Overnight Cardamom Buns

At the bakeries here, you can find these little soft buns called "teboller". They usually come plain, with raisins or chocolate chips. Obviously I love the raisin and chocolate chip ones! When I do make raisin teboller, I usually use Claus Meyer's recipe from his giant baking recipe book, but my one complaint is that they take forever to make. You literally need to set aside half a day to make them. We had a friend over for breakfast last Sunday and I wanted to make some soft buns, but buns that would not be as time consuming. So! I found another Meyer recipe! This one comes from his magazine and is actually for a "fødselsdagsboller" but it's pretty much identical to the teboller in look and taste. I stuck to his recipe and only spiced it with cardamom, but I am sure you could throw raisins or chocolate chips in there too (and omit the cardamom if that's not your thing). The beauty of this recipe is that you can do the first rise in the fridge over night. Major time saver! So just in time for the weekend, here is the recipe for Claus Meyer's Fødselsdagsboller or what I now call Overnight Cardamom Buns. 

Overnight Cardamom Buns / Fødselsdagsboller (recipe from Meyer's Magazine)

Makes 18 - 20 small to medium sized buns

4 dl / 400 ml lukewarm milk

15 g fresh yeast

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp sugar

100 g unsalted butter, softened

2 egg yolks

1 egg

1 tsp ground cardamom (I ground my own - fresh cardamom is always better!)

650 - 700 g all-purpose flour

1 egg for the egg wash

In the bowl of your stand mixer, crumble the fresh yeast and mix it with the lukewarm milk, salt, sugar, cardamom, egg yolks, and egg. Stir until everything is combined and the yeast has dissolved.

Add the flour to the wet mixture a third at a time (starting with 650 g of flour). Using the dough hook and your mixer on the lowest setting, mix in the flour gradually. Depending on how wet the dough looks, you may need to add more flour.

Add the softened butter and mix until combined. This took about 8 minutes on my stand mixer on the lowest setting. The dough should be very smooth and glossy looking. 

Place a piece of cling film over your bowl and place the dough in the fridge to rise overnight (8 hours or so). 

In the morning, take your dough out and divide it into 18 - 20 pieces. My dough was a bit sticky so I floured my work surface and hands to form the 20 pieces into round balls of dough. Place the dough on baking sheets covered with parchment paper and let it rise at room temperature for another 1 to 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 220 C. Whip the last egg for the egg wash and add a splash of water. Using a brush, brush the egg wash over each bun and sprinkle with oatmeal or chia seeds on top if you'd like. Bake the buns for 10 minutes. When they're ready, let them cool off a bit and then enjoy! If you don't finish all of the buns the same day, make sure to freeze them. They defrost and reheat well.

Gluten Free Buckwheat Crepes

I love crepes, particularly sweet ones. I made a crepe cake for my birthday brunch and the fiance and I make crepes for breakfast every once in awhile on the weekends.

Now that I'm not eating gluten, I've had to find a new recipe for my weekend crepes. I bought a bag of buckwheat flour a few months ago when a gluten free friend of mine told me about some buckwheat crepes she had made and I knew that French galettes are usually made of buckwheat flour. So, I did some searching for some gluten free buckwheat crepe recipes. I knew that the addition of buckwheat would make the crepes taste a little nuttier and earthier. However, taste isn't the biggest thing for me. The thing I was most concerned about was texture. It had to feel like a regular crepe. And this gluten free crepe does! Each crepe cooked perfectly. They were crisp on the edges and they browned nice and evenly. We ate our crepes with a warm berry sauce and some skyr whipped cream (basically the same berry sauce and cream from my crepe cake!). Seriously, crepes are the best way to start the weekend! 

Gluten Free Buckwheat Crepes (barely adapted from Food Fanatic)

Makes 16 crepes 

(I halved the recipe and made 8 crepes, but I'm giving you the amounts for a full recipe)

1/2 cup all purpose gluten free flour, I used Jeanne's Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour

1/2 cup buckwheat flour

2 tbsp sugar

3 eggs

11/2 cups milk

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp butter, melted and cooled (salted or unsalted, for crepes and pancakes I usually just go with salted)

Sift together the flours and sugar. Then beat in the eggs, milk, salt and vanilla until the batter is smooth. Let the batter rest overnight in the fridge, or for at least 30 minutes. (It's best if you can let the batter rest overnight.)

When you are ready to make the crepes, melt your butter, let it cool for a few minutes before whisking it into the batter. 

Place the pan on the stove over medium heat and melt a little smidge of butter to coat the pan. When the pan is hot and the butter is starting to bubbly, hold the pan by its handle, pick it up and pour 1/4 cup of batter onto the pan. Slowly tilt and move the batter around so that the pan is evenly coated. Place the pan back on the heat and cook for about a minute or two, or until the edges of the crepe are crispy and the top no longer looks wet. Flip the crepe with a spatula and cook for another minute or so. Repeat until all the batter is used up!

Birthday in Photos + A Crepe Cake Recipe

From cocktails on Saturday evening to brunch on Sunday morning, my birthday weekend was wonderful. It was full of yummy drinks, a crepe cake, macaroni and cheese, and most of all I got to spend it with my favorite people here.

Instead of serving a cake at brunch, I made a crepe cake! It was delicious and I can't wait to make it again. I've been wanting to make this berry filled crepe cake after seeing this recipe on Pastry Affair. I use a different crepe recipe normally but I thought I would just follow the recipe on Pastry Affair. Unfortunately, the buttermilk pancake/crepe recipe just didn't work for me. The batter was thick on the pan and it didn't cook properly. It was difficult to flip and the texture just seemed off. So I threw out that batter and turned to my usual crepe recipe instead. After my crepe crisis, everything turned out beautifully! I absolutely loved the addition of skyr to the whipped cream. It gave it more body and the cream held nicely in the cake. Yum!

Crepe Cake with Forest Berries and Cream (adapted from A Tasty Love Story's recipe on Pastry Affair and Cakies)
Enough cake for about 8 people

Crepes (slightly adapted from Sweet and Savory Tooth)

Makes about 10 large crepes

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/3 cup water

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tbsp sugar (I used homemade vanilla sugar)

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp butter, melted

With a blender or with a whisk, blend or mix all the ingredients until smooth. The batter should be the thickness of heavy cream. 

Heat a non-stick pan or skillet on medium high heat until hot and grease the pan with a little bit of butter. Take the pan away from the stove top and pour in about 1/3 cup of batter. Tilt and rotate the pan so that the batter coats the surface. Cook until almost dry on top and lightly browned on the edges, about 1 minute. Loosen the edges with a spatula and flip the crepe over. Cook the other side for another 30 seconds or so until it is lightly browned. Place the crepe on a plate to cool. Continue with the rest of the batter remembering to grease the pan after each crepe. (I placed a sheet of baking paper between each crepe to ensure that they wouldn't stick together.) Allow the crepes to completely cool on the counter or in the fridge before putting your crepe cake together.

Berry Compote

2 1/2 cups (300g) mixed forest berries (blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, red currants, etc.), fresh or frozen

2 tbsp sugar (I used homemade vanilla sugar)

Place the berries in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the sugar and gently mash the berries with a potato masher. Allow the berry sauce to simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, until it is not runny but also not as thick as jam. Fully cool before using. This can be made a day or two in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge.

Topping and Layers

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup greek yogurt or skyr

2 tbsp sugar

fresh berries (I used strawberries and pomegranate seeds)

Whip the heavy cream and when it starts to thicken up, add the sugar. Continue to whip the cream until you get soft peaks. Gently fold in the skyr or whipped cream. 

Assembling the Cake

Place a crepe on a plate or a cake stand. Add a layer of cream or the berry compote or both and top with another crepe. Continue with this until you reach the last crepe. Top with the rest of the cream and pile some fresh berries on top and voila! 

I know this crepe cake sounds like a lot of work, but it is really tasty, perfect for brunch, and it is a great alternative to a birthday cake! What do you think? 

Vanilla Skyr Panna Cotta

I had a wisdom tooth pulled out on Monday afternoon and according to my dentist, I was only supposed to eat cold soft foods that day and for a few days after that. I was like "even dinner?!" and he was like "you can have some ice cream, a smoothie, or yogurt" etc. etc. I texted the boyfriend right after I left the dentist's office and I was like "I CAN ONLY EAT ICE CREAM FOR DINNER!". Pretty much my dream come true.

I like yogurt on its own and blended into smoothies, but I also thought it would be fun to find other ways to eat it since I was going to be having it for a few days. I love panna cotta and I'd seen some recipes for yogurt panna cotta's floating around so I made some with skyr. It had the same soft texture as panna cotta with cream, but it didn't feel as heavy or rich. I do like the creamier version of panna cotta made with whipping cream but this yogurt one is also nice in its own lighter way.

***I've been making this panna cotta with 1/2 to 3/4 cup heavy cream and it makes the panna cotta so much creamier and richer. Love this combination! - January 31, 2014

Vanilla Skyr (or Yogurt) Panna Cotta (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)
Makes 4 servings.

2 tbsp water
11/4 tsp unflavored and powdered gelatin
1 cup skyr or yogurt of your choice
1 cup milk, heavy cream, or a combination of the two (I just used milk)
2 tbsp vanilla sugar or white sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Place water in a small bowl. Stir in gelatin and set aside until the gelatin softens, about 15 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk the skyr with 1/2 cup milk until combined. In a small saucepan, bring the other 1/2 cup of milk and the sugar to a simmer. Stir in the water and gelatin mixture (it will dissolve immediately) and remove from the heat. Whisk this hot mixture into the skyr, then stir in the vanilla extract.

Pour mixture into glasses or cups (if you would like to unmold them, oil the glasses first with a neutral tasting oil) and place in the fridge to set for at least 2 hours. Panna cotta can stay in the fridge for two or three days. Serve with fresh fruit and enjoy!

I totally ate this for breakfast!

Everything Under the Sun

It was the boyfriend's birthday on Friday! We made two gateau marcel's for him to take to work and share with his colleagues. When he came home in the afternoon we went for coffee on Gammel Kongevej. After coffee we had dinner with his family at Sticks'n'Sushi and they came over afterwards for some coffee and profiteroles and the boyfriend opened his presents. It was a really relaxing and cozy evening. 

Yesterday afternoon we biked to the opera house to watch the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series here in the harbor with some friends. It was amazing to watch all of the divers free fall, do twists and flips from the roof of the opera house and dive into the water. 

Earlier this week my classmate posted a link to a new dessert and cocktail bar that just opened in the city. The bar is called Candeur and it is located at Ny Adelgade 4. The boyfriend and I went there with three of his friends and I had a great banana cake topped with banana chips and served with chocolate ice cream as well as a refreshing lemonade. The boys had some cocktails and everyone really liked the idea of going out after having dinner at home or a restaurant, and having desserts and cocktails later in the evening at a different place. Plus they had really awesome service. We will definitely be going there again.

I wanted to bake something this morning and I asked the boyfriend what he felt like and he said scones. Luckily, we had everything we needed in the fridge already so scones were made! I have a go-to recipe for lemon blueberry scones but I thought I would try a new one today so I went with this recipe from Pastry Affair. They are not very sweet which I like but I found them a bit dry. So next time I make lemon blueberry scones, I think I will stick to this recipe from Baking Bites that I've used several times but maybe decrease the lemon juice in the dough a little bit because it can get quite wet. Now that I've been writing about them I feel like having another one! 

And that has been our weekend so far! I can't believe we are in the last week of June already. What have you got planned for the summer? What are you looking forward to doing? 

Going Bananas

Another weekend is over? Each day, week, month goes by so quickly. I was talking to the boyfriend this weekend about how quickly the years have gone by. I mean, in three years, I will be going to my high school's ten year reunion! What happened? I still remember high school like it was yesterday but somehow I have gone through four years of university, plus another two years in Sweden getting my master's, and now I've lived in Copenhagen for almost a year. Crazy.

But back to our weekend, it was great! The sun was shining, we had dinner with some friends on Friday night before going to see a band that they like, Rumor Said Fire, play at a campus party at Copenhagen University. Saturday was spent hanging out with my friend H at her table at a flea market and having ice cream and sitting at a cafe by the lake with I. On Sunday morning I baked a loaf of Smitten Kitchen's Jacked Up Banana Bread for breakfast. The boyfriend and I went into the city to do a little more shopping for some new work clothes for him and spent the rest of our afternoon doing important things such as Danish homework (ha!). And the grand finale to our weekend, the boyfriend's favorite dessert (tied with abemad/fruit salad with cream) - banana "ice cream"!

I am now sharing my third banana bread/cake recipe with you! When I took this loaf of banana bread out of the oven yesterday, I thought it would be dry. The crust looked really dark and there really wasn't much liquid in the recipe. It was delicious when we had it warm yesterday with some butter. I was a little skeptical this morning when I had a slice of the banana bread but it was still incredibly moist. I also really like the addition of spices in Smitten Kitchen's recipe, but it might not be for everyone if you don't like strong spices. I just love bananas and can always have more banana bread!

Jacked Up Banana Bread (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)
Makes one loaf

3 to 4 ripe bananas, mashed
1/3 cup or 75g salted butter, melted
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp bourbon (optional, I did not add this as we didn't have this at home)
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
pinch of ground gloves (again, did not have this at home so I skipped it)
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour

Preheat oven to 350F/175C. Line a bread pan with baking paper or grease it well.

With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, vanilla and bourbon, followed by the spices. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the two flours last and mix until incorporated.

Pour mixture into the pan and bake. Check the loaf at 40 minutes and take it out if it is ready or keep baking until a tester comes out clean. Cool on a rack and then slice and serve!

Happy Monday!

Breakfast Smoothie

The boyfriend and I's breakfast over the last few months has consisted mostly of just smoothies. They are great because they're quick to make and drink as we both need to be out the door early in the mornings as Danish classes start at 8:30 for me and he has to get to work. They're not crazy fancy and there are like a thousand different smoothie variations out there, but this is how we do ours!

Breakfast Smoothie 

2 medium size servings

4 (generous) scoops of skyr (scooped with a regular soup spoon)

1 large or 2 small bananas

a handful of frozen berries

2 tbsp of ground flaxseed (1 tbsp per serving, scale as you like!)
1/2 cup of milk or enough to get desired consistency

Throw everything into your blender and blend until smooth. Then you'll have a smoothie packed with protein, omega-3s, and fiber, that will also fulfill at least a little bit of your recommended fruit and veggie intake each day.

Skyr is an Icelandic dairy product, similar to a thick yogurt (think Greek) but is really a cheese. Most skyr that is available here in Copenhagen is organic and contains no more than 0.2% of fat. It is available at all grocery stores as it is quite popular these days (for example, Netto, Irma, Føtex, Fakta). It is a little more expensive than regular yogurt and Greek yogurt, but we think it is worth it. The skyr that we currently have has 11 grams of protein in every 100 gram serving. Skyr has a tangy taste on its own, so if I eat it like yogurt, I mix some honey in it. The banana in the smoothie eliminates the tangy taste so they are essential to the smoothie!

So that's what we have for breakfast! What do you normally eat in the morning?