Christmas Gingerbread
It seems a little strange to be posting probably my most christmassy recipes on thanksgiving. For all of you out there who celebrate thanksgiving… HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Well here in Norway the sun is rising far too late (8.40 am) and setting far too early (3.35 pm) which means winter in fast approaching which also means christmas will be here in the blink of an eye! Already the christmas lights in the streets are beginning to be hung, the shopping centers are turning into all things christmas and the car park is always FULL! There is definitely something magical about this time of year. But your probably thinking, its only November, why are you baking christmas stuff already? Well, in 10 days I am going back to Australia for 2 months of sun, summer and surf.. Woohoo! So I am doing my wintery christmas things before we go :)
Nothing feels more like christmas than having the scent of gingerbread baking in the oven. Perfect on a chilly wintery night! A couple of christmases ago we baked gingerbread christmas tree decorations and covered our whole christmas tree in them. They looked great. We spent hours doing it and decorating them. The next morning we woke up and half of them had fallen to ground broken! You could imagine our horror at the sight… Unfortunately the heat and humidity in Australia didn’t agree so well with our gingerbread decorations.
I think homemade gingerbread packaged up nicely are great gifts to hand out to work friends or your children’s friends at school. Decorate them any way you want to make pretty. So here’s the recipe!
200g golden syrup
200g sugar
500g plain flour, sifted
125g butter
75 ml water
1/2 tsp ground clove
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp bicarbonate soda
Step 1 In a pot over medium heat melt the butter. Add all the ingredients EXCEPT the flour. Remove pot from the heat.
Step 2 Slowly add the sifted flour until it becomes a sticky ball. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. I think it tastes better if your refrigerate it over night.
Step 3 Preheat your oven to 180°C. On a clean, floured bench top knead the mixture for a couple of minutes. This is particularly important if you have cooled the mixture overnight. Roll out to about 2 mm in thickness. Use a cookie cutter of your choice and cut out your shapes. Place cookies on a lined tray and bake for 10 min or until golden brown. Watch the cookies closely because they brown very quickly. Also they will rise and spread a little in the oven so make sure you leave enough space between each cookie.
For the white icing:
1 egg white
200g icing sugar
Step 1 Beat the egg white with a fork for a few seconds before adding the icing sugar. You want your icing to be nice and smooth so if you wanted to be extra careful you could sift your icing sugar to remove any lumps. Slowly add the icing sugar until it becomes a fairly thick consistency. You want it be thick enough, that when you pipe it it will hold its shape but thin enough that you can still pipe it. You may not need to use all the icing sugar or you may need a little more, just keep checking as you add the sugar.
Step 2 Pipe your designs and have fun!!!
Enjoy!
Alyssa
*Images by Alyssa Kjondal
Stockholm
Recently we were lucky enough to spend a long weekend in Stockholm. Can I just say… oh my goodness! I LOVED this city. I’ll be honest my expectations weren’t very high. I have been to many large cities in the world but I would have to say Stockholm is my one of my top three favorite cities. What I loved most about the city was the beautiful old architecture and everywhere you go there’s always something interesting to see or a gorgeous shop to look in.
I’ve always thought of Sweden as a place that is all about simplicity, modern clean lines, all things white and ikea. So the beautiful diverse architecture, interesting outfits people wore and the shopping was a welcome surprise.
One of the first places we went was Gamla Stan. This beautiful medieval city is full of tiny cobblestone streets lined with cute little stores and galleries. If your lucky enough you will get to see the changing of the guard at the palace. We just happened to be at the right place at the right time. It’s all very formal and entertaining to watch, but I had to laugh when the band started to play ABBA!
Whilst wandering through the streets of Gamla Stan, we came across this beautiful little square (pictured below).It was honestly like something out the a fairy tale. They way the light filtered through the towering tree that seemed to stretch for miles and the cute little flower beads filled with hot pink flowers were just beautiful. The couple of park benches were a welcoming place to drink my coffee and watch the world go by.
Södermalm is another great area to check out. It’s full of vintage shops, home decor and fashion boutiques. This area isn’t as mainstream as the centre of town, it’s very trendy and bohemian. There are heaps of cute coffee shops filled with some pretty cool looking people. I would highly recommend taking a wander, picking up a one of a kind souvenir and then stopping for some lunch or a coffee and people watch. I was inspired by just seeing what people wore!
One of the main things we wanted to do was to shop for house things. There is certainly no shortage of interior design stores! My favorite I have to say was R.O.O.M. It’s full of gorgeous furniture and accessories and although I couldn’t afford everything in there I left feeling so inspired! It’s located in the PUB department store, which is also well worth a look.
Finally, we stayed in a beautiful hotel called Story Hotel. The interior design of the hotel was so inspiring it even inspired us to be brave and order a purple velour sofa! Everything you need is available here, buffet breakfast, a bar, restaurant. It’s location was great, only a few minutes walk to shops and cafes. We were so happy with our choice.
If you are in need of a holiday or just want an inspiring getaway go to Stockholm! I know you’ll love it as much as we did!
Alyssa
*Hotel images from Story Hotel **All other images by Alyssa & Anders Kjondal
How to Make Chocolate Shards
Happy belated Halloween! Did you enjoy it? Did you have lots of kids knocking on your door wanting candy? I totally forgot to buy candy.. opps! Thankfully no eggs were thrown at our house for not having any candy. I remember the one and only time I went trick or treating, I was 8 or maybe I was 10? I can’t remember, anyway, along time ago… I dressed up as a ghost. So original! Im not that into dressing up. Do you like dressing up?
Anyway… perhaps these chocolate shards are kind of Halloweenish seeing as though I used them to decorate my devil’s food cake last week. This is how easy it is to do :)
400g dark chocolate
baking paper (parchment paper), 4 sheets of cut 40cm x 30cm
2 tubes (or something in a tube shape)
Step 1 Place a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t sit in the water. Break your chocolate into smaller pieces and place in the bowl for a couple of minutes until all the chocolate has melted.
Step 2 Lay 2 pieces of baking paper on your kitchen bench. Divide the melted chocolate between the two sheets and spread the chocolate evenly with an offset spatula leaving a 2 or 3cm border around the edge. Place the remaining pieces of baking paper on top smooth over the chocolate. You want the chocolate to fairly thin and all the air bubbles to be smoothed out.
Step 3 Roll the sheets from the shortest sides around the tube. Place in the refrigerator, with the seam side down on a baking tray. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until set.
Step 4 Once set, roll out the tube. The chocolate will break as you roll it out creating your shards. Remove the top sheet of baking paper and put shards back onto the tray and refrigerate until needed.
NOTE: Try the pick up the shards on either side to avoid getting finger marks on the chocolate.
Step 4 Once your cake is covered with whipped ganache or buttercream carefully stick the shards around the cake. And then your finished!
Enjoy!
Alyssa
* From Donna Hay ** Images by Alyssa Kjondal
Devil’s Food Cake with Whipped Ganache
When I was a child I used to watch a movie called Pollyanna. There is one particular scene where Pollyanna goes to the fair and she is given this HUGE slice of cake. Whenever I remember that movie I think about 2 things, 1. the funny dresses she wore, which I totally loved and 2. that big slice of cake. This cake kind of reminds me of the cakes from Pollyanna. I think it’s the way it falls onto your plate when you cut a slice, its heavy and BIG just like Pollyana’s slice of cake. This cake was too tall for my normal cake plates but I love that, it just makes eating feel that much more wicked! Ahh… Nothing makes me happier than seeing a 3 tiered chocolate cake standing on my kitchen bench!
After thinking and writing about Pollyanna I had to watch the movie again… and I am pleased to report it was as good as I remembered it being! Anyway onto the cake. I think this is now my favorite chocolate cake recipe. My other favorite chocolate cake recipe was more of a mud cake and was a little expensive to because of the amount of chocolate in it and I like to you use the best chocolate. I also like that this cake isn’t overly sweet. It’s very chocolaty in it but somehow it balances out and just works.
The chocolate shards was an idea I got from the latest Donna Hay magazine. Simple to make and they make the cake look a little more special. I will post about how to do the chocolate shards in the next couple of days. Here is the recipe….
The Cake:
340g butter
100g cocoa powder
500g sugar
513g plain flour, sifted
250 ml boiling water
1 tbsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
250 ml milk
Step 1 Preheat oven to 180°C. Line three 8 inch cake tins. Its easiest if you have three tins the same size but alternatively you could bake a taller cake and cut into layers.
Step 2 Sift cocoa powder into a bowl and whisk in the boiling water. Set aside to cool.
Step 3 In an electric mixer, with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla extract. Slowly add the eggs beating between each addition. Make sure you scrape down to the sides of the bowl regularly.
Step 4 Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. To avoid having to sift the flour you can just mix it a whisk and that will aerate the flour. Whisk the milk into the cocoa mix. With the mixer on a low speed, alternately add the flour and cocoa mixture, beating after each addition, starting and ending with the flour.
Step 5 Divide the mixture evenly between the three cake tins. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until a cake tester come out clean. Cool the cakes before frosting.
Whipped Ganache:
500 ml cream
350g dark chocolate
Step 1 Place the cream and chocolate in a heavy saucepan. Cook over a low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly until the chocolate has melted. Remove from heat and let cool completely.
Step 2 The ganache should be fairly runny even after it has cooled. Once cooled pour into an electric mixer with a whisk attachment. Whisk for 3-4 minutes until the ganache forms peaks, that means when you pull the whisk out of the ganache it stays in a point. Be careful not to over beat otherwise the ganache will split.
To assemble:
Step 1 Trim any doming on your cakes so that both sides are flat. Do this with a sharp serrated bread knife. It’s easier to trim them if they are cold, so you could put the cakes, wrapped in plastic wrap, in the freezer for about 15 minutes before trimming.
Step 2 Place your first cake into the cake plate or stand. Use approximately 1/3- 1/2 c ganache between each layer. Spread out evenly. I like to use an offset spatula. Place the next cake on and spread ganache evenly. Finally place the last cake on face side down.
Step 3 Once all the layers are stacked use the remaining ganache to cover the cake.
Step 4 If using the chocolate shards, attach the shards or any other decoration just after you have covered the cake with the ganache.
Enjoy!
Alyssa
*Cake recipe from Martha Stewart **Images by Alyssa Kjondal
Make it Easy Make it Pretty
I don’t know about you, but life for me has been so incredibly hectic these past few months! Time is flying! Today was the first day I had to scrape ice off my windscreen. I can’t believe it’s that time already.
Anyway, with all the things that have been happening there hasn’t been much time for cooking, so I thought I would share with you a great idea for making a sweet treat that is supper fast and yummy! When you don’t have the time to bake fancy cakes or desserts then I think the next best thing is to buy something ready made and dress it up a little. That is exactly what I did last night. A bag of mini meringues and a bar of chocolate were quickly turned into these pretty little meringue kisses.
These would look so pretty in big bowls on the table for a baby shower, bridal shower or any party! Serve them with ice cream and berries or have one with your coffee!
1 packet of store bought mini meringues
100g chocolate (you could use dark, milk or white chocolate)
Step 1 Melt chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan with gently simmering water in it, make sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t sit in the water.
Step 2 Match up the meringues so that the same sizes are together. The bag of meringues I bought had lots of different sizes, some small, some big. Once the chocolate is melted let it cool for a couple of minutes. Spoon chocolate onto the flat side of the meringue. Sandwich with another meringue. Allow them to set for about 30 minutes. Serve with ice cream and berries or just have one with your coffee!
Enjoy!
Alyssa
*Recipe from Donna Hay **Images by Alyssa Kjondal
Double Chocolate Cookies
How are you? It’s the autumn holidays this week so it’s nice not the be in school. Later this week we’re going to Stockholm for a short get away. I have heard lots of good things about Stockholm and I can’t wait to go shopping! Im hoping to find a really great light fixture to hang over the stairs. I have been busy painting my living room this week and made a snap decision to paint one of the walls in the kitchen black! I love it and so does my husband. It makes the kitchen feel a little smaller but because we have really high ceilings it works. At some point I will put pictures up.
After last weeks baking disasters I had success with my favorite chocolate chip cookies recipe from Nigella! I think, the best chocolate chip cookies are always home made, wouldn’t you agree? I love it when they are fresh out the oven and you eat one straight away. Last week I ended up buying a packet of cookies from the grocery store but they were such a disappointment (wont be doing that in a hurry!).
125g dark chocolate
150g flour
30g cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
125g butter, at room temperature
75g brown sugar
50g sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 egg, cold from the fridge
350g chocolate chips
Step 1 Preheat oven to 170°C. Melt the dark chocolate.
Step 2 Cream the butter and sugar together. Add the melted chocolate.
Step 3 Add the egg and vanilla. Beat until combined. Mix in the flour, salt, baking soda and cocoa. Finally stir in your chocolate chips. I think chocolate chips can be a little expensive here in Norway so I cut up a regular block of chocolate into chunks.
Step 4 Spoon equal amounts (I used a large dessert spoon) of the mixture onto a baking tray lined with baking paper. Don’t flatten the balls of mixture. Bake for 18 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Leave to cool on the baking tray for about 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Enjoy!
Alyssa
* Recipe from Nigella Express **Images by Alyssa Kjondal
Wonderwall
Ok… so yesterday I had two serious baking disasters! Don’t you hate that! I baked chocolate chip cookies which turned into giant cookie cakes. They still tasted ok but they looked terrible! Then I made some brioche bread that tasted horrible!!! Im going to blame to recipe :)
In spite of all my baking disasters I did have a win yesterday when I cam across the website called Wonderwall. It’s a Swedish company that sells gorgeous artwork for very affordable prices. I am in desperate need for some cool artwork that is affordable!
We have lived in our house for just over a year and can you believe we still have blank walls in our living room! Numerous pictures have gone up but never seemed to work perfectly. For about 6 months, we had empty ikea picture frames up with the ikea paper on the inside! Awful!! Our problem was and still is, we have too many photos to choose from. So my solution is not to put photos up but art instead.
Do you have blank walls that you don’t know what to do about? Why not check out Wonderwall and grab yourself some gorgeous wall art!
Hopefully I will have some more success in the baking department this week and will post as soon as I do!
Alyssa
*Images from Wonderwall
My Autumn Essentials
It is well and truly autumn now. All the leaves are turning brilliant reds, oranges and yellows. It is truly a beautiful time of the year. I have pulled out the scarves and the warmer jackets and the chill is beginning to bite my ears and nose. I love seeing everyone dressed in nice jackets, boots and scarves. It makes everyone look so nice! So I thought I would share with you some of the things that I love to have during the autumn… my essential autumn must-haves.
One. It is absolutely essential that you have a beautifully soft blanket to snuggle under on those chilly evenings. Find this gorgeous blancket at terrain.
two. I haven’t always liked wearing beanies, but after experiencing the coldest winter I have ever had, I now love bennies! I love the furry pom pom on top of this beanie. Find it at H&M.
three. Of course a scarf is a must. It seems this burnt orange colour is everywhere at the moment. Find this scarf at H&M also.
four. It may be starting to get chilly but there is something special about a sunny autumn day. I love it when the air is crisp but the sun is still warm against your face. I am in love with these sunnies by Warby Parker!
five. Pillows, pillows, pillows. They are essential for making your home cosy and comfortable. I am loving this butterfly pillow from freedom. Whilst I was in australia I bought 4 pillows from there. I stood in the shop for a good half an hour trying to decide which ones I to get. I was so close to buying this butterfly pillow. I am wishing I had, but i’ll be back in Australia soon so hopefully it will still be there! Find this pillow at Freedom.
six. Gumboots are essential for this time of year. It feels like it has rained everyday since I have got back. Love love love these hunter boots!
seven. I have already written about this book, My Heart Wanders here, but with all the cosy things to keep you warm on the outside I thought its essential to have something that warms your heart. This book is by far my favorite book of all time. I highly recommend it to warm your heart this autumn. Have a sneak peak in My Heart Wanders here.
What are your autumn essentials? Please share :)
Enjoy!
Alyssa
Apple Crumble Muffins
Tis the season for apples! Since moving to Norway I have fallen in love with the fruit trees in peoples gardens. Just about every house has an apple tree or some kind of fruit tree. I love the thought of going out to the garden and picking my own fresh fruit. So nice! These apple crumble muffins are perfect to take advantage of all these gorgeous apples that are in season.
One of the most yummiest and cosy things to eat is hot apple crumble or pie with vanilla ice cream…. yum! Second to that are these apple crumble muffins. They are so delicious with their sweet crunchy topping! They are the perfect accompaniment to an autumn afternoon by the fire. I have already eaten 3 today! So bad!
Makes about 15 muffins
For the muffins:
3 small apples peeled and diced
350g flour
200g sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon and extra to sprinkle on top
2 eggs, lightly whisked
200 ml (2 dl) milk
50g butter, melted
Crumble topping:
90g flour
50g butter, melted
60g brown sugar
Step 1 Preheat oven to 200°C. Line a muffin tray with cupcake liners.
Step 2 Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Mix in eggs, milk and melted butter, stir until combined. Mix in the apple pieces.
Step 3 In another bowl mix together flour, butter and brown sugar. The mixture should resemble breadcrumbs. I like having bits that are a little larger also.
Step 4 Spoon muffin mix into the cupcake liners and spoon over the crumble mixture. I covered the whole top of the muffin. Bake for 20- 25 minutes. Sprinkle with a little extra cinnamon if desired.
Enjoy!
Alyssa
*Recipe adapted from Just Putzing Around the Kitchen ** Images by Alyssa Kjondal
A Delicious Carrot Cake
Morning all! So I have to apologize for my sporadic posting lately. I was have been in Australia and since getting back life has been so hectic! So I am trying to get back into the flow of things :)
Anyway last weekend we were at a friends birthday party. I love going to this particular friends place because they always cook really good food! There was so much food at the party and I ate far too much! His wife makes the most delicious carrot cake and its his favorite. She made it for his birthday last year, so this year I was hoping she made made it again, and she did.This carrot cake is so tasty and moist and the cream cheese frosting is so good I could eat it on its own! She was kind enough to give me the recipe, so of course I wanted to share it with you!
290g plain flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
400g sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
4 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
300 ml vegetable oil
350g grated carrots, about 5-6 medium carrots
Cream cheese frosting
200g cream cheese, at room temperature
250g unsalted butter, at room temperature
500g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
Step 1 Preheat oven to 180 °C. Grease and line your cake tin. I used to tins that were the same size and divided the mixture between the two. You can use one tin and then cut the cake in half if you want to fill the cake.
Step 2 Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and cinnamon. Mix together. Add eggs that have been lightly whisked. Mix in oil and grated carrots.
Step 3 Pour into your lined tin and bake for 35-45 minutes. Cool completely before frosting. I like to bake the cake the night before I frost it. It means that the cake will be cooled and I think a cake always tastes best the day after it has been baked.
For the frosting
Step 1 Using an electric mixer mix the butter and cream cheese together. Add the vanilla.
Step 2 Sift in icing sugar on a low speed, about a cup at a time, until it is all combined. Beat for 4-5 minutes or until light and fluffy.
Step 3 Fill the cake (the bit in between the two cakes) with about a cup of frosting and spread out evenly. I like to use an offset spatula because I find it easier to spread the frosting. Remember not to spread to frosting all the way to the edges because when you put the next cake on top and push it down the frosting will spill out. Its ok if it does but its nice to keep it all in the middle. Now cover the entire cake with frosting.
Enjoy!
Alyssa
*Images by Alyssa Kjondal
