Tosca Cake (Swedish Almond cake)

This is my favorite  Swedish classic - love the crunchy almond topping.

Cake
3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
a little less than 1 stick butter
1/4 cup milk

Topping
4 oz slivered or chopped almonds
1 stick butter
2 tbsp flower
1 tbsp milk or cream
1/2 cup sugar

Start by heating the oven to 375.
Butter a round form with removable bottom
Melt butter and let cool a little
Beat eggs and sugar until fluffy
Add butter to egg/sugar mixture
Add some of the flour, then the milk
At the end, add the last flour mixed with baking powder and carefully mix. Pour into form and put in warn oven.

While cake is baking, slowly heat topping ingredients, stirring until thickening. After 20 - 25 minutes - make sure cake is firm and doesn't wobble in the middle - take cake out and cover with almond mix. Bake for another 10 minutes until lightly brown.  If still pale after 10 minutes, turn oven on broil until almond topping gets golden brown. Remove from oven and with a knife, separate topping from form before letting it cool - otherwise the topping may stick to the form and separate from the cake when you remove the form after cooling.

Gunilla's Church Cookies

My friend Gunilla makes these cookies every Christmas - she got the recipe from a lady in her church.

Cream together in order below, adding flour last:

1 cup margarine

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup oil

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup rice crispies

1 cup coconut flakes

1 egg (optional?)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cream of tartar

3 cups flour

Flatten with fork on a baking sheet and bake in oven 350 F for 12 - 15 minutes.

Eugenie's Bulgogi marinade

This recipe for bulgogi marinade comes from a Korean friend. I have used it on shaved beef, thinly sliced sirloin, tofu, mushrooms and onions - always delicious.

For about 1 lbs you mix:

5 tbsp. soy sauce

2 1/2 tbsp. sugar

2 tbsp. minced garlic

2 tbsp. minced scallions

1 1/2 tbsp. sesame oil

1/2 tsp. black pepper

Marinate in the morning in the fridge to cook in the evening, or as late as 1 - 2 hours before cooking. Serve with rice and dipping sauce wrapped in a lettuce leaf, like a taco. Peanut sauce and/or hot sauce are good choices. Enjoy!

Chocolate Cake Recipe:

4 eggs

2 cups chocolate morsels (original recipe calls for 200 gram dark baking chocolate, which I was out of)

1 1/2 stick butter

2/3 - 3/4 cup sugar

2/3 cup flour

1/2 tsp vanilla liquid

1 tsp baking powder

1. Prepare a spring form and turn on oven at 425 F.
2. Melt butter and chocolate in a pot together on low heat, stir often.
3. While butter/chocolate mix cools a little, whip eggs and sugar fluffy, about 2 minutes.

4. Add melted chocolate/butter + vanilla to egg/sugar fluff and mix.

5. Add the flour and mix a little with the baking powder which goes in at last.

6. Bake in 425 F for 13 - 15 minutes. The short time at high heat creates the gooey texture.

Chef Chloe's Falafels (V)

 These are parts of a recipe for Falafel Sliders, which also contain bread, guacamole and tomatoes. A link to a youtube video on how to make the sliders are at the end of this post:

Falafels
1 can chick peas, drained and rinsed
1/2 finely chopped red onion
2 cloves garlic, quartered
5-6 sun dried tomatoes
1/2 cup packed fresh Italian parsley
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup garbanzo or other flour

Mix in food processor and fry in olive oil 3 - 5 minutes on each side until golden brown. Let dry on paper towel.

Tahini Sauce
1/2 cup Tahini
1/2 cup water
1 1/3 tbsp lemon juice
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp salt

Puree until smooth.

Below is a link to a youtube video of how to make these falafels:
Chef Chloe's Falafel Sliders

Lentil Mushroom Cashew Dish (V)

This is my simplified version of the previous recipe "Harvest-stuffed Mushrooms" (by Chef Chloe). You can serve it as a side dish or a main course.

1 large onion

1 cup cashew nuts

2 cups cooked lentils (or a can of lentils)

1 cup sliced and cooked mushrooms

1 – 2 tbsp Italian seasoning

3 – 4 cloves garlic

 2 tbsp olive oil

Salt & pepper to taste

1. Chop onion and cashew nuts.
2. Fry onion in olive oil until soft. Add Italian seasoning and garlic.
3. Add nuts and fry until light brown.
4. Add sliced, cooked mushrooms and fry for a couple of minutes.
5. Add cooked lentils and mix. Salt and pepper to taste.
6. Serve or save for next day in the refrigerator.

Red Cabbage with Shallots and Apple Sauce (V)

This is a traditional Swedish Christmas dish that I added shallots to. It's easy to make, but needs to simmer for close to an hour.

Ingredients:
1 head red cabbage 2 - 3 lbs
4 shallots
3 tbsp vinegar or to taste
3 tbsp maple syrup (or Swedish syrup or molasses)
1/2 tsp salt or to taste
2/3 cup apple sauce
ground black pepper to taste
1 - 2 tbsp cooking oil
5 - 10 whole cloves

1. Peel and slice shallots thinly and add to a large pot. Fry in cooking oil until until translucent and slightly brown
2. Slice cabbage thinly (I use a mandolin).
3  Add cabbage to shallots and cover with lid. Let sit on low heat until cabbage starts to wilt then stir and add the remaining ingredients.
4. Let simmer on low heat for at least 40 minutes stirring occasionally.
5. Taste and add more spices and/or vinegar/syrup if necessary.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes (V)

2 - 3 sweet potatoes
1 apple
1/2 - 1 cup coconut milk
1 vegetable bouillon cube
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cardamon
1/3 cup raisins or dried cranberries

Peel (optional) and cut potatoes and apple in pieces (remove seeds and seed pods from apple) and put in a pot. Almost cover with water and bring to a boil. Add bouillon cube, lower heat and cover with a lid. Cook until soft. Remove broth and save for later. Add spices and mash potatoes and apples, adding coconut milk, maple syrup and broth until reaching desired texture. Then mix in raisins. If you prefer softer raisins, soak them for 10 minutes in water before adding to the mix.

Festive Chocolate Cupcakes (V)

Raspberries are my favorites berries and I love how their flavor enhances the taste of dark chocolate. For my July birthday my daughter Ingrid surprised me with homemade Chocolate-Raspberry Cupcakes. They had a slight resemblance to a scrumptious chocolate cake we enjoyed at Mildreds in London in June 2012. Ingrid's recipe is a combination of parts from Chef Chloe's Chocolate Strawberry Chortcakes, Chef Chloe's raspberry sauce (from her Tiramisu-cupcake recipe) and Ingrid's own tasty chocolate-raspberry frosting.

Chocolate Cupcakes

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup coffee
• ½ cup canola oil
• 2 tablespoons white or apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) cupcake pans with 14 cupcake liners. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together coffee, oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and whisk until just combined. Do not over mix.

Fill the cupcake liners about two-thirds full with batter. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean with a few crumbs clinging to it. Cool the cupcakes completely before frosting.

Raspberry Sauce

• 1 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen)
• ½ cup agave nectar or sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• dash of salt

In small saucepan, heat raspberries and agave over medium heat until raspberries wilt down. Let simmer on low for 5 minutes until the mixture becomes a pourable consistency. Remove from heat and mix in vanilla, lemon juice, cinnamon, and salt. Taste and adjust sweetness by adding more agave if necessary. Let cool in refrigerator.

Chocolate Raspberry Frosting (generous, enjoy extra as mousse)

• 8 oz vegan cream cheese
• 5 oz raspberries (frozen or fresh)
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 5 tbsp Earth Balance/margarine
• 1 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Melt chocolate and fat together in a pot on low heat, continuously stirring. Whip "cream cheese", vanilla and sugar until fluffy. Add raspberries and chocolate/fat and mix until all ingredients are well blended.

Raspberries and toasted almonds for decor.

Assembly:
Let cupcakes cool completely. Cut a small cone-shaped hole in the middle and add raspberry sauce in the opening. Cut off the piece of cupcake that originally filled the hole and place top back on top of raspberry filling.  For tips on how to fill cupcakes click here. Top with a generous amount of chocolate-raspberry frosting. Decorate with raspberries and toasted almonds, or be creative and decorate with something else. Enjoy!

Gravlax (cured salmon) & Mustard Sauce

This is a Swedish favorite of mine. It has taken many years of practice to get it right. One trick is to omit the weight on top of the fish while curing that some gravlax recipes call for and go lightly on the sugar/salt mix. Sauce recipe below can be varied - doesn't have to be French mustard, but don't add sugar if using sweet mustard.

Ingredients:
One large salmon file with skin to add flavor, but no bones
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup salt
1 bunch of dill

1. Mix sugar and salt
2. Cut file in half and rub all over the non-skin side with salt-sugar mix. If too much salt/sugar, save mix for next time. Cover with dill.
3. Put salmon pieces together, skin side out on a bed of dill in a dish with edges to prevent the liquid which will emerge from the salmon from messing up your fridge.
4. Cover dish with plastic wrap and place in fridge.
5. After 24 hours, turn salmon files upside down.
6 After 48 hours, remove dill, rinse off salt and sugar, pat salmon dry and slice thinly. Decorate with dill. Serve with mustard sauce (recipe below), boiled potatoes and cucumber salad.

Mustard sauce
3 tbsp French mustard (Dijon)
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
3/4 cup canola oil
1 - 1 1/2 tbsp white vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
Lots of chopped dill

Mix mustard, vinegar, sugar and spices. Slowly whisk in oil. Add generous amounts of finely chopped dill. If you like it smoother you can add an egg yolk and some sour cream. Cooking is no exact science.

Sauce can also be altered by adding sour cream and horseradish.