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!

Rødgrød med Fløde - Berry Pudding with Cream

Rødgrød med Fløde - Berry Pudding with Cream

Rødgrød, aka berry pudding, is not a traditional pudding, it’s more like a jam with added potato starch to get the silky pudding-like consistency. The berry pudding has a very intense berry flavor, and with the cream you have a perfect summer dessert.

Berry pudding is a traditional summer dessert in Denmark, made with the fresh berries when they are in season. I grew up having this several times during the summer. My mom made it with rhubarb and strawberries in the start of summer, and by the end we had it with strawberries, raspberries and blackcurrant. I really love blackcurrant. The intense dark flavor is to die for.

The name "rødgrød med fløde" is almost impossible to pronounce for non-native Danes, but go-ahead and try:  Rødgrød med fløde [ˈʁɶð̪ˀˌɡ̊ʁɶð̪ˀ mɛ ˈfløːð̪̩].

Ingredients:

• 275 g redcurrants
• 775 g strawberries
• 250 g raspberries
• 100 g blackberries
• 150 ml water + 25 ml 
• 225 g sugar + extra for dusting
• 1½ tablespoons potato starch
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions:

Wash the berries, cut up the larger strawberries into bite-size bits. Come redcurrants and strawberries in a saucepan with water and sugar. Save the raspberries and blackberries for later, they are very delicate and you want to them to keep their shape. Slowly bring it all to a simmer. Skim the stiff foam off the top as it cooks using a large spoon. Let the berries simmer for 3-4 minutes. Add Blackberries.

Whisk potato starch in 25 ml water in a small bowl until combined. Take the berries of the heat, add the potato starch + water and stir until combined. Add raspberries and let them get warm while gently stirring. Transfer pudding to a bowl and sprinkle sugar on the surface of the pudding, so it doesn’t form a pudding-skin. Chill the pudding and serve at room temperature with ice cold cream.

Enjoy!

The Danish version:

Rødgrød med Fløde

Ingredienser:

• 275 g røde ribs
• 775 g jordbær
• 250 g hindbær
• 100 g brombær
• 1½ dl vand + ¼ dl 
• 225 g sukker + ekstra til at drysse ovenpå
• 1½ spsk kartoffelmel
• 2 spsk citronsaft 

Fremgangsmåde:

Rens bærrene og skær de store jordbær over.  Kom jordbær og ribs i en gryde med vand og sukker. Kog det forsigtigt op, fjern eventuelt skum. Kog forsigtigt grøden i ca. 3-4 minutter. Tilsæt brombærrene. Tag grøden af varmen.

Rør kartoffelmelen ud i den resterende ¼ dl vand. Kom det i grøden og rør rundt. Tilsæt hindbærrene, og lad dem lige varme op. Grøden skal ikke koges nu. 

Kom grøden i en skål, og drys den med sukker, så der ikke dannes skind på toppen. Afkøl grøden og server den stuetemperatur med iskold fløde,

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!

Plums in Madeira

Plums in Madeira served over vanilla ice cream

Plums in Madeira is a classic danish dessert from the 70's and 80's, serves over ice cream or with whipped cream.

My parents made these to preserve the huge amounts of plums (Rivers' Early) they had in their yard.

This year I found some plums, at the local farmers marked, that looked and tasted like my childhood plums.

My hobby had never had these plums and thought that I had another crazy idea. But after tasting the syrup I poured over the plums, he knew we had a winner on our hands.

Now we just have to wait, and wait a month or two, before we can taste the lovely treat. 

June 8th 2014: We finally had a chance to taste the plums in Madeira, and they are to die for. The liquid is like liquid gold, and you can almost drink it from the jar. We have to make more this year !!!!

This recipe is an old classic from "Den grønne syltebog" from 1939 by "Tørsleffs Husmoder Service".

Ingredients:

• 1 kg plums
• 2 dl water
• 650 g sugar
•  2 dl madeira
• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste

Directions:

Clean and pit the plums. Save the pits, crack them and put the little nut inside the plum.

Put the plums in cleaned, scalded jars. 

Cook the water and sugar until all the sugar is dissolved. Remove the the foam before adding the madeira and vanilla. 

Pour the madeira syrup over the plums.  

Stir the plums in madeira once every day for 3-4 days, the seal the jar. 

After 2-3 months the plums are sweet, soft and ready to eat. 

Enjoy!