Rabarbaraskúffukaka

Rhubarb sheet cake

Even though rhubarb has only been around in Iceland since the end of the 19th century, it has long since become an important part of everyday Icelandic cuisine - especially since rhubarb is in season in Iceland from the beginning of June to the end of September.

Here I baked a recipe for a delicious Icelandic sheet cake with oat crumbles and fresh rhubarb. It's nice to have fresh cake in the sunshine in the garden, don't you think?!?

Ingredients for one tray (approx. 16 pieces)

Ingredients for the soil

150 g flour

100 g brown sugar

1 tsp baking powder

2 eggs

1 pinch of ground vanilla

60 g soft butter

Ingredients for the rhubarb filling

500 g rhubarb

100 g brown sugar

2 tsp potato flour

1 pinch of ground vanilla

1 pinch of ground ginger

Ingredients for the oat crumbles

80 g oat flakes

110 g flour

80 g brown sugar

80 g chopped nuts

1 tsp ground cinnamon

100 g soft butter

Preparation

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

Put all the ingredients for the dough in a bowl and knead into a nice, smooth dough.

Then spread the dough fairly thinly on a greased or baking tray lined with baking paper (approx. 25 x 35 cm).

Wash, peel and clean the rhubarb and cut it into (relatively) small pieces.

Mix in a bowl with the sugar, potato flour, vanilla and ginger...

...and then spread the mixture over the cake batter.

Now put all the ingredients for the oat crumbles in a bowl...

...knead thoroughly and then distribute over the kitchens.

Bake the cake in a preheated oven at 350 °F (180 °C) for about 40 minutes until the oat crumbles have turned golden brown and the base has baked through.

Then take the cake out of the oven, let it cool and cut into pieces.

[Translated from here.]

Lagskiptir eftirréttir

Layered desserts

I think layered desserts are a nice, uncomplicated and very quick way to prepare a dessert - especially when you have guests over again and you want it to look nice.

When we invited our lovely Icelandic neighbor (who always checks on our house when we're not there) over for dinner, I simply bought two different flavors of Súrmjólk (thickened milk) from the supermarket, each with grated chocolate or coconut a little "pimped", each with a layer of cookie crumbs underneath - and then garnished with fresh strawberries. And our neighbor now thinks I'm a good cook!

Ingredients

500 ml caramel thick milk

500 ml strawberry thick milk

3 - 4 Tbsp coconut flakes

3 - 4 Tbsp chocolate shavings

8 - 10 oatmeal cookies

2 Tbsp butter

8 fresh strawberries

Preparation

First melt the butter.

Crumble the oatmeal cookies and mix with the melted butter.

Mix the caramel thick milk with the chocolate shavings in a bowl.

In a second bowl, mix the strawberry thick milk with the coconut flakes.

Then layer the dessert in 4 suitable glasses:

First put some cookie crumbs on the bottom, then distribute the caramel-chocolate mixture among the four glasses. Then add the remaining cookie crumbs on top and top with the strawberry-coconut mixture.

Wash, clean and chop the strawberries.

Then arrange the strawberry pieces on the dessert and sprinkle with some coconut and chocolate shavings.

It's good for the dessert if it can sit in the fridge for 1 - 2 hours.

[Translated from here.]

Napóleonskökur

Napoleon cake

This cake, in various variations, is often very popular in Scandinavian countries. However, it is not entirely clear how the cake got its name.

One theory says that the name goes back to a trade embargo by Emperor Napoleon on cane sugar - since cane sugar became unaffordable for many people due to the import ban, they had to resort to extracting sugar from beets, and then they could - despite the trade embargo of Emperor Napoleon - still bring sugary sweet cake to the table.

Ingredients for 8 pieces

4 sheets of puff pastry

1 pack of vanilla pudding

half the amount of milk

400 ml cream

1 tsp ground vanilla

100 g raspberry jam

100 g powdered sugar

2 Tbsp cherry juice

8 raspberries/strawberries

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 425 °F (220 °C) upper/lower heat.

Very carefully roll out the puff pastry sheets into rectangles measuring approx. 12 x 32 cm.

Place baking paper on a tray and then bake the dough for about 10 minutes until it is nice and golden.

Prepare the vanilla pudding according to the package instructions, but only use half the amount of milk. Add some additional ground vanilla to the pudding.

Whip the cream until stiff.

Then “layer” the cuts:

First spread the puff pastry slices for the bottom base with jam,...

...then spread with the pudding and then also the cream (put some cream aside before the decoration).

Then place the other floors as lid plates.

Mix the powdered sugar with the cherry juice until smooth and spread on the Napoleon slices.

Then decorate with the remaining cream and place a strawberry on top of each.

Bon appetit!

[Translated from here.]

Rjómalöguð sveppasósa

Creamy mushroom sauce

The ideal sauce for festive dishes, such as lamb fried in butter or for family-friendly meatballs. Mushroom sauce is also popular at Christmas, for example, with vegetarians, who then serve nut balls instead of meat.

The recipes can of course be adapted for vegans - we had hneturbollur með sveppasósa (as nut balls with mushroom sauce) for Christmas a few years ago, when my daughter's boyfriend at the time was vegan and I cooked accordingly, with dried mushrooms and soy cream . But I definitely think the current version with butter, cream and fresh mushrooms is very, very tasty!

Ingredients

2 Tbsp rapeseed oil

2 onions

500 g fresh mushrooms

20 g herb butter

2 - 3 thyme sprigs

250 ml cream

1 tsp coarse sea salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

Preparation

Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onions until translucent.

Add the chopped mushrooms and fry.

Add the herb butter and thyme to the pan and heat well for about 5 minutes.

Then reduce the heat, pour in the cream and simmer until the sauce thickens nicely.

Finally, season with salt and pepper to taste and then serve.

[Translated from here.]

Súkkulaðiterta með bananakremi

Chocolate cake with banana cream

Last weekend we were visited by two of our Icelandic teacher's other students, both of whom are now living here in Iceland for a long time. I was very happy to have visitors again for whom I could bake cakes - the result was this sweet chocolate cake with banana cream filling.

Ingredients

For the ground

4 eggs
200 g sugar
120 g flour
1 Tbsp potato flour
2 Tbsp baking cocoa
1 tsp baking powder

For the banana cream

100 g soft butter
70 g powdered sugar
4 bananas

For the chocolate cream

120 g soft butter
120 g powdered sugar
1 pinch of ground vanilla
150 g dark chocolate


Preparation

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

Mix the eggs with the sugar until foamy.

Then add flour, potato flour, baking cocoa and baking powder and mix everything thoroughly into a smooth dough.

Grease a springform pan (approx. 26 cm) or line it with baking paper. Pour the dough into the mold...

...and then bake in a preheated oven at 350 °F (180 °C) upper and lower heat for about 25 minutes (test with a toothpick!).

Then take the cake base out of the oven and let it cool completely.

Then carefully cut through the cooled base with a knife and, if available, a piece of twine.

Then prepare the banana cream:

Mash the bananas...

...and mix with the soft butter and powdered sugar to form a uniform cream.

Then spread the cream on the bottom half of the base...

...and carefully place the top half on top.

Then prepare the chocolate cream to cover the cake:

Melt the chocolate in a water bath and let it cool down a little.

Mix the softened butter with the powdered sugar and ground vanilla until fluffy.

Add the melted, cooled chocolate and mix thoroughly.

Then cover the entire cake with the chocolate cream.

Chill the cake in the fridge for at least 4 hours and let it sit well.

Then serve with whipped cream if you like.

[Translated from here.]

Gratineraður karfi með blómkáli

Gratinated redfish with cauliflower

This recipe for redfish au gratin can of course also be prepared with other types of fish. For example, I used haddock here - I was a little late shopping at the supermarket and there was only salmon or haddock. But I also got fresh Icelandic Rúgbrauð (rye bread)!

Ingredients for 4 persons

800 g redfish fillet (without skin and bones)

1 Tbsp margarine
1 small head of cauliflower
4 Tbsp oil

1/2 tsp coarse sea salt

1 pinch of black pepper
120 g blue cheese
250 ml cream
2 Tbsp potato flour

2 Tbsp cold water
100 g grated cheese


Preparation

Grease the baking dish with the margarine.

If necessary, cut the fish fillets into pieces and place them in the mold.

Cut the cauliflower into florets...

...and fry in a hot pan with the oil.

Season with salt and pepper.

Cut the blue cheese into small pieces.

Then add the cream and blue cheese, bring to the boil and simmer until the cheese has melted.

Mix the potato flour in a glass with 2 tablespoons of cold water...

...and thicken the cream sauce with it.

Then put the cauliflower in the sauce over the redfish fillets, sprinkle with the cheese...

...and bake in a preheated oven at 350 °F (180 °C) upper and lower heat for about 20 minutes.

The baked redfish is then traditionally served with fresh, soft rye bread and butter.

[Translated from here.]