Denmark

Æbleskiver



Serves 6

The name in danish is Æbleskiver which means Appleslices. So if you want to make them like they are made in Denmark, you need to put a piece of apple in every one of them. When they're done cooking on one side put a small piece of skinless apple in to the middle, turn them around with a knitting needle to finish cooking them on the other side. Serve them with your favorite jam to dip them in, then dip them in icing sugar, eat and enjoy.


Ingredients
2 egg whites
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 egg yolks
4 tablespoons butter, melted
2 cups buttermilk
1 cup vegetable oil for frying

Directions
1. In a clean glass or metal bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until they can hold a stiff peak. Set aside.
2. Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, sugar, egg yolks, melted butter and buttermilk at one time and beat until smooth. Gently fold in the egg whites last.
3. Put about 1tablespoon of vegetable oil in the bottom of each aebleskiver pan cup and heat until hot. Pour in about 2 tablespoons of the batter into each cup. As soon as they get bubbly around the edge, turn them quickly (Danish cooks use a long knitting needle, but you can also use a fork). Continue cooking, turning the ball to keep it from burning.


Kransekage 
(Marzipan ring cake) 


Makes 18 marzipan ring cake rings

Ingredients
18 oz. (500 grams) almond paste
18 oz. (500 grams) powdered sugar
2-3 tablespoons flour
3-4 egg whites
1/4 cup powdered sugar for kneading
Frosting:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 egg white
1 teaspoon vinegar

Directions
1. Grease the forms extra well with softened butter, and dust the forms well with finely ground bread crumbs. Mix almond paste and powdered sugar. Add egg whites Mix well. Place bowl in hot water and knead dough until it is lukewarm. Turn out on board sprinkled with 1/4 cup powdered sugar. Let rest 10 minutes.
2. Knead 2 to 3 minutes. Press dough through cookie press into greased ring forms. The hole in the cookie press disk should be approximately 1/2" in diameter, or dough can be rolled out by hand. Bake at 300 F for 20 minutes. Do not remove rings from forms until cold.
3. Use decorating nozzle to apply frosting on each ring, and place each ring on top of one another. The frosting will keep the rings fastened together.
4. Keep the cake in a sealed box. Place a fresh piece of bread or a peeled potato in the box for two days before you serve it to make the cake chewy. The cake can be frozen, and normally becomes chewy when defrosted.



Rødgrød med fløde 
(Red berry pudding with cream) 


Serves 4

Ingredients
1 lb (500 g) red currants
½ lb (250 g) cherries or raspberries
½ lb (250 g) black currants
or make use of all the fruits of the season
5-6 tablesp. sugar
About 1½ pint (3/4 l) water
2½-3 tablesp. corn starch per 1 pint liquid

Directions
1. Wash the berries (there is no need to remove the stalks). Place in layers in an enamel saucepan, adding just enough water to cover. Bring slowly to the boil and simmer until the fruit has all broken up and the juice is dark red in color.
2. Sieve the juice through a clean, scalded piece of linen or cheesecloth, pressing as much juice out of the berries as possible. Measure the juice, boil up and thicken with the required amount of cornstarch dissolved in a little cold water.
3. Pour into a bowl, sprinkle with sugar to prevent a skin forming and serve cold with milk or cream.


Danish Pastry Apple Bars


Makes 32 bars

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup shortening
1 egg yolk
Milk
1 cup cornflakes
8 - 10 tart cooking apples, peeled, cored and sliced (8 cups)
3/4 - 1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 cup powdered sugar
3 - 4 teaspoons milk

Directions
1. In a large bowl combine flour and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a liquid measuring cup, beat egg yolk lightly. Add enough milk to make 2/3 cup liquid. Stir well to combine. Stir milk mixture into flour mixture with a fork until combined (dough will be slightly sticky). Divide mixture in half.
2. On a well-floured surface, roll half of the dough to a 17x12-inch rectangle. Fold dough crosswise into thirds. Transfer to a 15x10x1-inch baking pan and unfold dough, pressing to fit into the bottom and sides of the pan. Sprinkle with cornflakes. Top evenly with apples. In a small bowl combine granulated sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle mixture over apples. Roll remaining dough to a 15x10-inch rectangle. Fold dough crosswise into thirds. Place atop apples and unfold dough. Crimp edges or use the tines of a fork to seal. Cut slits in the top. Brush top with beaten egg white.
3. Bake in a 375 degrees F oven for 50 minutes or until golden and apples are tender, covering with foil after the first 25 minutes of baking time to prevent overbrowning.
4. In a small bowl combine powdered sugar and 2 to 3 teaspoons milk to make a drizzling consistency. Drizzle over warm bars. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Cut into bars.


Pebernødder
(Peppernuts)


Makes about 600 Danish peppernuts

Ingredients
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. hartshorn / baker's ammonia (or 1 tsp. baking powder plus 1/2 tsp. baking soda)
1 tsp. freshly ground cardamom
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. cloves

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375º. Cream together the butter and brown sugar, stir in egg until well-blended.
2. Sift together remaining ingredients, then mix into batter to form a stiff dough.
3. Pinch off handfuls of the dough and roll into 1/2"-thick snakes on a floured counter. Using kitchen shears or a sharp knife, cut each snake into 1/2"-long pieces (about the size of a hazelnut).
4. Place pieces on an ungreased cookie sheet, separating them slightly, and bake for 8 minutes.


Finskbrød


Serves 15

Ingredients
Cookie dough:
500 grams all-purpose flour
350 grams butter, cool but not chilled
125 grams granulated sugar

Topping:
1 egg, beaten
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons ground almonds

Directions
1. Weigh the flour and sugar. Mix together. Cut in the butter until the pieces are very small. Work together with hands until a ball forms.
2. Wrap the dough and let it rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 375ºF.
4. Roll the dough to a thickness of 1/4".
5. With cookie cutter or knife, cut dough in 3/4" long strips and then on an angle every 2" to form a diamond shape, technically parallelograms.
6. Brush on beaten egg. Combine the equal parts ground almond and sugar. Sprinkle the almond/sugar mixture over the cookie dough and make sure all cookies are well covered.
7. Using a small offset spatula, gently lift each cookie and place on an ungreased baking sheet. They will rise a bit and also spread out a bit, but they can be placed reasonably close together on the cookie sheet.
8. Bake in 375ºF oven until golden brown. Check them at 10 minutes to see how they are coming along. Rotate the pan 180ºfor the last few minutes.

TIPS:
Use salted butter for this recipe. Unsalted butter will leave a bland taste.

Roll the dough between two sheets of wax paper. This way you avoid adding more flour to the dough and throwing off the balance of the rich buttery taste.



Koldskål


A sweet cold butter milk dish with vanilla and lime, often served in the summer.

Serves 1

Ingredients
2 cups buttermilk
1 cup plain nonfat yogurt
4 tablespoons sugar

Directions
1. Whip buttermilk, yogurt and sugar together.
2. Serve very cold with a topping of your choice.

Toppings:
fresh fruit (sliced strawberries, raspberries, peaches)
biscotti
toasted oatmeal (toast on pan; 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1-2 tbsp butter, sliced almonds or hazelnuts, careful not to burn)
tvebakker – twice baked cookies
kammerjunker - sweet cookies typically served with Koldskål
makroner – hard, crisp, sweet cookies


Risalamande 


Serves 6

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 cup minute rice
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup blanched almonds
1/2 cup whipped cream
Bing cherry sauce

Directions
1. Boil milk, sugar, salt and minute rice uncovered for 8 minutes.
2. Fluff rice occasionally. Remove from heat; cover tightly.
3. Let stand 10 minutes. Add almonds and vanilla. Cover and chill.
4. Whip cream; fold into rice mixture. serve with sauce.

Bing cherry sauce:
1. Drain one can (17 oz.) pitted Bing cherries.
2. Add enough water to syrup to make 1 1/2 cups. Blend syrup, 2 tbs. cornstarch and a dash of salt.
3. Cook and stir until thickened and clear.
4. Add cherries, one teaspoon of lemon juice, and if desired 1/2 tsp. almond extract.
5. In our family, we use canned cherry pie filling instead of the Bing cherry sauce.