Tag Archives: Baking

Recipe: Swedish ‘Sockerkaka’ Sponge Cake

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Sockerkaka

I realise this is a bit of a departure from my previous healthy living post but I just downloaded last week’s photos from my camera and wanted to share this recipe with you. Sockerkaka (meaning: Sugar cake) is incredibly popular in Sweden and it is the perfect cake to whip up when you have unexpected company as it’s so simple to make and pretty much all the ingredients are cupboard staples. I made this last week when my friend and her daughter came over, it took me no more than ten minutes to mix up the batter once the kids had gone to school and then I could get on with my work while it was baking in the oven. You could add other flavours such as cocoa powder or lemon juice and zest but this is the original (and in my opinion the best) recipe:

3 eggs
180 g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
50 g butter
100 ml milk
220 g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees. Whisk together the eggs, sugar, and vanilla essence until white and fluffy. Melt the butter and stir in the milk, then add that to the mixture. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl and carefully fold into the batter. Pour into a prepared ring cake tin and bake in the middle of the oven for 25-30 minutes.

Recipe: Saffron and White Chocolate Cake

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Saffron cake

Christmas for me is all about traditions – carrying on old ones from my childhood as well as creating new ones just for our family. Despite having lived in the UK since the age of ten, when I was growing up we always celebrated a traditional Swedish Christmas (with a few English twists). Much of the festive season revolves around food and in Sweden saffron is synonymous with Christmas. For St Lucia Day (read more about it here), which falls on December 13, it is customary to serve bright yellow saffron buns studded with raisins. While the buns are rather time consuming to make as the dough needs to rise (but they are oh, so worth it, I will share the recipe when I do make them), this cake takes hardly any time at all. My eldest son has inherited my love for saffron so I made it for his birthday earlier this month and I’ll make another one for the first of advent to serve along with Glögg (similar to mulled wine) and gingerbread biscuits.

Ingredients:

100g unsalted butter
100g white chocolate
0.5g saffron (if you’re near a Scandinavian food store you can usually buy the saffron powder in tiny (but expensive) bags)
2 eggs
160g sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
130g plain flour

Preparation Method:

Melt the butter together with the white chocolate in a saucepan over a low heat. Add the saffron and put to one side.Whisk together the eggs, sugar and vanilla essence until white and fluffy. Add the chocolate and butter mixture and stir until combined. Sift in the flour and carefully fold it in. Pour the butter into a prepared spring form cake tin. Bake in an oven preheated to 200 degrees for 15-20 minutes depending on the desire texture (I like the cake to be slightly gooey in the middle). Allow it to cool before serving.

Recipe: Raspberry Oat Slices

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My friend made these raspberry oat bars for a cake sale at my son’s school last month and, after tasting one, I immediately asked for the recipe. They’re super easy to make and the oaty crunchiness contrasts nicely with the gooey jam. If you use sugar free jam they’re not too sweet and make perfect lunch box treats.

Ingredients:

(makes approx 12 slices)

5 tablespoons light brown soft sugar

125g (4 1/2 oz) plain flour

1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

a pinch of salt

100g (4 oz) porridge oats

125g (4 1/2 oz) butter, softened

250g (9 oz) good quality raspberry jam

Preparation method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180c/Gas mark 4. Grease one 20cm (8 inch) square cake tin and line with baking parchment.

2. Combine brown sugar, flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt and porridge oats in a large bowl. Rub in the butter using your hands to form a crumbly mixture.

3. Press 3/4 of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared cake tin, reserving the rest for the topping. Spread the jam over the base but not quite to the edges as it will spread.

4. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture over the top and lightly press it into the jam.

5. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven until lightly browned. Allow to cool before cutting into slices.

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This Week’s Favourites

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I suppose the title of this post should really be ‘last week’s favourites’…I’m a day late but with all the party preparations last week and then the clearing up yesterday I have a feeling I’ll be playing catch-up all week. Anyway here’s a quick round-up of the last seven days:

1. My thermos mug from Ikea comes in handy on busy mornings when I end up having breakfast on the run.

2. I made another batch of low carb muesli this week (find the recipe here) – my favourite breakfast.

3. Banana bread is great to put in the children’s lunch boxes and as an afternoon treat with a cup of tea. (Recipe here)

4. The week started off very warm and we made the most of the sunny weather with a trip to the playground after preschool. As the week went on it got progressively colder and I think it’s definitely time to dig out the hats and gloves (although I think the chances of finding a matching pair are very slim, given how many gloves were lost at school last winter).

5. Beautiful autumn colours on a crisp, sunny morning.

6. I had been looking for a new ‘smart’ winter coat for a while but not found anything that was quite right. I have a padded coat from Zara which is great when it gets really cold but I wanted a slightly dressier one to wear for nights out. Usually buying coats is a nightmare as I’m small and unless I find one in a petite fit (which means much less choice), the sleeves are too long and it swamps me. But I went into town mid-week to take a few things back and there it was – the perfect coat. As luck would have it there was one left in my size and, being H&M, it was a total bargain at only £39.99! I tried to find it online to link back to for a better picture but for some reason it’s not up on the H&M website, so you’ll have to make do with the picture I snapped in the changing room. The main body of the coat is a black and white tweed type of pattern, with black sleeves and a detachable fur collar which you can of course wear with other coats and jackets as well.

7. It was only a quick trip into town but I did manage to have a wander through our local department store where they were setting up the Christmas display. I know a lot of people complain that the stores bring out the Christmas decorations too early but I kind of like it. The boys’ birthdays are at the end of October and beginning of November but after that I like to start planning for the festive season – I can’t stand stressing about it in mid December when the shops are full of people and things are starting to run out, or worrying about Internet deliveries arriving in time. Only ten weeks to go until Christmas Day folks!

8. Every Friday Clemmie and I go to Gym Tots with my friend and her daughter. The girls love running around, climbing on all the gym equipment and bouncing on the trampolines.

9. As you probably know by now the week culminated with a birthday party for my husband which went on into the early hours of Sunday morning. We all had a great time and he got some fantastic presents – almost all of them golf related!

Hope you’ve all had a fantastic start to the week! X

Fall To-Do List

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Fall To-Do List

As most you have probably gathered, Fall is my favourite season. I’ve already written a post on my Autumn Resolutions and another on Ten Reasons to Fall in Love with Fall, but I couldn’t resist one more focusing on the things I want to do in the next couple of months. Now is the perfect time to start new projects, or perhaps pick up on existing ones which fell by the wayside over the summer, and also to carve out a bit of me-time before the Christmas rush begins.

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1. Start taking more pictures with the Nikon DSLR camera I got for my birthday last year (especially as one of my birthday presents this year was a new lens). I’m still getting to grips with it, and often I forget to take it with me or decide it’s too bulky to lug around, so I end up using my phone but the picture quality is so much better with the Nikon.

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2. Make these cookies. Spiced apple cider instant drink mix is not readily available here in the UK but I found some on eBay.

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3. Go to the ballet. As a child I used to love going to see the Nutcracker around Christmas time and my husband has promised to take me this year.

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4. Host a Halloween party for family and friends. After Christmas and their birthdays, it’s the event that the kids most look forward to. Obviously they love all the candy but also the costumes, decorating the house and, of course, the pumpkin carving.

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5. Go away for a weekend with a friend, ideally to Babington House which is the perfect getaway for pampering treatments, delicious food and cocktails (their pear bellini is to-die-for)

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6. Learn how to cook a roast dinner.

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7. Finish off my photo wall. I have bought all the frames and chosen the pictures so all that remains is printing the photos and putting them up on the wall.

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8. Start at least one morning on the weekend with a long walk and take a moment to appreciate the stunning scenery right on my doorstep.

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9. Wear something other than jeans on at least one day a week. I wear lots of dresses and skirts in the summer but as soon as the temperature drops I practically live in my skinnies. The imitation leather skirt I ordered from H&M has finally arrived so I’m hoping that will inspire me to get out of the denim rut.

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10. Make scrapbooks for the boys of their best pieces of artwork, school and sports certificates. I have keepsake boxes and baby books for each of my children but I think that putting papers into a scrapbook is a better way of preserving them.

Recipe – Apple Cake

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Autumn means apples are in abundance and, whether they’re from your own tree or from the greengrocer, it’s the perfect time to make apple pie and apple cake. This recipe is by children’s cookery writer Annabel Karmel but, as my husband can’t eat wheat, I substituted the flour for a gluten free alternative. Apart from how simple it is to prepare, the beauty of this truly delicious cake is that it will stay moist for at least a week, because it is made with sunflower oil rather than butter.

Ingredients:

5 Granny Smith (or other) apples

1 1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon

2 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice

450g (15oz) granulated sugar

375g (12oz) plain flour

1/2 tsp salt

3 tsp baking powder

4 eggs

1/2 tsp almond essence

2 tsp vanilla essence

250ml (8fl oz) sunflower oil

icing sugar for dusting

Method:

  • Preheat the oven to 180C/350F
  • Peel and slice the apples thinly and place in a bowl. Toss with the cinnamon, orange juice and 100g (3 1/2 oz) of the sugar.
  • Ina separate bowl mix together all the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder and the remaining sugar). Add the eggs one at a time, then add the almond and vanilla essences along with the oil.
  • Grease a deep ring tin or other decorative moulded cake tin, such as a Cathedral mould. Pour in a third of the batter, then half the sliced apple mixture, then a third more of the batter, followed by the rest of the apple mixture. Finish with the remaining third of the batter.
  • Bake in the preheated oven for about 1 1/2 hours or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. When mostly cool remove from the pan and cool further.
  • To serve, dust the top of the cake with sieved icing sugar.

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Recipe: Gluten Free Apple & Blackberry Crumble

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Last weekend I made my first ever crumble. It was really easy and tasted delicious so I can’t believe it had taken me so long. My only excuse is that, until now, the children have not been super keen on cooked fruit. But it turns out that, if you add enough butter and sugar, they gobble it all up! It probably also helped that they had picked the apples and blackberries themselves a couple of days before.

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Ingredients

For the crumble

  • 30g/1¼oz unsalted butter

  • 3 large Bramley apples or similar tart cooking apples, peeled, cores removed, each apple cut into 0.5cm/¼in slices

  • 150g/5¼oz caster sugar

  • 80g/3oz fresh blackberries

For the crumble topping

  • 170g/6oz gluten free flour

  • 85g/3oz unsalted butter

  • 1-2 tbsps caster sugar

Preparation method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
  2. For the crumble filling, heat the butter in pan over a medium heat. Add the apple slices and fry for 3-4 minutes, or until softened.
  3. Add the sugar and stir well to coat the apples. Continue to cook until the apples are tender and golden-brown and the sugar has melted.
  4. Add the blackberries and stir gently to combine.
  5. For the crumble topping, sift the flour into a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and sugar and rub together, using your fingertips, until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. (Or even better, put it all into a food processor like I did and mix until it looks like breadcrumbs)
  6. Spoon the apple and blackberry filling into a shallow ovenproof dish. Sprinkle over the topping mixture to just cover the filling. Transfer the dish to the oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until the topping is pale golden brown and the filling is bubbling.

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Recipe: Gluten free chocolate cake

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For Clemmie’s birthday party last weekend I made a gluten free chocolate cake in lieu of a traditional birthday cake so that my husband, who suffers from coeliac disease, could have a slice too. The cake turned out really well – nice and gooey on the inside – and tasted delicious with fresh strawberries and vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients:

  • 100 g margarine or butter
  • 3 eggs
  • 250 g caster sugar
  • 90 g gluten free flour
  • 5 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 1 tbsp vanilla essence

1. Melt the butter or margarine over a low heat and let it cool

2. Whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla essence until light and fluffy

3. Combine the gluten free flour and cocoa powder in a separate bowl and carefully fold into the sugar and egg mixture

4. Add the melted butter or margarine and stir to combine

5. Grease a springform cake tin and coat it with cocoa powder before pouring in the batter

6. Bake in the oven at 150°C for 25-30 minutes.

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Recipe: Classic Scones

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What could be more British than afternoon tea with a pot of steaming Earl Grey and fresh-from-the-oven scones slathered with butter and jam (and maybe a cheeky glass of Prosecco)? This recipe takes no time at all to whip up and the scones taste as delicious for breakfast as they do for a traditional cream tea.

Makes around 10 scones

400g plain flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspooon salt

100g butter

300 ml milk

Preheat the oven to 250c. In a bowl mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Cut the butter into small cubes and pinch it into the flour mixture with your fingers until it forms a crumbly consistency. Add the milk and stir it all together – don’t over-mix, stop when you can form it into a dough. Roll the dough into balls and place in a muffin tray before baking in the oven for around 12 minutes.

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Recipe – Simple Banana Bread

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In our house there always seems to be a couple of sad overripe bananas left in the fruit bowl. The children don’t like them when they’re green and won’t even contemplate eating a banana with ‘black bits’ on. However, it’s a different story when they’re baked into a delicious banana bread!

This is a variation of a recipe I found in a magazine a few years ago and have adapted to suit my family’s tastes (ie no sultanas or apple pieces although these can be added if you wish. I sometimes add some chopped up chocolate which always goes down a treat). It really is very simple and the banana bread tastes wonderful eaten warm straight from the oven or toasted with lashings of butter.

220g plain flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

80g caster sugar

75g brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine all of the above in a bowl, make a well in the centre and add:

2 medium eggs

125ml vegetable oil

3 mashed ripe bananas

Pour into a greased 20cm x 10cm loaf tin, sprinkle with brown sugar and bake in a preheated oven at 160c/140c fan/ gas 2 1/2 for 60 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer.