Trina Hahnemann - Scandi bites : 60 recipes for sweet treats, party food and other little Scandinavian snacks

Contents Scandinavia is the land of hygge, fika or the kaffepause any excuse to take a break. Having coffee with cakes and treats is part of daily life, be it at home or in a caf. Scandinavians like buns and pastries in the morning, sandwiches for lunch and snacks during the day, and cakes in the afternoon. This tradition is perfect for someone like me who never seems to fall out of love with baking. When I grew up, we had three main meals a day and some treats in between. Times are changing, and we eat more fluidly during the day now; often it is more about small bites throughout the day than about major meals.

Then buns, crispbread or just a slice of rye bread with a topping are great choices: easy to eat and light, but most importantly tasty. Home baking is still something I love to do, and even though I now own the bakery in Copenhagen, Hahnemanns Kkken, I still bake at home my rye bread, buns and a cake now and then. It means a lot to me; I really enjoy roaming around my kitchen and I often do more than one thing while baking, like listening to a podcast or writing and drinking endless cups of tea. It is a way for me to relax, in my favourite room in my house the kitchen. This book is a collection of some of my favourite things to eat. You could say that it is my treasure trove of Scandi bites, recipes that I keep revisiting some frequently and others mostly in the holiday season.

I might forget about them but one of them re-emerges again a while later and I get all excited about cooking it again, as if I were seeing an old friend. Consider this book a small window into the Scandi way of eating and get inspired to make some of the things I eat and make. Remember always to embrace the act of baking, not just the end result of eating; both the process and the time spent at the dining table are a part of lifes joy. Cinnamon buns There are countless recipes for these famous buns. I think they have to be soft, with a crisp shell, and that there has be cardamom in the dough. Also, the mixture has to have the right balance of spice and sweet.

Makes 1820 ______ For the buns 50g/2oz fresh yeast 500ml/2 cups lukewarm whole milk 1 egg, lightly beaten 850g/7 cups 00 grade (tipo 00) flour, plus more to dust 100g/ cup caster or granulated sugar 2 tsp ground cardamom tsp salt 150g/ cup soft butter For the filling 200g/ cup soft butter 150g/1 cups caster or granulated sugar 4 tsp ground cinnamon You can make the dough and leave it to rise in the refrigerator for 1 or 2 days. I never have time, because there are always some impatient children waiting Crumble the yeast into the milk and stir to dissolve, then add the egg. Now mix in the flour, sugar, cardamom and salt. Mix the butter into the dough, then knead well on a floured work surface. Put the dough into a bowl, cover with a tea towel and let it rise in a warm place for one or two hours, or until doubled in size. Make the filling by mixing together the butter, sugar and cinnamon.

Divide the dough in half and roll each piece out on a floured work surface to make a rectangle measuring about 40 x 30cm/16 x 12in. Spread the cinnamon filling over each. Roll each piece of dough into a wide cylinder, starting from a long side to get a long, slim log, then cut into 2.5cm/1in slices. Line some baking sheets with baking parchment. Place the cinnamon rolls on the paper, pressing down on each one so they spread slightly. Cover and leave to rise again, in a warm place, for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Bake the cinnamon buns for 2530 minutes. Leave to cool on a wire rack before serving. Cardamom knots Theres a legendary Scandi childrens story called When the Robbers Came to Cardamom Town about some rather nice robbers Why Cardamom town, I dont know I suppose it just shows how much we love cardamom! Makes 1820 ______ For the filling 200g/ cup soft butter 150g/1 cups caster or granulated sugar 2 tsp ground cardamom For the knutar 1 quantity dough 00 grade (tipo 00), or plain/all-purpose flour, to dust 1 egg, lightly beaten Make the filling by mixing together the butter, sugar and cardamom. Divide the dough in half and roll each piece out on a floured work surface to make a 40 x 30cm/16 x 12in rectangle. Spread the cardamom filling lengthways over half of each rectangle.

Fold the plain side over the filled, then cut crossways into 2cm/in strips. Roll these strips of dough twice round your hand, then secure with the end, pulling it through the middle of the mass as you would a hank of leftover wool (this forms the knot shape). Place on baking sheets lined with baking parchment. Cover with tea towels and leave to rise in a warm place for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Buttermilk buns This is an old-fashioned type of pastry that young people do not really know. Buttermilk buns This is an old-fashioned type of pastry that young people do not really know.

But they can bring tears to older generations, who remember their mothers baking them. Makes 12 ______ For the buns 50g/2oz fresh yeast 200ml/ cup buttermilk 1 egg, lightly beaten 300g/2 cups 00 grade (tipo 00) flour, plus more to dust 75g/ cup caster or granulated sugar 1 tsp salt 100g/scant cup cold butter For the filling 150g/5oz good , coarsely grated 100g/scant cup soft butter 2 Tbsp caster/superfine sugar For the topping 1 egg, lightly beaten 100g/ cup skin-on almonds, finely chopped Crumble the yeast into the buttermilk and stir to dissolve, then stir in the egg. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, sugar and salt. Cut the butter into cubes and rub it into the flour with your fingers until it looks like crumbs. Stir in the yeast mixture, then knead the dough on a floured work surface until smooth. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place for one hour.

Mix together all the ingredients for the filling. Roll out the dough into a circle on a floured work surface, spread the filling evenly over it, then cut into 12 triangles. Roll each into a little horn (kind of similar to a croissant but without the curve, see photo, right) and place on baking sheets lined with baking parchment. Leave to rise again, in a warm place, for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Brush the pastries with the egg, sprinkle with the almonds and bake for 2025 minutes.

Leave to cool on a wire rack. Poppy and sesame seed Danish Frsnappe