Danish Pancakes version 2 - Crepes

Danish pancakes.

Danish pancakes are thin like crepes, and is kinda of a dessert. But in my family we occasionally had pancakes for dinner. Maybe not an healthy option, but it was not on a regular basis.

I like my pancakes to be soft like the ones my mom made, but if you want the edges to be a little crispy (the edges mostly) then add a tablespoon regular beer, like a Pilsner. My mom didn’t do that, maybe because we rarely had any beer in the house, so I don’t do that either.

Right now this is my favorite recipe for Danish pancakes. I often make a double portion, and save the extra in the freezer, for an easy treat another day. When freezing fold each pancake in quarters, with parchment paper between each pancake, so you easy can defrost one or two at a time.

Makes 10-12.

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs

• 400 ml milk

• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract

• 4 tablespoons sugar

• 165 g all-purpose flour

• 1 pinch salt

Directions:

Add all the ingredients to the blender and blend it until a smooth batter. If you don’t have a blender, just whisk it by hand, until you get a lump free batter.

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Brush the skillet with a small amount of butter. Using a ladle, pour just enough batter to cover the bottom of the pan, tipping it to coat evenly. Place pan back on heat and cook until batter is set and turned light brown. Flip the crepe with a spatula and cook the other side for additional 30 seconds to 1 minute. Transfer cooked crepe to a plate and continue with the rest of the batter, brushing the pan with more butter as needed and stacking finished crepes on top of each other.

Serve the crepes with sugar, jam, or even ice cream.

Enjoy!

Mrs. Cross’s Christmas Syrup Cake - Sirupslagkage

Mrs. Cross’s Christmas Syrup Cake - Sirupslagkage.

This type of cake was one of my mom’s favorites. She always told a story about getting a syrup layer cake at a friends house, where the buttermilk came from their own cows. Maybe my mom’s childhood food memories were tied to fond memories like my own. The syrup cake were not tied to Christmas in my home, but by adding the orange jam and chocolate is leans itself towards Christmas. My mom served hers with a sprinkle of powdered sugar on top, the chocolate ganache make it more decadent.

Ingredients:

Batter:

• 125 g dark syrup

• 75 g sugar

• 75 g butter

• 250 g all purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• ½ teaspoon backing soda

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• ½ teaspoon ground cloves

• ½ teaspoon ground allspice

• ½ teaspoon ground ginger

• 150 ml buttermilk

Filling:

• 5-6 heaping tablespoons Orange jam

Buttercream:

• 250 g butter, salted and room temperature

• 250 g confectionary sugar (powdered sugar)

• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

Chocolate ganache:

• 200 ml heavy whipping cream

• 200 g dark chocolate, finely chopped, I used Valrhona

• 10 g butter

Garnish:

• orange zest strips

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 355℉ (175℃).

Batter:

Melt butter, sugar, and syrup in a sauce pan, remove from heat, and let it cool for a few minutes. Mix the dry ingredients, and add it to the warm mixture, together with the buttermilk. Pour the batter into a 8-9-inch (22cm) springform, the bottom lined with parchment paper. And bake it for 30-35 minutes. Let the cake cool completely, before removing from the form.

Buttercream:

Cream the butter with the sugar for about 8-10 minutes, until it’s white and fluffy. Mix in the vanilla.

Ganache:

In a saucepan heat the cream to an almost simmer, remove it when small bubbles start forming at the edges. Pour it on top of the chopped chocolate and add the butter. Let it sit for about 30 seconds before you start stirring the mixture. This will give the chocolate time to start melting. Stir the ganache until it is smooth, glossy homogeneous.

Assembly:

Using a serrated knife, slice the cake horizontally in 2 layer, using gentle sawing motion. Spread the orange jam in a even layer on the lover part of the cake. On top of that spread all the buttercream in a thick even layer. Place the top part of the cake on top of the buttercream. Give it a little press to make the buttercream come out to the edge. Pour the ganache over the top of the cake, it’s ok if the ganache drips over the edges. Sprinkle with some orange zest on top, befor the ganache sets.

The cake will benefit from sitting a few hours or even overnight in the refrigerator before serving.

Enjoy!

Coffee Creme Brûlée

Coffee Creme Brûlée

Creme Brûlée is one of my favorite desserts, when made right. The custard have to be velvety smooth with a nice crusty caramel on top. I like my Creme Brûlée to be a thin layer of custard, this gives the best custard to caramel ratio for my taste. This recipe is just perfect. Thank you David Lebovitz.

If you want a vanilla custard instead for coffee you can replace the instant coffee and kahlua with 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste. The paste might color the custard a bit.

Makes 4.

Ingredients:

• 330 ml (1 ⅓ cup) heavy whipping cream

• 160 ml (⅔ cup) whole milk

• 50 g (¼ cup) sugar + extra for caramelizing

• 1 pinch salt

• 4 large egg yolks

• 1 tablespoon instant coffee powder, I used Seabright from Verve

• 2 teaspoons Kahlua coffee liqueur

Directions:

Preheat the oven for 300℉ (150 ℃).

Place the 4 shallow gratin dishes on a high-rimmed baking sheet and set aside. Boil some water in a kettle, to get it ready, for when the custard goes into the oven.

Heat the cream, milk, sugar, salt in a saucepan over medium heat, until all the sugar has dissolved. Whisk the egg yolks together in a bowl large enough to hold both eggs and milk/cream mixture. Gradually add the warm cream mixture in the yolks while stirring, until the cream is completely incorporated. Do not whisk vigorously, you don’t want to create foam. Mix in instant coffee and kahlua. Strain the mixture into a jug or measuring cup with a sprout, trying to create as little foam on top as possible. I removed the little foam, that did come on the surface with a spoon.

Gently divide the mixture between the 4 dishes, removing any foam created on the surface before placing the baking sheet in the oven. Pour enough hot water in the baking sheet, so it reaches halfway up the sides of the gratin dishes. Bake the dishes for 20-25 minutes, until they are just set, watch them closely the last few minutes. You are looking for a slight quiver when you try to jiggle them. Be careful when you remove them from the oven. I used a blaster to remove most of the water, and then used some kitchen towel to lift the dishes. Chill the custard in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve them.

Just before serving, sprinkle the custards with an even layer of sugar, about 1½ teaspoon for each is what you need. Working on one custard at a time, use a blowtorch to wave the flame over the custard until the sugar melts and becomes brown, make sure that the caramel spreads all over the top, but handle it with care, because the melted sugar is extremely hot. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Is-a-la-mande - Ice Cream a la Risalamande

This Ice cream is made to resemble the traditional Danish Christmas dessert Risalamande (Danish rice pudding). Some don’t like the risalamande (which I just can’t understand 🤷‍♀️😉), but making an ice cream should please most. I made this for a Danih Christmas Lunch this year. Adding 1 whole blanched almond, and the one who found the almond, got the almond-gift (mandelgaven) like with the normal risalamande. I think this was a great substitution.

Serves 8-10.

Ingredients:

Ice cream base:

• 200 g sugar

• 4 egg yolk

• 1-2 teaspoons vanilla paste

• 200 ml heavy whipping cream

• 400 ml whole milk

Filling:

• marzipan, in small cubes -I used Ren Rå from Odense (63% almonds)

• slivered almonds, toasted

• dark chocolate, I used Valrhona baking pearls

Cherry sauce:

• 340 g (12 oz) frozen dark sweet cherries

• 1 can Oregon dark sweet cherries in heavy syrup

• 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste

• 100 g (½ cup) sugar

Directions:

Ice cream:

Warm milk and ½ of the cream in a saucepan. Pour the rest of the cream into a bowl over an ice bath. 

Whisk the egg yolks pale with the rest of the sugar, then whisk in the vanilla. Add the hot milk in a little at a time, while whisking. Pour the mixture back in the saucepan. Slowly heat the mixture over medium heat while constantly stirring. You want the mixture to thicken slightly, but you don't want the mixture to come to a boil, this will coagulate the egg yolks. You do not want the mixture to exceed 174℉ or 79℃. 

Pour the hot mixture through a strainer into the cool cream. Stir until the custard is cooled completely. 

Freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.  When the ice cream is frozen to a thick ice cream, put into a container and mix in the filling. Let the ice cream rest in the freezer over night before serving. You can swirl in the cherry sauce as well, I just put some on top, and served extra on the side.

Cherry sauce:

Add all the ingredients to a sauce pan. Heat and stir until the sugar is melted. Turn the heat down a little, and reduce the sauce to about half, and let it sit too cool. Pour a little on the frozen ice cream, and serve the rest to the ice cream.

Enjoy!

Rhubarb Mazarin Cake

Rhubarb Mazarin Cake.

I really love rhubarbs. They are tangy, sour and are perfect in desserts and cakes. So when I found this recipe, it was a no-brainer. I had to bake it. And it was ohhh so good. And it is the perfect cake to bring to a summer barbecue.

Serves 6-8. (Recipe from the magazine Søndag).

Ingredients:

• 200 g rhubarb

• 200 g sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

• 150 g marzipan

• 150 g butter

• 3 eggs

• 80 g all-purpose flour

• 80 g almond flour

• 1 lime, the zest of

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350℉ (175℃).

Clean the rhubarb and cut them into small bite-sized pieces. Place them in a bowl and stir in with ¼ (50g) of the sugar + the vanilla, set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy, mix in the grated marzipan, making sure the mixture again gets light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, and mix just until fully incorporated. Gently fold in the flours and lime zest.

Pour the dough into a non-stick tart pan. (I used a 9-inch square pan with removable bottom). Place the rhubarb on top of the cake, and bake it for about an hour, until it's firm in the middle and golden brown.

Let the cake cool before serving it with a dollop of creme fraiche or ice cream.

Enjoy!