Kladdkaka

Hej!

So this is a request for a member of my Swedish language group on livejournal (probably where all of my readers are from). I'll be honest and say that I've never heard of kladdkaka until that time. I looked it up and lo! and behold! The kladdkaka is actually popular in America, known as the dense brownie.

This recipe was fun to do because I couldn't find any English recipes and had to move on to translating Swedish. Of course, doing the conversions from decileters to cups was a bit annoying, but in the end it was all worth it.

This recipe was a great success with my room mates, my boyfriend, and I. I poured the batter into a 9x9 pan which resulted in a thinner brownie. Being the cook that I am, I figured that I can just cut it in half and stack them to make a double layer, yum-yum kladdkaka. I also added a layer of blackberry jam in the middle. Not traditional, but really completed the flavor.

Kladdkaka

Ingredients:
1.5 cups flour
1 cup sugar (or vanilla sugar if you have it)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa (I used kakao because it's a little healthier.)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla (omit if you're using vanilla sugar.)
9 tbsp vegan butter, melted
3 tbsp syrup (I used maple)
1/2 cup of vegan milk (I used soy)
Jelly (optional)
almonds or hazelnuts (optional)

P. Preheat oven to 400ºF
1. Sift and mix together the flour, sugar, and cocoa.
2. Mix the butter and syrup together until very well blended. Add the milk and mix thoroughly.
3. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry the ingredients and mix mix mix! (this is the fun part)
4. Grease a baking dish and pour the batter into, making sure the top is as smooth as possible.
5. Add the almonds or hazelnuts to the top if you have them.
6. Put the kladkaka in the oven for NO MORE than 20 minutes (mine was in for about 16 minutes before I turned the oven off and let it sit inside for the next 4 minutes)
7. Take out and let it cool. If the outside doesn't harden a little, put it back in the oven for a few more minutes. Let it cool again. (mine was soft when I took it out of the oven the first time and got a nice stiffness as it cooled off.)
8. If you want to double layer it, cut the kladdkaka in half and put a layer of jelly of your choice on top of one half. Place the other half on top.
Enjoy with sweetened soy milk, coffee, or chai!
Be warned that this recipe really sits in your stomach like the dense brownie that it is. Not good to eat before doing anything other than relaxing.

Skål!

Skandinavisk Inredning

This post was deleted because it was poorly written . I'll replace it by writing a new blog. Until then, look at this wonderful wallpaper. I NEED IT!

Lefser

A lefse is a Norwegian potato pancake. They differ from other potato pancakes from around the world due to their flatbread-like state (They're flat). They're usual large in diameter and very thin. I've read that some more traditional Norwegian families have an electric lefse cooker. The electric ones look like a pizza pan on 3 legs with a little gauge to change the temperature. Of course, I only had a large skillet and they came out just fine!



I had mine with hjortronsylt (Swedish, I know. But I wanted to use the rest of it up before I came back to Boston.) A lot of time strawberries are eaten with them. I've also heard the cinnamon and butter are really good on them. You can also eat them with savory toppings, such as thick cream (like sour cream) and dill, chives, cheeses, meats, and veggies. I went a little American with the leftovers and added peanut butter and banana. It was delicious.

Without further adieu, here is the recipe that I used.

2 cups plain mashed potatoes, cold
2 tbsp soy milk or another non-dairy milk (I used vanilla soy milk)
1 tbsp margarine
0.5-1 tsp salt
3/4-1 1/4 cup flour
oil for frying (try to use an oil-free pan. You want to fry them, not deep dry them)

Mix all the ingredients together, adding flour as needed to make a dough and knead it briefly to mix well. Divide dough into 12 balls of equal size. Roll out into very thin pancakes (you will need to keep the surface and the rolling pin well floured to avoid sticking. Don't use so much that a bunch of flour goes with the lefse into the pan. That happened to a few of mine and it added a powdery texture to the outside of the lefse. Nasty).

Fry in oil in a frying pan or skillet on medium to medium high heat, 1-2 minutes per side. Stack on a plate with a paper towel between each pancake. Can be served hot or cold. Also stores well in the fridge or the freezer. Serve 2-3 pancakes per person (making 4-6 portions out of this recipe).


Skål!