Success tart (suksessterte) is a much-loved cake from Norway.

Suksessterte is one of the most cherished cakes in Norway.

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Success tart (literally success tart in Norwegian) is one of the cakes I grew up with. To me it symbolizes the North of Norway just as much as fresh fish does. My mother always made it and I took the cake for granted long after my childhood. I had to grow up and move 1400 kilometres away before I understood what a treasure my mother baked, Christmas after Christmas, year after year to us kids.

Success tart consists of layers of almond meringue with a yellow cream made of egg yolks, sugar, cream and butter. The cream is like a vanilla custard with butter. It is not only the taste that makes this delicious cake desired. Success tart is one of those extraordinary cakes that freezes well and is gluten-free and low carb. Because it freezes so well I called it ”ice cake” as a kid. I do not know many who has not fallen in love with success tart. It is, as a friend of mine once said, ”sinfully good”.

Thank you mum. Thanks for all the success tarts you have made through the years.

My mum! Nobody makes success tart like she does.

Note: You cannot use almond flour because it is too finely ground. Use a blender or food processor to grind the almonds.

Norwegian success tart

Cream:
5 egg yolks
100 ml / 3,4 oz heavy cream
80 g / 3 oz sugar
150 g / 5,3 oz cold butter in cubes

Almond meringue:
5 egg whites
250 g / 8,8 oz ground almonds
225 g / 8 oz icing sugar

Topping:
Grated dark chocolate

How to make the cream:
1. Place all ingredients (except the butter) in a heavy-bottomed pan on low heat while you constantly stir with a (flat) whisk until it thickens. The process will take about 15-30 minutes. The rule is the same as when making vanilla custard: Do not let if boil, then the eggs will curdle. The sauce is finished when it just starts to bubble!

2. Remove the pan from the heat and add the butter, a tablespoon at a time while you stir with the whisk.

3. When all the butter is incorporated into the cream, place the pan in cold water. If you want to do it like my mother then whip the cream by hand for about 10-15 minutes until fluffy. If not, use an electric whisk and whisk for about 5 minutes. Place in the refrigerator.

How to make the almond meringue:
1. Preheat the oven to 175C/350F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. The baking tray should be about 30 x 40 cm (12 x 15 inches).

2. Grind the almonds using a food processor. Mix the almonds with icing sugar.

3. Whisk the egg whites until stiff, about 2 minutes. Fold in the almond flour and icing sugar.

4. With a spatula, spoon the meringue on the parchment paper. It should form the shape of a rectangle. Bake for about 20-30 minutes until golden brown on the outside.

5. Right after you take the almond meringue out of the oven and the meringue is still on the baking tray: Place a baking grid on top of the baking tray and turn upside down. Now you are able to remove the baking tray and the paper. While the meringue is lying on the grid, divide the cake into two even-sized rectangles. Allow to cool.

How to assemble the cake:
Place one of the meringues as a base. Spoon half the cream on top. Place the other meringue on top and spoon the rest of the cream. Finish with grated chocolate. When serving, cut into small squares.

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Banana cake with chocolate, almonds and spice.

Is banana cake the most tolerant cake in the world?

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This is my everyday cake. The cake I bake to have a sweet bite with my coffee. It has a lot of bold flavours without getting overtly sweet. There are many reasons to make banana cake. First of all it is extremely easy to make, even easier than brownie because it is almost impossible to bake too much in the oven. It is brilliant leftover food with the best result using overripe bananas. The sweetness of the bananas makes it possible to use less sugar. Finally, it is tolerant.

If you have food allergies, banana cake is a cake that is just as good without flour, dairy, nuts or eggs. Of all allergies egg allergy seems to me as one of the hardest to live with. What is breakfast without pancakes or eggs? What is a cake without the chemistry of the egg? By accident (I forgot eggs one time I was baking) I discovered that banana cake without egg works just fine. This is because the bananas do the same thing as the egg: They bind the cake.

My banana cake is not all about tolerance. It is also delicious with a rich flavour and delicate texture. Again, the bananas play a substantial role. The cake is moist while caramelized and crunchy on the outside. I have baked and baked to find the perfect taste, and to me it is the addition of coconut palm sugar, almond flour, chocolate chunks and a subtle hint of spices. I use coconut palm sugar instead of refined sugar to achieve a more caramelized taste and because it is has a low GI index. If you are allergic to chocolate and nuts, just omit them. The banana cake still retains a lot of flavour.

Looks may be deceiving. Banana cake with chocolate. Perfect with coffee or tea.

This makes one little loaf tin or a little bundt pan.

Banana cake

75 g / 2,6 oz butter
3 small or 2 big overripe bananas
1 egg (optional)
75 g / 2,6 oz coconut palm sugar
75 g / 2,6 oz almond flour (or wheat flour)
50 g / 1,8 oz flour (gluten-free or wheat flour)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/3 tsp ground cloves
a pinch of salt
40 g / 1,4 oz dark chocolate (70 %), chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 160C/320F. Place parchment paper in a loaf tin or a little bundt pan.

2. Melt the butter and allow to cool a bit.

3. Mash the bananas with a fork in a bowl. Add the melted butter and egg and combine until blended.

4. Add the sugar, flour and the rest of the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Pour in the tin and bake for about 30-45 minutes.

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Quick pasta with spinach and quinoa.

This quick pasta dish only takes 15 minutes, is fit for both midweek and weekend dinners and contains two super ingredients, spinach and quinoa.

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Spinach – the green knight from Persia

Spinach is one of the quickest and healthiest vegetables you can use in your kitchen. If you buy packages of prewashed spinach, it takes only two minutes to prepare. The spinach originates from ancient Persia (today’s Iran), and was brought to India and China by Arabic traders in the 7th century. Hence the Chinese called it “Persian vegetable”. The Arabs also brought it to Europe in the 9th century, to Sicily which at that time was ruled by the Arabs.

Quinoa – the secret from the Andes

On the other side of the earth a distant relative of the spinach thrives in a harsh climate. Quinoa has been cultivated for 3 000 years in South America. It is very nutritious and even gluten-free. The Incas held quinoa into high esteem, using the seeds in religious rituals.

Although the Inca population never exceeded more than 100,000, they have put their everlasting mark on history. Their empire stretched 2,500 miles through some of the world’s most mountainous terrain from today’s southern Columbia to central Chile. They built Machu Picchu as a royal retreat for one of their emperors. The Incas have been called the Romans of the New World. Their reign ended with the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century. The Spaniards forbid the cultivation of quinoa, forcing the Incas to grow wheat instead. The last Inca emperor, Túpac Amaru, was killed by the Spanish in 1572.

There is a good reason quinoa was revered by the Incas. Compared to wheat quinoa is more nutritious containing a high amount of protein, magnesium and iron. It endures extreme conditions and is cultivated at an altitude of 4 000 meters above sea level defying temperatures ranging from -8 degrees to 38 degrees Celsius. Because it is so hardy and nutritious, the United Nations has put quinoa to the fore under the slogan “A future sown thousands of years ago”.

The Spanish did not bring the quinoa back to The Old World. Quinoa remained an edible treasure hidden by the Andes range. Instead Columbus and the Spaniards brought the pepper (Capsicum annuum) home to Europe. And back in Old Spain pepper were to become one of the key ingredients in modern Spanish kitchen.

Pimentón dulce.

Red is for pimentón

Which colour do you associate with the Spanish kitchen? Maybe your answer is yellow and saffron, but there is another colour more integral to Spain’s food. Red. Red is for pimentón. Pimentón is a spice made from peppers (chili peppers or bell peppers) first dried and then ground to a fine powder. Pimentón is what gives chorizo its characteristic red colour. Pimentón comes in tree versions: mild (dulce), bittersweet (agridulce) og hot (picante). The spice is only produced in the region of Murcia and La Vera in Extremadura. In La Vera the peppers are smoke-dried on chunks of wild oak producing a smoky flavour and intense red colour.

Quick pasta with spinach and quinoa (makes 2–3):

In this pasta dish it is important to use raw sausages because they impart more flavour. You can use a common type of sausage like bratwurst, but then do add a garlic clove when you fry to spice up the sausage.

A bag of prewashed spinach (about 300 g)
2–3 raw sausages
1 tbsp pimentón (preferably Pimentón de la Vera)
200–300 ml heavy cream
a handful of parmesan
salt and pepper
rapeseed oil
quinoa pasta

1. First, start boiling the pasta water. You do not want to wait for it to boil after the sauce is finished.

2. Add a lug of oil to a frying pan and fry the spinach in two batches on medium heat until wilted. I takes about 1 minute. Place the spinach on a plate and squeeze out the water with your hands.

3. Add another lug of oil to the frying pan. Slit the sausages and squeeze small meatballs with your hand into the pan. Fry the sausage meatballs with the pimentón until golden, about 5–10 minutes.

4. Finally add the cream and cook until the sauce has thickened a bit.

5. Put the spinach back into the pan. Season with salt and pepper and serve with a generous amount of parmesan.

If you liked this post, maybe you also will like:

Smoothies with mango, lingonberry and spinach
Summer pasta with slow-roasted vegetables
Pasta Bolognese for non-Italians

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Three Nordic cupcakes.

It is piece of cupcake to make your own assorted cupcakes.

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I have never liked cupcakes much. I made an attempt when I was in London this summer and by accident came across the one and only Hummingbird Bakery in Islington. The bakery was situated not far from what must be the most beautiful name of any London tube station, Angel Station.

Assorted Nordic cupcakes with passion fruit icing, almond praline topping and apples

To me cupcakes resemble the hair fashion of the 17th and 18th century

A time when men from the European aristocracy wore perfumed wigs powdered with flour. Cupcakes may look lavish, and to top it all, they are often photographed in a high key setting. But in the end cupcakes are quite ordinary. I would rather prefer a down-to-earth muffin or a British fairy cake. I like cakes with the same on the outside as the inside.

My cat Doris.

One simple sponge will provide you with three varieties

So, I hereby introduce my mockingbird cupcakes! It looks like you have spent the whole evening in the kitchen baking, but you have not. Here I make a late autumn and early winter variety with this season’s last Norwegian apples, another with almond pralines and a third with passion fruit icing. Make your own assorted collection of cakes and give them as a gift.

A trick I learned from Jamie Oliver in one of his cookbooks was to substitute the water with orange or lemon juice when making icing. This way you add flavour and a little splash of colour to the icing. I choose my ultimate favorite fruit, passion fruit. Just remember the passion fruit is mature when it is wrinkled.

Almond praline cupcake (or toscakake in Norwegian)

Tosca cake is a Nordic sponge cake with an almond praline topping

As a child I did not like the sponge, so I only ate the topping. My mother, like most parents, did not approve of my action. Therefore I add the almond pralines both in the top and the bottom. This cake is to every kid out there who never had enough almond praline topping in their childhood.

Note! These are just as good with gluten-free flour.

Yields about 12 cupcakes (four of each type).

Cupcake with passion fruit icing.

Cupcakes with tree different toppings

The basic sponge:
175 g / 6 oz softened butter
175 g / 6 oz caster sugar
175 g / 6 oz flour
3 organic eggs
1 organic lemon
1 tsp baking powder

1. Preheat the oven to 175C/350F/gas 4. Take out the muffin tins.
2. Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add one egg at a time and incorporate well before adding the next one. Fold in zest of one lemon and sifted flour with the baking powder.
3. Now make each of the different types – see below.
4. Bake in the oven for about 20-25 minutes.

Almond praline topping:

40 g light brown sugar
40 g butter
1 tbsp flour
2 tbsp milk
60 g blanched almonds

Prepare the almonds first. You do not have to blanch the almonds, you can also roughly chop them. Melt the butter and sugar in a small pan. Add the flour and milk while stirring and boil for 5 minutes. When finished, add the almonds.

Place a generous tablespoon almond praline in the bottom of the muffin tin and add some of the sponge. About 10 minutes before the cakes are done, place another tablespoon of almond praline on the top, and continue baking until finished.

Apples and cinnamon:

1-2 small Norwegian apples (or Granny Smith with some lemon juice)
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Mix sugar and cinnamon in a little box and toss well. Peel and slice the apples. Push them into the batter and sprinkle with the cinnamonsugar.

Passion fruit icing:

1 passion fruit
lemon juice
powdered sugar

Place a small colander (or an open tea strainer) on a coffee cup. Slice the passion fruit into two parts and scrape out the pulp with a teaspoon into the colander. ”Scrape” out the juice (so the pulp remains in the colander and the juice in the coffee cup). Add gradually powdered sugar until thick and not runny. If it is too thick, just add a few drops of lemon juice. Place the icing on the cupcakes when they are cold. If you are going to serve the cakes soon, place some of the pulp on top of the icing.

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Brownies with salted caramel, pecans and ice cream
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French toast with cinnamonsugar and gingerbread ice cream

The post Cupcakes three ways appeared first on Nordic Diner.

Brownies with salted caramel sauce and sugared pecans.

How to make brownies with salted caramel sauce and pecans on the side.

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Baking powder, flour, eggs and sugar. This is what we are taught most cakes need. But not brownies. Brownies chooses its own road. It does not want baking powder and is not fond of flour. Instead it helps itself with some extra sugar, steals some chocolate and flirts with Peggy Pecan.

Brownies are ubiquitous, but not all brownies are brownies. Some are fudgy chocolate cakes. In my opinion brownies should be a mix between chocolate cake and cookies. They should not be too dark, and they should contain so much sugar that the edges are slightly crispy but still moist and chewy on the inside. If you decrease the amount of sugar (and believe me I have tried) it will turn into a chocolate cake, not brownies.

The hardest thing about brownies is bake it just right. Long enough to avoid a mud cake, short enough to avoid it getting dry. In this respect, lots of sugar come in handy. The rich amount of sugar makes it more difficult to bake the brownies dry.

My version of brownies is pretty childish and becomes even more childish when served with ice cream, caramel sauce and pecans. If you want to make an easy dessert easier, skip the brownies and just serve ice cream with pecan nuts and caramel sauce. It is still a dessert that will haunt your guests. Buy the ice cream but make the caramel sauce yourself.

The rule of making your own caramel sauce is a spoon of butter and twice as much heavy cream as sugar. Drizzle the sauce on top of the ice cream while still warm. Also, you can easily substitute the flour with gluten-free flour. Brownies is one of those cakes that easily bares the transition from gluten to gluten-free. And the cake is also suitable for those allergic to nuts since the nuts are served on the side.

The cake is suitable for those allergic to nuts since the nuts are served on the side.

Brownies (makes 4-5)

150 g / 5,3 oz butter
50 g / 1,8 oz dark chocolate (70 %), chopped
200 g / 7 oz sugar
2 organic eggs
75 g / 2,6 oz flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder

1. Preheat oven to 175C/350F. Melt the butter in a pan. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Add the chopped chocolate. Stir until blended.

2. Whisk eggs and sugar until pale and fluffy, then add the melted chocolate and butter. Fold in sifted flour and cocoa powder.

3. Pour the batter in a small pan with parchment paper. Bake in the oven in the lower position for about 25-35 minutes. In contrast to other cakes, brownies should not come clean when you insert a skewer in the center of the cake. The skewer should come out with wet crumbs.

Salted caramel sauce

40 g / 1,4 oz sugar
100 ml / 3,4 oz heavy or double cream
1 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp flaky salt (e.g. maldon sea salt)

1. Place the sugar in a heavy-based pan and shake the pan so the sugar distributes evenly. Let stand on medium heat until the sugar melts into a light brown caramel. Have patience and do not stir. It may take about 5-10 minutes for the sugar to dissolve. Keep your eyes on the pan the whole time. When the sugar first starts to melt, it will turn from brown to burnt in just a few seconds.

2. Right after the sugar has turned brown, add the cream and stir well. The caramel will first harden and splutter. Keep cooking while you stir until the caramel has melted. Remove from the heat, add the butter and salt.

Sugared pecans

A generous handful of pecans
1 tbsp icing sugar
1 tsp water

1. Heat a frying pan on medium heat and add the pecans. Toast the nuts for about 5 minutes while you shake the pan often. They are finished when they start to smell.

2. Add the icing sugar and water, shake the pan well and remove from the heat.

More sweet delights?

Roasted plums with cookie topping
Cupcakes three ways

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Rhubarb tart 1938.

She once was engaged to a man, but it was not to last. She lived her life as a spinster taking care of other people, baking cakes for her brother, for her sister’s grandchildren, for another woman’s husband.

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My great-aunt, my grandmother’s sister, was born on June 11, 1914, on a small island in the North of Norway. She was one among seven siblings. As a young girl she had the same hopes as other girls, but she did not get far.

For seven years she was engaged to a man from the same little place as herself, but he moved to the city and found somebody else. My great-aunt was left on the island. She lived in a household with her extended family. Her brother, her sister and her sister’s husband. Her brother suffered from tuberculosis that attacked his spine. He survived the disease also called the white plague – but his height decreased from 1.90 meters to 1.50 and put him in a wheelchair. My great-aunt took care of him, fed him and washed his clothes.

When her brother died, she was left with her sister and her brother-in-law. My grandparents. She was a bystander to their marriage, their children and their grandchildren. How strange it must have been to live alongside their happiness and sorrows.

My great-aunt (to the right) and her sister.

In 1938, when she was 24 years old, she entered school to study Home economics (husmorskolen). Cleaning, nutrition, handicrafts and cooking were parts of the curriculum. Then WW2 came to Norway and to our little island. Every little island and remote area was invaded by the Germans. But in contrast to the northernmost parts of Norway, this part of Norway escaped Hitler’s policy of scorched earth.

Later she joined the Home Mission Movement. Religion brought her God but also off the island. Every summer she joined the missionary boat sailing along the Norwegian coast. She made the journey with her friend. The two spinsters found each other.

My great-aunt was the last one in our family to live in the big old wooden house. The house with the view to the fjord and the mountains of the Senja islands. There are no wedding photographs from her life. Nor pictures of toddlers opening up their christmas gifts. Still, she became a grandmother for us kids.

Was she happy? Was this the life she wanted? I never asked her.

All I have is her cookbook from 1938. All recipes from her year at Home Economics school she wrote down in her cookbook. One of them was a tart with rhubarb or almonds. Today it is a memory of my great-aunt.

The rhubarb jam has a slightly brownish colour before oven baked. After that it turns dark red.

This makes one big tart or about four individual tarts. Making individual ones is easier when dealing with gluten-free dough as it easily breaks. In contrast to traditional French tarts with shortcrust pastry, this pastry is easier to succeed with and does not require blind baking. The pastry, which consists of butter, flour, sugar and eggs, resembles sweet shortcrust pastry (pâte sucrée). It is filled with slow-cooked and caramelized rhubarb jam.

Rhubarb tart

Rhubarb jam:
600 g / 21 oz peeled rhubarb
200 g / 7 oz sugar

Sweet pastry:
1 egg
75 g / 2½ oz sugar
120 g / 4½ oz butter, softened
250 g / 8½ oz gluten-free or ordinary flour
1 tsp baking powder

1. Cut the rhubarb in pieces and place them in a pan with the sugar. Let the rhubarb rest overnight – the sugar will produce rhubarb juice. When you boil the jam you do not add any water so this  ”juicing process” is important.

2. The next day boil the rhubarb for about an hour on medium heat without cover. If you use green rhubarb, the colour should be brownish red. Cooking sugar this long will darken the colour and thicken the jam. When finished, let the jam cool.

3. Preheat the oven to 170C/340F/Gas 4.

4. Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until pale colour. Beat in the egg until fully incorporated. Mix in the flour and the baking powder until the mixture comes together as a ball.

5. Roll out 2/3 of the dough on a lightly dusted surface. Transfer it to a flan ring, ideally with a removable base. Spoon over the jam.

6. Roll out the remaining 1/3 of the dough on a lightly dusted surface. Use a rolling-pin and a pastry wheel to make a nice top.

7. Bake for about 45 minutes (or 30 minutes if individual pies).

More recipes with rhubarb?

Pink rhubarb lemonade with lime
Rhubarb crumble with oats and nuts

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Rhubarb crumble.

Rhubarb is perfect for the rather cold and moist British and Norwegian summers and is adored in both countries, but the country where rhubarb originates from is China where it has been known for 3 000 years. In China rhubarb is not eaten but used in medicine where the roots are dried. It was also considered as medicine when it first arrived in Norway in the 18th century. We did not consume rhubarb as food until English rhubarb species came to Norway a century later. So thanks, mates!

In the USA rhubarb is called the pie plant, but rhubarb is also divine in a crumble or cobbler. Crumble is extremely versatile as you can make it using many types of fruit or berries. Also, if you have food allergies, crumble is perfect. It does not contain eggs and the flour can be substituted by nuts or oats. You can also use gluten-free flour. However, even simple dishes have rules.

Rules of making crumble

1. First you need a fruit or berry with lots of juice that keeps its shape and does not disintegrate easily. You need a fruit that can stand the heat. A cooking fruit or berry. So oranges and strawberries are too fragile while apples are too dry. The best options are cherries, rhubarb, peaches and plums. Apples are always good in desserts, but pair them with cherries or plums in a crumble.

2. For the topping use mix your flour with oats and nuts to impart more flavour and crunch.

3. A crumble should not be overtly sweet, so add some lemon juice with the fruit in addition to sugar. This will make the flavour sing, to quote Jamie Oliver. Lemon is not necessary when using rhubarb or sour berries.

Rhubarb crumble before it is baked in the oven.

Rhubarb crumble with nuts and oats.

Rhubarb crumble (3–4):

300 g / 10 oz peeled rhubarb
50 g / 1,7 oz sugar

Almond topping:
30 g / 1 oz demerara sugar
40 g/ 1½ oz butter
½ tsp ground cinnamon
40 g / 1½ oz flour (or gluten-free flour)
40 g / 1½ oz oats
40 g / 1½ oz almonds
20 g / 1 oz almond flour (ground almonds)

If you are allergic to nuts substitute the almonds with oats. When I grind almonds, I always grind the whole package (250 g). The rest of the almond flour is great to use in other cakes, like brownies, banana cake and many others.

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

2. Wash the rhubarb stalks, peel the skin off and trim the ends. Cut the stalks into pieces. Place them in an oven tray with the sugar. Let them rest for half an hour – the sugar will start to produce rhubarb juice!

3. Put the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and rub the butter into the dry ingredients. Sprinkle on top of the rhubarb.

4. Bake in the oven for about 20–30 minutes. When finished the topping should be slightly brown and the filling bubbling. Serve while still a bit warm with your best ice cream.

Next time I will continue with more rhubarb, making the most beautiful pink lemonade.

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