going away for a while

to bake and not to bake.

during this spring i have tried some really good recipes, new and old. i hope that you have enjoyed reading my posts and maybe even found some new favorite cookies and cakes.

to bake and blog has become a part of my life these days and something that I really enjoy. unfortunately i am going away on a trip in the states and canada until the beginning of june.. this means i won´t be able to bake and to blog. 

but...

please be patient, when i return to sweden i´m continuing blogging and baking. i hope that you guys still want to follow me!

until then, don´t forget to continue to bake and to smile a lot, makes everything so much better!

rebecka siwerz 

cupcake sisters

one thing that i have started to love about being in the states is the fact that you can watch cooking- and baking shows almost around the clock on tv here. if food channel doesn´t have a show there is a good chance that travel channel or tlc does. one show that i love watching and that i have been following for some time is "cupcake sisters".

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/youngandhungry/files/2010/07/dc-cupcakes-1-625x450_opt.jpg

the show is about two sisters; katherine kallins and sophie lamontagne who together followed their dream and opened a cupcake business called "georgetown cupcake". their business was a hit from start and now they are baking more then 5 000 cupcakes per day (pretty insane i know). 


if you have the chance to see the show on tv, you should! or ever better... if you ever visit washington dc the sisters now have two cupcake shops; one in gerorgetown and one in bethesda. 
i think their cupcake shops should be in every guide book... looks so delicious and worth a trip.


enjoy


ps. here is a video with some baking tips from the cupcake sisters.
http://tlc.discovery.com/videos/dc-cupcakes-baking-tips/


http://pinkwashingtoniette.blogspot.com/2010/02/cupcake-sisters-filming-new-show.html

dubbla chokladkakor med jordnötssmör

Foto: Marie Pierre Morel

 i found this great recipe yesterday and it´s from the book ”jag vill ha choklad” (trish deseines). it sounded so good that i just had to try it. a decision that i haven´t regretted. to be honest these are the most delicious cookies i have baked this spring. 

these cookies are a perfect mixture of salt and sweet. a combination between american and swedish recipes.




 120 gram mörk choklad                                   1/2 cup/ 120 gram dark chocolate 

120 gram smör                                                1/2 cup butter

3 1/4 dl socker                                               1 1/3 cup of sugar                                          

3 ägg                                                             3 eggs

2 dl vetemjöl                                                 a little bit more then 3/4 cup flour

1,5 tsk bakpulver                                            1,5 teaspoon baking powder

3 dl cacao pulver                                            1 1/4 cup cacao powder

120 gram mjölkchoklad                                   1/2 cup/ 120 gram milk chocolate

fyllning                                                         to put in between the cookies

150 gram jordnötssmör                                   150 gram peanut butter

6 msk florsocker                                             6 tablespoon powdered sugar 

1. preheat the owen to 170 degrees celsius 345 degrees fahrenheit

2. melt the dark chocolate with the butter in the microwave or in a bowl over boiling water (i prefer over boiling water). let it cool.

3. pour sugar and eggs that you have whipped in another bowl. add baking powder, flour and cacao powder. pour in the melted chocolate and butter. stir the dough well.

4. chop the milk chocolate in small pieces and mix them into the dough.

5. take a teaspoon filled with the chocolate dough and roll it into a ball. do this with the whole load and put them on a baking sheet. 

6. bake the cookies in the owen for about 12-15 minutes and then let them cool.

7. mix the peanut butter with the powdered sugar. take some of the mixture and place it on the bottom of one cookie and then place another cookie on top.

these cookies are perfect with coffee, with ice-cream or with a cold glass of milk.

enjoy everyone!

egg and milk

http://famno.wordpress.com/2009/03/

- to all of you swedes that love american food..
- to all of you that enjoy a morning with with friends and family.. 
- to all of you that love the feeling you get when you visit an american diner..  
 i hope you haven´t missed "egg and milk"?!


it´s the mixture between the lovely environment and the delicious bagels/pancakes/smoothies/yoghurt that makes "egg and milk" one of my absolute favorite places to eat breakfast at.


.. i´m telling you, you won´t regret it!


egg and milk
övre husargatan 23 
linnestaden, göteborg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyF9Qk5ffQU

sockerkaka

this is the most common swedish cake, so if you havn´t baked it, it´s about time!

it is a simple recipe, so everyone can make it. you can use this recipe to make cupcakes, muffins and other things, just use your imagination. 

my mom use to make sockerkaka and then after baking it she would poor a mixture of melted butter, milk and vanilla extract on top of it (it need to be warm). then she would sprinkled some coconut flakes on top. it really makes the sockerkaka even more delicious.

you should try it.

                     found this picture on my favorite blog: http://sotasaker.com/

2 ägg                                                          2 eggs

2 1/2 dl socker                                            a little bit more then 1 cup sugar 

100g smör                                                   1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 dl vatten                                            a little bit more then 1/2 cup water

2 tsk vaniljsocker                                         2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 dl vetemjöl                                              1 1/4 cup flour

1/2 dl potatismjöl                                       1/4 cup cornflour, there is´nt any potato flour in the states.

2 tsk bakpulver                                           2 teaspoons baking powder

1. use regular butter or ”pam” to butter you sockerkaksform/ baking pan. 

2. preheat the owen to 200 degrees celsius/392 degrees fahrenheit. 

3. mix egg, sugar and vanilla extract with a hand mixer. keep mixing until the dough is fluffy and smooth (this is important). during this time, melt butter on the stove or in the microwave, should be brought to a boil). 

4. mix flour and baking powder, in a separate bowl.

5. mix the boiling butter with the egg-dough and poor in the flour mixture as well (don´t use the hand mixer). poor the dough into the sockerkaksformen/baking pan and bake the sockerkaka in the owen for about 30 minutes (depending on how fast your owen is). to know that the cake is done use a match or a wooden toothpaste and stick it into the cake, if the dough doesn´t get stuck on the match, the sockerkaka is done. 

6. turn the sockerkaksformen around over a plate so you get the cake out from the baking tray. 

by the way... this is what a sockerkaksform looks like, i don´t know what it´s called here in the states?! 

this is a design by anders pette and can be found at cervera.  

enjoy.  

kolakakor

this use to be one of my absolute favorite cookies when i was younger. i remember that both my grandmas use to make them for fika when i came to see them. they are a part of the famous ”sju sorters kakor” in sweden and have a delicious carmel taste. the key to success is to be fast and to take the kolakakor out from the owen before they get to crispy, this cookies are better when they are chewy.

200g smör                                     1 cup butter

1 3/4 dl socker                              3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 msk vaniljsocker                   1 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 tsk bakpulver                              2 teaspoons baking powder

2 msk ljus sirap                              2 tablespoons light syrup

5 dl vetemjöl                                2 1/5 cup flour 

1. preheat the oven to 175 degrees celsius and 350 degrees fahrenheit. 

2. mix room temperature butter with sugar, use a hand mixer. add vanilla extract, baking powder and syrup. mix it well.

3. poor the flour into the dough and mix with the hand mixer. first there will be smaller crumbles, but keep on mixing until the crumbles get bigger, that´s when the dough is done.

4. knee the dough on a baking table and split it in four parts. role the dough into four long lines and them put them on a baking sheet. (keep them fairly far apart from each other so they don´t get stuck in each other when been baked). 

5. put the kolakakor in the owen for about 13-18 minutes, they should look golden when they are done. 

http://cdn.folkbladet.nu/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/kolakaka.jpg

let the cookies cool for a bit and then cut them into oblique pieces.

if you havn´t tried these, you should, they are delicious. 

enjoy!

new york cheesecake med blåbär.

as you might know from preview postings i am a hugh fan of leila lindholm. she is a great baker and chef in sweden (http://itstimetobake.blogspot.com/2011/02/leila.html). 

last year, around this time, me and my boyfriend daniel lived in stockholm and we started to become a little obsessed with one of her cakes, "the new york cheesecake with blueberries". we made it for our birthdays and had some friends over for fika. it´s without a doubt a recipe worth dying for, so i though i would share it with you guys, even though it´s not a swedish cake.

300 gram digestivekex                         1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

150 gram osaltat smör 3/4 cup butter

1 dl strösocker                                    1/2 cup sugar

1 dl majsmjöl                                      2 tbsp cornstarch

2 tsk vaniljsocker                                2 tbsp vanilla extract

600g philadephia                                 2 1/2 cup cream cheese, softened 

2.5 dl 10% kesella                                this is not available in the states

3 st ägg                                               3 eggs   

1 dl vispgrädde                                    1/2 cup whipped cream

200 gram vit choklad                            1 cup white chocolate 

1 dl frysta blåbär                                 1/2 cup frozen blueberries

1. heat oven to 347 degrees fahrenheit/ 175 degrees celsius.

2. mix crumbs with melted butter.

3. press firmly and evenly in bottom of ungreased baking pan. put in the oven for about 10 minutes and let it cool.

4. mix sugar, cornstarch and vanilla extract in a bowl. pour in the kesella (if you have it otherwise replace it with more whipped cream) and the cream cheese and mix with a hand mixer. 

5. heat the oven to 392 degrees fahrenheit and 200 degrees celsius. ad the eggs and mix. pour in the cream a little at a time and mix constantly.

6.melt the chocolate in a bowl over boiling water and pour it into the dough. pour over the crumble and spread the blueberries on top of the cheesecake. bake in the oven for 30 minutes, cover it with foil when it´s starting to get golden so it doesn´t get burnt. turn of the oven and let the cheesecake stand in the after heat for about 30 minutes.

7.let cake need to chill for at least 8 hours, the best thing is to let it stay in a cool place over night.

a thing

one thing that i love about baking and cooking is that there are so many adorable things that you can buy to make this creative process even more fun. just think about all the different muffin cups, baking bowls, kitchen towels, coffee cups, decorations, measurements etc that´s out there, how can you not get excited?! 

but there is one thing...

this one thing that i always think about for at least one minute or two as i am baking cookies and bread. this thing is something that i have been dreaming about having and buying since i started to become obsessed with baking, cooking- and baking shows. and to be honest, sometimes i even think about it before i fall a sleep. 

so what is this thing?

i know some people are going to find this ridiculous, but i can´t help it. 

the thing that i keep on thinking about is what color i want my future kitchen aid to be. i love absolutely everything about kitchen aids. i love the though of having one in my kitchen. i love the though of using it when ever i feel like it and as much as i want to. and when it comes to the color, lets just say that it´s a hard decision for me. they make so many colors and most of them are adorable. the blue and the pink are my favorites right now.

pannkakstårta

the other night we had a swedish night at our apartment. i made my roommates köttfärspaj for dinner and then pannkakstårta for desert. i can´t remember the last time i had pannkakstårta but belive me when i say, it is SO worth making and eating it is like a dream.  

to get the recipe to make swedish pannkakor (pancakes) see my other post about swedish pancakes; http://itstimetobake.blogspot.com/2011/03/pannkakor.html. 

after making all your pancakes let them cool on a plate for a bit. 

this is what you need to make your pannkakstårta...

fresh or frozen raspberries

whipped cream

raspberry jam 

geléhallon (swedish candy) for decoration or fresh raspberries

place one pancake on a plate and put fresh raspberries on the pancake. place another pancake on top of the first one and then ad some cream and raspberry jam (mix the two together before adding) on top of that pancake. keep doing this process until you have used all the pancakes.
when placing the last pancake on top of the pile, decorate the cake with whipped cream and geléhallon/ fresh raspberries or what ever you want to use, just use your imagination.

enjoy.. just like Petson and Findus..

chokladbollar

one of the absolute easiest cookies you can make is swedish chokladbollar. you don´t need a owen and the recipe contain of only 6 ingredients. 

me and me friend emelie used to make chokladbollar after school all the time when we were kids. we made two hugh chokladbollar (instead of a lot of small once) and ate them with a glas of milk (not very healthy, i know, but it was very delicious). 

  

100 gram smör                                   1/2 cup butter

1 dl socker                                          1/2 cup sugar

3 dl havregryn                                     1 1/3 cup oats

2 msk kakao                                        2 tablespoon cacao

1 tsk vanillinsocker                              1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 msk kokt kaffe (om man vill)             if you like to 2 tablespoons cold coffee. 

pärlsocker                                           swedish pearlsugar

mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, don´t be afraid to use your hands. roll the dough into around 20 small balls and roll each of them in pärlsocker. 

put the chokladbollar in the fridge for an hour before eating. 

chokladbollar are perfect if you don´t feel like going to the store to buy candy on a friday night or if you want something small with your coffee.

enjoy.

pärlsocker

pärlsocker is used to decorate some of our famous cakes in sweden. the most common use is to sprinkle it over our famous kanelbullar and chockladbollar. pärlsocker is, like we say in sweden: "the dot over the i", it´s the last detail that makes the cakes look extra swedish and it also makes them taste delicious. 


pärlsocker is hard to find here in the states, ikea, swedish shops and other well-assorted stores sell it sometimes. i havn´t been able to find it here in cedar city so when i visited chicago last week (that´s why i havn´t been baking lately) i bought some in the swedish shop http://www.theswedenshop.com/. if you visit chicago their are a lot of swedish stores in andersonville (the towns swedish neighbourhood), keep your eyes open because they have a swedish bakery where you can find a lot of our delicious cakes and that´s something you don´t want to miss. 


enjoy. 

pannkakor

when I was a child my grandma, mormor kerstin, use to make pannkakor (swedish pancakes) every monday for me and all my cousins. i loved pancake mondays, not only because my grandma makes the best pancakes, but also because i loved being at my grandparents house. 

yesterday sweden celebrated these delicious pancakes, it was pannkaksdagen (the pancake day). so today (a day to late, i know) i thought it would be great to both celebrate my roommate michelle's birthday and the pancake day by making everyone in my apartment swedish pancakes for breakfast.

ingredients

2 1/2 dl mjöl                                         a little bit more then 1 cup of flour
1/2 tsk salt                                            1/2 tsk salt
6 dl mjölk                                             2 1/2 cup milk
3 ägg                                                    3 egg
3 msk smör                                            3 msk butter (melted)
2 msk socker                                         2 msk sugar
... and then my grandmas secret ingredient, around 3 msk carbonated water. gives the pancakes a little crust on the edges. 

1. mix flour and salt. pour half of the milk in the dough and mix it to a smooth dough. 

2. pour the rest of the milk and then the eggs in the dough (and the carbonated water). 

3. let the dough rest for around 30 minutes (if you got the time). pour the melted butter into the dough.

4. take a frying pan and ad butter. when the butter is melted pour around 1/4 - 1/2 of a cup of dough in the pan (depending on your pans size). when the dough is still, flip the pancake. 

eat them warm with raspberry-, strawberry or any other kind of jam that you love. ad a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream to make them extra tasty.  

some swedish pancakes tips

making swedish pancakes for the first time can be tricky, especially because they are very thin and therefor fragile. you can try to take less milk and/or little more flour if you find that the pancakes are hard to flip. also, don´t forget to let the dough rest for 30 minutes before making them, it makes the whole flipping process a lot easier.

how the siwerz family eats swedish pancakes

my family normally eats swedish pancakes for dinner. we have soup as the main dish and then we enjoy some of my mom´s delicious pancakes (almost like a desert). 

another thing you can do with swedish pancakes is pannkakstårta (pancake-cake). you just take one pancake (fold it out) put cream on it. then you place another pancake on top of the creamed one and put raspberry jam on it, then another pancake and you put cream on that one... you continue doing this until you have a pile of pancakes. put fresh raspberries on top of the pile and then some powdered sugar over it, looks great, is easy to do and taste like heaven. ps. great for birthdays parties. 

there are so many other things you can do as well, check out this webpage: http://www.pannkakor.se/ to get some ideas. 

enjoy!


ps. forgot to take pictures of the pancakes I made this morning (was to hungry=). so the pictures are from two other blogs http://www.thebittenword.com/thebittenword/2010/10/swedish-pancakes.html and bjorkman.blogspot.com. 

snickerdoodles

snickerdoodles are cookies smiliar to our swedish kaneldroppar (sju sorters kakor). they contain some ingrediences that are hard to get a hold of in sweden.. so this recipies is for all americans out there.

1 cup of soft shortening

2 3/4 cups flour

1 1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp cream of tartar 

2 eggs

1 tsp baking soda

1/2tsp salt

1. start by mixing the soft shortening with a hand mixer. pour in all the other ingredience and stir well. 

2. roll into balls the size of a walnut. roll in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar (1 cup of sugar to 2 tsp cinnamon). 

3. drop onto an ungreased cookie sheet. bake for 8-10 minutes at 400 degrees farenheit.

if you really want to try baking snickerdoodles in sweden i know they sell ”cream of tartar” in ”apoteket” some times, but it´s kind of hard to get a hold of. 

enjoy!