pie weights or dried beans, and bake the crust until edges are set, about 10 minutes. Remove parchment paper and weights, and bake the crust for another 5 minutes. Let cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Ganache:

Melt the chocolate in the cream over very low heat. When almost melted, remove from heat, and add the cognac. 

Pour the ganache into the crusts, and refrigerate them to set the ganache.

Decoration:

Decorate the tarts with fresh fruit, and serve.

Enjoy!

The Danish version:

Frugtchokoladetærte

Bund:

• 20 g mandler
• 20 g kakaopulver, usødet 
• 55 g hvedemel
• 35 g sukker
• 1 knsp salt
• 45 g smør, koldt og saltet, i små tern
• ¼ tsk vanille pasta eller kornene fra ½ vanillestang
• næsten 1 æg

Ganache:

• 60 g mørk chokolade
• 60 g mælke chokolade
• 120 g piskefløde
• 1½ tsk cognac

Topping:

• frisk frugt såsom, kirsebær, hindbær og brombær

Fremgangsmåde:

Bund:

Hak mandlerne til manelmel i foodprocessoren. Tilsæt kakao, sukker, mel og salt. Kom smørret i, og blend indtil det er en ensartet blanding. Tilsæt vanillie og æg, og blend indtil det kun lige har samlet sig. Hvis du ælter dejen for meget, vil den krympe, når den bages

Form dejen til en flad firkant og pak den ind i plastikfilm, og lad den hvile i køleskabet i minimum en time. 

Smør de små tærtebunde. 

Rul dejen ud på et meldækket bord, så den er lidt større end tærteformene. Løft dejen forsigtigt over i formene, og skær evt overskydende dej af, så dejen passer perfekt i formene.

Prik i dejen med en gaffel, og sæt dejen i fryseren i ca 30 minutter.

Opvarm ovnen til 190℃.

Kom et stykke bagepapir ovenpå dejen og hæld Keramiske blindbagningskugler, eller tørrede bønner, ovenpå, så du kan bage bunden blindt. Bag bunden i 10 minutter, fjern så bagepapir og fyld. Bag bunden i yderligere 5 minutter. Lad bunden køle helt af, inden den fyldes.

Ganache:

Smelt chokoladen i fløden ved lav varme. Når chokoladen er næsten helt smeltet tages gryden af varmen og cognacen kommes i. Hæld ganachen i bundene og sæt tærterne i køleskabet, så ganachen sætter sig.

Dekoration:

Kom den friske frugt på tærterne, og server dem.

Velbekomme!

Strawberry Tart with Chocolate Crust

Strawberry Tart with Chocolate Crust

Is anything better than strawberries with chocolate? It would be strawberries with cream and a sprinkle of sugar. (This is the way you eat fresh strawberries at the Wimbledon Tennis Tournament in London) 

This is my take on strawberries with chocolate and strawberries with cream. The perfect concoction, the dessert of the summer. 

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 40 g almonds

• 45 g cocoa powder, unsweetened

• 110 g all-purpose flour

• 75 g sugar

• 1 pinch salt

• ¾ stick (85 g) butter, cold and salted

• ½ teaspoon vanilla paste

• 1 egg

Custard:

• 3 egg yolks

• 2 tablespoons sugar

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

• 250 ml milk

• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste

• heavy whipping cream, whipped

Topping:

• strawberries

• 1 tablespoon honey

Directions:

Crust:

Chop the almonds in the food processor until it’s a coarse flour. Add, cocoa, sugar, flour and salt. Add diced cold butter, and blend until fully combined. Add vanilla paste and egg, and blend until just combined. Don't knead the dough, it will make the crust shrink when baked.

Form a disc or flat square of the dough and wrap it in plastic wrap, and store in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

Spray a 14-inch rectangular removable-bottom tart pan with nonstick spray.

Flour your work surface generously, place the cold dough on top and flour the dough. Roll it out into a 7-by-16-inch rectangle, so it fits the tart pan.

Transfer the dough to the pie pan, cut of the overhanging dough for the crust to fit perfect in the pan. 

If the dough sticks, use at bench scraper or a spatula to get it off your work surface. If the dough get to soft, put it into the freezer for a few minutes. 

Prick dough all over with a fork. Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375℉ (190℃)

Line crust with parchment paper. Fill with pie weights or dried beans, and bake the crust until edges are set, about 20 minutes. Remove parchment paper and weights, and bake the crust for another 10 minutes. Let cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Custard:

Beat the egg yolks and sugar until pale in color. Whisk in the cornstarch 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 ¼ of the milk, you can add the rest in a thin steady 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 pour into a bowl.  Sprinkle with sugar or press some plastic wrap against the custard so it won't form a pudding skin. Chill the custard completely in the refrigerator.

When the custard is cold, whip the heavy whipping cream. Fold the whipped cream in the custard a little at a time till you get the desired taste and texture. 

Assembly of the tart:

Spoon custard into cooled crust and spread into an even layer. Arrange strawberries over filling in a decorative pattern. Place honey in a small bowl and heat in the microwave until melted, about 10 seconds. Use a pastry brush to brush glaze over strawberries. Chill in the refrigerator until serving.

Enjoy!

The Danish version:

Jordbærtærte med Chokoladebund

Ingredienser:

Bund:

• 40 g mandler

• 45 g kakaopulver, usødet

• 110 g hvedemel

• 75 g sukker

• 1 knsp salt

• 85 g smør, koldt og saltet, i små tern

• ½ tsk vanille pasta eller kornene fra ½ vanillestang

• 1 æg

Creme:

• 3 æggeblommer

• 2 spsk sukker

• 1 spsk maizena

• 2,5 dl mælk

• 1 tsk vanille pasta eller kornene fra 1 vanillestang

• piskefløde, pisket

Topping:

• jordbær

• 1 spsk honning

Fremgangsmåde:

Bund:

Hak mandlerne til manelmel i foodprocessoren. Tilsæt kakao, sukker, mel og salt. Kom smørret i, og blend indtil det er en ensartet blanding. Tilsæt vanillie og æg, og blend indtil det kun lige har samle sig. Hvis du ælter dejen for meget, vil den krympe, når den bages

Form dejen til en flad firkant og pak den ind i plastikfilm, og lad den hvile i køleskabet i minimum en time. 

Smør en rektangulær tærtebund. 

Rul dejen ud på et meldækket bord så den er lidt større end tærteformen. Løft dejen forsigtigt over i formen, og skær evt overskydende dej af, så dejen passer perfekt i formen.

Prik i dejen med en gaffel, og sæt dejen i fryseren i ca 30 minutter.

Opvarm ovnen til 190℃.

Kom et stykke bagepapir ovenpå dejen og hæld Keramiske blindbagningskugler, eller tørrede bønner, ovenpå, så du kan bage bunden blindt. Bag bunden i 20 minutter, fjern så bagepapir og fyld. Bag bunden i yderligere 10 minutter. Lad bunden køle helt af, inden den fyldes. Du kan evt, pensle bunden indvendigt med lidt smeltet chokolade. 

Creme:

Æggeblommerne røres hvide sammen med sukkeret. Rør mizen og vanillien i æggeblandingen.  Mælken koges op og hældes i lidt ad ganged ned i æggemassen, mens der piskes.  Når al mælken er kommet i, hældes det hele tillage i gryden og koges op under konstant omrøring. Cremen tykner i denne proces. Dæk cremen med et stykke film, så den ikke trækker skind.  Der må ikke røres i cremen mens den afkøles.  Når kagecremen er helt afkølet, blandes den med flødeskum, så cremen får en passende konsistens og smag.

Assembly of the tart:

Fordel kagecremen i tærtebunden og læg jordbær ovenpå. Pensel jordbærrene med lidt opvarmet honning, for at give dem mere glans. Server straks, eller opbevar tærten på køl, indtil den skal serveres. 

Velbekomme!