Cake #161 - Banana, Coconut and Sesame Seed Cake

Monday Mood Cake - Banana, Coconut and Sesame Seed Upside Down Cake.

It was a day to turn some jars upside down and feel if there is any serious baking power left after baking five batches of cinnamon buns the day before.

Baking is a lot about feelings. One day you feel like having pulla, the other day you feel like trying some recipe with sesame seeds in it. On the other hand, you may have overripe bananas in the house and you need to use them whether you feel like using them or not (unless you feel the bin is a choice). And then you feel the kids may have deserved some ice cream so you bake something to go with ice cream. You may feel satisfied after baking or you may not. You may feel like eating what you have made or you may leave it for later. Sometimes you feel the batter is better than the actual cake.

The main thing is that you can feel the joy!

The recipe for this cake is from here. - Instead of sprinkling the sesame seeds on top - the bottom after baking, that is, I would mix them in the batter the next time to feel them equally in the cake. As eating is feeling, too. And feeling is eating.

Cinnamon Buns and Shrove Buns

Pulla, anyone? Cinnamon buns or maybe Shrove buns with marzipan?

Sometimes you get into the mood for pulla and then there is only one medicine - you have to bake them!

The other day I set myself a mission to bake the perfect cinnamon bun and it was way harder than I expected. Until now, I have mainly baked my cinnamon buns in paper cups where they keep their shape and all excess butter stays inside the cup. This time I wanted to make the real, proper ones with no cheating. After baking 5 batches (about 60 buns, that was), I was able to find nine (yes, 9) buns with which I was just about happy with. A good start, eh?

But even the ugliest ones tasted perfect. The ones which looked like viking ships and the ones which looked like crippled snails. Oh, and the ones shaped like the horns of Dorset sheep. Yummy yummy pulla!

And then I also made a batch of Shrove buns. A bit early - the Shrove Tuesday is not until 17 February. I just happened to find a package of marzipan in the cupboard and baking the basic round buns felt like an easy and rewarding job after all the misshapen cinnamon buns.

Cinnamon buns (makes 12-14)
300 ml  lukewarm milk
25 g fresh yeast (or 1 bag / 7 g fast action dried yeast)
100 ml sugar
½ tsp ground cardamom
1 egg
100 g melted butter
about 1 litre plain flour

Filling
100 g butter
2 tbsp cinnamon
100 ml sugar

Glazing
1 egg
pearl sugar

1. Dissolve yeast in warm milk.
2. Add sugar, cardamom and egg and mix well.
3. Start adding flour gradually.
4. After you have kneaded in about half of the flour, add melted butter.
5. Knead in more flour until your dough is not sticky any more but still soft. It is better to leave the dough a little too soft than make it too dense as the buns will be too dry and hard after baking.
6. Leave the dough to rise in a warm place until double in size, for about half an hour.
7. Roll your dough into a rectangle, about 0,5 cm thick.
8. Spread the butter on top and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.
9. Roll the dough into a cylinder and then cut it into triangles. Turn the triangles so that the sharp side faces up and then press it down with your finger.
10. Let the buns rise for about half an hour, then glaze with egg and sprinkle with pearl sugar.
11. Bake in the oven at 225C for 10-12 minutes.

Shrove Buns

Make the dough as above. When risen, knead it on a floured surface and cut into 12 pieces and roll them into balls. Let the buns rise, glaze them with egg and sprinkle with pearl sugar or almond flakes. Bake in the oven at 225C for 10-12 minutes.

After the buns have cooled, cut them in half and fill with marzipan or jam and whipped cream.

Cake #160 - Runeberg Torte and Cake #164 Runeberg Cake

Cake #160 Runeberg Tortes
Cake #164 Runeberg Cakes

J.L. Runeberg, the national poet of Finland was born 5 February, 1804. His wife used to bake these little tortes which later were named after him. The tortes are popular in Finland around Runeberg's birthday and are made by every bakery in the country and sold nationwide. And each and every Finn certainly has an opinion which bakery makes the best tortes!

As an expat Finn I have to bake my own Runeberg Tortes and they are not that bad either. I prefer mine with almond essence unlike my family so always need to bake two batches, one with almond essence and another without.

You can use the same recipe for making one or two bigger cakes instead of small tortes if you do not have suitable tins. I was lucky to find these nearly perfect tins in TK Maxx a while ago:

Runeberg Tortes or Cakes (makes 12 tortes or 2 small cakes)
Batter
200 g butter
100 ml brown sugar
100 ml granulated sugar
2 eggs
100 g ground almonds
200 ml finely ground dry breadcrumbs
300 ml plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
200 ml milk
(2 tsp almond essence or rum essence)

raspberry jam
icing sugar, a few drops of water

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200C and grease and flour 12 muffin tins (or use paper cups) or 2 Ø 20 cm cake pans.
2. Cream together butter and sugar.
3. Add eggs and almond essence.
4. Mix together all dry ingredients and add them to the batter together with the milk.
5. Spoon the batter evenly in the muffin tins and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes).
6. Let cool and decorate with raspberry jam and icing.
7. If the tortes feel dry you can moisten them with sugary water flavoured with almond or rum essence).

Cake #159 - Spinach Pancake

Savoury Saturday Cake - Spinach Pancake, served with crayfish tails, capers, rocket, creme fraiche and lemon.

I am a spinach fan! Fresh baby spinach in salads, cooked spinach in soups or, like here, in an oven pancake. In a stir-fry, in Fish Florentine... And nowadays in smoothies and home-made juices as well as my daughters are making those daily.

Spinach Pancake
150 g fresh spinach, cooked and blended
4 eggs
400 ml milk
300 ml plain flour
½ tsp salt

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200 C and grease a Ø 30 cm springform pan.
2. Mix all ingredients together and pour into pan.
3. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes.
4. Serve warm - plain or with prawns, ham, poached egg... Goes well for brunch or lunch as such or for appetizer like we enjoyed it.

Cakes #157 and #158 - Friday Cakes

Friday Cakes
#157 Cat Theme Cake - Hidden Cat.
#158 Friends First Friday Cake - Cheesecake with Fruit and Coconut Flakes with Nice Biscuit Base.

Missing summer! Friday cake with fruit to bring some summer here. It's so cold at the moment, and windy and humid, too. We are ready to move to any warmer place if there is one.

I do not know why but this winter has felt colder than ever. The wind is pushing through everything - and every body, including mine.

I am glad I have three cats and cats are warm. A warm and purring cat on your lap is the best you can have on a cold day. A cat and a cuppa - and a slice of cake!

I have baked quite a few hidden cat (and other hidden figures) cakes already. They are exciting as you cannot always be sure how they turn out - and if they turn out anything at all. Usually at least half of the cake I have managed to get fine.

Hidden figures change but my favourite recipe stays the same, you can find it here.

For this cheesecake I used my lime cheesecake recipe except I replaced digestive cookies with Nice biscuits. On the top I placed slices of nectarine, kiwi and pineapple and some grapes and a passion fruit cut in half. I brushed the fruit with jelly and poured the rest of the jelly on the cake to cover any uncovered spots between the fruit. The sides I decorated with coconut flakes.

Cake #156 - Beetroot Cake

Wednesday Natural Ingredient / Healthy Cake - Beetroot Cake with Cream Cheese.

A naturally pink cake for Valentine's Day!

Base
400 g cooked and grated beetroot
400 ml plain flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground ginger
200  g butter, melted
4 eggs
300 ml golden caster sugar
2 tsp vanilla sugar

Topping
150 g cream cheese
3 tbsp caster sugar
(a few drops of beetroot juice)

1. Preheat the oven to 200 C / 380 F and grease and flour a 24 cm x 24 cm square cake pan.
2. Beat eggs and sugar until white and fluffy.
3. Mix together all dry ingredients.
4. Add the dry ingredients together with grated beetroot and melted butter to the egg and sugar mix.
5. Pour batter into the pan and bake in the oven for about 40 minutes.
6. When completely cool, remove from pan and spread cheese mix on top.

Cake #155 - Mud Cake

Tuesday Humour Cake - Mud Cake.

The medium is the message!

Sorry I took your chocolate. I needed it for this cake.

Mud Cake

100 g dark chocolate

200 g butter

150 g golden caster sugar

150 g soft dark brown sugar

150 ml milk

150 g self-raising flour

2 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 175C / 350F and grease and flour a 23 cm spring-form pan.

2. Melt butter and chocolate and mix in both sugarsand stir until smooth.

3. Pour in milk.

4. Fold in flour and eggs.

5. Pour into pan and bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes until a stick comes out slightly moist.

6. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack for at least 15 minutes.

7. Write your special message on top of the cake with icing or white chocolate.