Swedish Sponge Cake (Sockerkaka)

from Swedish Cooking, ICA Test Kitchen
(Like Stacey, I'll put any of my own notes in blue)

2 eggs
3/4 - 1 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla sugar or grated rind of 1/2 lemon
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 oz margarine or butter (I usually cook with butter, but margarine does it in a pinch)
1/2 cup milk (I suggest baking using whole milk)

Beat the eggs and sugar until pale and thick. Add the desired flavoring, flour and baking powder. Melt the margarine or butter and let cool; stir into the batter. Add milk, a little at a time. Mix well to a smooth batter. Pour into a buttered cake pan (1 1/2 liter - in American, 101 oz or 1 2/3 quarts - basically, I use a regular sized loaf pan) that has been sprinkled with fine dry bread crumbs. Bake for about 45 minutes in a 175 degree Celsius (350 degrees fahrenheit) or until a toothpick inserted into cake comes out dry.

Enjoy!

Christmas Cooking!

So, who's cooking/baking what on Christmas? I'm thinking of whipping up a nice big batch of muffins for Christmas morning, especially since my mom will be sleeping over on Christmas Eve so we'll have a nice family breakfast. I have the Miracle Muffins cookbook, which is worth the money - find it and buy it! - but there are so many tasty (and healthy/low-fat) choices, it'll be hard to narrow down.

I also came across a Swedish Cookbook my friend Helene gave me (who's from Stockholm) that has a great sponge cake recipe (sockerkaka for anyone interested in the Swedish name). I made this recipe constantly when I first got the cookbook, because the ingredients are simple and common household staples. It always got rave reviews. Maybe I'll whip that up again.

I'll post the recipe - if anyone tries it, let me know how you like it and what the reaction you got was.

Apple Raisin Tart

This recipe is from "Manhattan's Dessert Scene" by Rose Reisman. Copyright 1989. With my notes, and tips in blue.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
9" to 10" springform pan, or 10" removable pie pan.
(I like a 10" removable tart pan, that's a little deep)

Crust

1 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cups confectioners sugar

Combine until mixed.

6 oz butter

Add to above until combined and dough holds together in a ball. Pat into sides and bottom of pan and place in refrigerator for 10 minutes. Bake until light brown, approx. 15 minutes. Cool on rack. (The truth, I've been known to skip the fridge, and only prebake for 10 minutes)

Filling

6 apples

Peel, core and slice thinly.
Place in large bowl.

1/2 cup rasins soaked in 3 tbsp liquor or juice, (bourbon, calvados, apple or orange juice) (I use apple juice)
1/2 cup toasted chopped pecans (I use almonds, you can get them pre-chopped)
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt

Add to apples, toss and pour into prebaked shell.
Dot 1 oz butter over apples.

Topping

1 cup chopped pecans (Again, I use toasted almonds, toasted very slightly in my toaster oven)
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon

Combine all ingrediets in bowl.

1/2 cup soft butter
(Use the rest from the stick that you got the 1oz from to dot over the apples.)

Add to above until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over apples.
Bake for approx. 50 minutes until apples are tender. (I usually do 45, to keep my crust from burning. Also, put a pie ring around the top, or use aluminum foil around the edges to keep the crust from burning. And wait until it's entirely cool before you take it out of the pan, because it will crack otherwise.)

Stacey's Apple Almond Heaven

Hey Stacey,

Holy smoke, that dessert was friggin amazing! Might you be willing to share that recipe with us?