Súkkulaðiostakaka með skyri

Chocolate cheese cake with skyr

On Sunday, May 14, 2017, Iceland will also celebrate Mæðradagur - Mother's Day. I've already prepared a tart... now I just have to let it sit well in the fridge!

Ingredients

300 g chocolate cookies
140 g butter
1 Tbsp cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
100 g brown sugar

200 g cooking chocolate
500 g cream cheese
350 g vanilla skyr
150 g brown sugar
1 tsp ground vanilla
1 pinch of black pepper
150 ml sour cream
5 eggs

100 ml whipping cream
100 g dark chocolate
some chocolate decorations, if desired


Preparation

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


For the cake base:

Melt the butter.

Crumble the chocolate cookies thoroughly...

...and mix with the melted butter, cocoa, salt and brown sugar.

Line a springform pan (approx. 24 cm in diameter) with baking paper and pour the biscuit crumb mixture into the pan and carefully press it firmly onto the base.

Bake at 350 °F (180 °C) upper and lower heat for about 15 minutes, then remove from the oven and let the cake base cool slightly.


For the filling:

Meanwhile, for the filling, melt the chocolate blocks in a water bath and then let it cool down a little.

To make the cheese filling, first whisk the cream cheese with the vanilla Skyr and the sour cream.

Then add the sugar, vanilla and black pepper and stir.

Then add the eggs one at a time and fold in carefully.

Finally, add the melted chocolate and mix everything until a uniform mixture is formed.

Then pour the mixture onto the cake base in the springform pan...

...and bake at 325 °F (160 °C) upper and lower heat for approx. 90 minutes. The cake is ready when nothing sticks when you test it with a stick in the middle of the cake.

Then turn off the oven, do not open the oven (!) and let the cake cool in the switched off oven for about 1 hour. Then let it set in the fridge for at least 1 hour before carefully removing the cake from the tin.

For the glaze:

For the chocolate layer on the cake, heat the cream in a small saucepan, break the dark chocolate into small pieces and let it melt in the cream. Then stir thoroughly.

Let the icing cool briefly and then carefully spread it on the cheesecake. If you like, decorate with chocolate or something similar to taste.

Chill in the refrigerator overnight and serve well chilled the next day.

[Translated from here.]

Skyr bananasplitt

Skyr banana split

Bananas are popular and common in Iceland, most of the time the first thing you see when you enter a supermarket in Iceland is a large rack full of bananas.

This recipe actually uses banana skyr, which is easily available in Iceland. However, not in other countries - so you have to make do with vanilla Skyr and pureed banana. But it works too!

I made the original Icelandic version on our first evening in Iceland, when we were pretty exhausted after the flight and all that, but I still wanted to quickly prepare something delicious, typically Icelandic. It was really nice, even though I don't really like peanuts and peanut butter.

Ingredients for 2 people

250 g vanilla skyr
1 Tbsp peanut butter
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 pinch of coarse sea salt
2 banana
2 tsp coarsely chopped, salted peanuts
2 tsp dark chocolate shavings


Preparation

First put the vanilla skyr in the blender with the peanut butter, maple syrup, sea salt and a banana and puree thoroughly. (Original: Mix the banana skyr with the other ingredients.)

Carefully cut the (second) banana in half lengthwise and place each on a plate.

Gently spread the skyr over the two portions.

Garnish with the chopped nuts and dark chocolate shavings and serve immediately.

PS:

Here's a photo of how the picture of the Skyr banana split was taken - at the end of April in Reykjavík, and it's storming and snowing outside.

[Translated from here.]

Klumpkaka

Block cake

I thought the name alone was so great with this “Klumpkaka”! And it's delicious too - and keeps really well.

Ingredients

200 g margarine
200 g brown sugar
5 eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cardamom
100 g raisins
100 g currants
50 g lemon peel
300 g flour
1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp oil for the mold


Preparation

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

Mix the margarine with the brown sugar until fluffy.

Then separate the eggs and stir the egg yolks into the margarine-sugar mixture one at a time.

Add cinnamon and cardamom and stir.

Add the raisins and currants, as well as the lemon peel, and mix everything in carefully.

Add flour and baking powder and mix the dough thoroughly.

Beat the egg white until stiff and carefully fold it into the remaining dough.

Grease the baking pan very thoroughly, pour in the finished dough...

...and bake in the lower third of the preheated oven at 350 °F (180 °C) for about 60 minutes.

Let the cake cool in the tin and then carefully remove it from the tin.

Bon appetit!

[Translated from here.]

Laxapaté með reyktum lax

Smoked salmon salad

Ingredients

300 g cream cheese
3 Tbsp sour cream
1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
1 pinch of black pepper
1 organic lemon
500 g smoked salmon
1 avocado
2 spring onions
1 tsp chopped dill


Preparation

In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese with the sour cream, season with the sea salt and pepper. Grate the zest from the lemon over it.

Cut the smoked salmon into thin strips.

Wash and clean the avocado and spring onions and carefully cut them into small pieces.

Add the chopped smoked salmon, avocado and spring onions to the sauce.

Carefully squeeze out the lemon a little, pour 1 to 2 tablespoons of lemon juice over the salad, add the chopped dill and mix everything thoroughly.

Serve the smoked salmon salad with rye bread as a starter.

[Translated from here.]

Lummur eins ömmu

Lummur like grandma's

Ingredients

500 g flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking soda
100 g brown sugar
800 ml milk
100 g raisins

Oil for the pan


Preparation

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

Then pour in the milk and mix thoroughly.

Finally, mix in the raisins.

Heat a cast iron pan on the stove, add the fat and pour the dough into the pan in portions using two tablespoons or a small ladle and fry until golden brown on both sides.

Sprinkle the fresh Lummur with sugar and serve. We enjoyed our Lummur here with rhubarb and angelica compote .

[Translated from here.]

Rabarbara og hvönn í mauki

Rhubarb and angelica compote

I love my angelica, which is happily growing in a large flower pot in front of the front door in the current weather. I'm currently harvesting diligently and enjoying the results!

So here is a recipe for a traditional rhubarb and angelica compote from the Hornstrandir region in the Icelandic Westfjords.

Ingredients

300 g rhubarb sticks
100 g fresh young angelica stems
1 pinch of coarse sea salt
3 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp cold water
1 Tbsp potato flour


Preparation

First wash and clean the rhubarb stalks and cut them into small pieces.

Also wash the young angelica thoroughly, cut off the ends and cut everything into bite-sized pieces.

Put everything together in a large saucepan, sprinkle with the salt and sugar and cover and let sit at room temperature for half an hour.

Then stir through, place on the stove and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes.

In a separate glass, mix the cold water with the potato flour, pour into the compote...

...and stir quickly, bring to the boil again and then let cool.

We had the compote as a side dish with Lummur , it was really delicious! The rest will go to the breakfast Skyr tomorrow morning. I'm looking forward to it!

[Translated from here.]

Lambakjöt með lakkríssósu

Lamb with chocolate licorice sauce

Ingredients

For the meat:

800 g lamb
2 Tbsp butter
salt and pepper

For the sauce:

400 ml lamb stock
100 ml orange juice
1 Tbsp butter
3 licorice snails
100 g orange chocolate
2 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp cold water

If available, you can use Icelandic licorice chocolate and grated orange peel instead of licorice snails and orange chocolate.


Preparation

For the sauce:

In a pot heat lamb stock with orange juice and butter. Chop the licorice snails and add them into the brew.

Let everything simmer. Thereby again and again stir around, until the licorice has melted.

Cut the chocolate into small pieces and add them to the sauce.

Mix flour and cold water and add it to the sauce.

Let the sauce simmer at low temperature and stir occasionally.

Now prepare the meat:

Melt butter in a large frying pan at medium heat.

Cut the lamb into 1 cm slices. Brown the slices from both sides in the butter and season with salt and pepper.

Serve the fried lamb with licorice sauce, mashed potatoes and salad.

[Translated from here.]