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!

Rum Raisin Ice Cream

Rum Raisin Ice Cream

Rum raisin ice cream was my dads favorite ice cream, well he loved most ice creams. I have fond memories of my dad, whenever I'm having rum raisin ice cream. Growing up, my dad rarely had any alcohol. He worked as an upholsterer working with harsh glues, some were organic solvents. So my dad didn't want to put alcohol, like beer and wine, into the mixture. 

But he loved ice cream, and one day my mom bought some rum raisin ice cream, and he had a few large scoops. My poor dad got impaired/drunk from the ice cream, and soon after having the ice cream, he was sleeping on the sofa. Little did he know, that his wife and children was laughing on his behalf. My dad was a cheap drunk!

In loving memory of my dad, here is my version of rum raisin ice cream.

Makes 1 liter.

Ingredients:

• 100 g raisins

• ½ cup (1¼ dl) dark rum

• ½ lemon, the zest of

• ¾ cup (1.8 dl) whole milk

• 125 g sugar

• 1½ cup (3¾ dl) heavy whipping cream

• 1 pinch salt

• 4 egg yolks

Directions:

Macerate the raisins in rum over night. Heat rum, raisins a lemon zest in a small saucepan and let it simmer for about 2 minutes. Cover and let stand for a few hours until it's cooled completely. 

Warm milk sugar and ⅓ of the cream in a saucepan. Pour the rest of the cream into a bowl over an ice bath. 

Whisk the egg yolks pale and add the hot milk in a little at a time, while whisking. Pour the mixture back in the saucepan. Slowly heat the mixture over medium heat while constantly stirring. You want the mixture to thicken slightly, but you don't want the mixture to come to a boil, this will coagulate the egg yolks. 

Pour the hot mixture through a strainer into the cool cream. Stir until the custard is cooled completely.

When ready to freeze, drain the raisins, but save the rum. Measure 3 tablespoons of the rum and stir it into the custard. (Add more new rum, if you don't have 3 tablespoons rum from the drained raisins.)

Freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Stir in raisins as you remove the ice cream from the ice cream maker.

Let the ice cream freeze for a few hours before serving, if you can wait that long. 

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!

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!