Koldskål (2)

Remember the "cold bowl" ? After a long winter it's like it's suddenly summer in Sweden and we recently found ourselves craving a good cold bowl of.. well.. cold-bowl.

However, as I've lamented around here before, one cannot buy buttermilk in Swedish stores, and buttermilk is the cornerstone of koldskål as I've always known it. For other purposes I've tried substituting various kinds of thickened milk (fil as they are known in Sweden) for buttermilk, and I figured it might work for koldskål as well.

Ingredients:
- juice of ¹/₂ lemon (2 tbsp)
- 50 g (4 tbsp) granulated sugar
- vanilla sugar
- 1 L (1 quart) of fil

The sugar, vanilla sugar and lemon juice was whisked together and the fil was poured in with continued whisking.

Served chilled with either rusk or roasted oats.

Roasted Oats

I guess it's some kind of simplified, very simplified, granola. I use them for koldskål when I don't have any rusk handy.

Ingredients:
- 25 g (~ 1 oz) unsalted butter
- 4 tbsp sugar
- 2 dL (⁴/₅ cup) rolled oat

The butter was melted over high heat, then the oat and the sugar was added and stirred over medium high heat for until the oats turned golden (about 10 minutes). The oats were then transferred to baking paper to cool.

Served on koldskål.

Atomic Ginger

You may be familiar with the curiously strong ginger ales that result when the producers insist on cramming the equivalent of 25 grams (close to 1 oz) of fresh ginger into a standard bottle of the stuff. Imagine then concentrating a similar amount of ginger into a mere ball of ice cream sorbet .. the result brings colour to your face and sweat to your brow:


This concocted was served me as dessert at the Restaurant la Croix-Fédérale in Hermance, Switzerland along the southern shore of Lac Léman close to the border to France.

Yes, I know this is yet another post of me not cooking, but I don't have functioning kitchen in my new apartment yet - a subject I'll probably return in later posts.

Meringue

I never really thought about making my own meringue - I just settled for the stuff you can buy in stores (well, it's not something I've been eating a lot either). But when my muse mentioned this would be an obvious way to use the three left over egg whites we had I learned that the result was quite interesting.

Ingredients:
- 3 egg whites
- 150 g (1/3 lb) sugar

The egg whites were whipped stiff (i.e. not going anywhere when turning the bowl upside down), then the sugar was added and the mixture was whipped for an additional 3 minutes. The mixture was placed as small circles on a baking sheet and put in the oven at 150 C (300 F). The recipe we read recommended baking them till dry and golden, approximately 20 minutes, but we thought they started looking golden somewhat faster (maybe just 10-12 minutes) and pulled them from the oven for fear of burning them. The result was very interesting - they were probably not baked as thoroughly as is normally intended, but I actually liked them better this way: crisp on the edge, but somewhat gooey-soft too.

Flourless Chocolate-Brazil Nut Cake

We pretty shamelessly took this recipe right out of a magazine and modified it ever so slightly (the original called for using hazelnuts) to serve as dessert at our Christmas eve dinner.

The recipe called for Frangelico, which I quite frankly hadn't heard about before. It turns out to be an Italian hazelnut liquor containing 24% A.B.V. and not at all difficult to obtain around these parts. When I went to a nearby provider of bottled drinks and asked for it I was informed that not only could he sell me Frangelico, but he could also sell me a knock-off brand for far less... since the recipe only called for 125 mL (1/2 cup) of it I opted for the real thing as that was also available in a handy 375 mL (1.5 cups) bottle (mind you, this was still a bit more expensive than 1 quart (1L) of the knock-off brand - but I didn't feel the need to stock up on this liquor).

Ingredients:
- 325 g (11.5 oz) 60% cocoa (bittersweet chocolate)
- 170 g (1 ¹/₂ sticks) unsalted butter
- 6 large eggs
- 2.5 dL (1 cup) golden brown sugar
- 125 mL (¹/₂ cup) Frangelico (divided)
- 145 g (5 oz) finely ground Brazil nuts [1]
- 1 tsp coarse salt
- 2.5 dL (1 cup) heavy whipping cream

The chocolate and the butter was melted and stirred together on a warm water-bath (2 portions, mainly due to size of bowl used).

In a separate bowl the the eggs, golden brown sugar and half of the Frangelico was whisked together, then the chocolate butter mixture was whisked in. The ground brazil nuts and the salt was stirred into the mixture, which was then poured into a round silicone baking form placed inside a springform of slightly larger diameter for added support.[2]

The baking form was covered with a lid of foil, placed in a large baking pan which was filled with water so the water outside the springform was about level with the batter inside the silicone form. The cake was baked in the oven at 175 C (350 F) for about 1.5 hours. It was allowed to cool somewhat before moving it from the form to a plate, on which it was chilled in the fridge for several hours before serving with whipped cream whipped with the other half of the Frangelico. [3]It's excellent!! ... but quite heavy and this makes for a lot of servings - fortunately it stays good for days in the fridge (we might even think it's better the day after).

[1] We actually think that grinding the nuts less finely might add a nice crunch to the cake.
[2] A springform can be used instead of the silicone form - then you just have to wrap it carefully with foil, so no water seeps in.
[3] The recipe actually suggested topping with toasted nuts, we forgot this part, but might want to try that next time.

Mrs. Throat-Erator's Signature Cheesecake

For the recent Thanksgiving Potluck Dinner that we participated in we brought along this cheesecake - always a winner. Especially with the raspberry coulis.
Ingredients:
(cheesecake)
- 200 g (7 oz) digestive biscuits
- 100 g (3.5 oz) butter
- 150 g (5 oz) cream cheese
- 2.5 dL (1 cup) plain yogurt
- vanilla beans from 1 vanilla pod
- 65 g (2 oz) sugar
- approx. 2 tbsp lime juice
- 2.5 dL (1 cup) whipping cream
- 4 sheets husblas [1]
(raspberry coulis)
- 100 g (3.5 oz) frozen raspberries
- 1 tbsp sugar

Crush the biscuits (e.g. in a closed ziplock bag) while melting the butter in a small pot. Mix the biscuit crumbs with the butter. Spread the mixture in the bottom of a springform pan and press it to a firm layer.

In a bowl mix the yogurt with the cream cheese (till creamy and homogeneous), then mix in the sugar, the vanilla and 1-2 tbsp lime juice. In a separate bowl whip the cream stiff.

If using 'husblas': Cover the sheets of husblas with cold water for 10 minutes, then transfer them to another bowl (now they're soft, do not let them drip off). Place in this bowl in a hot water bath till they are molten. Now add about 1 dL (1/2 cup) of the cream cheese-yogurt mixture to this and mix it quickly before pouring it all back into the rest of the cream cheese -yogurt mixture with stirring. Add the whipped cream. Add lime juice to taste. Now cover and place in the refrigerator until the mixture becomes semi-firm (1/2 - 1 hour), then place on top of the biscuit crumb bottom, cover and put it back in the refrigerator for some hours (preferably overnight). Serve with raspberry coulis.

Raspberry coulis is made by blending raspberries (if frozen, thawed and drained) with sugar.

[1] Husblas is a type gelatin sheets. As this recipe details, it needs a little bit of preparation before use. While I'm sure other gelatin sources could be used we haven't really found out how much to use of the other types (e.g. powdered, as is easily bought around here).

Koldskål

Koldskål translates as cold bowl, which gives you a pretty good idea of its primary use: As a refreshing summer dish. There's a number of different ways to make it, but the ingredient on which almost all are based is buttermilk.

Ingredients:
- 1 L (1 quart) buttermilk
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 3 tsp vanilla sugar^[1]
- 400 g (14 oz) plain yogurt
- Juice of ¹/₂ grape fruit

Whip together the sugar, vanilla sugar and grape juice with a (hand-held) mixer, then add the buttermilk and mix well. Lastly add the yoghurt and whip thoroughly.

Serve chilled with rusk.

NB: If left in the fridge for a while, whip it up again before serving.

Update: For a version of koldskål without buttermilk, see here.

^[1] Scandinavian vanilla sugar is a mixture of sugar and vanilla bean ground to a fine powder. I've never actually tried to make it myself. Presumably for this recipe one could easily substitute with vanilla extract, but I never tried to figure out a good conversion table between vanilla sugar and vanilla extract.

Rusk

I was recently told that these are called rusk in English - in Danish they're known as kammerjunkere. While most people in Denmark buy them, it is possible to make them as well (good thing, as I haven't seen them in shops here in southern California).

Ingredients:
- 2 eggs
- 150 g (5.3 oz) sugar
- 50 g (1.8 oz) butter
- 300 g (10.6 oz) flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt

Melt the butter and let it cool off.

Mix the baking powder and the salt with the flour.

Whip the eggs and sugar together using a (hand-held) mixer for about 4 minutes. Add first the melted butter, then the flour mixture. Mix everything together lightly, cover and leave the dough standing in the fridge for at least an hour before shaping into 3 logs of about 35 cm (14 inches) length. Bake for 25 minutes at 200 C (400 F), then let cool for 1-2 minutes before slicing - although here I went for 1 cm (half inch) slices I think 0.5 cm (quater inch) slices would probably give a better result - and putting them back in the oven until crisp and golden (approximately 5-10 minutes, I think). Consider flipping them over halfway through.

Serve with koldskål.

Update: The initial baking time should only be 15-20 minutes and after slicing they should be baked 2 times 5 minutes (flipping them over in between).