Notes about Recipes in this book

• Meringue-topped rhubarb cake

  • Astrid5555 on April 03, 2016

    This is definitely the best rhubarb cake I have ever made and I have made a lot! The crunchy meringue pairs extremly well with the tart rhubarb and the addition of ground skin-on almonds to the batter makes this cake something special.

  • Rutabaga on April 28, 2016

    Unfortunately, I discovered my scale was off (probably a low battery) after having prepped most of the batter ingredients for this cake. Knowing that I had probably added around six tablespoons too much butter, I added a little extra milk and sugar (frankly, those measurements may have also been off). Fortunately, the cake still turned out wonderfully, if extra buttery. Next time, however, I would try to bake it until a somewhat deeper shade of brown. Although the cake was thoroughly baked, I felt the meringue could have been a little toastier. I used a 9"x13" Pyrex pan. It's ideal when cooking for a crowd, as the meringue topping is best when fresh.

• Mayors krans

  • Astrid5555 on April 04, 2020

    I cheated and used store-bought Danish dough, which made it a very quick dessert. Despite adding only 1 tablespoon of sugar (I halved the filling because my dough was less than needed for the full recipe) the whole family loved it!

• Apricot and chocolate marble cake

  • Melanie on May 03, 2015

    We enjoyed this cake - although the texture was somewhat unfamiliar it was very nice. The chocolate flavour was far more pronounced than the apricot and I think I would consider adding more apricot next time. Update on day 2 - apricot is far more noticeable today and I think the balance is there!

  • lkgrover on March 15, 2024

    Good marble cake; the apricots add an interesting twist to the yellow cake portion.

• Cardamom knots (Knutar)

  • Melanie on January 03, 2016

    Amazing out of the oven and on day one. There are not enough cardamom dishes... These look fiddly but are relatively simple and there is no harm by not quite achieving the knot. This recipe builds on the cinnamon bun recipe so you could make a double batch and of the dough to create one batch of cinnamon buns and one of cardamom knots for variety.

• Cinnamon buns

  • Rutabaga on November 24, 2017

    Follow this recipe for perfect Scandinavian style cinnamon buns. I love these; they are not the ooey-gooey American style buns, but are light and tender with a gentle cardamom taste. They're perfect for a sweet breakfast treat that isn't cloying or overly filling. Make the dough and filling the night before so that it will be ready to roll in the morning, but keep in mind that the buns need to rest for half an hour after being rolled, then bake for about 25 minutes.

• Spelt tin

  • Rutabaga on May 30, 2017

    This bread has a delicious, warm taste, and takes very little work to make as little kneading is required. Since my bread tins weren't large enough, I split the dough between two 9" x 3" pans to make two small loaves and baked them for 30 minutes. In retrospect, 5 more minutes in the oven would have been ideal. I forgot to slash the dough prior to baking and to spritz the oven with water for humidity, but loaves still turned out well with a tender yet firm crust.

• Buttermilk butter

  • Rutabaga on October 10, 2016

    Lovely! This makes a silky, lightly tangy butter spread, perfect for all manner of breakfast breads. I plan to add dill to some of it for topping slices of wholegrain rye. My one issue was that I could not get all of the buttermilk to incorporate with the butter, and even after much shipping at fully speed was left with a little puddle of milky water in the bottom of the bowl. But this didn't adversely affect the final product, so I just discarded it.

• Rundstykker

  • Rutabaga on October 20, 2017

    Important note: I discovered an error in the Imperial measurements in this recipe. It called for 2/3 cup melted butter, or else 75 grams. Well, 75 grams is only about 1/3 cup. I figured 75 grams was correct, and the rolls turned out just fine. These are good all-purpose rolls. The small amount of rye flour gives them a hint of heartiness, but they still have a soft crumb encased is a lightly crisp crust. I like them topped with poppy seeds, but left about half of them plain for my children, who prefer seedless buns. As usual, I made the dough in the morning (after letting the rye mixture sit overnight), then put it in the refrigerator for a slow rise during the workday. You can serve them with almost any meal.

• Rye crispbread

  • Rutabaga on November 24, 2017

    The flavor was nice, but my crispbread wasn't so crisp. It's very difficult to roll out thinly, as it is very sticky and soft, so I ended up rolling it directly on the baking sheet since it otherwise fell apart when I tried to transfer it. I also realized it was easier to break it into pieces after baking rather than try to slice it beforehand. I could have added more flour, but I've found with other similar recipes that too much flour tends to make the final product tougher and less flavorful. Still, it was pretty good with cheese. I's like to try some other crispbread recipes and try to determine how to improve it.

• Honey bombs

  • Rutabaga on November 15, 2018

    At first, I wasn't sure if I liked these. I made them on a whim because I had all the ingredients except for the candied peel, and they're quick to mix together. But Hahnemann is right - they really do taste better as they age. Even a few hours later, the flavor had improved, and they're actually quite good lightly toasted and topped with butter and jam. It's rare to find a baked breakfast treat that improves with age, so these are perfect for making in advance. Next time, I might also try adding ginger; candied ginger might be a good substitute for candied peel.

• Autumn apple and hazelnut layer cake

  • Rutabaga on November 24, 2017

    This is a wonderful fall torte, not too sweet or heavy (although the whipped cream does make it quite filling), with the flavors of the apples and nuts nicely complimenting each other. I used roasted hazelnuts, which I ground finely in the Vitamix for the filling, and roughly chopped for the topping. As I didn't have calvados, I replaced half of the liquor with apple juice squeezed from the grated apple, and used a mix of brandy and Frangelico for the rest. I'm sure calvados would be delicious, but this mixture worked well and kept the alcohol content low enough for young children to partake (and it was quite popular with all ages at the table). Whatever you choose, some liquid is essential here, as otherwise the sponge cake would be too dry. As it is a plain sponge, this also contributes pretty significantly to the overall flavor of the torte.

• Lingonberry and marzipan cake

  • Rutabaga on March 19, 2017

    These are a real treat for marzipan lovers! And they are pretty quick to put together. Made with 60% almond marzipan, they are very rich, but not overly sweet. Unfortunately, I do not have access to fresh lingonberries (or currents at this time of year), so had to use lingonberry preserves. The preserves are still tart enough to provide a nice contrast, but I can see how fresh berries would be especially delicious.

• Spelt orange cake

  • Rutabaga on February 07, 2016

    This cake may look plain, but it is absolutely delicious. I made a few small substitutions - I used confectioner's sugar since I did not have superfine on hand, and also used milk mixed with a couple tablespoons of sour cream in place of the cream. Accidentally, I added the full amount of sugar called for in the cake batter, rather than setting 50g aside for the glaze. Fortunately, the cake was still not overly sweet. The orange flavor is fresh and fragrant, the spelt flour adds a nice nuttiness, and the crumb is light and tender. However, the Imperial measurements listed in the U.S. addition appear to be incorrect, so stick with the metric measurements listed. Also, a small amount of batter dripped out of my spring form pan in in the oven, so I advise placing it on a baking tray.

• Honey cake with orange buttercream

  • Rutabaga on April 18, 2016

    The combination of spice cake and orange works surprisingly well. The cake is tender and fragrant, although I did have a few lumps. Next time, I will sift in the dry ingredients little by little, folding into the whipped sugar and eggs as I go, rather than adding them all at once. The orange buttercream and glaze are delicious, but make for a very rich, sweet dessert. If you prefer something more subtle, you could just top with the glaze, or use less buttercream. You could even eat the cake plain, perhaps for breakfast. Fully frosted,this cake would make a lovely special occasion dessert, especially in winter when oranges are in season.

• Brovst dream cake

  • Rutabaga on October 15, 2018

    This is a delicious, easy cake to make with common pantry ingredients. I really like the crunchy, caramely coconut topping, and the cake is tender and moist.

• Buttermilk scones with cream and jam

  • Rutabaga on May 12, 2020

    These are really lovely scones. They have the drier, finer texture of scones rather than biscuits, but I think the buttermilk gives the flavor a slight edge of regular cream scones.They're perfect topped with clotted cream and jam.

• Nordic spelt focaccia with fruit and nuts

  • fultre on April 13, 2022

    This is the first recipe I’ve tried from this cookbook. Once I started measuring ingredients, I noticed the amount of water was incorrect—it calls for 8 1/3 cups for 950 grams flour, which seemed wildly high. I looked at other focaccia recipes and came up with around 840-850 grams water, and the recipe turned out well with this alteration. I now realize that the ml amount stated in the recipe is correct—800 ml, which would be 800 grams. So now I’m nervous about trying other recipes; is this a one-off mistake? Is the conversion from ml to cups off on every recipe? Or are there random errors sprinkled throughout?

• Apple cake with rose hip jam

  • vegwithtastebuds on January 21, 2024

    Baked this in a 9” x 13” pan and baking time was about what was recommended. It’s easy to over bake because top remains wet from apples-it’s done as soon as a toothpick is clean when testing. Had to cut back on the apples by maybe 1/2 apple to keep from overflowing. I used unsalted butter and added 1/2 tsp of salt.

• Fru pigalopp cake

  • Elina on August 19, 2023

    Perfect traditional birthday layered cake. Swapped out the raw egg preparation with a classic creme légère to make it suitable for little ones and pregnant family members.

• Food52

  You’ll like this book if: You are on the Scandi-bandwagon and/or love the idea of an entire meal of cakes, cookies and buns.

  Full review