A brand new princess was born this morning to Crown Princess Viktoria and Daniel. And she was born in a normal maternity ward, like any other baby. Proud to be Swedish!
Tuesday in Barnes…
Elegant
….Thursday on Crawford Street. This is what you can expect if you come to TotallySwedish tomorrow, Thursday. And meet their maker.
Welcome! We open at 10.
Semla Assembly
With a little help, this year’s first semlor have been assembled. See the astonishing blow by blow account on how to make your very own Swedish Semla.
First you ask somebody to grate the almond paste, if you haven’t made your own. Careful of little knuckles.
A little tasting explain the blurry hand.
Ready for step 2
After cutting a (thin) lid off your bun and scooped out most of the middle, mix the bread with the almond paste and as much cream and/or milk to make a moist filling.
Mix well.
Mixing well. Without dropping bowl on floor.
Fill the cavities with the cream and add a dollop of your whipped cream, and put the lid on top at a jaunty angle. Dust with plenty of icing sugar. Ask another child less likely to drop things to serve.
Ta-da!
Daniel and I
I keep mine dry, ie without egg wash. I like the way the icing sugar sets on them.
Well, obviously not together. But simultaneously there is bun baking going on. I updated the recipe on the TotallySwedish website, should you get the urge.
My Hjorthornssalt (aluminium chloride) has a best before date that has passed and then some. Maybe I should splurge on some fresh stuff next time?
NEcessary for semlor and Dreams.
Swedes are a mystery!
It’s in the paper, so it must be true. The Scandi habit of eating salt liquorice is both trendy and weird. If you want to call yourself a real Swede, you have to acquire a taste for this spicy treat.
Expressen today tells of the invisible salt liquorice border, that actually includes Germany and the Netherlands too, outside which the people still don’t get it. The article also tells about the Chair of the Finnish Salmiak Association, who travelled around the country to fins somebody who could explain it to him, but when he did, the woman just looked at him and said “It’s indeed a mystery”, so maybe that’s where the actual allure is? Or maybe it’s just a question of taste?
We want to point out also that there is plenty of different kinds of salt liquorice to be had in both TotallySwedish shops and online.
Poor Man’s Truffles
Look at those babies...
It’s easy to go and buy something in a shop for Valentine’s Day. And very nice, to get an pretty box with something sparkly. But sometimes, it’s nice to get something that cost more time, than money.
For the chocolate loving Swede, these are childhood memories, in the form of a coconut or pearl sugar covered ball. They are easy and messy to make, perfect for anybody over the age of 4. You have to use a mixer, unless you are seriously into self-flagellation or need a forearm workout.
100g Butter. Not too cold, but absolutely no soft
3dl Caster sugar
3 dl Oats of any kind
3tbsp Cocoa
3 tbsp cold, strong coffee/Bailey’s/Arrac… whatever you wish
1 tbsp Vanilla sugar
Pearlsugar, desiccated coconut, sprinkles, finely chopped nuts or sesame seeds to roll them in.
Mix until it’s a homogenous batter. Roll small (think one bite) balls with slightly damp hands and roll in the covering of your choice. Keep in a cold place. They’ll keep until at least the best before date of your butter! They look very pretty in a cellophane bag, with a bow, to go with the nice card you got your Valentine. Or in a pretty box….
As before mentioned, it’s pretty messy, which is why I have (girl) friends who will forego the whole rolling bit, and just eat the mixture straight out of the bowl. With a spoon of course, so not to get their hands dirty!
Enjoy!
Somebody’s been busy
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No! It’s the incomparable Daniel who’s been been making semlor (hot wedge buns) for us. In stores tomorrow. And Tuesday. And next Saturday…and….and….and… Come get ‘em.
Give me more young men!
These babies are called youngsters, or to be precise; Young Masters. I want some. And, trust me, so do you! In store now. Get them while they’re (almost) hot.
Merry Christmas
From a Canadian friend, a Christmas ornament in the Norwegian tree, standing in a Swedish American home in Great Britain. The world is a wondrous place.
Merry Christmas!
I take back all bad words about Ginger Snap dough
You can't really see how much I spilled. That's why I used this particular filter...
Knäck is AWFUL to make. It’s a must for Christmas, it really is, but a P-A-I-N to make. The recipe is easypeasy: 170g sugar of any kind, 200ml light syrup/molasses, 200ml double cream. Nuts if you want. Put all in a saucepan with thick base and simmer _slowly_ until thickened and a dollop in a glass of water can be formed into a ball. It takes a really, really, really long time and if you don’t stir and watch over it, you’ll have sticky stuff on your hob.
When you are happy with the consistency of your little ball-in-the-glass, add the nuts if you want them. (I want hazelnuts. You may want some other nuts.) It’ll make the knäck more brittle and yummy. It will also make it even more difficult to get the toffee into those little bitty paper casings. They fall over.
I tried to use a pitcher this time, that was first filled with boiling water to make it hot, so to keep the mix flow easier. It was possibly easier than using 2 teaspoons, which is the traditional method in our family. I don’t double this recipe in order to make more knäck. I don’t have the nerves for that. This will make about 90. I think that’ll just have to be enough.
...and here are some I made earlier.
