Jólaöl

Christmas beer

Jólaöl , Christmas beer, is also an integral part of Icelandic Christmas. Traditionally it is a mixture of malt beer with Appelsín, a very sweet tasting orange lemonade . In Iceland you can also buy many different types of Christmas beers, which basically consist of a mixture of malt beer and orange soda and are flavored with numerous spices and other flavors such as licorice flavor.

Of course you can also prepare your own Christmas beer. However, opinions differ when it comes to the mixing ratio :

Malt beer and Appelsín are usually mixed in a ratio of 1:1, but variants such as 45% malt beer, 45% Appelsín and 10% cola or a can of Appelsín, 1.5 cans of malt beer and 1/2 can of light beer are also popular. Sometimes hvítöl is used instead of malt beer and mixed with Appelsín, a classic Danish light beer with an alcohol content of around 2.5% and a high sugar content.

In this Christmas beer recipe, I enriched the traditional mixture of malt beer and Appelsín with ground spices and honey.

Ingredients

500 ml malt beer

500 ml orange lemonade

2 Tbsp honey

1 pinch of pepper

1/2 tsp ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cloves

Preparation

Pour the malt beer into a pot.

Add honey, pepper, ginger, cinnamon and cloves and slowly bring the whole thing to the boil and let it steep for about 15 to 30 minutes.

Then let the mixture cool down.

Mix with the chilled orange lemonade.

In this sense then: Gleðileg jól!

Merry Christmas already!

[Translated from here.]

Cinnamon rolls like from Brauð & Co.

When we are in Iceland, the cinnamon rolls from the “ Brauð og Co ” bakery in Reykjavík are always a very special culinary highlight for us.

In addition to the shop on Frakkastígur near Hallgrímskirkja (in this cheerfully colorful house here), there are now three other shops in Reykjavík, one in Garðarbær near Krónan and one in Kópavogur. And at the end of Laugavegur another shop with a café is probably opening at a gas station.

We once had accommodation very close to Vesturbæjarlaug over New Year's Eve and there is also a branch of "Braud & Co" directly opposite, so we could always stock up on rolls after swimming - that was nice!

And a recipe for cinnamon rolls like this?

I've often been asked about these super-tasty cinnamon rolls from " Brauð & Co " - and I know many different Icelandic cinnamon roll recipes, but unfortunately I've never been able to help.

I was even happier a few days ago:

“ Brauð & Co ” actually posted a recipe for cinnamon rolls on their Instagram page , in English, the “BAKE THEM AT HOME” version of their cinnamon rolls, so to speak!

Of course I had to try the recipe straight away!

"BAKE THEM AT HOME"

The special features, as far as I can see in comparison to other cinnamon roll recipes, are that the yeast dough is mixed with lukewarm water and then left to rise slowly overnight in the refrigerator. And the filling consists of sugar, butter, marzipan and lots of cinnamon! And then put the whole thing briefly in the hot oven with circulating air...

Here's a look at my yeast dough and the marzipan cinnamon filling.

Okay, so excited about the great recipe, I actually forgot to add the powdered sugar. And I still have to tinker with the heat setting of my oven a bit. But otherwise - I'm absolutely happy! (Even though I made smaller cinnamon rolls on top than the recipe calls for - so more people can try them.)

The cinnamon rolls turned out wonderfully light and fluffy and soft, crunchy on top and overall very, very tasty!

Our 2nd Advent will definitely be a pleasure!

Happy sunday to all of you!

[Translated from here.]

Gulróta- og Bananakaka

Carrot and banana cake

It's slowly approaching the Christmas season... next Sunday is already the 1st Advent!

This recipe for a carrot-banana cake or perhaps a carrot-banana bread goes a bit in that autumnal-Christmas direction, as a gentle introduction. It tastes delicious, but isn't too sweet and reminds you a bit that it's called "banana bread", not "banana cake"... but even in Icelandic cuisine it doesn't always have to be a sugar shock!

Ingredients

250 g spelled flour

100 g brown cane sugar

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

3 bananas

3 carrots

80 g chopped chocolate

70 g chopped walnuts

100 g vanilla skyr

100 g melted butter

2 eggs

200 g cream cheese

120 g soft butter

160 g powdered sugar

1 pinch of ground vanilla

Powdered sugar for sprinkling

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350 °F (180 °C) upper/lower heat.

In a large bowl, mix the flour with the sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

Peel the bananas and mash them into pulp.

Wash, peel and finely grate the carrots.

Add the grated carrots and banana puree to the bowl with the flour mixture.

Add the chopped chocolate, chopped walnuts, vanilla skyr, melted butter and eggs to the bowl...

....and mix everything into a nice dough.

Then put the dough into a greased king cake mold or lined with baking paper, smooth it out and bake in the preheated oven on the lowest shelf at 350 °F (180 °C) upper/lower heat for approx. 50 to 60 minutes (test with a toothpick!).

Then let the cake cool thoroughly.

Then carefully remove the cold cake from the mold and cut it horizontally into three parts.

Mix the ingredients for the filling in a suitable container to form a smooth cream.

Then place the bottom part of the cake on a suitable cake plate or something similar, spread it with half of the cream and carefully place the second part of the cake on top.

Here again, spread the cake with the second half of the cream and place the top cake part on top.

Then sprinkle the cake with a little powdered sugar.

Let the cake sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours and serve slightly chilled.

By the way, this cake stays nice and fresh in the fridge for several days.

[Translated from here.]

Lambagúllas

Lamb goulash

At the moment I can't really get to cooking because of all the cookbooks (lugging boxes, unpacking 150 kg of books delivered from the printer, packing and sending orders), but at least I still have this recipe for a nice, warming lamb goulash for you!

Ingredients

1 Tbsp oil

1 tsp ground cumin

500 g lamb meat

1/2 onion

2 - 3 carrots

2 - 3 potatoes

300 ml vegetable broth

Preparation

Heat the oil in a pot.

Briefly fry the caraway seeds in it.

Meanwhile, dice the meat...

...and fry briefly on all sides in the pot.

Wash, peel and cut the carrots and potatoes into pieces.

Also peel and chop the onion.

Add the carrot and potato pieces and the chopped onions to the pot...

...pour the vegetable broth over it and simmer over medium heat for about 30 to 40 minutes.

Then add some more cooking cream and season with salt and pepper.

Let it boil down a bit to taste or thicken the sauce if you like.

Traditionally, lamb goulash is served with mashed potatoes or boiled potatoes.

I'll tell you more about the jólaöl , the Christmas beer, pictured here soon!

[Translated from here.]

Cozy afternoon in a cafe...

...with a hot licorice chocolate

We recently went to Reykjavík on a Saturday afternoon - took a trip into the city.

We wanted to meet up with a friend and took the opportunity to look for old cookbooks in the second-hand shop, take a quick trip to the sea, and then stroll through the city together and make ourselves comfortable in the café close.

By the way, the licorice hot chocolate was so delicious that I had to recreate it at home!

Here, after browsing in the second-hand shop, we took a short detour to Vesturbær, ended up parking at Hofsvallagata and walked a few steps along the sea. Oh yes, I love the air here by the sea!

From here you have a beautiful view over Álftanes and Bessastaðir, the seat of the Icelandic president.

In the background you can clearly see Mount Keilir, with its beautiful, striking cone shape.

And here's another view of Reykjavík's domestic airport - nice and small and manageable, right?!? We then parked here near the airport at the university and walked into the city, it's not that far here.

Because the weather was quite cold and damp, we went to a café on Laugavegur and warmed up with plenty of delicious drinks. The pumpkin spice frappó and the licorice hot chocolate were particularly delicious!

Afterwards we went back home...

And because the hot chocolate with licorice at the cafe in Reykjavík was so delicious, I tried to recreate a recipe for "heitt súkkulaði með lakkrís". Yes, it turned out delicious too!

Ingredients for 2 servings

400 ml milk

2 Tbsp sugar

150 g coarsely chopped chocolate

1 Tbsp licorice sprinkles

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Whipped cream and licorice sprinkles for decoration

Preparation

Put the milk with the sugar in a saucepan and heat, but do not let it boil.

Then turn off the stove, but leave the pot on the stove.

Add the chopped chocolate, licorice sprinkles and cinnamon and stir until you have a nice, uniform mixture.

Then pour the hot chocolate into suitable cups or glasses, decorate with whipped cream and licorice sprinkles and enjoy straight away.

[Translated from here.]

Prinsakonfekt

Prins Póló confectionery

"Prince Polo" chocolate bars come from Poland, but are very popular in Iceland and can be found in practically every supermarket and gas station in the country. There are also many recipes with these chocolate bars. (If you don't have any Prince Polo bars at hand, you can of course make do with other similar bars, such as KitKat.)

The sweet balls were very well received by my family! (I clearly need to make the balls again for Child3, and maybe we'll get a little more out of them then.)

Ingredients

6 Prins Póló each 35 g

10 g butter

200 g block chocolate

20 g whipping cream

100 g couverture

Coconut flakes, chopped nuts, brittle or similar for decoration

Preparation

Grind the biscuits thoroughly in a food processor or similar.

Melt the butter in a saucepan, chop up the chocolate blocks and let it slowly melt in the saucepan over medium heat.

Add the whipping cream and mix everything together.

Add the biscuit crumbs and mix everything into a uniform mixture.

Then let the mixture cool down for around 1 hour and let it solidify a little.

Use a teaspoon to separate the balls from the mixture and shape them into balls with slightly moistened hands.

Let the couverture melt in a water bath.

Then pull the biscuit balls through the chocolate coating, sprinkle them directly with the brittle or similar and then let them set.

Keep the confectionery well chilled, but remove it from the refrigerator about 15 to 30 minutes before serving.

[Translated from here.]