Bronte Aurell - ScandiKitchen: Fika and Hygge: Comforting Cakes and Bakes from Scandinavia with Love

SCANDIKITCHEN

FIKA & HYGGE

SCANDIKITCHEN

FIKA & HYGGE

Comforting cakes and bakes from Scandinavia with love

BRONT AURELL

Photography by Peter Cassidy

Dedication

For Jonas, Astrid and Elsa with all my love, always x

Senior Designer

Sonya Nathoo

Editor

Alice Sambrook

Head of Production

Patricia Harrington

Art Director

Leslie Harrington

Editorial Director

Julia Charles

Publisher

Cindy Richards

Food Stylists

Bridget Sargeson, Jack Sargeson with Laura Urschel

Assistant Food Stylist

Lola Milne

Prop Stylist

Tony Hutchinson

Recipe Tester

Cathy Seward

Indexer

Vanessa Bird

First published in 2016 by Ryland Peters & Small 2021 Jockeys Fields London WC1R 4BW and Ryland Peters & Small, Ltd. 341 E 116th St

New York NY 10029

www.rylandpeters.com

Text Bront Aurell 2016

Design and commissioned photographs

Ryland Peters & Small 2016

ISBN: 978-1-84975-759-1

eISBN: 978-1-78879-004-8

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

The authors moral rights have been asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Printed and bound in China.

CIP data from the Library of Congress has been applied for.

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.

Notes

Both British (metric) and American (imperial plus US cups) are included in these recipes; however, it is important to work with one set of measurements and not alternate between the two within a recipe.

All butter should be unsalted unless specified.

All eggs are medium (UK) or large (US), unless specified as large, in which case US extra large should be used. Uncooked or partially cooked eggs should not be served to the very old, frail, young children, pregnant women or those with compromised immune systems.

Ovens should be preheated to the specified temperatures. We recommend using an oven thermometer. If using a fan-assisted oven, adjust temperatures according to the manufacturers instructions.

When a recipe calls for the grated zest of citrus fruit, buy unwaxed fruit and wash well before using. If you can only find treated fruit, scrub well in warm soapy water before using.

Photography credits
All photography by Peter Cassidy except: 30r Kate Whitaker/Ryland Peters & Small; 3839 B.Aa. Strenes/Getty Images; 48l A house designed by Ilkka Suppanen in Finland. ph Paul Ryan/Ryland Peters & Small; 48r Stella Willing stylist/designer and owner of house in Amsterdam. ph Debi Treloar/Ryland Peters & Small; 49l Nassima Rothacker/Ryland Peters & Small; 49c Jonathan Birch/Narratives; 49r The home of the designer Stine & Henrik Busk. ph Debi Treloar/Ryland Peters & Small; 5859 Miriam Glans/Getty Images; 74l Kate Whitaker/Ryland Peters & Small; 74r Johner Images/Getty Images; 75al Kate Whitaker/Ryland Peters & Small; 75c Johner Images/Getty Images; 75r Tim E White/Getty Images; 9091 Johner Images/Getty Images; 104r Markus Kirchgessner/laif/Camera Press; 105l Steve Painter/Ryland Peters & Small; 105r peder77/Getty Images; 114115 B.Aa. Strenes/Getty Images; 130l The family home of designers Ulla Koskinen & Sameli Rantanen in Finland. ph Debi Treloar/Ryland Peters & Small; 130c & 130r Debi Treloar/Ryland Peters & Small; 131l Hanne Grans home, Halden, Norway. ph Debi Treloar/Ryland Peters & Small; 138139 Debi Treloar/Ryland Peters & Small; 158r Steve Painter/Ryland Peters & Small; 159l Johner Images/Getty Images; 172173 SiriGronskar/Getty Images.

CONTENTS

ScandiKitchen, our wonderful caf and grocery shop in Londons West End, was born out of pure homesickness and a need to find a space where we could meet up with people for a fika a cup of coffee and a bite of something sweet to eat. A place where we could meet with family and friends to just enjoy being together and hygge a bit, escaping from the hustle and bustle of day-to-day life. When we first had the idea of opening a Nordic-inspired caf almost ten years ago, it was near on impossible to find all the food goodies we missed from home. So we decided to create a place that reflected our love for the foods we missed.

Being Swedish and Danish, it always seemed natural that the concepts of fika and hygge had to be at the heart of everything we do at the caf. One of the first things Jonas made sure was on the menu was the wholesome cinnamon bun and Bront even toyed with the idea of naming the caf Hygge reflecting just how important this concept is to us. We decided hygge might be tricky to pronounce for some, so settled for what we are: a homely Scandinavian kitchen run by a friendly bunch of people. To create a welcoming space was always a priority for us, whether you are a homesick Nordic expat looking for your fix of salty liquorice or anyone else just searching for a nice place for a cup of coffee and a good piece of cake. Anyone can feel a sense of hygge, a state of content cosiness with friends where nothing else seems to matter.

Of course, not everybody has the opportunity to just pop by our caf to say hello. With this book, we wanted to share some of our favourite autumn and winter treats perfect for the short, dark winter days. From buns, to cakes, to little pastries a selection of recipes to make your own traditional fika at home and create cosy feelings of hygge with people you love. For everybody to be able to bring a bit of Nordic loving to their lives through the cakes we love to make and bake.

In the years since we opened our doors, much has changed about the way Scandinavia is viewed from outside our home countries. Back when we opened, nobody knew the word fika, and hygge was just another unpronounceable Danish word. Nowadays, books are being written on the concepts of fika and hygge, and it truly feels as if the world is waking up to the wonders of remembering to turn off the noise from our busy everyday routines. While were sure they could have done this without Scandinavias help, having the words to define what we feel is important.

We hope you enjoy this selection of our favourite autumn and winter treats from Scandinavia and that you enjoy creating feelings of hygge and fika in your own homes.

Bront & Jonas Aurell

Scandinavia is a huge place, so what defines an ingredient as local varies from hilly Norway to flat Denmark - theres a 2,500 km/1,500 mile distance between them. However, we all share a love of lots of similar products, so here is a brief guide to some of the products you will need for Nordic baking. Weve put this together based on things we get asked for at the caf, and we often help people source specific ingredients or find local replacements to use instead. You will find a more comprehensive list at www.scandikitchen.co.uk.