Walesstang - Choux Pastry Cake

Walesstang - Choux Pastry Cake

Danes like their sweets and their cakes. All baker's shops in Denmark have cream and custard filled cakes (like medaljer), usually placed in a chilled rack in their window. The walesstang/choux pastry cake were one of the cakes you would find there.

I can't remember getting this kind of cake growing up, but during my time working at a baker's shop, I sold a lot of them. 

Makes 3-4 cakes.

Ingredients:

Vanilla custard:

• 3 egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2½ dl (little over 1 cup) milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
• heavy whipping cream, whipped

Cream puff (choux pastry):

• 600 ml water
• 200 g butter, salted
• 250 g all-purpose flour
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• ⅛ teaspoon baking powder
• 6-7 eggs

Toppings:

• vanilla custard
• whipped cream
• blackcurrant jelly (or another jelly)
• fresh fruit
• chocolate shavings

Directions:

Vanilla 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 starts to boil and is thickened. 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. 

Cream puff (choux pastry):

Preheat the oven to 400℉ (200℃). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

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.

Choux pastry raw.

Using a star tip pipe 3-4 zigzag 2-inch log,  like you see on the right, onto the parchment paper lined baking sheets.

Bake the puffs for 25-30 minutes, until they are puffed up and golden brown.

DO NOT open the oven while baking the choux pastry, it will cause them to deflate.

Let the puffs cool completely on a wire rack

Decorate the pastry with custard, whipped cream, jelly, fruit and chocolate. 

Serve a slice of the walesstang with a cup of tea or coffee.

Enjoy!

Elderflower Madeleines

Elderflower Madeleines

This is my summerly take on the classic French Madeleine cookie. Basically it's small pound cake bites, baked in small seashell shapes, aka a madeleine pan. They are really tasty, and are perfect with a cup of afternoon tea.

You can make the batter the day before, and make them fresh for the weekend brunch. This works because the batter can rest up to 24 hours in the refrigerator before baking. 

Makes 24

Ingredients:

• 85 g butter, salted
• 2 eggs
• 75 g sugar
• 3 tablespoons elderflower syrup, I use d'arbo elderflower syrup
• 110 g all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder 
• confectionary (powder) sugar for sprinkling

Directions:

Whisk together the flour and baking powder. In a separate bowl (for the stand mixer), beat the eggs for about 30 seconds, until they are frothy. Add sugar, and whisk for about 5 minutes, until the pale, fluffy and tripled in volume.

Slowly add the dry ingredients and the melted butter + syrup in batches, and mix them slowly in. Be careful not to over mix the batter.

Let the batter rest in the refrigerator for about an hour to chill and hydrate the flour. This will give the madeleines the classic bump on the back, if you skip this step, the batter will still rise, but not as much.

Preheat the oven to 350℉ (180℃), and spray the madeleine pans with nonstick cooking spray, set aside.

Pour about 1 tablespoon of batter into each mold and bake for 15-17 minutes, until golden brown. You want the edges to be crispy and the inside light and fluffy.

Let the madeleines cool for a minute or two. Gently use a knife to loosen the madeleines from the pans and let them cool on a wire rack. For more elderflower taste, brush the warm madeleines with some of the syrup.

Sprinkle the madeleines with confectionary sugar, just before serving.

Enjoy!

Lagkagebunde - Spongecake for Danish Layer Cake

Classic Danish Layer cake

I know I need a better picture of the spongecake inside.

Makes 3 thin cakes.

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs, room temperature
• 150 g sugar
• 110 g all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or the seeds from 1 vanilla pod

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350℉ (180℃).

If baking 3 thin cakes:

Spray three 9-inch (22 cm) baking pans. Place a piece of parchment paper in the bottom of each and spray this too. Set aside. 

Whisk the eggs light and foamy with the sugar, it takes about 5 minutes to get maximum foaming when whisking on a stand mixer.

Mix and sift flour and baking powder together, and set aside. 

Very gently fold the flour, vanilla and milk in the foamy eggs. Be very careful not to deflate the egg mixture to much.

Pour the batter in the prepared baking pans, dividing the batter evenly between the three, if making 3 cakes. (Put about 155 g in each.) 

Bake the 3 thin cakes for about 7-8 minutes, until light brown.

If baking one big cake, to cut up in 3 thin discs after cooling:

Spray a 9-inch (22 cm) springform. Place a piece of parchment paper in the bottom and spray this too. Set aside.

Whisk the eggs light and foamy with the  sugar, it takes about 5 minutes to get maximum foaming when whisking on a stand mixer.

Mix and sift flour and baking powder together, and set aside. 

Very gently fold the flour, vanilla and milk in the foamy eggs. Be very careful not to deflate the egg mixture to much.

Pour the batter in the prepared springform

Bake the large cake for 25-30 minutes, until light brown.

When cooled completely, place the cake on a sturdy work surface. Using a long serrated knife and a sawing motion, cut the layer horizontally to make 3 layers. Don't worry if the layers are not perfectly even. The filling and frosting will mask that. 

Almond Lemon Cake

Almond Lemon Cake

Some days you just feel like baking a cake. I was inspired by an almond cake by David Lebovitz and a normal Danish mazarin cake. To  give the cake some more texture, I used almond flour, and added some lemon zest for more flavor.

The cake was really good and I loved the texture. This cake will pair well with fresh berries and crème fraiche. It turned out that this cake is dog approved. My food driven yellow lab stole the rest of the cake, about ¾ of the cake, from the kitchen counter. It was gone in seconds. 

Serves 12 people or 1 hungry dog

Ingredients:

• 175 g butter, room temperature
• 115 g honey
• 210 g sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla paste or the seeds from ½ vanilla bean pod
• 5 eggs, room temperature
• 110 g almond flour
• 175 g all-purpose flour
• 1½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 lemon, the zest of
• 3 tablespoons sliced almond 
• 1 tablespoon confectionary sugar, for dusting

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 320℉ (160℃). Spray a 9-inch (22 cm) springform. Place a piece of parchment paper in the bottom and spray this too. Sprinkle the springform with flour, and discard the excess. Set aside.

Cream the butter with honey, sugar and vanilla, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, and mix just until fully incorporated. 

Mix together all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder and lemon zest. Fold the dry ingredients in the butter/egg mixture. 

Pour the batter in the prepared pan, and sprinkle the sliced almonds on top. Bake the cake covered with aluminum foil for 40 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil and bake for another 20-25 minutes.

Let the cake cool completely before removing from the pan. Sprinkle with confectionary sugar.

Enjoy!

Irish Brownie Dessert

Irish Brownie Dessert

There's a little bit of Irish in everyone on St. Patrick's Day.

Try this decadent, rich dessert.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

Irish Brownie:

• 50 g all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, unsweetened
• 125 g chocolate
• 50 g butter, salted
• 50 ml Guinness stout
• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
• 1 tablespoon espresso, or another strong coffee
• 2 eggs
• 200 g sugar

Bailey's Mousse:

• 300 ml heavy whipping cream
• 165 g dark chocolate, I used Valrhona
• 50 g good milk chocolate, I used Valrhona
• 85 ml baileys

Topping:

• Whipped cream
• 4-6 mini bailey's

Directions:

Irish Brownie:

Preheat the oven to 350 ℉ and line a 8 x 8-inch baking pan with parchment paper, and spray it with cooking spray. Set aside.

Combine flour and cocoa powder in a bowl.

Melt chocolate and butter in a small saucepan over low heat, stir until smooth.  Remove from heat and stir in beer, coffee and vanilla.

Whisk eggs and sugars, in a large bowl until it’s thick pale yellow, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the chocolate mixture. Add flour and cocoa and mix until just incorporated. 

Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the edges are firm and the center is set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

Bailey's Mousse:

Chop the chocolates finely and put it in a bowl, set aside.

Heat the cream to a small simmer, pour it over the chopped chocolate. Let it sit for 20 seconds before stirring. Stir until you get a homogenous, shiny mixture. Let the mixture cool for at least 4 hours in the refrigerator.

Stir in the Bailey's and whip it with a hand mixer until light and thick. Be careful not to over mix, this will make it grainy. Place mousse in a piping bag.

Whip some heavy whipping cream until medium soft peaks, this will be the whipped cream for the topping.

Assembly:

Pipe some mousse in a small serving vessel. Place some of the brownie on top, pipe more mousse on top. Finish the dessert up with a scoop of whipping cream and place a small bailey's upside-down in the top. 

Enjoy!

The Danish Version:

Irsk Brownie Dessert med Bailey's Mousse

Ingredienser:

Irsk Brownie:

• 50 g hvedemel
• 1 spsk usødet kakao
• 125 g mørk chokolade
• 50 g smør, saltet
• 50 ml Guinness stout
• 1 tsk vanilje pasta /korn fra en vaniljestang 
• 1 spsk espresso, eller anden stærk kaffe
• 2 æg
• 200 g sukker

Bailey's Mousse:

• 300 ml piskefløde
• 165 g mørk chokolade, jeg brugte Valrhona
• 50 g god mælke chokolade, jeg brugte Valrhona
• 85 ml Bailey's

Topping:

• flødeskum
• 4-6 mini Bailey's

Fremgangsmåde:

Irsk Brownie:

Forvarm ovnen til 180℃. Smør en 20x20 cm bradepande og læg et stykke bagepapir i bunden, og smør også det.

Blandmel og kakao i en skål.

Smelt chokoladen, smør i en gryde og rør det sammen til en skinnende masse. Tag gryden af varmen og tilsæt øl, kaffe og vanilje. 

Pisk æggene med sukker indtil du har en bleggul tyk masse. Bland chokoladeblandingen i, og fold derefter forsigtigt melet i. 

Kom dejen i bradepanden og bag kagen i 30-35 minutter. Du skal gerne ende op med en blød kage med sprøde kanter. Afkøl kagen helt før du bruger den i desserten.

Bailey's Mousse:

Hak chokoladen fint, og kom det i en skål.

Varm fløden op i en gryde indtil kogepunktet. Hæld den varme fløde over chokoladen. Vent ca 20 sekunder før du begynder at røre. Bliv ved at røre indtil massen er homogen. Dæk skålen til og lad det køle i mindst 4 timer i køleskabet.

Rør bailey'en i og pisk massen med en håndmikser til den er tyk og luftig. Pas på ikke at overpiske massen, da det gør moussen grynet. Kom moussen i en sprøjtepose, og opbevar den på køl indtil du skal bruge den.

Pisk flødeskum til at toppe desserten af med.

Samling:

Sprøjt lidt mousse i bunden af en portionsskål, kom et stykke brownie ovenpå. Kom endnu et lag mousse ovenpå og top desserten af med en god klat flødeskum og sæt en mini Bailey's flaske ned i desserten. 

Velbekomme!