Dessert By Candy

Bumpy Road To Korvapuusti

Many of us experienced Pinterest Disappointment before. You come across an enticing pin. You carefully follow the recipe. What you end up making looks nothing like the exquisite original that caught your attention in the first place. You question your own ability and you doubt the integrity of the recipe. In the end, you feel like you wasted precious time, effort, and ingredients. Do you let out a deep sigh and move on or do you try to figure out what went wrong?

I experienced all of the above when I tried to make Finnish cinnamon roll korvapuusti last week. Full disclosure: I did not follow the recipes exactly. Combining the recipe from The Kinfolk Table , My Blue And White Kitchen, and my own bread baking experience, I thought it would be a straight-forward treat for Sunday brunch. I was wrong.

A Look Back At 2014

I made a resolution at the beginning of the year to push myself out of my culinary comfort zone. In 2014, I tackled unfamiliar cuisines, challenging baking projects, and childhood favourites that I thought I could only indulge while dining out. And let’s not forget I jumped feet first into the world of confectionery! Even though every project seemed a little out of my reach at the time, I learned from both successes and failures. I am confident to say that I have become a better cook thanks to a year of learning. Let’s take a look back at some of the highlights.

10. Swedish Baking

Between travels to Sweden and my fascination with goodies sold at the IKEA Swedish Marketplace, I wanted to learn more about Swedish baking. Rather than wait for my next trip to the Scandinavia, I rolled up my sleeves and recreated the experience in my own kitchen instead. Last year I made kanelbullar (cinnamon buns), lussekatter (St Lucia buns), prinsesstårta (princess cake), and semlor (cardamom almond cream buns). I love them all, especially the technically challenging princess cake. It was the first time I made a dome cake freehand, covered with tinted marzipan, and formed little marzipan roses. Plenty of cake decorating techniques that I mastered in one baking project!

Swedish Princess Cake

Sweden holds a special place in my travel experiences. It is one of the few countries I never planned to visit yet I somehow ended up in more than one occasions. Back in 2007, I spent a few days in Stockholm, Kiruna, and Jukkasjärvi as part of a whirlwind destination wedding at the Ice Hotel. In 2012, my Danish host took me on a day trip to Helsingborg (home of IKEA headquarter) while he was in the city for business meeting. My exposure to this Scandinavian country may be brief but all of the experiences were most memorable. For this very same reason, all the Swedish dessert I managed to sample left strong impressions.

Earlier this year I was on a Swedish baking streak experimenting with semlor, kanelbullar, lussekatter, and rye loaf. Prinsesstårta (Swedish Princess Cake) was high on my priority list except I felt intimidated by the technical challenge. Procrastination ensued and I put the thought on the back burner. Last Saturday my friends and I had our annual Cake Day, a day on which we celebrate baking, laughter, and friendship. In 2013 I made Mont Blanc, Chocolate Root Beer Bundt, and Gateau Breton. It was my first time taking part so I did not know what to expect. The sheer amount of baking, washing, photos, and great food all under controlled chaos was mind boggling. But I would not trade my invitation for the world. With last year’s experience fresh in my mind, I brainstormed for cake ideas.

Bread In A Box And An Update

Race season will officially kick off for me in less than two weeks with the first major marathon road race in Wisconsin. After all the ups and downs for the last two years, I am thankful to be able to race once more. In May 2012, after returning from 5th place at World Master Championship in Damp and stepping on the podium for a race in Nordsee, I began a string of crashes which ultimately culminated with my first concussion. It was a harsh test in my personal life and athletic career. Two years later, I am far from being back in my top racing form but things are slowly coming together. I am making small progress at every training session. I am sure there will be more setbacks in my future, that is just a fact of life. However, in order to give myself the best chance of succeeding a goal which I hold dear for years, I think the time has come to make some changes.

For years, I have been posting three times a week regularly at Dessert By Candy. I appreciate the opportunity to expand my horizon. Your support inspires me to keep cooking and writing. Unfortunately, the time demand is competing for my attention in training. I do not want to lose my passion in either by letting them become chores. Cooking will always be a big part of my life and the joy I get from sharing delicious meals with loved ones is incomparable to anything I do on skates. However, for the time being, the best course of action is to keep regular blog updates on a less frequent basis. I hope you understand.

Today I want to share with you a little something I bought at IKEA, emporium of some-assembly-required. I am always fascinated by the small grocery section just beyond the checkout lines with the exotic Scandinavian sundries. This is where you’ll likely find the best price in town for blocks of marzipan. For Swedish expats, the traditional multigrain bread hold special appeal. Of course keeping supply of fresh bread in a furniture store is unrealistic. Thankfully, IKEA has an elegant answer that comes neatly packaged in a carton.

Let The Buns Give Me Light

I made semlor at the wrong time of the year and they inspired me to continue baking out of season Swedish treats. I bookmarked Joe Pastry’s recipe and step-by-step pictorial for lussekatter (St Lucia buns) for a very long time. What better time to try it out than May when they traditionally ought to be eaten at the darkest time of the year (that would be December)? Lussekatter is part of the St Lucia Day celebration. The saffron buns in their bright yellow hue indeed make me think of light.

Daylight is not in short supply now that we stepped into May. On a good day, it is still bright outside at 8pm! According to the weather forecast, the official sunset time is actually 8:25pm as of May 5. In fact, my skating club kicked off our summer practicing schedule with training beginning at 6:30pm. That’s a good thing because I can avoid some after-work traffic to get to practice on time. Spring 2014 looks to be a bust. We are more than 6 weeks into the season but everywhere I look is still various shades of brown and gray. No buds on the trees yet. Only a few brave tulips and hyacinths poked out of the cold soil to remind us spring is here. Normally I would be very restless by now. However, the last two years of health issues have taught me an important lesson. I am thankful to have a body that allows me to be active. A bit of cold and wind may be unpleasant but it still beats sitting on the couch because I could not do anything else.

Smells Like IKEA

My exploration into Swedish baking continues today with a batch of kanelbullar, Swedish cinnamon rolls. I had my first kanelbulle during a whirlwind trip to Stockholm and dogsledding excursion in Kiruna back in 2007. The memory of gathering around an open fire in a tent sipping on coffee and nibbling on cinnamon roll is one which I treasure very much. A few years later, I revisited Sweden and was treated to an amazing prinsesstårta thanks to a generous friend. But my strongest association with Swedish baking is much less idyllic. When I think of Swedish baking, I immediately think of lining up at IKEA check out with my shopping cart piled high with purchases and the fragrance of cinnamon rolls wafting from the adjacent cafeteria to tempt me.

Last night I baked my first batch of kanelbullar and my kitchen smelled like the blue and yellow warehouse. What makes Swedish cinnamon rolls different from their North American counterpart? North American style cinnamon rolls define decadence with its caramel cinnamon filling saturated soft yeast bun and over-the-top cream cheese icing. Swedish cinnamon rolls embrace restraint with its smaller size, filling that doesn’t overwhelm, hint of cardamom in the bun, and crunchy pearl sugar topping. I like them both for different reasons.

Rebellious: Semlor After Easter

I am infatuated by Scandinavian dessert lately but learning about them outside of their native countries is not so easy. While there is an over abundance of recipes on French, North American, Italian, and to some extent, Austrian style dessert, the popularity of dessert from other culture hasn’t caught on in Toronto. That’s too bad because based on limited exposure in my travels, there are lots to admire. Especially if you love marzipan as much as I do!

I had the privilege to visit parts of Denmark and Sweden in the company of locals with the biggest sweet tooth. They introduced me to various dessert made famous in different parts of towns on our sugar-filled road trips. Unfortunately, I visited in the warmer time of year with plenty of sunlight and missed out on the annual semla craze. This Swedish treat is only available between new year and Easter. I invite you to find out more about semla in the Sweden Tourism website. It’s a really fun read on the dessert’s history and current popularity. Swedes take their semlor seriously.

My own search for semla began with an enticing photo in Saveur magazine. I love the haunting taste of cardamom in baked goods and it led me to that recipe. Upon a closer look, my enthusiasm dampened. The proportions and directions of that recipe just looked wonky. The scathing reviews did not help either but I learned one important thing. Aside from cardamom and cream, a semla is not a semla without marzipan.

Shopper Extraordinaire

I am always a little embarrassed about shopping when I travel. A close family friend once scoffed at his wife’s foreign shopping excursions. He insisted that it was worse than frivolous because there are sights to see, museums to take in, and cultures to experience. In his opinion, shopping in most cosmopolitan cities is rather generic and there is no need to travel all the way across the globe when the same thing can be found back home. I am not 100% in agreement with him but have to admit that he has some valid points. It does not stop me from indulging in retail therapy when I travel but this is where my embarrassment stems from.

Shopping in foreign countries allows me to bring small mementos of my travel back home. Some are great reminders in months or even years to come of what I enjoyed abroad. Some are unique finds that I cannot get in my hometown. Some are simply objects I absolutely fall in love with and would have purchased anywhere in the world. On my flight back to Canada earlier this week, my suitcase was bursting at the seams with purchases of all three categories. It was a most fruitful trip in the shopping department.

Snapshots From Denmark

It’s been one whirlwind of a week. Since I arrived in Copenhagen last week on Thursday, my racing and travel took me to Germany, Sweden, and Denmark. The warm hospitality of friends keeps me in good food and even better company. Last year when I visited Denmark I was mainly ensconced in Gerlev punctuated with brief day trips to Copenhagen. This year, with the stress of big race behind me, I am feeling totally relaxed with no hurry to cram my vacation here in Europe. After all, there are always sights to see, local delicacy to be enjoyed, practices to attend, and I can’t possibly do it all. May as well take the lazy approach. I must let go, for the time being, of that focus and intensity that had driven my training for months.

My lazy regimen kicked off on Monday. I slept in, baked some cookies, baked a blackberry yogurt cake, and went to a fun skating practice with fellow North American skaters. The next day brought us across the water to Helsingborg, Sweden…home of IKEA headquarter! I stuffed myself silly with Scandinavian breakfast buffet, Skagen shrimp sandwich (just like what they serve at IKEA cafeterias around the world except a million times better), rum ball, graddbuller, and princess cake. Fresh cream is a mainstay in Scandinavian desserts.

No Leavening, No Problem

I love it when I encounter recipes that challenge my preconceptions. Cakes ought to be tender and leavening helps to achieve that. A cake can be leavened by yeast, by chemical reaction such as baking powder or baking soda with an acidic element, or by physically beating air into the batter such as whipped butter or eggs. What if there's none? Would the cake turn out dense and heavy like a brownie?

Dorie Greenspan's recipe for Swedish Visiting Cake in her book Baking From My Home To Yours allowed me to find out under the guidance of an excellent cookbook writer. This simple cake is incredibly easy to make without any fancy equipment. Even the list of ingredient consists of items widely available in a well-stocked pantry so there's no reason not to make this more often if it is tasty. I am happy to report that I have another great recipe in my repertoire. Greenspan wrote in the headnotes the name "Visiting Cake" originated from the fact that it was the cake people brought to each other's house when visiting, it holds an even more fitting meaning to me. It is something I can bake when I visit other people's kitchen.