Coffee & Chocolate bars - "Masaliisa"

During the 80's, there was no party where this confection wasn't served. Or was there? This pastry is, Mokkapalat or Masaliisa, to my mind, the most iconic pastry of that decade. I forgot this for years and years, until my husband mentioned this once. Name "Mokkapalat" is more common with Finns, but In Pori area they call it "Masaliisa". Even I'm not from that area I found the name so amusing, I startet to use it instead of "Mokkapalat"

To me, the best part of the pastry is the frosting, and there never enough it. So why not put it in to two layers? I kind og a made cake using this bar, and this way I managed to get more frosting into my piece of bar. 

Coffee & Chocolate bars "Masaliisa"
For 4-6 person
For the cake
3 dl sugar
5 dl all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 dl water
200 g butter
4 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 dl strong coffee (with milk)
2 eggs
For the frosting
50 g butter
500 g icing sugar
5 tbsp strong coffee
1-1½ tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

Mix all dry ingredients together (sugar, flour and baking powder)  Put butter, water and cocoa powder intoa a pan and bring to a boil. Combine the flour mixture and cocoa mixture. Addt 1 dl (milk) coffee, and let cool. When the dough has cool enough, stir in the eggs. Spread on cookie sheet and bake at 200 degrees for 20 minutes. Let cool. Then split the cake in half.

For the frosting, melt the butter in a saucepan and mix with other ingredients. Mix until smooth. If the mixture seems too stiff add a little e.g. milk, and if it seems too loose, you can add more powdered sugar. Keep the mixture warm for the frosting. Spread the frosting evenly over the both cake pieces. Lift the other part of the on cake over the other.
Sprinkle with nonpareil, and just Enjoy!

French toast with Rosemary Blueberry sauce

Bilberry is THE best berry which grows in Finland, to my mind. It is a real superfood. This time I used it as a sauce for my brunch dessert, French toast. I added some rosemary to the sauce, to give the nice earthiness flavor and some lemon zest to give a twist. The combination really worked.

As I mentioned that bilberry is superfood, I think that also French toast is superfood :D Maybe not in a similar way, but it is super good to my soul... And when I make it using Finnish pulla, it is even better.

Many of the french toast recipes contain cinnamon and sugar, but with pulla, sugar does not need to be added since the pulla is already sweet pastry. And instead of cinnamon, I prefer cardamom which, as well, is ingredient of the pulla.

French toast
For 2 person
4 slice of day old Finnish pulla or french bread (about 2-3 cm thick slices)
1 large egg
2 dl milk
butter for cooking

Beat and milk together in a bowl. Place the bread in the bowl and let the bread soak up the egg on one side for about 1 minute, then turn and let soak on other side. Let any excess egg mixture drip off into bowl. Heat frying pan or griddle.

Melt a small amount of butter in pan. Place french toast pieces in pan and fry until golden on first side. Flip and cook other side until golden and crispy.

Rosemary Blueberry sauce
100 g bilberries (or blueberries)
50 g sugar
1 sprig of rosemary
1/4 lemon zest
1 tbsp lemon juice

Combine blueberries, rosemary, sugar and water in a saucepan, bring it to boil. Cook approx. 10 minutes, until sauce has thickened some amount. Cool. Season with lemon juice and zest of lemon.

Tribute to Finnish superfoods

Whipped porridges are quite common Finnish dishes, like porriges overall, and usually these whipped versions are made of semolina. The berries varies a lot, but the most favourite ones are lingonberry and redcurrant. But you can use any berries you like. The dish is often served as a dessert, with cold milk, since it is sweet. Altough, it can easily be a light lunch or breakfast as well, especially if the amount of sugar is reduced.

Today I wanted to prepare whipped porridge for light lunch, because we have done nothing but eaten all weekend. We celebrated our friend's 40th birthday and had so many nice breakfasts, lunches and dinners. So today it was good idea to eat a bit lighter... Instead of semolina I chose more healthier option for the flour, I used rye. And for berries, my preference is always bilberry. I just love them. So Finnish and so healthy!

If you haven't tried this dish yet, I really recommend to do so. What could be more Finnish than this?? A real superfoods!

Whipped Blueberry Rye Porridge
for 4 person
1 l water
pinch of salt
0,5 l blueberries (preferably bilberries)
100 ml sugar (optional, if you like sweet. I didn't use any)
300 ml rye flour

Boil the water in a pot, add salt and bilberries. Bring to a boil. Start adding rye flour whipping at the same time to avoid clods. After all flour has been added, cook over low heat 15 minutes. Let it cool.
Using mixer, whip the porridge until fluffy and light.
Enjoy with cold milk!

It's rhubarb time!

Rhubarb is one of the first season foods at spring. At least here in Finland. Every year I decide to make pie or a cake, and most of the times I try something new. This year I found recipe that sounded so good from the maganize of Glorian Ruoka & Viini. One of the ingredients was Bailey's and that was all it needs to convince me. It had to be good, - and it really was!

The cake itself is quite dry and it crumbles easily, but I enjoyed it still. Maybe next time I moisten the cake with something, e.g. with Bailey's...

Rhubarb-cheesecake
75 ml potato flour 
1 tsp baking powder 
100 ml almond flour 
3 eggs 
175 ml sugar 
Rhubarb compote 
2 leaves of gelatine 
250 g of rhubarb 
200 ml sugar for jam (hillosokeri) 
25 ml water 
0.5 tsp cardamom 
Brittle 
50 g butter 
75 ml sugar 
100 g almond flakes 
2 tsp corn starch 
2 tbsp double cream 
Rhubarb and cheese filling 
4 leaves of gelatine 
200 g of marcarpone 
100 ml cream liqueur (eg. Bailey's) 
200 ml whipping cream 
Rhubarb compote 
 
Pre-heat the oven to 175 degrees.  
Grease the pan with butter . Make the cake base. Sift the potato flour and baking powder into the almond flour. Whip the eggs and sugar until fluffy and light. Gently invert the flour mixture to the egg-sugar mixture. Pour the batter into the cake pan (diameter 18-20 cm) and cook 30-35 minutes. Take the cake from the oven and let it cool. The cake will fall slightly during cooling. 
Rhubarb compote
Put the gelatine leaves in cold water. Peel the rhubarb if needed, and chop them in a pot. Add the sugar, water and cardamom. Bring to a boil and skim the surface. Let it simmer until the rhubarb is tender, about 10 minutes. Squeeze the water out of the gelatin and mix them in a bowl with compote. Let it cool.  
Brittle
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for about 2-3 minutes. Apply the mixture on a baking tray with baking paper and bake in a 200 degree oven for about 10 minutes. Keep an eye on the maturation of brittle, so that the sheet edges do not burn. Take a brittle from the oven and allow to cool. 
Filling 
Make the filling, after the rhubarb compote has cooled down. Put the gelatine leaves in cold water. Mix the Mascarpone and cream liqueur in a bowl. Whip the cream and mix it with cheese mixture. Squeeze the gelatin and mix with boiling water 2 tablespoons hot water so that the gelatin will melt. Stir the gelatine into the filling. Add rhubarb compote and stir just a little bit, if you want it to have the rhubard compote strips. You can also mix the filling until smooth. 

Remove the cake from the pan and cut it into two parts. Wash the pan and stretch the new baking paper on the bottom of it (you can also assemble the cake directly serving platform, so that you only need a springform tin edges). Lift the lower slice of the cake tin. If the cake base has shrunk slightly during cooling, make the cake tins baking paper slightly higher strips and roll them along the edges of the cake to support the cheese mass. Attach the ends of the strips of paper to each other even if the paper clip. Pour the filling into baking dish. Lift the top base of the cake on top of the filling. Cover the cake with plastic wrap and move to the refrigerator. You can (and should) do this cake a day before serving. Decorate with brittle and powdered sugar. 

Enjoy the cake with nice cup of coffee and Bailey's or with sparkling wine!

Licorice black velvet cake

Idea for this cake came from Red Velvet Cake picture at the internet. I started to find out how I could make this cake, as Black Velvet cake. Finally, I have to admit, this cake had nothing to do with the Black Velvet cake. But it was soooooo good, - and rich! Small piece of this was totally enough.

Black color in desserts always brings salty licorice to my mind. And I because of that, the flavor of this cake was so easy take pick. Two of the fillings, white ones, are white chocolate, and one has licorice. But the cake itself tastes licorice and chocolate.

Black Velvet Cake
8 persons
600 ml cake flour, not self-rising
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
4 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp licorice powder
350 ml sugar
350 ml canola oil
2 large eggs
2 tbsp black food coloring
250 ml buttermilk 
2 tsp white vinegar

 In a medium bowl, whisk cake flour, salt, baking soda, cocoa and licorice powder; set aside.
Combine the sugar and oil on medium speed until well combined. Add in room temp eggs one at a time. Add food coloring, and beat until well combined. Add flour mixture, alternating with buttermilk, and mix until fully combined.
Add vinegar to batter, and beat for a few seconds. Pour batter into two prepared 18-20 cm pans. Bake at 175 C for 30-35 minutes.
Remove from oven and allow cakes to cool to room temperature. Cut the cakes in half.
Build the cake using cake ring, mold or cake pan.

Filling
White chocolate
135 g cream cheese
130 ml cream
120 g white chocolate
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp lemon juice
2,5 gelatin leaves
Licorice
65 g cream cheese
70 ml cream
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp licorice powder
50 ml ready-made licorice sauce
1,5 gelatin leaves
Glaze
200 ml cream
150 g Licorice fudge (Hopea toffee)
50 ml hard salty licorice candies (turkinpippuri) crushed

Put gelatin leaves to cold water, into a two bowls (2,5+1,5).
Whip all cream (130ml + 70 ml) in a bowl.

For the white chocolate filling:
Melt the white chocolate. Mix cream cheese, lemon juice, sugar and white chocolate together, beat until smooth.
Heat a very small amount of water and mix 2,5 gelatin leaves to it for them to melt. Let it cool for a while. Pour the gelatin liquid into a cream cheese mix and stir until well combined.
Take 2/3 from the whipped cream and mix it gently to the mixture.
Pour 1/2 of the filling to first layer of the cake, put one layer on top of it and por the rest of the white chocolate filling. Put the 3rd cake layer on top of the filling.

For the licorice flling:
Mix cream cheese, sugar, licorice powder and licorce sauce together, beat until smooth.
Heat a very small amount of water and mix 1,5 gelatin leaves to it for them to melt. Let it cool for a while. Pour the gelatin liquid into a cream cheese mix and stir until well combined.
Take rest of  the whipped cream (1/3) and mix it gently to the mixture.
Pour the filling to the cake layer and put last layer on top of it. Refrigerate over night.

For the glazing:
Pour the cream into a pan, add licorice fudge and candies. Heat gently and stir until all licorice is melted. Let it simmer until the mixture turns syrapy (it creates a drop on bottom of the glass filled with cold water). Let it cool for a moment before pouring the glaze on top of the cake.
(My glaze was litlle bit too hot, because it didn't set nicely on top of the cake, but ran over the sides)