Peanut Noodle Salad

This recipe is based on one from one of my favorite old bloggers, who sadly isn't updating anymore: Cloudberry Quark. I love the dressing, and you can certainly vary the veggies to fit your mood. If you'd like, you can cook the veggies slightly, but I left them raw this time, and used carrots, snow peas, some scallions (I think!) and red pepper. Fresh coriander is always a nice addition, but that goes without saying...

75 ml peanut butter
4 tbsp soy sauce (Japanese)
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sambal oelek (or fresh red chillies, minced)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp ginger, minced
3-4 tbsp water, or possibly a little more

150 g rice noodles

Combine all ingredients for the dressing in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add more water if it seems to thick - it should be fairly runny.

Cook the noodles - usually rice noodles just need soaking in some hot water for a few minutes.

Drain and rinse with cold water. Drain again, and toss with the veggies and (most of) the dressing. It's nice to have some additional dressing on the side, too.

Recipe in Swedish:
Nudelsallad med jordnötsdressing

Apple Almond Crumble

Swedish apples are finally really in season, and while I know - in theory - that there's so much you can do with them, I usually just opt for a simple crumble. After all, why mess with perfection? However, I rarely try the same recipe twice, and this one was new to me, using almond paste and almonds. It's lovely - but the almonds burn real easily (as you can see in my photo) so beware!

Apple Almond Crumble
serves 4-6

4 apples
2 tbsp sugar
1-2 tsp cinnamon
100 g almond paste
75 g butter
45 g oats
45 g flour
30 g almonds (mine were blanched, but it's not necessary)

Peel and slice the apples, and place in a pie dish. Toss with sugar and cinnamon.

Place the almond paste, butter, oats and flour in a bowl, and pinch with your fingertips until it forms crumbs. Put this on top of the apples.

Coarsely chop the almonds and sprinkle on top. Bake at 200°C for about 20 minutes.

Serve with vanilla custard or ice cream.

Recipe in Swedish:
Äppelpaj med mandelsmul

Overnight Breakfast Rolls

I've posted a very similar recipe before, but that one uses "rågsikt" which is a Swedish flour made from both rye and wheat flours. Since it's not that easy to find unless you're in Sweden, I thought I'd attempt the same bread with just wheat flour. It turned out great - so I thought it'd definitely would be worth a post on its own.

It's really easy to make. You mix up the dough on the night before, put it in the fridge, and next morning, shape the bread rolls right before they go in the hot oven. Easy as that!

Overnight Breakfast Rolls

10 g fresh yeast
400 ml cold water
540 g all-purpose wheat flour
10 g salt
25 g honey


Mix everything - just mix, don't knead. Place in a bowl and cover with plastic. Place in the fridge over night.

In the morning, take your dough and tip onto a well-floured surface. Pull it into a long rectangle, and fold length-wise so that you have a long and skinny rectangle. Sprinkle with flour.

Heat the oven to 275°C, and pre-heat a baking sheet as well. When the oven, and the sheet, are hot, remove the sheet. Cut your dough into about ten pieces, and place on the hot baking sheet. Lower the heat to 225°C, and bake for about 10-15 minutes.

Please note: I use a fan-assisted oven, and your oven times might vary. Trust your instinct.

Recipe in Swedish:
Kalljästa frukostfrallor

Wednesday bookmarks, October 26

*sniff sniff* I have a cold, as so many other people this time of year. It's not too bad, and I'm eating satsumas constantly to get more vitamin C - and drinking lots of water. But it sure is pretty outside - clear air, and lots of leaves in many colors.

I've actually made a few bookmarks this past week, too - and I hope you'll see something you like. Maybe find a few new blogs, too?

Cook Sister Jeanne is one of my favorite bloggers, since many, many years. I've been lucky enough to meet her a few times, too, and she's lovely. (The food blogger picnic at the Henley regatta, many years ago now, is one of my fondest food memories!) She's blogged about pasta with chanterelles and toasted almonds - I better make this while chanterelles are still in season!

I've had sweet potato fries before, but baked - not actually fried. I have to try Thai Fried Sweet Potatoes, as posted by She Simmers. They look irresistably crispy and yummy.

I finally got around to post about my homemade dumplings, and a friend eagerly commented on facebook that we should have a dumpling workshop. Well, that friend happens to be vegetarian, so I immediately started looking for good veggie fillings. Most included tofu, of which I'm not a fan, but then I found these with peas and ricotta, by White On Rice Couple. Oooh! And if you happen to have any other ideas for vegetarian dumplings, let me know!

A Swedish blog I really like is Lilla Matdériven (even though I'm not sure how to pronounce it!). She posts a lot of healthy and fun food for kids, and this time, she has tiny little bread rolls with carrots and sesame seeds. I really want to try those!
And as usual, for all my bookmarks, go here.

Hearty Corn Chowder

Fall is definitely soup season, and it helps that it's probably Titus favorite food. (Well, in hard competition with risotto, and pancakes.)

Corn is one of my favorites, but the season for fresh corn here is really short. So I mostly rely on frozen, and I'm happy to report that it doesn't really make a difference in this soup, which is very delicious. Adding the corn meal, or polenta, does wonders for the texture, so don't skip that step!

I served this with a dollop of sour cream and - as always - some fresh coriander. Yummy!

Hearty Corn Chowder

70 g bacon, diced
1 tbsp butter
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 potatoes, diced
1 red pepper, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
450 g corn (frozen and thawed is fine, if you don't have fresh)
1-2 tsp sambal oelek (or similar chili paste)
800 ml chicken stock
100 ml cream (I use full-fat)
3 tbsp corn meal (or finely ground polenta)
4 tbsp water
salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper

Fry the bacon in a large pot. Add the butter, onion, potatoes, peppers and garlic, and fry for five minutes. Add the corn, sambal oelek, chicken stock and cream. Bring to a boil.

Stir together the corn meal and water, and add to the pot. Lower the heat and cover with a lid. Let the soup simmer for about 15 minutes. Check to make sure the potatoes are cooked through, or simmer for a few more minutes.

If you'd like, use an immersion blender to blend the soup - I blended a little, but not completey. Season with salt, black pepper and some cayenne pepper if you want more heat.

Recipe in Swedish:
Matig majssoppa

Happy 7th birthday, blog!

Really, seven years of blogging? I can't believe it's been that long. It feels like it was only yesterday I was walking to work, talking to myself about food (and um, yes, I do that quite a bit) and decided that I might as well start sharing it with the world. Because that was really why I started.

And why I keep at it..? It's still the need to talk. I have things to say. And I'm so grateful that I have readers that apparently want to talk to me. The contacts and the feedback is really what makes it so much fun.

I know I've been slowing down this past year, and I might slow down even more, maybe posting 3-4 times per week rather than 6-7 - but I hope you won't mind.

I usually celebrate this day with a cake. This year... I'm a bit embarrassed, but as I get SO many e-mails about this cake, I thought I'd set the record straight. What you see above (so sorry about that sucky photo) is a Daim cake, made by the company Almondy. It comes from a box, frozen. It's what's served in IKEA:s all over the world, and, honestly, it's my most requested recipe.

And I've never made one. Not now, not ever. I probably won't. It's even available in gas stations, and very inexpensive. Not to mention I've never seen a recipe for it. What I do have is the cake that it's based on - the original Oscar II:s cake, with almonds and buttercream. No daim though - but you could just add that, and maybe some melted chocolate too. Ok, maybe I will try to make one, eventually - but not today. I like the pre-made version just fine, so today, I'll enjoy that.

For my previous birthday cakes, I've made Princess Cake, Black Forest Cake (Swedish style), Budapest Roll, Oscar II:s cake, and a humble vanilla bean jelly roll. (And that's just five, as I never managed to make a cake last year. Sorry!

Homemade Dumplings

Dumplings. One of my favorite foods in the whole world. They're just so, so, so delicious. They have many names - potstickers, gyoza - but are often quite similar. And honestly - NOT hard to make at home! It took me a long time to try them, but after having eaten them many times at Dagmar's home, and helping her fold them too, I made them for myself and it was just fine.



You can buy ready-made dough (frozen) in some Asian supermarkets, but it's so easy to make your own. A pasta machine comes in very handy though, and a large glass for cutting out circles. And you need a frying pan with a lid.

You can freeze the finished, uncooked dumplings, and then just cook them directly from frozen. So make a big batch!

Homemade dumplings

dough:
(enough for about 30 dumplings)
300 g flour
180 ml boiling water

Place the flour in your food processor. Put the lid on and start the machine. Add the boiling water through the tube, with the machine running. Stop after a few seconds - the dough should look crumbly, and hold together if you pinch it.

Knead the dough carefully - it's HOT! - on your kitchen counter for about 30 seconds, or until it looks supple and elastic. Place in a ziploc bag and seal it. Let the dough rest for at least 15 minutes, but no longer than two hours.

Meanwhile, make your filling - feel free to experiment!

pork filling:
400 g ground pork
bunch of spring onions, finely chopped
bunch of cilantro, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp sesame oil
1-2 tbsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1-2 tsp corn starch (depending on how wet the filling looks)
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Mix all of the ingredients together.

Now, time to actually fill and fold some dumplings! I don't have any photos of this so go to Dagmar's post on the subject which is much more thorough than mine. But - to put it simply, this is what you do:

-roll out the dough, using a pasta machine. Not too thin - they should be fairly thick. I went to 3 or 4 on my machine.

-cut out rounds, using a large glass

-place a spoonful of filling in the middle of each round, fold, and start pinching the edges together.

Repeat. And work fast - you don't want the dough to try out. (In fact, keep whatever dough you're not rolling in the sealed ziploc bag.) It helps to be at least two people, working together.

Next, heat some oil (I like peanut) in a frying pan with a lid. Have a small glass of water nearby. When the oil is hot, add some dumplings - but don't overcrowd the pan. Fry until the bottom is golden. Then, add the water and quickly cover with the lid, and let the dumplings steam for 5-7 minutes (a few more minutes if cooking from frozen). Remove the lid, and re-crisp the dumplings.

Recept på svenska:
Hemmagjorda dumplings

Wednesday bookmarks, October 19

Time to check out some delicious things I've bookmarked in the past few weeks! I hope you'll find something tasty - and maybe new bloggers, too!

October is definitely soup season for me. Luckily, my little boy loves soups - he won't touch sauces, but soup is fine. (In fact, if you pour sauce into a bowl, he'll eat it.) This Bacon, Potato and Leek soup by Sweetsugarbean looks great.

How about some crackers to go with that soup? Petite Kitchenesse has a recipe for homemade cheez-its that looks great! I can't say I've ever had cheez-its but I'm sure these ones are even better.

AAAND over to the sweets. Titus has recently discovered candy, which I'm not thrilled about. We have to teach him how it's not for every day, and that some kinds are better than others. I'd feel ok about him having these Chocolate Peanut Butter treats, though! (And I'd definitely feel ok about having them myself.) Thanks Daily Bites!

If there's one kind of macaron I'm dying to make, it's one with salted caramel. I haven't dared yet, fearing that the filling would be too runny, but now that Kuala Lumpur sur Seine has posted a recipe from Pierre Hermé, I have to try it.

And finally a Swedish recipe, from the blog Trattoria. She's posted a recipe for brownies with walnuts and ginger - an excellent pairing, and they look intensely fudgey and dense. Yum!

And as usual, for all my bookmarks, go here.

Sweet Chili Chicken Legs

Titus is a huge fan of chicken - in general, and of the legs in particular. The first time he ate them was at a preschool picnic, and the teachers all commented that he had eaten more than any other kid OR the adults, when I picked him up. He's not that enthusiastic all the time, but he sure enjoys his chicken legs. And us parents, we enjoy these ones in particular. They're really easy to make, and they have great flavor.

Based on a recipe from my blogging friend Annika, who blogs in Swedish. Well worth a visit!

Sweet Chili Chicken Legs
1 kilo chicken legs
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
50 ml sweet chili sauce
50 ml olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tsk sambal oelek (or any other chili paste - or fresh chilies)
salt, black pepper

Mix all ingredients for the marinade, and mix with the chicken. You need a pretty big bowl. Leave at least an hour, and stir a few times during that hour to make sure the legs are all well marinated.

Place the legs on a rack on top of a baking sheet (ideally covered with foil, if you don't love cleaning), and brush with some of the marinade. Bake at 200°C for 10 minutes. Turn the legs over, brush with more marinade, and bake for another 10 minutes. Check to see that they're cooked through - if not, add a few more minutes of cooking time.

As always, I have a convection oven. You might have to adjust times and perhaps temperature, to suit your own oven.

Recipe in Swedish:
Kycklingben med sweet chili

Good in theory...

I love both broccoli and cauliflower, and was really in the mood for a creamy gratin incorporating both of these. My idea was great. The gratin, sadly, was not. It turned out too thin and watery, and I'm not really sure what went wrong, but I need to try again!

Cookbook Watch - some fall news

I'm way, way behind on my cookbook reviews, so I'll try to make up for it... first a batch with some books for kids, one for party people, and one by a Desperate Housewife!



Systrarna Eisenmans Mingelmat is written by Lisa & Monica Eisenman, who formerly ran the Cookbook Café in Stockholm. They closed down quite a few years ago, but I still remember that café fondly. Great food, great baked goods, great cookbooks. Since then, they've written several cookbooks - mostly about cakes and cookies, but also a few other ones. This one is ALL about party food of various kinds. And it's truly a bible in its genre, with 565 recpipes for canapés, toasts, mini pizzas and all sort of things. Anyone who likes to throw a party will love this book - and I know I'll use it often. A keeper.



I had no idea Eva Longoria could cook. To me (and I suspect to most people), she's Gaby in Desperate Housewives, and that she actually owns a restaurant was complete news to me. But she does. And she's written a cookbook, too. A nice one! In Eva's Kitchen, she shares her, and her families favorites. What I love is that the food is Tex-Mex - Mexican food, as cooked in Texas. It's fresh, feisty, and much healthier than you might imagine.



Mums för de minsta ("Yum for the smallest"") by Linda Hallberg is a coobook for babies, up to toddlers. It has a lot of nutrition basics, that new parents usually worry quite a bit about, and hands-on recipes for good starter purées as well as tasty food for slightly older and more adventurous eaters.



Laga mat med barn by Karolina Sparring translates to "Cooking with children" but the real aim is "Cooking FOR children", because this is a book that kids (6+) can use on their own. It's nicely laid out and attractive, and my only fault with it is that the recipes themselves aren't all that exciting. However, I realize that for most families, that's not much of an issue.

Coffee & Cocoa Macarons

I actually haven't baked any macarons for a while - I've just neglected to tell you about these ones! The shells are flavored with cocoa powder (and I always find those more prone to cracking, so don't worry if yours do, too.) The filling is a basic buttercream, with instant coffee granules and cocoa powder. I was worried that the coffee should have been dissolved rather than just stirred in, but as it happens, it was perfect this way. The granules retained a little crunch, and more bitterness, which was very pleasant in contrast with the sweetness.

I'll make another batch of macarons soon though, because I got a very special piece of equipment to try out! It's a silicone baking mat specifically for macarons, by Lékué. (I got mine for review from Ninas Mat.) In theory, it looks great - perfect for making all your macarons the same size. I'm excited to see how they turn out though, I'm a little worried that the mat itself will prevent the shells from rising properly... but we'll see!

Coffee & Cocoa Macarons
20 finished macarons

3 egg whites, at room temperature
2 tbsp caster sugar
200 g powdered sugar
110 g almonds
2 tbsp cocoa powder

Combine powdered sugar, almonds and cocoa powder in your food processor, and grind until very fine. Sieve. Re-grind any lumps or big pieces of almonds. Mix carefully (they tend to separate a little bit when sieving, since the sugar falls through first.)

Beat egg whites and sugar until you have a thick, glossy meringue. Don't overbeat. Stir in the almond-sugar powder, and fold together. Don't overmix this - most seem to say that you should use less than 50 strokes. (You can try it by dolloping a little batter on a baking sheet - if the peak falls down, it's ready. If it doesn't, try a few more strokes.)


Pipe small rounds on a baking sheet with baking paper. Leave at room temperature for 30-60 minutes, to form a skin.

Bake at 150°C for 10-12 minutes. (I constantly vary this time, depending on the batch. I use a convection oven.) Let them cool completely before filling. Unused shells can be frozen, or kept in an air-tight container for a day or so.

Filling:
1/2 batch buttercream, see below
1 tbsp instant coffee granules
2 tsp cocoa powder

Buttercream:
3 egg yolks
75 g sugar
82 g corn syrup (or if you're in Sweden, white baking syrup works perfectly)
225 g unsalted butter, softened

Beat the egg yolks until fluffy. Bring sugar and corn syrup to a boil, and immediately remove from heat. Pour over the egg yolks and beat at high speed until fully cooled. (Try not to get any on your beaters, or it will spin to the sides of your bowl.

Add the butter, a pat at a time, until fully incorporated. Divide the finished buttercream in half - you can save one half in the fridge or freezer, but you might have to re-beat it before using. Add cocoa and coffee to the half you'll be using.

Spread - or pipe - the cream onto half of the macaron shells, top with the remaining shells. Eat right away or freeze.

Recipe in Swedish:
Kaffe & Kakaomacarons

Apples

Last weekend, we went apple-picking in Lena's garden. We came home with a huge bag, and Titus arranged the apples in this bowl. It looked so pretty I had to take a picture.

(I had a photo without his hand in it, but this one was much cuter.)

Pickled Cucumbers

This is particular type of pickled cucumber, called "Smörgåsgurka" in Swedish which literally means "Sandwich cucumber" and obviously refers to how well this cucumber goes on.. sandwiches. If you like pickles on your sandwich? I don't. But I like these, as they are, alongside a plate of Pyttipanna. They're both sweet and sour, and not very salty at all. (I can't STAND "saltgurka", which is Swedish salt-pickled cucumbers. Disgusting!)

This is my first time making it. I happened to get a lot of suitable cucumbers - the small, short variety - from a friend, and this was my first thought. I would have used flowering dill, but I couldn't find any - apparently, there's been a shortage. I used some whole dill seeds instead, which give similar flavor.

Pickled Cucumbers

Day 1:
1 kg small cucumbers
1,25 liter water (5 cups)
250 g coarse salt

Clean the cucumbers, and place them - whole - in a bowl. Dissolve the salt in the water, and cover the cucumbers. Let it sit for 24 hours.

Day 2:
The cucumbers from above, sliced into 1/2-cm slices
350 g sugar
1-2 tsp dill seeds
1-2 tsp yellow mustard seeds
1-2 tsp whole white peppercorns
15 g fresh horseradish, thinly sliced
about 200 ml white distilled vinegar (12%), or as much as you need to fill your jar.

Layer the cucumber slices with sugar, dill seeds, mustard seeds, white pepper and horseradish. Add the vinegar to cover completely. Keep in a tightly lidded jar for 3 weeks before you taste it, and after that, keep in a cool place. (And while it'll keep pretty well, I'd suggest finishing these before too long, I never trust home-preserving all that much.)

Recipe in Swedish:
Smörgåsgurka

Thin Mint Cake Balls

I made a Thin Mint Cake for Midsummer's, and when I evened out the cake layers, I was smart enough to put the scraps in a bag in the freezer. For Fourth of July, I defrosted those scraps, and crumbled them. I added a little bit of milk and cream cheese, and mixed until I had a nice dough. I rolled balls, froze them for a short while, and dipped in dark chocolate mixed with a little bit of shortening.

And then some sprinkles. I would have used red, white and blue... but I didn't have any. I did have these nice red and green non-pareils though, so expect a re-run of these at christmas!

And oh - they were great. Although I don't think I need to tell you that.

Chocolate Ganache Cake

This cake makes me drool a little, just remembering it. It was really awesome. I served it at our annual Crawfish party - after the salty and very lean crawfish, a hefty chocolate dessert is just what you need. It's easy to prepare in advance, and thus perfect for a party.

Based on a recipe from Malin Landqvists "Svenska Kakor och Desserter" I just exchanged raspberry cordial for the suggested raspberry liqueur, to make it more kid-friendly.

Chocolate Ganache Cake
serves 12

Cake:
400 g almond paste (I had an extra-yummy version with 60% almonds)
1 tbsp cocoa powder
100 g dark chocolate
1 egg
2 egg whites

Chocolate Ganache:
300 g milk chocolate
200 g dark chocolate
300 ml cream (full fat - 36-40%)
50 ml concentrated raspberry cordial

To decorate and serve:
Fresh raspberries
whipped cream

Start by mixing almond paste, cocoa powder and chocolate in a food processor, until finely chopped. Add the egg and the egg whites, and run until smooth.

Press into a lined 24-cm springform tin. (When I say lined, I mean put a round of baking paper or ideally teflon on the bottom.)

Bake at 175°C for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely. Remove from the tin, clean the tin, and then put the cake back.

Chop all the chocolate for the ganache. Bring the cream to a boil, and stir in the chocolate. Keep stirring until completely smooth, then add the raspberry cordial. Pour into the tin, on top of the cake. Place in the fridge over night.

Decorate with fresh raspberries right before serving, and serve with whipped cream.

Recipe in Swedish:
Maffig Chokladtryffeltårta

Home Cook of the year 2011 - win a ticket!

Remember three years ago? Dagmar, Lena and I won the cooking contest "Home Cook of the Year." It's a really fun contest, and winning was obviously fabulous.

It's that time of year agan, Årets Hemmakock 2011, and the contest final is October 19. I'll be there to cheer on the competitors - and you can be too! I have two tickets to give away to one of you - for you and a friend - and if you want to win, send me an e-mail with your favorite recipe inspired by something you had on a holiday. (That happens to be the theme of the contest this year.) It MUST be done in less than 30 minutes!

Last day to participate is Sunday, October 9.

The finals are in Stockholm, October 19, at 6 pm, so I'm afraid this contest is just open to those of you who can actually attend.

You can view the contest recipes here - too bad the food bloggers Tant Russin and Remsan didn't make it to the finals!

Wednesday Bookmarks - October 5, 2011

Well, I sure am not posting these every Wednesday, as I had planned. Then again, some weeks I barely bookmark anything at all, so there wouldn't be that much to post...

I have a lot of things to share today though! First of all, I discovered a new to me food blog - The Homesick Texan. Almost everything on her blog looks awesome, but I'm especially eager to try Gingerbread Pancakes, a very approachable mole sauce and her uncle's granola. She's also written a cookbook which promptly went on my wishlist.

Joy The Baker doesn't just post about baking, you know. She recently shared a yummy edamame and avocado salad that's sure to hit most of my cravings in a single bowl.

After a salad, surely there's room for dessert. Two desserts, actually. Cheesecake stuffed strawberries, which I simply must remember until next summer when I can actually get strawberries again, and then salted peanut caramel clusters. Mmmm.

And as usual, for all my bookmarks (enough to keep me cooking for pretty much the rest of my life, I believe), go here.

National cinnamon bun day!

October Fourth is the national cinnamon bun day in Sweden - Kanelbullens Dag.

This day is actually getting a lot of attention. All the bakeries are filled with fragrant buns, the food bloggers are all sharing their favorite recipes, and a lot of workplaces are serving cinnamon buns for their afternoon "fika", which is one of the more important cultural peculiarities about Sweden. (And a subject on which I must write more...)

I have several recipes. The ones above are cinnamon "knots", a sort of twisted bun.



Regular buns.



Buns free from eggs and dairy.



And finally, American style sticky cinnamon rolls. Not traditional in Sweden, but delicious.

Thin Mint Cake

I know I don't have to introduce Thin Mints to my US readers, but they might not be as available in the rest of the world. Definitely not in Sweden, that's for sure. I remember having them in the US, and was thusly intrigued by the idea of the flavors transformed into an actual cake. I had to change the recipe quite a bit, since it starts out with a boxed cake mix and our cake mixes aren't even similar (nor the same size). So, I started with a from-scratch recipe for cake mix, and winged it from there. It turned out great!

I was really prejudiced against the so called buttercream, which as you can see, doesn't contained butter. I never use margarine, so I had to really take a leap of faith here. And I'm pretty glad I did, because it tasted great. I don't know if it's just in this particular cake, or if it's just a great frosting, but in either case, this is how I'll go on making it for this cake. A bonus is that it's pretty sturdy and thus easy to pipe with. (Please excuse my decorating job though - I usually don't make cakes with frosting, and my piping skills plainly suck. Not to mention my color-mixing skills. Next cake? Will be white.)

Thin Mint Cake

300 g flour
400 g sugar
100 g cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
55 g margarine
220 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 eggs
1 tbsp mint extract
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 banana, mashed
250 ml water

Start by mixing flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a food processor. Add the margarine and mix until it's well dispersed throughout the dry ingredients.

You can prepare up to here - this is basically a boxed cake mix, and it'll keep for weeks.

Next, stir together the butter, egg, mint, cinnamon and banana. Add the dry cake mix and the water. Divide into two well-buttered cake tins, and bake at 170°C for about 35-40 minutes. Check to make sure they're baked through and not wet in the middle.



Frost with this super simple "buttercream".

Super Simple Buttercream
150 g margarine
300 g powdered sugar
3-4 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Whisk all ingredients into a smooth frosting. Frost between and around the layers, and decorate the cake as you wish.

Recipe in Swedish:
Thin Mint-Tårta