Throughout August, COOK has taken you on a culinary vacation through our cookbooks. We traveled around the world, starting in Southeast Asia where we had some fired-up prawns. We then travelled to the Middle East and had a taste of Syria with lamb stuffed zucchini. After that a short plane ride to Italy had us enjoying the classic Italian staples – pasta, basil and tomatoes. If you haven’t seen the previous posts check them out, recreate the dishes with the recipes (tested and provided by us) and pick up a few cookbook recommendations, all available at COOK. But now let us conclude our cookbook world tour in Scandinavia with something sweet… marzipan cakes!

Let’s begin our Scandinavian journey with a cookbook that will teleport you to the mountainous Northern European landscape.  You may have heard of the author of The Nordic Cookbook Magnus Nilsson if you’re a fan of Chef’s Table on Netflix. Featured on the first season, Magnus took viewers around Sweden and the estate of Fäviken, the restaurant where he is head chef, showing where he sources all the ingredients for his dishes. In this book he expands to show you over 700 dishes that he collected during his travels to Finland, Denmark, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands as well as Sweden. Magnus also personally photographed the countryside along the way, giving you a glimpse of just how beautiful the remote region can be.

Now we look into the cuisine of Nordic home kitchens with Claus Meyer‘s cookbook. The Nordic Kitchen aims to teach readers the everyday meals that Scandinavian families enjoy. Claus Meyer co-founded the Copenhagen restaurant Noma, which is considered one of the best restaurants in the world by many. Broken down by the four seasons, The Nordic Kitchen gives you tasty Nordic recipes that are easy to recreate at home such as Crab Claws with Fennel Mayo. Additionally, learn a bit about foraging mushrooms, berries and flowers from the Scandinavian wild.

Author Johanna Kindvall came to COOK for a second time back in March to teach the art of Swedish bread making. Guests went home with a signed copy of her book, Smörgåsbord: The Art of Swedish Breads and Savory Treats as well as a packet of Johanna’s dehydrated sourdough starter. In the class Johanna made Danish rye bread topped with cheese (made fresh in class), hot smoked salmon, pickled radishes and pickled mustard seeds. You, too, can make this scrumptious bread and all the spreads with Kindvall’s recipes in her cookbook!  This is a great book to give you ideas on Scandinavian party snacks and buffet arrangements sure to wow your friends. Learn the savory snacks of Sweden today with Smörgåsbord. 

It only felt fitting to end our cookbook vacation with dessert. I can’t think of a book that represents Scandinavian desserts better than this one – Scandinavian Baking! Learn all the Nordic treats and sweets, as well as savory breads, that this book has to offer. Not only is this book gorgeous, but it is also full of background information on Scandinavian pastries. When I was flipping through the book, I noticed that many of the recipes called for homemade marzipan, so I decided to pick a classic recipe, kransekage, also known as marzipan cake. Author Trine Hahnemann explains that this pastry were primarily served during parties, weddings and New Year’s Eve when she was growing up. But why wait for such an occasion? Treat yourself today!

Kransekage (Marzipan Cake)

Serves 24

Ingredients

• 7/8 cup blanched almonds
• 1 cup superfine sugar
• 3 egg whites
• 1 1/8 pounds homemade marzipan
  • 1 1/8 pounds almonds (skin on or blanched)
  • 7/8 cup powdered sugar
• 7 ounces tempered dark chocolate

Directions

To start, let’s make the homemade marzipan. This could not be a simpler process and I’m mad I wasn’t making this everyday before! Just grind the almonds up in a food processor or coffee grinder until they become a paste. If you don’t have a food processor the recipe will be a bit more tedious, but you can use a blender or mortar and pestle instead. Add the powdered sugar and whizz it up again. Finally, add 3 1/4 tablespoons (50 ml) of water and start up the food processor again. Remove the marzipan mixture and knead it on a work surface dusted with powdered sugar. That’s it! It will keep for 2 weeks in the fridge, or you could use it for Marzipan Cake. If using it for the cake, I personally recommend putting it in the freezer, as you will have to grate it later in the recipe and freezing it will help that process.

Next, blend the almonds and sugar together in a food processor until they are finely ground. Add the egg whites and whizz it up again. You’ll have a smooth, white mixture to which you will grate your homemade marzipan into. Work quickly so that your almond mixture doesn’t get too hot in the food processor. Transfer into a bowl, cover tightly and let it rest in the fridge for a few hours, or even overnight.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Shape your mixture into about 24 rectangular cakes, each about 3/4 inch wide and roughly 2 inches long. Basically they should look like “shortbread fingers”. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 15 to 18 minutes. Allow them to cool on a wire rack.

Drizzle your tempered chocolate onto the little cakes and serve those babies up!

*What is tempering chocolate and how do I do it? Don’t worry, it’s simple and not really necessary for taste purposes. Tempering the the chocolate simply maintains its shine and doesn’t leave streaks when it dries. If you’re looking for picture perfect marzipan cakes, then all you have to do to temper the chocolate is take two thirds of it, place in a heatproof bowl fitted over a pan of very gently simmering water. Make sure that you don’t let the bowl touch the water and that the water does not get too hot. The recipe says you need a sugar thermometer to see when the chocolate has reached a temperature of 122 degrees. I simply waited until the chocolate became my desired consistency and then I mixed in the remaining chocolate. Heat it very gently, and it’s ready to make your baked goods glisten.

Thus concludes our summer vacation through COOKbooks. But it doesn’t have to be over! Come into COOK during our retail hours to browse our books and take another mini trip for yourself! We know you have a choice in cookbook travel, and we want to thank you for choosing us.