Bronte at Home: Baking from the Scandikitchen E-Book

Bronte Aurell

• Herausgeber: Ryland Peters & Small
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019

Beschreibung

Brontë Aurell shares her love of home baking and welcomes you to experience the warmth of her kitchen with this comforting collection of bakes and treats from Scandinavia. From a batch of buns to a show-stopping Othello layer cake, Brontë's recipes inspire the feelings of pure delight that baking at home can bring. Try Brontë's Daim Cookies – wonderfully gooey and filled with pieces of chocolate-coated almond toffee. The Trays and Rolls chapter includes super-soft Rye Flat Rolls and Lemon and Blueberry cake. Try one of the Everyday Cakes such as Mamma Lena's Apple Pie or Tosca cake, a love story between almonds and buttery caramel. Brontë introduces Fancy Fika and Celebration Cakes including a truly delicious Rye Layer Cake with Cherries or the indulgent Mini Liquorice Pavlovas, Cremelinser and Éclair with Marzipan. There are recipes for buns, breads and crispbreads, as well as a host of treats sure to fill you with all the joy of home baking. Bronte at Home is a compilation of previously published favourites plus a host of new recipes.

Leseprobe

Brontë at home

baking from the

SCANDI KITCHEN

Brontë at home

baking from the

SCANDI KITCHEN

Brontë Aurell

Photography by Peter Cassidy

Dedication

For David Jørgensen

Senior Designer

Sonya Nathoo

Editor

Miriam Catley

Head of Production

Patricia Harrington

Art Director

Leslie Harrington

Editorial Director

Julia Charles

Publisher

Cindy Richards

Food Stylist

Kathy Kordalis

Assistant Food Stylist

Anna Hiddleston

Prop Stylist

Tony Hutchinson

Indexer

Vanessa Bird

First published in 2019 by

Ryland Peters & Small

20–21 Jockey’s Fields

London WC1R 4BW

and

341 E 116th St

New York NY 10029

www.rylandpeters.com

Text © Brontë Aurell 2019

Some of the recipes in this book have been previously published by Ryland Peters & Small.

Design and photography copyright © Ryland Peters & Small 2019

eISBN: 978-1-78879-253-0 ISBN: 978-1-78879-151-9

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

The author’s moral rights have been asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Printed and bound in China.

CIP data from the Library of Congress has been applied for. A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.

Notes

* Both British (metric) and American (imperial plus US cups) are included in these recipes; however, it is important to work with one set of measurements and not alternate between the two within a recipe.

* All butter should be unsalted unless specified.

* All eggs are medium (UK) or large (US), unless specified as large, in which case US extra large should be used. Uncooked or partially cooked eggs should not be served to the very old, frail, young children, pregnant women or those with compromised immune systems.

* Ovens should be preheated to the specified temperatures. We recommend using an oven thermometer. If using a fan-assisted oven, adjust temperatures according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

* When a recipe calls for the grated zest of citrus fruit, buy unwaxed fruit and wash well before using. If you can only find treated fruit, scrub well in warm, soapy water before using.

contents

introduction

the baking pantry

basic recipes

cookies & small treats

all the buns

everyday cakes & pies

traybakes & rolled cakes

fancy fika & celebration bakes

breads & waffles

index

acknowledgements

introduction

The connection between food and memory is wonderful. As I have grown older, I realize so many of my dearest memories are hidden inside tastes and smells, allowing me to be instantly transported back to a moment in time where even people now long gone are still there. Biting into a warm bun, fresh out of the oven, can transport me back to my grandmother’s kitchen, to her warm smile and her hugs. Removing a hot apple pie from the oven allows me to connect with my mother, even if she is an ocean away.

My kitchen in London may be small, but it already holds a hundred food memories of my children and I baking on rainy days, creating new recipes, learning about what works (and often what doesn’t). Dancing to 80s playlists and laughing, as we taste batter, crack eggs and as I try to impart some skills that will help them in the future when they begin their own kitchen stories. In that kitchen, we live, we love and we learn. To me, comfort baking is a wonderful time machine and a memory maker, all in one.

The Scandinavian word ‘hygge’ is one that really comes to life when you add a good home bake to the mix. Hygge simply means enjoying the moment you’re in, while you are in it – and this magic often happens when we sit together and share food, especially sweet things. Hygge and comfort is in that warm, sticky cinnamon bun fresh out of the oven. It’s in the softness of a cake, it’s in the velvety feel of vanilla cream. Hygge is when we bake because of the sheer joy of it: creating something for someone we love to evoke feelings of comfort.

Baking is personal. Sure, you can buy the most beautiful looking cake from the window of a patisserie and you can cover things in icing and make them look pretty, but you will never, ever be able to beat the feeling of real comfort that can only happen when someone has baked and created something with love. Because baking at home is all about that: it’s about creating and eating to please people around you. There is something really wonderful in that, which no money can buy, no matter how rustic the result may be.

This book contains a selection of my favourite recipes from my previous books as well as a stack of new ones. All these recipes have been baked in my little kitchen with my daughters, Astrid and Elsa. We had a lot of fun and made a huge mess. My wish is that your version of this book gets sticky pages and that you find a few recipes from which to create your own memory magic.

Love,

Brontë x

the baking pantry

Scandinavia is a huge place, so what defines an ingredient as ‘local’ varies from hilly Norway to flat Denmark – there’s a 2,500 km/1,500 miles distance between them. However, we all share a love for lots of similar products, so here is a brief guide to some of the products you will need for Nordic baking. We’ve put this together based on things we get asked for at the café, and we often help people source specific ingredients or find local replacements to use instead. You will find a more comprehensive list at www.scandikitchen.co.uk.

POPULAR SPICES

Cardamom/kardemomme/kardemumma

It was actually the Vikings who first sampled this spice during their raids on Constantinople. We use the ground variety, which you can buy in larger supermarkets and Asian speciality shops. I favour using freshly ground cardamom, though, because it is one of those spices that loses potency very quickly when pre-ground. If you use freshly ground, watch the quantity, as it is strong and if you are not used to the punchy flavour, hold back a bit. To make ground cardamom at home, either buy cardamom seeds online and finely grind in a spice grinder or pestle and mortar, or open the pods (Scandinavians prefer the green pods) and scoop out the seeds to grind (remove the little woody bits of husk inside the pod and only grind the seeds).

Cinnamon/kanel

Where would the Nordic people be without their beloved cinnamon buns? We use cinnamon in a lot of our baking, from biscuits to cakes and breads. There are different grades of cinnamon – go for good-quality ground cinnamon.

Cloves/nelliker/kryddnejlika/nellik

We use both whole cloves and ground cloves in our baking, especially at Christmas, when whole cloves are used in mulled wine and ground cloves are essential in ginger cookies.

Fennel seeds/fennikel frø/fänkålsfrön

We use fennel seeds mainly in bread – both for loaves and as a flavouring for crispbread.

Ginger/ingefær/ingefära

Ground ginger is commonly used in ginger cookies and soft ginger cake, but also in some other cakes. Whole dried ginger is essential in mulled wine.

Liquorice/lakrids/lakrits

While we have a long history full of love for liquorice, it is only in recent years we have started to bake with it. This is largely due to great brands of purist liquorice coming to the market, such as Lakrids by Bülow from Denmark and Lakritsfabrikken in Sweden. Either the powder or liquorice syrup is used in most sweet recipes. In some Swedish recipes it can be referred to as Hockey Pulver.

Salt

The Nordics have been preserving food in salt for centuries and we love salty foods, both savoury and sweet. We add salt to many cookies and cakes and we love salty liquorice. We use ammonium chloride for flavouring our liquorice, also known as salmiakki. It is an acquired taste – but once you get the taste for things such as salty liquorice, a life-long addiction usually starts. You have been warned.

Saffron/safran/saffran

People in Sweden and Norway use saffron during the month of December in traditional Lucia buns. We commonly use ground saffron, which you can buy in specialist shops (ask behind the counter, as it is usually kept behind the till). If you are using strands, grind these before use. To intensify the colour, soak in warm liquid before using.

Seville orange peel/pomerans

We use this in our mulled wine and dried in some Christmas breads and biscuits. You can substitute with normal dried orange peel, but the flavour will not be as subtle or bitter.

Vanilla/vanilje/vanilj

Scandinavian recipes often call for vanilla sugar, which is a quick and easy substitute for whole vanilla pods/beans. You can make your own at home by adding 250 ml/1 cup of icing/confectioners’ sugar to a food processor or spice grinder with two vanilla pods/beans – dried-out hard ones are fine – a great way to use these up. Pulse until pulverized, then sift out the large pieces of peel. You can buy vanilla sugar in any Scandinavian food shops, too – Tørsleff is a great brand. You can, of course, also always substitute with vanilla extract or real vanilla pods/beans.

BERRIES

Cloudberries/multebær/hjortron

Fresh cloudberries are rare. They grow wild near the Arctic Circle and their season lasts around three weeks in July and August. They are hard to cultivate and foragers don’t tend to part with information freely! Frozen cloudberries are easier to get hold of, but they are expensive. A little goes a long way; this is a gourmet berry, even to the Scandinavians. Most Scandinavian shops will stock cloudberry jam/jelly, which can be used in most of our baking recipes. The cloudberry is very tart and the jam is not used as a spread for toast, as it is far too expensive. Use it with strong cheese or in desserts (it’s particularly great heated up and poured over vanilla ice cream).

Lingonberries/tyttebær/lingon

Norwegians, Finns and Swedes will have lingonberries in their freezers throughout the year; fresh ones are picked in August. We also have lingonberry jam/jelly and compotes in our store cupboards. You can use the frozen or fresh berries for baking, and you can also use the jam/jelly for some cakes or cookies. If you cannot get hold of lingonberries, substitute with cranberries or raspberries, depending on the recipe. Many Scandinavian shops sell the frozen berries.

GRAINS AND FLOURS

Oats/havregryn

Used in porridge, granola, muesli and baking. We also eat raw oats with milk for breakfast. Oat flakes (jumbo oats) or cut oats are favoured.

Potato flour/kartoffelmel/potatismjöl/potetmel

You can buy this in speciality stores. Once potato starch is added, the dish should not boil (especially in fruit-based sauces as these will go cloudy after boiling).

Rye flour rugmel/rågmjöl

There are two kinds of rye flour sold in supermarkets. Wholegrain rye and light (sifted) rye. Light rye flour is often called Type 997. It is, basically, sifted wholegrain rye flour, so if you are pushed, you can sift the dark rye flour before using in a recipe.

Rye flour mix/sigtemel/rågsikt

In Sweden and Denmark, rågsikt (sigtemel in Danish) is very common. It’s 60% white wheat flour and 40% light rye (type 997), sifted. You can make this at home by mixing the same quantities.

Rye flakes/rugflager/rågflingor

I love using rye flakes in granola, flapjacks and porridge (mixed with normal oats) for their nutty flavour and a good bite. Available in health food stores, they take longer to cook and are quite chewy. If you are using oats in a recipe, consider mixing part oats, part rye flakes.

Semolina/semuljegryn/mannagryn/semulegryn

Used for some desserts and also as a porridge.

Spelt flour/speltmel/dinkelmjöl

This is an older type of wheat grain and less refined. You can get both white and wholegrain spelt flour – we use both in this book. Spelt contains less gluten than other wheat flours.

YEAST AND LEAVENERS

Baker’s ammonia/hartshorn powder/hjortetakssalt/hjorthornssalt

Used in old Nordic recipes to ensure cookies rise and get crispy at lower temperatures, baker’s ammonia gives off a very strong ammonia smell as you bake, but this disappears as soon as the cookies cool.

You can buy it online or at some pharmacies, as well as in many Scandinavian food shops. It was traditionally made from the ground antlers of young stags, but nowadays it’s all chemical. When using baker’s ammonia, don’t eat the raw dough. Substitute with baking powder, although the result will not be as crispy.

Dry active yeast

Little yeast granules you have to activate in lukewarm water before using. This is the next best thing to fresh yeast. Activate and leave for 15 minutes in the finger-warm liquid to go frothy and bubbly – then use in the recipe as normal.

Fresh yeast

25 g/1 oz. of fresh yeast (also known as compressed yeast) is the equivalent to 13 g/½ oz. of dry active yeast. It usually comes in packs of 50 g/2 oz. and looks a bit like clay. Take care not to kill fresh yeast with hot liquid or by adding salt to the yeast before the flour.

If you use heavier flours, such as rye, the yeast takes a long time to lift it and you will have denser breads. Consider mixing lighter flours with the darker ones if you want fluffy loaves.

Instant dried yeast

If you have no option but to use instant dry yeast (a fine powder sold in sachets), skip the adding to liquid step and add to the dry ingredients. Follow the manufacturer’s guidelines for equivalent measures.

OTHER STUFF

Marzipan/marsipan

We use ready-made marzipan in a lot of our baking recipes and have included an easy recipe to make your own 50/50 marzipan (see page 15). In the UK and America, marzipan is commonly only 25% almonds).

You can keep leftover marzipan in the fridge for a week or so. You can bind it with water instead of egg white if you are worried about eating raw egg white, but I think it is nicer when egg white is used and easier to work with.

Punch

A type of Swedish rum liquor often used to flavour rum truffle treats such as Romkugler (see page 32) – you can substitute with good concentrated rum flavourings for baked treats if you prefer.

basic recipes

These recipes are referred to in various recipes throughout the book. They are good staples and can be mixed and matched with other ingredients.

layer cake bases

This recipe is similar to a very light Génoise sponge. Some people use baking powder in layer cakes, but I opt to use just eggs and sugar as the leavener because I feel the end result is more delicate. The secret is to whip the eggs and sugar properly to ribbon stage. Secondly, when you fold in the flour, do so very gently in figure-of-eight folds.

4 eggs

120 g/⅔ cup caster/granulated sugar

120 g/⅔ cup plus 2 tablespoons plain/all-purpose flour or cake flour

a pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla sugar OR extract OR use the seeds of 1 vanilla pod/bean

25 g/¼ stick butter, melted and set aside to cool

3 baking sheets

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) Gas 4.

Beat together the eggs and sugar on high speed in a stand mixer or using a hand-held electric whisk. Beat until the mixture reaches ribbon stage – you will be able to see the traces of the mixture when you move the whisk.

Use a 20-cm/8-inch diameter plate to draw three circles on baking parchment. Cut these out and place one parchment circle on each of the three baking sheets. Set aside.

Combine the flour, salt and vanilla in a separate bowl. Sift into the egg mixture, bit by bit, carefully folding using a figure-of-eight movement until incorporated. Pour the cooled melted butter down the side of the bowl and fold carefully again, trying not to knock out air.

Divide the mixture evenly between the parchment circles on the baking sheets, spreading right to the edges of each circle with the back of a spoon. If they go over a bit, don’t worry, you can cut these bits off afterwards.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 5–7 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before removing the baking parchment. If the parchment sticks, slightly dampen the paper side with cold water and the paper will come off easily. Trim any untidy edges using a sharp knife.

Note: If you really want to use baking powder to guarantee a rise, add 1 teaspoon to the flour for a slight lift.

danish pastry

Many people are scared to attempt Danish pastry from scratch. It is, admittedly, a little time-consuming, but it isn’t actually hard – it is so worth it once you taste those flaky pastries, straight from the oven.

25 g/1 oz. fresh yeast or 13 g/2½ teaspoons dried/active dry yeast

150 ml/⅔ cup whole milk, heated to 36–37°C (97–98°F)

50 g/¼ cup caster/granulated sugar

50 g/3½ tablespoons butter, softened

350 g/2½ cups strong white/bread flour, plus extra for dusting

1 teaspoon salt

1 egg plus 1 egg yolk

FILLING

350 g/3 sticks butter, softened

25 g/3 tablespoons plain/all-purpose flour

a baking sheet, lined with baking parchment

If you are using fresh yeast, add the yeast and whole milk to a stand mixer with a dough hook attached. Mix until the yeast has dissolved. If using dried/active dry yeast, pour the milk into a bowl, sprinkle over the yeast and whisk together. Cover with clingfilm/plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for about 15 minutes to activate and become frothy and bubbly. Pour into the mixer with the dough hook attached. Stir in the sugar and softened butter, then mix the flour with the salt and start to add, bit by bit. Add the egg halfway through along with the remaining flour. Keep mixing with the dough hook for 5 minutes. The resulting dough should still be a bit sticky. Cover the bowl with clingfilm/plastic wrap and leave to rise for an hour or until doubled in size.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead through, adding more flour as needed until you have a stretchy, workable dough. Roll the dough out into a big square 35 x 35 cm/14 x 14 inches or as evenly as you can.

For the filling, mix the butter with the flour into a just mouldable ball using your hands. It’s important this mixture is a similar consistency to the dough. If your hands are too warm, use a rolling pin and beat the butter flat between two sheets of baking parchment. Flatten the butter out to a square 25 x 25 cm/9¾ x 9¾ inches then place this butter square onto your dough at a 45˚ angle so that the dough corners can fold back in to cover the butter, like an envelope. Fold the dough corners over the butter until you have completely enclosed it. Dust with flour and roll out the package to a rectangle around 30 x 50 cm/11¾ x 20 inches then fold the layers the short way twice so you end up with a rectangle approx. 30 x 15 cm/11¾ x 6 inches (3 layers with butter). It is important that you roll carefully so that the butter stays inside the pastry package.

Place the dough on the prepared baking sheet, cover with clingfilm/plastic wrap and chill for 15 minutes in the refrigerator. Repeat the folding process: roll to a rectangle and fold back on itself – you now have nine layers of butter. Again, rest the dough in the fridge for 15 minutes, then repeat the rolling process again so you end up with yet another rectangle in three folds with 27 layers of butter in total. After a final rest in the refrigerator, your pastry is now ready to shape into whatever you want to bake.

sweet shortcrust pastry

This basic sweet shortcrust pastry is useful for many recipes in this book. If you prefer a less sweet base, simply reduce the sugar content slightly. Remember that keeping the butter as cold as possible is key to making pastry with a good short texture.

200 g/1¾ sticks cold butter, cubed

350 g/2⅔ cups plain/all-purpose flour

125 g/1 cup plus 1 tablespoon icing/confectioners’ sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract OR seeds from ½ a vanilla pod/bean

1 egg

MAKES 700 G/11/2 LB. DOUGH

Rub the cold butter into the flour until sandy in texture, then add the icing/confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. Add the whole egg and mix until the dough holds together and becomes smooth, taking care not to over-mix. You can also make the dough in the food processor by pulsing the ingredients together briefly, if you wish. Wrap the dough in clingfilm/plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator before using.

pastry cream

There is something so deliciously decadent about cakes with pastry cream. The comfort of custard, I usually call it. I love making it from scratch and use it for anything from filling cakes to layering trifles.

500 ml/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons whole milk

1 vanilla pod/bean, seeds scraped

1 whole egg plus 1 egg yolk

100 g/½ cup caster/superfine sugar

30 g/¼ cup cornflour/cornstarch

½ teaspoon salt

25 g/1¾ tablespoons butter

MAKES ABOUT 600–625 G/21–22 OZ.

In a saucepan, heat the milk with the scraped out seeds from the vanilla pod/bean.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg and yolk and sugar and add the cornflour/cornstarch.

When the milk has just reached boiling point, take off the heat and pour one third into the egg mixture while whisking continuously.

Once whisked through, pour the egg mixture back into the remaining hot milk. Return to the stove and bring to the boil, carefully. Whisk continuously as the mixture thickens, for just under a minute, then remove from the heat and stir in the salt and butter.

Pour into a cold bowl and place a sheet of baking parchment on top to prevent the cream from forming a crust as it cools. The mixture will keep well in the refrigerator for a few days.

marzipan (for baking)

I often use store-bought marzipan as long as it is minimum 50% almond content. But sometimes it can be hard to get hold off and making your own is simple. This recipe contains raw egg white. If you’re not going to be cooking it, use a hot sugar syrup instead of egg.

200 g/2 cups finely ground almonds (if the grind feels coarse, re-grind it at home a few times in your processor)

100 g/½ cup caster/granulated sugar

100 g/⅔ cup icing/confectioners’ sugar

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 egg white (approx. 30 g/1 oz.) ideally pasteurized

MAKES ABOUT 400 G/14 OZ.

Blend the ingredients together in a food processor until you have a smooth marzipan.

Roll the mixture into a log and wrap tightly in clingfilm/plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before using.

Variation

Pistachio Marzipan – substitute raw pistachios and pistachio essence (available in middle eastern delis and online) for the ground almonds and almond extract.

remonce almond paste

This is a classic almond-based filling for Danish pastries. It is nearly always baked rather than used raw and is integral to many Nordic cake and pastry recipes. Sometimes, cinnamon, vanilla and dark brown sugar are added (for cinnamon swirls and buns, for example). Remonce is sometimes translated to Lord Mayor’s filling, although I’ve never heard this term used in the UK.

100 g/3½ oz. marzipan (minimum 50% store-bought or see recipe above)