Litla skúffukaka með kókos

Small chocolate sheet cake with coconut

I've read about Marc from "Bake to the Roots " blog event Re-Create several times recently in various food blogs. The aim of the campaign (on the occasion of the 3rd birthday of his blog) is to become aware of his own development in his blog and to document this development. The event runs until February 18, 2017.

I find the topic really exciting... so I picked out one of my first recipes and "remodeled" the whole thing a bit and re-photographed it.

The classic Skúffukaka is THE typical Icelandic chocolate sheet cake that can be found almost everywhere in a wide variety of variations. For a change, I decided on a smaller recipe, with coconut flakes on the chocolate icing and, so to speak, to "emphasize" the coconut note, also with coconut flour. And with Skyr. But other than that I haven't changed much! :-)

Ingredients

300 g coconut flour

240 g brown sugar

60 g cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

120 g vanilla skyr

60 g melted margarine

60 g hot water

2 eggs

Ingredients for the casting

240 g powdered sugar

2 Tbsp cocoa powder

20 g melted margarine

1 tsp vanilla flavor

3 Tbsp hot coffee

2 Tbsp coconut flakes

Preparation

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

In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients for the dough together with a spoon..

...then add the wet ingredients one after the other and knead everything into a smooth dough.

Place in a small baking pan (approx. 20 x 20 cm) lined with baking paper, press firmly and bake in a preheated oven at 350 °F (180 °C) upper and lower heat for about 20 to 25 minutes.

When the cake is fully baked, take it out of the oven and start icing:

Mix the powdered sugar with the cocoa powder, then add the melted margarine, vanilla flavoring and hot coffee.

Cover the still warm cake with the icing...

...sprinkle directly with the coconut flakes and then allow to cool thoroughly.

So here's an overview: My Skúffukaka photos through the ages (2014 - 2016 - 2017). Although I now see a lot more in the current photos that still bothers me than before. :-)

In any case, many thanks to Marc for the great blog event, it was a nice impetus to get back to my “blog roots”!

[Translated from here.]

Heitt súkkulaði

Hot chocolate

It's not a really complex recipe, but sometimes it's just the right thing to warm your soul!


Ingredients for 2 servings

50 g dark chocolate
50 ml boiling water
1/2 liter milk
1 pinch of coarse sea salt

optionally some whipped cream
and some coffee spice, cinnamon or similar.


Preparation

Heat the water in a pot, but do not bring it to the boil.

Grate the chocolate into small pieces, add it to the hot water and let it melt while stirring constantly.

When the chocolate has melted, add the milk, stir in and bring everything to the boil briefly.

Finally, add a pinch of coarse sea salt, decorate with a whip of cream if available and perhaps a little coffee spice, cinnamon or similar, and then serve hot.

[Translated from here.]

Skonsuterta (I)

Skonsur cake (savoury)

Skonsur are, in a sense, “pancakes in Icelandic”. Small, thick pancakes in contrast to the larger, wafer-thin "Pönnukökur". The skonsur is often eaten "as is", sprinkled with sugar, cinnamon or powdered sugar to taste and/or with jam. If you want something a little more festive, layer the Skonsur with the appropriate filling (sweet or savory) to make a Skonsur cake. These are very popular at Icelandic (cake) buffets, especially in the run-up to Christmas, but also throughout the rest of the year.

One more note:

No, you can't actually make this skonsur fresh for breakfast, because it takes quite a long time to fry all the skonsur in a pancake pan at low heat. I think it took me about two hours. But if you were to bake at a higher heat, the outside would probably be burned before the dough on the inside was cooked through. So the only thing left to do is start early, ideally prepare the day before!

Ingredients

720 g flour
120 g sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 pinch of salt
2 eggs
600 ml lukewarm milk
3 Tbsp rapeseed oil

250 g mayonnaise
150 g sour cream
200 g cooked ham
4 hard-boiled eggs
1 small can of pineapple
1 pinch of coarse sea salt
1 pinch of black pepper


Preparation

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl...

...then add the eggs first,...

...then the milk,...

...finally stir in the rapeseed oil...

...and work everything into a smooth dough.

Fry 1 to 2 tablespoons of batter in an ungreased pancake pan over low heat until golden brown on both sides. (Carefully flatten the dough a little in the pan into as round a shape as possible.)

The dough is enough for approx. 16 to 18 skonsur.

Then prepare the filling:

Mix the mayonnaise with the sour cream.

Cut the cooked ham and the canned pineapple into small pieces, dice 3 of the eggs and stir both into the mayonnaise-cream mixture.

Season with salt and pepper.

Then first place one skonsur on a cake plate, spread it with a layer of ham and egg salad, then place the next skonsur on top and spread it again with the salad and put the third skonsur.

Finally, decorate the layer of ham and egg salad on the top skonsur as desired and serve the skonsuterta.

[Translated from here.]

Piparkökuskyrkaka með saltkaramellusósu

Gingerbread skyr dessert with salted caramel sauce

The very last remnants of our Christmas gingerbread have now gone into this skyr dessert with salted caramel sauce!


Ingredients for 6 servings

For the ground

200 g gingerbread
150 g melted butter

For the filling

300 g vanilla skyr
200 ml whipping cream
3 tsp powdered sugar
1 pinch of ground vanilla

For the salted caramel sauce

200 g white sugar
2 Tbsp butter
75 ml whipping cream
1 pinch of coarse sea salt


Preparation

First put the gingerbread cookies in the mixer with the melted butter,...

...mix thoroughly and pour into dessert glasses in portions.

For the filling, whip the cream until stiff, mix the whipped cream with the vanilla skyr, the powdered sugar and the vanilla...

...and pour it onto the biscuit mixture in the glasses.

It is best to let the mixture solidify overnight in the refrigerator.

Prepare the salted caramel sauce the day before serving:

Melt the sugar very slowly in a large pan. When the sugar has completely melted, remove the pan from the heat, add the butter and stir in.

Pour in the cream and stir until the mixture has thickened nicely.

Finally add the salt and stir in.

Allow the sauce to cool thoroughly in the refrigerator.

The next day, take the dessert out of the fridge, pour the salted caramel sauce over it, optionally sprinkle with a little lava salt and serve straight away.

[Translated from here.]

Lifrarpylsa

Liver sausage

At the end of January, the time for the Þorrablót begins in Iceland - actually an old Nordic blood sacrifice in the winter month of Þorri. The tradition was revived in Iceland in the 19th century and nowadays private Þorrablót parties often take place and restaurants also offer corresponding dishes during this time , often also as a "platter" with typical specialties such as black pudding and liver sausage (blóðmör and lifrarpylsa), hangikjöt (lamb smoked over sheep dung), pickled ram testicles (súrsaðir hrútspungar), singed sheep's heads (svið), dried fish (harðfiskur) and hákarl, the well-known fermented ice shark.

This year we had homemade liver sausage based on an Icelandic recipe for Þorrablót!

For the sausage I used two artificial casings ("soup casings", caliber 90) that I had previously purchased online.


Ingredients

450 g liver
100 g kidneys
300 ml milk
1 Tbsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp sugar
300 g hearty oat flakes
200 g rye flour
650 g lard

2 large sausage skins


Preparation

Wash the liver and carefully remove any skin, then cut into small pieces.

Also cut the kidney into small pieces.

Place the liver and kidney in the meat grinder or food processor...

...and process thoroughly into a mushy mass.

Then mix the meat mixture with the salt, pepper and sugar in a large bowl.

Add the milk and stir.

Knead in the oat flakes.

Finally, add the rye flour in small portions and knead until a nice thick, mushy mass is formed.

Finally add the lard...

...and mix.

Soak the skins accordingly according to the package instructions (here: 10 to 20 minutes in approx. 140-160 °F (60-70 °C) warm water).

Then fill the finished meat mixture into the well-watered skins without any air pockets, but be careful not to fill the skins too tightly, as the sausage mixture will expand a little when it is cooked. Tie the skins carefully.

Heat plenty of salted water in a large pot. When the water is boiling, add the sausages and let them cook for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours, depending on their size. Also make sure that the sausages rotate so that they are cooked evenly. (I cooked the two sausages in two separate pots because I don't have a pot big enough for both sausages.)

Then let the cooked sausage cool down and keep it refrigerated.

For a hearty warm meal, cut the liver sausage into slices, fry/heat it briefly in the pan with a little fat...

...and serve with mashed potatoes and Rófustappa, i.e. mashed turnips.

[Translated from here.]