Apricot/Habanero Ketchup

Apricot/Habanero Ketchup

We have all had tomato ketchup, but I wanted to try using apricots, since I have so many on my tree. Honestly this ketchup could be a family favorite. I might have to cook another batch before the apricots are gone for the year. If you're not into spicy food, just leave out the habanero and add some more black pepper and maybe even some star anise. 

Ingredients:

• 2 kg fresh apricots, washed, pitted and cut in half
• 500 g sugar
• 4½ dl apple cider vinegar
• 2-3 habanero chilies, without seeds
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 whole nutmeg
• 8 whole cloves
• 10 black pepper corns
• ½ teaspoon yellow mustard seeeds

Directions:

Put all the ingredients in a large pot, and bring it to a boil. Boil while stirring until the apricot is soft and mushy. Turn the heat down, and let the ketchup simmer until reduced to the desired consistency. This will take quit some time. Remember to stir regularly.

Blend the ketchup in a blender and run it through a sieve. Before adding it to scolded glass bottles. If you're not using this ketchup right away, you need to process the bottles for 10 minutes in a boiling-water bath. See National Center for Home Food Preservation for additional information on safe food preservation.

Enjoy!

The Danish version:

Abrikos-Habanero Ketchup

Ingredienser:

• 2 kg friske abrikoser, vaskede, udstenede og skåret i halve
• 500 g sukker
• 4½ dl æblecidereddike
• 2 habanero chilier, uden kerner
• 1 stang kanel
• 1 hel muskatnød
• 8 hele nelliker
• 10 sort peberkorn
• ½ tsk gule sennepsfrø

Directions:

Kom alle ingredienserne i en stor gryde og kog det op indtil abrkoserne er møre og bløde. skru ned for varmen. Kog videre indtil du får den ønskede ketchup konsistens. Det tager noget tid. Rør tit i gryden, så ketchuppen ikke brænder på.

Blend hele blandingen, og si den igennem en sigte, inden du kommer ketchuppen på skoldede flasker. Hvis du ikke skal bruge al ketchuppen med det samme, så skal du henkoge den i ovnen til den er steril. Se National Center for Home Food Preservation for mere information om fødevaresikkerhed ved syltning.

Velbekomme!

Sports Cake - Sportskage

Sports Cake - Sportskage

Sports cake, it's a contradicting name. There is nothing sporty about this cake, there's a lot of whipped cream, and you need to go to the gym after eating a piece of this. 

The sports cake is a classic cake made by the Danish "Conditori La Glace." La Glace first made this cake for the premiere of the political play "Sports Men" in november 1891. And this is why it's called Sports cake. 

The cake is a kind of layer cake, with a thin macaroon bottom with a filling of whipped cream mixed with crushed praline (hazelnut and hard caramel) and topped of with whipped cream and caramelized cream puffs. Even though it’s just whipped cream on whipped cream, it's really yummy and not overly sweet. So if you ever find you self in Copenhagen, Denmark, you have to visit La Glace, It's a little slice of old-school Denmark at its best.

It might be a huge feat to take on La Glace, but I'm making it for one of my Danish friends birthday, and when we both live in California, I can't just order a cake for her. 

The recipe is kinda secret, but La Glace publish it  in a pamphlet, when the cake turned 100 years in 1991. And a popular Danish food program showed their version on TV a few years ago. 

Here is my version inspired by "Spise med Price."

Makes 1 cake.

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 250 g marzipan (almond paste)
• 370 g sugar
• 3 egg whites

Praline:

• 100 g hazelnuts
• 300 g sugar

Cream puffs:

• 100 g butter, salted
• 200 ml water
• 125 g all-purpose flour
• a pinch salt
• 1 pinch baking powder
• 3 large eggs

Caramel for dipping the cream puffs:

• sugar

Filling & frosting:

• 1½ liters heavy whipping cream (use an organic with only cream in it like Clover)

Directions:

Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350℉ (175℃)

Mix marzipan, sugar and egg whites, and spread the dough onto a 9 inch circle on a parchment  paper or in a 9 inch springform pan, well greased. Bake it for about 30 minutes.

Praline:

Roast the hazelnuts on a dry skillet, until golden brown and most of the skin loosens. Rub the skin of the nuts between some kitchen towels.

Melt the sugar in a large skillet, and add the hazelnuts, when it's golden brown. Stir until the nuts are covered in caramel. Pour the mixture onto a parchment lined baking sheet to cool.

Cream puffs:

Preheat the oven to 400℉ (200℃).

Put water and butter in a medium saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium heat. In a bowl sift flour, baking powder and salt. When the butter is all melted add all the flour at once, and stir the mixture with a wooden spoon. Lower the heat and keep stirring until a dough is formed and it pulls away from the sides of the pan and is slightly shiny. 

Keep beating the dough with the wooden spoon until slightly cooled, about 2 minutes.  

Beat all the eggs in a bowl. Add a little of the beaten eggs, incorporating it thoroughly before adding more. Add the egg in small amounts until you have a thick paste but not runny at all.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Fill a large pastry bag fitted with an open tip, with the cream puff dough. Pipe quarter-size circular mounds about 2 inches apart, onto the parchment paper. To get the best tops on the cream puffs stop pressing on the pastry bag before you lift it, make a small circular move with your wrist as you lift the tip of the puff. If you have small tips on the puffs anyway, dab the tops of each puff with a fingertip dipped in water to smoothen the tops. 

Caramelized puffs.

Bake the puffs for 15-18 minutes, until they are puffed up and golden brown.

DO NOT open the oven while baking cream puffs, it will cause them to deflate.

Let the puffs cool on a wire rack.

When cooled, melt sugar in a small saucepan, till you have a light brown caramel. Dip the puffs in the melted sugar, and let them dry on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Be careful, the sugar is very very hot.

Filling:

The dome made, started piping.

Chop up the praline, you can use a food processor, but you don't want it to turn into a flour. You need some crunchy parts in the filling.

Whip 1 liter whipping cream, until it can hold a peak. Mix in the praline.

Whip the rest of the cream, a little softer than the other cream, this is used for piping.

Put the cake on a cake stand, and put the praline filled cream onto it like a dome.  

Pipe the regular whipped cream to cover the cake part, using a small open tip. Place the cream puffs on the dome. Pipe small petals round the puffs, so the hole dome is covered. 

NOTE: You can make the cake and praline in advance, maybe the day before.

Apricot Ice Cream

Apricot Ice Cream

Apricot is en season, my tree is booming with fruit. So why not make an apricot ice cream. 

This ice cream is made without eggs, and is very easy to make. 

Ingredients:

• 350 g fresh apricots, pitted and sliced in half
• 90 ml water
• 170 g raw honey (use a mild tasting honey such as clover)
• 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 250 ml fresh heavy cream 
• 1 tablespoon Disaronno Amaretto, optional

Directions:

Place apricots in a medium saucepan, pour water over and heat to a simmer and cook until apricots begin to soften, about 6-8 minutes. Stir in honey, when  the honey is dissolved remove from heat. Cool apricot mixture to room temperature and blend it until smooth. Stir in cream, lemon juice and Amaretto. Chill the mixture until very cold, and pour it into an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Enjoy!

The Danish version:

Abrikosis

Ingredienser:

• 350 g friske abrikoser, vaskede, udstenede og skåret i halve
• 90 ml vand
• 170 g honning (brug en mildt smagende honning)
• 1 tsk friskpresset citronsaft
• 250 ml piskefløde 
• 1 spsk Disaronno Amaretto, valgfrit

Fremgangsmåde:

Kom abrikoserne i en gryde sammen med vandet og kog dem til de er møre 6-8 minutter.

Kom honningen i og rør rundt indtil det er smeltet. Blend det hele til en jævn glat masse. Køl massen ned inden man går videre.

Tilsæt fløde, citronsaft og Amaretto, og lad det hele køle i et par timer inden den køres i ismaskinen. Følg vejledningen der følger med ismaskinen.

Velbekomme!

Apricot Jam

Apricot Jam

The month of May is apricot season in California. I have so many apricots on my tree that it's impossible to eat them all. My dog is doing all he can to eat all the apricots on the ground, he loves the endless supply,  crazy dog.

I made this great jam trying to savor the delicate taste of apricots. And I think this is the way to go. I need to make more, and the next batch is going in the freezer, to extend the shelf life. I like that I only need 4 ingredients, and the clean delicate taste of apricots is to die for.

Ingredients:

• 900 g fresh whole apricots, washed pitted and cut in half (use just-ripe, unblemished fruit)
• 120 ml water
• 340 g sugar
• 1 tablespoon freshly-squeezed lemon juice

Directions:

Boil the apricots in water until soft, 6-8 minutes. Puree in a blender (be careful with hot fluids in a blender, the lid might pop off) or an immersion blender, and blend until smooth. Bring fruit puree to a boil, add the sugar and lemon juice and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the fruit reaches the desired thickness, about 7-8 minutes. 

Scald the jars and lids with boiling water. Be careful not to touch the inside. Use tongs to handle jars and lids. Fill jars while still hot. I rinse the scalded jars and lids in atamon (Sodium benzoate) a food preservative, for better self life.

Remove fruit from heat and skim off any foam that may have formed. Pour the hot jam into hot, scalded jars and seal with scalded lids. See National Center for Home Food Preservation for additional information on safe food preservation.

Serve apricot jam with your favorite bread or on ice cream.

Enjoy!

The Danish version:

Abrikosmarmelade

Ingredienser:

• 900 g friske abrikoser, vaskede, udstenede og delt i halve (Anvend kun netop modne og ikke stødte frugter)
• 120 ml vand
• 340 g sukker
• 1 spsk friskpresset citronsaft

Fremgangsmåde:

Kog abrikoserne sammen med vandet indtil abrikoserne er møre, ca. 6-8 minutter.  Blend abrikoserne med en stavblender, eller i en rigtig blender indtil du har en homogen masse. Pas på med at blende varme væsker i en blender, da låget kan hoppe af.  Kog pureen op og tilsæt sukker og citronsaft. Kog marmeladen til den får den ønskede konsistens, ca. 7-8 minutter.

Skold glas og låg, og skyld dem med atamon. Fyld glassene mens de og marmeladen stadig er meget varme. 

Fjerne evt. skum der er dannet på marmeladen, inden den hældes på glas. Luk glassene tæt, og lad dem køle helt af.

Server abrikosmarmeladen på dit favorit brød  eller som sauce på is.

Velbekomme!

Cinnamon Bread - Kanelbrød

Cinnamon Bread - Kanelbrød

Cinnamon bread, is a classic for many teenagers in Denmark. Teens, would buy half a bread, and eat it for lunch. The sweet soft bread is really yummy, but to be honest, it's not food, it's a cake. 

I should have opted for a slightly larger pan, but the result was absolutely scrumptious. 

Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients:

Dough:

• ¾ cup (1½ dl) whole milk

• 60 g butter, salted

• 50 g live yeast, or 4 teaspoons dry yeast

• ¼ teaspoon vanilla paste

• 50 g sugar

• 1 pinch salt

• 375 g all-purpose flour

• 2 eggs + 1 for egg wash

Remounce:

• 100 g brown sugar

• 100 g sugar

• 100 g butter

• 1 tablespoon syrup

• 2 tablespoons cinnamon

Frosting:

• confectionary sugar

• water

Directions:

Heat the milk until warm and melt the butter in it. Pour the mixture into a bowl. Make sure the milk is only finger warm before adding the yeast.

Add yeast, sugar, salt and vanilla paste and stir until the yeast is dissolved. Add all the flour, and finally the eggs. The dough is very wet, but keep stirring, it will form a dough.

 Let the dough rise until it's doubled in size, for about 1 hour. 

Mix the butter, sugars, syrup and cinnamon for the remounce.

Pour the dough out onto a flour dusted workspace, and fold the dough 4 times, to deflate it. Roll it out so it’s as long as your loaf pan and about four times as wide.

Spread the remounce evenly on the dough, leaving a strip along the short side free. Roll up the dough, like you would cinnamon rolls, ending with the part that is free of the remounce. Half way in fold up the sides to keep the remounce inside the bread, while baking.

Put the bread in a parchment lined loaf pan. The parchment paper, makes it easier to lift out of the baked loaf.

Cut small slits in the sides of the loaf, this makes the loaf look braided. Let the loaf rise for about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven for 400℉ (200℃).

Brush the loaf with egg wash, and bake the loaf for 15 minutes, then cover the loaf with aluminum foil, and bake for another 30-45 minutes.

Mix confectionary sugar with a little water to form a thick paste. Let loaf cool completely before frosting. 

Enjoy!

This post has been submitted to the Yeast Spotting Site.  

The Danish version:

Kanelbrød

Ingredienser:

Dej:

• 1½ dl sødmælk

• 60 g smør, saltet

• 50 g gær, eller 4 tsk tørgær

• ¼ tsk vanilla pasta, eller korn fra ½ vanillestang

• 50 g sukker

• 1 knsp salt

• 375 g hvedemel

• 2 æg + 1 æg til at pensle med

Remounce:

• 100 g burn farin

• 100 g sukker

• 100 g smør

• 1 spsk sirup

• 2 spsk kanel

Glasur:

• flormelis

• vand

Fremgangsmåde:

Varm mælken op og smelt smørret i den varme mælk. Hæld smør/mælk i en røreskål. Vær sikker på at mælken kun er fingervarm før du tilsætter gæren. 

Tilsæt gæren, salt, sukker og vanillen og rør indtil gæren er opløst. Tilsæt melen og æggene. Dejen vil være våd og usammenhængende, men bliv ved med at røre  indtil det er en sammenhængende dej.

Lad dejen hæve til den er doblet i størrelse, det tager ca. 1 time. 

Bland alle ingredienserne til remouncen og sæt den til side.

Kom dejen ud på et meldrysset bord, fold dejen 4 gang for at slå dejen ned. Rul dejen ud, så den er lidt længere end brødformen, og 4 gang så bred.

Spred remouncen ud over dejen, på nær et lille stykke i den ene ende af den korte side. Rul dejen, som du gør når du laver kanelsnegle. Halvvejs fold siderne ind, så remouncen bliver inden i brødet ved bagningen.

Kom brødet i et form foret med bagepapir. Dette gør det lettere at få brødet ud, når det er bagt.

Klip små hakker i brødet, så det ligner at det er flettet. Lad brødet hæve i ca 30 minutter. 

Forvarm oven til 200℃.

Pensl brødet med sammenpisket æg, og bag det i 15 minter. Herefter lægger du et stykke staniol hen over toppen, så brødet ikke bliver for mørkt. Bag brødet videre i ca 30-45 minutter.

Bland glasuren til en tyk pasta, og kom lidt på toppen af det kolde brød.

Velbekomme!