FLOWERY BUNS

If you saw the progam with Jaime Oliver about Stockholm and the Stockholm archipelago you will recognise this recipie but he got a bit wild with it. This is the more traditional wheatbread/buns but in modern disguise with flowery baking trays and cases from the www.kalasform.se.


You will need

150 g melted butter
500 ml milk
50 g fresh yeast or dried yeast (follow the instructions on the package)
100 ml sugar
1200-1500 ml plain flower
1 pinch of salt
butter for the filling
ground cardemom for the filling
blueberry jam also for the filling
1 egg for glacing
decorations

Heat the milk with the butter to 37 degrees celsius (41 if you are using dried yeast mix it with the flower) and add the fresh yeast, sugar and salt. Mix in the flower until it has a soft and shiny look at will detach itself easily from the bowl. Work it with your hands until soft and shiny. Leave in the bowl and let rise under a teatowel for approx 30 min.
Work the dough on the baking table and divide into two parts, roll each part iout into a rectangular approx 2 mm thick. Spread soft butter on the dough. Sprinkle over sugar and cardemom or the blueberry jam. Roll and cut into two pieces if you are doing loafs or 2 cm thick "buns" if you are doing individual buns. Alternatively just fold the filled dough over once. Cut into 5 cm strips and twist and knot it into a bun! Easy! Put the loaf/buns into the cases and leave to rise again for another 30 minutes. Glace with a beaten egg, decorate and bake for 10 minutes on 225 degrees celsius (buns) or until browned. The loafs take a bit longer, up to 15 minutes.

TIME TO PICK MUSHROOMS

It has been a very hot summer in Stockholm (Sweden), especially in the archipelago where I have spent my holidays. We were fearing that there would therefor not be any mushrooms growing this year. But during the last ten days a lot of rain has come down and it looks promising...Just look at this baby "Karl Johan" mushroom or Porcini as the Italians calles it. I have found a little "goldmine" of them and will let them grow a bit more before I will pick them, unless somebody else is there before me! Will be back later today or tomorrow with a mushrooms risotto recipie etc...

AMARETTO PARFAIT delicious dessert

Last night we had a dinnerparty with some friends from and on our fantastic archipelago island Gåsö....

We had freshly boiled beetroot and goat cheese for a starter (again). Filet steak and chantarelle risotto as a main and amaretto parfait with black sugar and wild rasberries (picked outside our door!) as a dessert. Here is the recepie for the lovely homemade icecream:

Will make 6 portions


3 egg youlks
1 dl (100 ml) sugar
3 dl (300 ml) whipping cream
0,75 dl (75 ml) amaretto liqueur
sugar and rasperries for decoration

Whip the egg youlks with the sugar until it is fluffy and creamy. Whip the cream, it should be quite firm. Mix the eggmix with the whipped cream. Add the amaretto and stir gently. Pour into ramequins and decorate with sugar and rasperries or something similar. Freeze.
Let them thore for about 20 minutes before serving. Delicious....

BANANA CAKE AND NEW OUTDOOR FURNITURE FROM IKEA

This summer I am trying to improve my ability to bake. Two weeks ago my English friend Rosie taught be how to maka Banana Cake. We had some nearly overripe bananas and it inspirered her to find this recipe. Rosie use to live in Canada and it was there she picked this recipie up.
So of course it has to be calles;

ROSIE´S BANANA CAKE

Here is what you need:

225 g (4 dl) selfraising flour or
225 g (4 dl) plain flour and
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
100 g butter, room temperature
150 g (2 dl) sugar
450 g overripe bananas (3-4 bananas)
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs

Start by putting the oven on at 180 degrees Celsius (170 if you have a fan oven).
Grease a baking tin and line with breadcrumbs.
Stir the butter with the sugar. Mix in the flour, eggs and salt. Mash the bananas separately, be gentle so that they do not get to watery. Mix with the rest of the dough.
Pour into the baking tin and bake for approx 1 1/2 hours. Check after an hour and if the cake look too brown, cover with some tin foile...
Serve with yogurt, crème fraiche, ice cream or whipped cream. Yummy!

We went to Ikea this week, to the biggest one in the world in Kungens Kurva (the Kings Bend) outside Stockholm. The founder, Invar Kamprad was very inspirered by the Guggenheim Museum in New York when this was first built in the 60-ies. You will know what I mean if you go there...We bought some nice wicker chairs for our "lounge deck" in Gåsö (Stockholm Archipelago) and some more black tables, "Noresund". And we "invigde" (inaugarted) them with coffee and banana cake!