Marit Hovland - Bakeland: Nordic Treats Inspired by Nature

Since I didnt know any techniques, I discovered everything through trial and error. Bakeland by Marit Hovland would have been my dream book. When I first read Bakeland, I was mesmerized by all the amazing ideas Marit brings to life. She finds ways to bring nature into the kitchen, combining home baking with artful but nonprofessional decorating using natural ingredients. She lives up to a basic rule of mine: dont use anything your grandmother wouldnt recognize as food. The recipes are relatively easy.

Some are a little more complicated than others, but all can be accomplished by anybody with a passion for baking. Just read the recipes before you start, then follow the instructions carefully, and you will go on a journey with Marit that is fun and creative. Marits inventions bring cake and cookie decorating down to earth without compromising on aesthetics or on flavor. Imagination is a big part of this baking book. I love the little meringue mushrooms, the green coconut Christmas trees, the strawberry macarons, the icing butterflies, and the cookies that look like birchesiconic trees here in the North. The recipes are well tested and they work.

I baked from the book with great joy together with my ten-year-old niece Mathilde, who also loves Bakeland. Weve flipped through it numerous times and have a list of things we still want to maketreats to look forward to for every season. Bakeland celebrates Nordic life in the way it is structured around the seasons. Seasons are very important in the Nordic countries. They define our everyday life. The light tells us which month we are in and what time of day, and we eat and live accordingly.

Produce comes and goes with the seasons, which may be very short: berries are only in season for six to eight weeks, so we eat them every day while they last. I love the way that light plays into these recipes, offering inspiration in terms of patterns and ideasfor example, the cookies with small clouds. Some of the decorations even have interesting echoes of Nordic painters. Seasons are also about cold and warm temperatures. We tend to eat heavier things in winter than in summer; we need sweet things to get us through the dark winter months, and summer cakes to celebrate the light and the more welcoming weather. I think we need a world in which more baking takes place at home, rather than just being something we watch chefs do on television.

This book should be used regularly in the kitchen, its pages getting dusted with flour and spotted with icing. It could bring families together on a Saturday for a baking project. Or it could inspire a baking-themed birthday party, where the children bake the cake themselves. Or you could just spend a day baking all by yourself, and your dream cake will come to life. I promise it is the best and most stress-free time you can have. For myself, when the world is running too fast, I go into my kitchen and bake a cake.

Marit Hovlands Bakeland has inspired new ideas that I am excited to explore. I recommend this book to anybody who bakes. Bake with love, Trine Hahnemann Author of The Scandinavian Cookbook and Scandinavian BakingHI! Its nice of you to come along to Bakeland, a place I hope and believe youll enjoy. I am neither a professional baker nor a pastry maker, but I have always loved to bake, and the kitchen has been my playground since I was little. Its a place where I can relax, have fun, and be creative. As a child growing up in Norway, I was always welcome in the kitchen, both as a helper and to experiment on my own.

It didnt matter if the kitchen was covered in flour from floor to ceiling when I was donecreative messes were always welcome in my home! Over the years, I put my mixing bowls and measuring spoons to good use as I explored my curiosity, tackled new tasks, and learned new things. Im excited to have the opportunity to share my recipes with you, whether youre a skilled pastry chef already or someone who enjoys baking for fun. What youre holding in your hands is my very first book, a collection of baking recipes that I can truly call my own. Everything in it is mine: the original idea, the photos, and the recipes. As a professional graphic designer, I was determined from the start to take on the design and layout of the book myself. Inspiration can be found everywhere.

I always carry a notebook wherever I goI recommend it. You never know when ideas will pop into your head. For this book, I have been inspired by all things beautiful in nature. I always say that I have four favorite seasons: winter, spring, summer, and fall. With my recipes, I invite you to come along on a splendid, tasty trip through an entire year of Norwegian nature! In Norway, every season is beautiful, each in its own way. Winter, with its intricate snowflakes and ice crystals; spring, when everything in nature is reborn; summer, with its spectacular sunsets and fields of abundant wildflowers; and fall, the season of glowing colors and crisp air.

Whichever part of the world you live in, youll find beauty in the changing moods and colors of the seasons. If you keep your eyes open when youre out walking, you may noticeand revel intiny details youve never paid attention to before. I have tried to use techniques and instructions in this book that anyone can follow. For many of the recipes, there are step-by-step illustrations, which show that although at first glance the desserts may seem advanced, theyre actually relatively simple. With a few tips and tricks, anyone can be an artistic baker. My decorations can be simplified, made more advanced, or ignored completely.

Maybe you have some favorite baking recipes that you could dress up using suggestions from this book? Or maybe it will provide you with entirely new ideas? All the more fun, if thats the case. Even though I love decorating my baking, taste has always been my first priority. I use a lot of fruits, nuts, berries, and spices in my recipes, and I want everything to taste as tempting as it looks. After all, its meant to be eaten and enjoyed. For that reason, I avoid using too much food coloring, and you wont find much use for fondants here. Im dedicated to finding solutions that dont require a kitchen full of specialty tools.

Most techniques can be accomplished using items you already have at home: aluminum foil, toothpicks, cotton swabs, and regular paper. I hope this book will inspire you to try new things in the kitchen. The joy and sense of achievement you feel when you step outside your comfort zone are underrated. Regardless of whether the result is flawless, youll end up feeling proud once youve made the first attempt. And when it comes to baking, its hard to render the result inedible! Dont give up too soonas with most things in life, practice makes perfect. Ive learned a lot through trial and error.