Danish Delights: Flødeboller

This is NOT a 10 minute treat. Not by a longshot. But oh my G does it hit the spot after 2-3 hours of messing about in the kitchen. While it may not be a beginner's recipe, it's not as hard as one might think. The only problem is the chocolate, but come on, when has chocolate ever really been a problem? Chocolate drippings everywhere just give you an extra excuse to taste the stuff as you go along.

Apart from the odd Swedish or German interpretations of the concept "flødebolle" (~ "cream puff" though no cream is involved), I believe they are mostly a Danish invention. At least I know we've been the ones taking it to a higher level during the last decade or so. Basically a flødebolle consist of three things: A waffle or marzipan base cut into circles, a filling made of whipped egg whites and sugar (a bit like Italian merengue) and a chocolate "cover". That's it. But when you buy them from chocolatiers in Copenhagen, e.g. A XOCO (the best place for innovative and immaculate chocolate in Denmark as far as I'm concerned - they call it chocolate gastronomy and that's pretty much what it is), you get so much more. The version I made was inspired by our recent visit to the probably most infamous 2 star Michelin restaurant here called noma. Their filling was raspberry flavoured and it really brought me to my knees. Let's get this party started:

Flødeboller (makes about 40 with a 4 cm diameter base)

Recipe adapted from a Mad&Vin ad

Ingredients:

Merengue filling

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  3 (pasteurized) egg whites
  
  
  
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  20 grams sugar
  
  
  
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  1/2 vanilla pod
  
  
  
• 
  
  15 raspberries, mashed (you can choose to remove the seeds by pressing them through a sieve first)
  
  
  
• 
  
  -----------------
  
  
  
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  50 grams water
  
  
  
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  225 grams sugar
  
  
  

Base

• 150 grams marzipan
• 20 grams chopped almonds

Chocolate cover

• 200 grams very dark chocolate, e.g. Lindt 85% cocoa which has a very nice acidity

1) Mix the almonds with the marzipan and use a rolling pin to roll it out on a slightly floured surface until it is about 4 mm thick. Cut circles into the marzipan using a small glass with a diameter of about 4 cm. Place an oven rack on some baking paper (for the chocolate drippings) and then place the circles on the rack. The leftover bits can be re-rolled and cut into squares and filled in the same way, but use them as tasters for later.

2) Whip the egg whites in a metal or glass bowl (important because of the heat later on) and add the sugar as they begin to turn stiff. Keep whipping until the mixture is nice and fluffy. Set aside.

3) Boil a syrup in a saucepan using the water and sugar. Let it reach 117 degrees Celcius and at that exact point, take if from the heat and whip it into the egg whites with an electric mixer, making sure you pour as slowly and as closely to the inside of the bowl as possible so it DOES NOT hit the mixer in the bowl. Be careful as the bowl can turn quite hot from the syrup. Keep whipping until it has colled down. When all of the syrup has been mixed, add the mashed/de-seeded raspberries and mix it well. At the end the mixture should be shiny, slightly "bouncy" and you should be able to form little peaks with the tip of your mixer. If not, keep mixing for another while.

4) Pour some of the mixture into a piping bag with a round-holed tip, squeeze it gently and twist it to keep the mixture in place. And here starts the tricky part. Squeeze out a little of the merengue onto one of the marzipan bases. MAKE SURE you squeeze it out evenly, because otherwise you will have trouble covering it evenly with the chocolate afterwards. A trick I learned along the way (did I mention this was my first time?) was this:

• Place the tip of the piping bag on the middle of a marzipan circle.
• Hold it upright and squeeze out an even blob that goes almost to the edge of the base
• Stick the tip into the little blob and squeeze some more, always lifting it slightly upwards as you go. This should result in layered "waves" of merengue that turn smaller as you reach the wanted height. Mine were about 7 cm tall. See above photo for details.
• When all of the bases have been topped with merengue, leave them to set for 30 mins.

5) After about 20 mins. melt the chocolate in a bain marie (water bath) and leave it to cool to a "finger-temperature". You can always try pouring it onto one of your testers and see if the merengue melts. If not, you're ready to go. If it is too cold, reheat it gently, otherwise it won't run down the sides and cover the merengue properly. When you're pretty confident the chocolate is just right, pour it over each merengue top using a cup. Leave them to set.

This is were I still need some clarification from a chocolatier because how the hell does one get the chocolate to cover completely? Even with all my precautions the flødebolle on the picture top right was still one of the prettiest of the bunch and that says a lot. Luckily I'm going on a chocolate course tomorrow evening and I will try to ask the chocolatier about this, so I might have some answers for you soon. If not, they are still extremely delicious in the more "rustic" version. The combination of the sweet merengue, and the acidity of the chocolate and the raspberries can't possibly be ruined by shaky design only. Plus, the almonds render the base slightly crunchy which is very very nice. Now go on, be bold and try it out. The reward is huge and mouthwateringly addictive!

The flødeboller must be kept in the refrigerator in an airtight container. They can keep for 2-3 days but then the sugar starts crystallizing on the inside and the raspberry juicy starts dripping slightly. Not bad tasting but definitely best when they're fresh.

Crispyfied Home Fries

Finally I cracked the secret code, not of home made gold, no, but of home fries. Yes sir. After many years of slicing, dicing, boiling, frying, baking and deep frying potatoes with more or less the same flacid result (I like my fries to stay crispy, please) I cracked it. It was only a matter of combining two pieces of information that had been scattered in my brain for years: 

1) Olive oil can't handle high temperatures but other oils can.

2) When you bake stuff in the right oil, that very stuff turns crispy.

Hence the following recipe for:

Oven Baked Crispy Fries (enough for two lovers of fries):

Ingredients:

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  8 regular sized potatoes
  
  
  
• 
  
  1/2 decilitre of rapeseed oil
  
  
  
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  Salt, pepper and additional herbs of your own choice
  
  
  

1) Turn on the oven to 225 degrees Celcius.

2) Fill a saucepan about 1/3 with water and add a teaspoon of salt.

3) Slice the potatoes in long wedges.

4) Put the wedges into the boiling water and let them boil on for 10 mins.

5) Take them out of the water, dry them gently with a paper towel and leave them to cool down slightly on a lined baking tray (I used the reusable baking paper as seen on the picture - very recommendable!). 5-10 mins. in front of an open window should suffice.

6) Spread about half a decilitre of rapeseed oil on the potatoes and make sure they are all thoroughly smothered in it. I used the simple, cheap kind of rapeseed oil that comes in a plastic bottle because the taste isn't as pungent as in the organic, dark golden kind I use for salads. Sprinkle it with sea salt  and pepper.

7) Put the baking tray in the middle of the oven and let it bake for 10-15 mins. before you take out the tray and turn the wedges over with cooking tweezers, your fingers or af fork to make sure they get an evenly baked surface. In my oven they turn brown faster on the side turning onto the tray, but that may differ. Return it to the oven and repeat until the potatoes are completely cooked, brown and kind of "bubbly" on all sides. Leave them to cool for five minutes.

8) Make your own seasoning to sprinkle on top. Here I crushed some cilantro/coriander seeds with extra sea salt and grated lemon zest. Very delicious with a simple crème fraiche or Greek yoghurt dip.

10 Minute Treat: Hot Espresso-Chocolate

Looking at other people's blogs can be very inspiring. If you want a new way to pamper your guests on a Friday night, the possibilities seem endless. But what most of us really need, are ways to get us through our busy lives without having to settle for bakery cakes or ye olde spaghetti bolognese five days a week. That's why I've decided to share some of my little everyday tricks that fill out the vast space in between my more demanding kitchen projects. Here's the first one in a series of quick and easy ways of putting your inner snack beast to rest. This is one of my favourites: Hot Espresso Chocolate:

All you need is:

• 2 espresso shots/small cups of strong coffee
• 2 cardamom capsules (optional)
• 2 decilitres of milk
• A splash of cream (optional)
• 40 grams of dark chocolate
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla sugar (optional)
• A pinch of salt

1) Make two espresso shots using an espresso jug as seen above or here. If you don't have any such thing, I suspect a strong cup of fresh coffee or maybe even Nescafé could do the trick. I use two tablespoons of espresso for two decilitres of water. Throw in two slightly squeezed cardamom capsules (as pictured in the tin on the left) with the coffee (or in the coffee grinder if you have one) and make the espresso.

2) While the coffee is boiling pour two decilitres of milk (add a tiny splash of cream for that extra feeling of luxury) into a saucepan, add a pinch of salt, the vanilla sugar and heat it slowly. Meanwhile chop up the chocolate and add it to the milk when it has started building tiny creamy bubbles at the edges of the saucepan. Stir it until the chocolate has dissolved completely but don't let it boil.

3) Pour the fresh coffee into a nice cup. Whisk or froth up the hot chocolate (I use my Bodum French press but a regular whisk will do too) and pour it into the coffee.

4) Serve the drink and enjoy the instant comfort og two pleasures in one: Espresso and hot chocolate. If you're feeling adventurous I can recommend adding a touch of chili to the chocolate. That really takes it to the next level. But still, it shouldn't take you more than 10 minutes to make this:

Julie & Julia

(Our real life movie tickets, yup. Just so you know, I was in seat no. 7.)

Contrary to popular belief, I do, on occasion venture out of my kitchen. So last Sunday, I and my flour-dusted hair took T to the local movie theatre. Luckily we went to see Julie & Julia starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams. The two main characters Julie and Julia discover the eternal truth that cooking is the most rewarding pastime ever. Though I'm not a weeping fan, I think Streep was really great in the role of Julia Child, the saga queen of the cooking revolution in post war America and author of the cooking bible "Mastering the Art of French Cooking". Not that I knew her before I saw this movie, but she was a real character and it seems that Streep really nailed her, so to speak. There might just be an Oscar in it for her. As for Amy Adams, she plays a young blogger in post-9/11 New York who decides to cook her way through said bible in just one year. It was very eery that Hollywood had managed to churn out something that I could actually relate to to that extent. I mean, a woman around thirty starts a blog with the help of her lovely husband, writes about cooking and experiences its therapeutic forces on a daily basis. Hello! That's me! Only hang up I have was the very very annoying way Amy Adams' character Julie's husband chewed his food. I just couldn't watch it. His mouth was all over the place. I'm sure it was just actor Chris Messina's way of portraying that elusive experience of drool and yum in a manner befitting the movies. But me did not like. Anyway, it's a real heart warmer and that's not something I would usually be caught dead saying (as if that makes any sense at all). What are you still doing here? Go catch it before it's gone like the butter on Julia Child's frying pan.

New York - Man, Did I Take a Bite Out of That Apple!

Yes yes yes, it's been ages since I went to New York but it took me some serious editing to cut my food experiences from one whole greedy week of eating into just one post. Suffice it to say that the pleasures of the palate were never ending in that city and we pretty much tasted everything in sight. I was very surprised at the quality of the food - was afraid there would be sugar and grease all over the place (Just kidding there. Having read a LOT of "The Girl Who Ate Everything" my expectations were sky high and still, I was surprised). So here are a couple of the highlights:

Left: Flourless (just a guess) chocolate mini cake with mocha zabaglione at the cafe in MOMA.
Top right: Delicious coffee and the fluffiest French toast imaginable with ricotta cheese filling at the local coffee joint on 86 E 7th str. (East Village).
Bottom right: Home made Oreos at a free flea market in Brooklyn (a bit sweet for my taste).


Left: Heart of beef on toast with plenty of yummy rhubarb butter at Diner on 85 Broadway (Williamsburg, Brooklyn). Generally a very very solid place for unpretentious and imaginative food that's very reasonably priced. (We paid 75 $ for two people having each one beverage and two entrees (the English definition of the word meaning "a smaller dish to get you started" and not the Amercian meaning which seems to be "main course"). That was more than enough to make us want to roll over and fall into sweet post coital slumber.
Top right: Farfalle with huge ass mushrooms and ricotta drool on top also at Diner (see above).
Bottom right: Japanese snacks made from peas that have been moulded into the shape of green snow peas. Very tasty, but a small taste. A bit like edamame beans. We bought them at a great Japanese supermarket called Jas Mart. 35 St Marks Pl. (East Village). Wonderful stuff indeed! I also got a tin of matcha tea that I have yet to use but still, I can't wait to make stuff turn green with it.

Blueberry Everything (& a French Lemon Tart)

I love blueberries! It might not be much of a revelation to you but to me it's right up there with trying chocolate for the first time. In the past, blueberries have just seemed to be this bland thing only Americans could rave about. But now, I've prodly joined the clan. Blueberries are cute, fairy tale like and have a really soothing, subtle and happyfying taste. And I only just found out.

It all started last weekend when I went with T to his parents' summer house in Småland (a region in Sweden). There we went on a very fruitful (lame pun intended) scavenger hunt for the berries. And boy did it pay to be rained on that day! After an initial dry spell, we found an area where the berries were so abundant that I went into a frenzy, picking greedily at double speed and sitting in awkward positions that my ancient knees didn't agree with. On that day the four of us picked about 800 grams of berries. Here's my very own blueberry home video:

But that wasn't all.

On the evening of the first hunt, I decided on a daredevil mission. I set out to make a French style lemon tart from two separate recipes to serve as a tangy counterpiece for the delicate blueberries. And guess what? It turned out to be the best I've ever made. The only thing is, I haven't double checked the recipe since, so please tell me if yours doesn't quite work out.

French Lemon Tart (recipe combo)

Tart Crust (from random marzipan manufacturer's brochure)

• 150 grams flour
• 100 grams butter
• 2 tablespoons icing sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon cold water
• A pinch of salt

For the crust, mix all ingredients into a heavy dough, wrap it in Vita Wrap and leave it to set in the fridge for 1-2 hours. Meanwhile, you can prepare the filling.

Lemon Filling (from Smitten Kitchen)

• 1 lemon
• 200 grams sugar (the 300 grams in the original recipe are highly unnecessary)
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 whole egg
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch (I used potato flour - worked as a charm)
• 115 grams butter, melted and cooled

(My recap of the recipe) Cut up the whole lemon (skin and all, but no seeds), and blend it into a smooth paste along with the sugar. In a new bowl, mix the lemon paste with the remaining ingredients until you have an even mixture. Keep it in the refrigerator until you start rolling out the dough for the crust. Set the oven at 200 degrees.

Take the dough from the fridge and place it on a lightly floured table. Start rolling out the dough into a round, thin sheet. Transfer the sheet to a regular sized tart pan and gently press it into place in alle the flutes and corners of the pan. When all the edges have been trimmed, take a piece of baking paper the size of your tart pan and roll it into a ball (makes it easier to work with). Unroll it again and place it on the pie dough in the pan. Then cover the paper with ceramic baking beans, or, if you don't have any such silly things, regular old hard chick peas will do. The reason you're doing this, is to prevent the crust from bubbling up and cracking as well as getting an even dose of heat throughout the crust. Put the tart pan in the oven and leave it there for 10 mins. Then remove the ceramic beans/chick peas and bake for another 5 mins without them. Pour in the lemon filling, but make sure to leave about 1/3 centimeter for it to rise. I baked it for about 15 mins with half the filling and then, when it had "curdled" on the crust and shrunk back a little, I added the rest and let it bake for another 10-15 mins. or so. I don't know exactly how the original recipe ends up, but my haphazard method resulted in an almost hard, chewy and really really delicious filling with the most buttery, flaky and brown tasting tart shell I've ever made. I hope you'll experience the same. And don't forget to serve the tart with fresh blueberries.

Recipe Tryout: Cheese Straws from Smitten Kitchen

Behold: The latest recipe tryout from another food site: Cheese Straws from Smitten Kitchen.
With this one I have nothing else to say than: Why aren't you trying it already? It's got cheese, it's a finger food and it's dead easy to make. Go here for the recipe (and to compare our photos).

I would like to mention that the inclusion of the red pepper flakes seems a bit superfluous as they don't really stand a chance against the strong flavour of the cheddar. Instead I would opt for some oregano and garlic to spice things up and give the straws a more colourful appearance. Or I would split the dough in two or three batches with each their flavour. One with chili flakes, another with oregano and garlic and yet another with sesame seeds. And as we speak I'm in the middle of a tiny experiment with the dough. I'm waiting to see if it can stand waiting for a week or two in the freezer before being baked. If so, it would make it even more suited for parties. I'll get back to you with the result.