Best Swedish Chocolate Cake

When I visited Sweden a few weeks ago my aunt introduced me to one of the best chocolate cakes I've ever had. She says the secret is coffee and extra vanilla and I couldn't agree more. The recipe is originally from a little cookbook called, Sju sorters kakor (Seven Kinds of Cakes). I would've written down so many more recipes from it if they hadn't been in Swedish and used deciliter measurements. My aunt did give me a deciliter measuring cup when she saw how excited I was about this recipe. :-) I've translated and converted it though because I think everyone should try it! Let me know if you do.

For the cake mixture you'll need:
2/3 cup/150g butter melted and cooled
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract*
1 TBSP cocoa*
2 1/4 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup milk
1 TBSP strong coffee**
Flaked coconut to sprinkle

Icing:
1/3 cup/75g butter at room temperature
2 TBSP strong coffee*
1 TBSP cocoa
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar

*You can add more or less of these ingredients to create the taste you want. For example, my aunt adds more vanilla, coffee and cocoa to make the flavor really pop.

**I suggest using instant coffee for the coffee in the cake and icing, it's fast and easy to make the amount and strength you desire.

Instructions:
Butter a 13x9 pan and sprinkle with coconut. Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C.

In a medium bowl whip eggs, sugar and butter until fluffy. In a second small bowl mix dry ingredients. Pour dry ingredients and milk alternately into the wet ingredients. Add coffee. Stir until well blended.

Pour the cake mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix the icing ingredients together.

When the cake is done, let it cool and then ice it. Sprinkle coconut over the top for the finishing touch.

And enjoy! Or should I say, njuta av!

Michaela Rae

5 Tasty "British" Things

I'm frequently asked which US foods I miss and what awesome food discoveries I've made, so today I want to share about that.

I was happy to learn that I can find most things that we have back home, they just might be by a different brand (or the same one with a different name, ex. Lays = Walkers) or be called something different (ex. Cilantro = Coriander). When we first arrived here I'd spend thirty minutes on one food aisle frantically using google to make sense of what I saw. Eventually I caught on though. I think it's more true that we've discovered new food/drinks to fall in love with than really had to mourn the loss of others. Here are five of my favorites!

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1. Flapjack, a chewy oat bar (not pancake) is one of my favorite snacks. They kind of reminds me of Quaker granola bars but are thicker and more sweet; I especially like the ones with cranberries. I tried a recipe a few weeks ago but it came out very flat and hard. They're supposed to be really easy to make, don't know what that says about my baking skills. ;) I'll try a different recipe and if it succeeds share it with you all.

2. Innocent Real Fruit Smoothies, smoothie drinks seem a bigger deal in Britain, and I'm perfectly fine with that. This brand is so good, plus I love all the healthy tid-bits they put on the cartons.

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3. Tarts, I always find myself wandering down the aisle stocked high with tarts. And without fail, I'm drawn to the lemon and cherry bakewell ones. (Thankfully I rarely give in.) Again, I tried making my own lemon tart but the pastry cracked (I don't have a tart baking dish) and the lemon curd went all over my oven. If only you knew how many baking disasters I had, you'd have a new found appreciation for my recipe posts.

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4. Cider is delicious! I especially love Rekorderlig, a Swedish cider. I've been told that cider's considered the poor man's drink because it's cheap, but hey, I'll be labelled poor if it means I can have a glass of Mango Raspberry Rekorderlig. I've only seen a couple Rekorderling flavors here, so I'm excited to try others when we visit Sweden next month. I also like Bulmers, Savanna Dry (thanks Rachie dV) and Kopparberg, none of which are actually British, funnily enough.

5. Off-brand Nutella. You mean I can pay £1 and a few pence for a jar of creamy hazelnut chocolate bliss? I must be in the right place.

Besides the obvious ChickfilA, Moe's and Cracker Barrel cravings, I have missed Oikos greek yogurt, hazelnut coffee creamer (and coffee creamers in general) and canned pumpkin. The lack of coffee creamer was the first thing I discovered when we moved here. There's really no such thing since milk is used in coffee instead. Light double cream has been my substitution though and Carnation Evaporated Milk is my back up. And you might remember me raving over the holidays about there not being readily accessable canned pumpkin. Thankfully, I discovered making my own isn't so difficult. Other than these three things, I can't think of anything else that I miss. Obviously, England is treating us well in the food department!

I'm linking up at Alycia's blog the Crowley Party for the first time today! I recently found her blog and have been enjoying it.



Michaela Rae

Raspberry Almond Coffee Cake

An accident led me to Raspberry Almond Coffee Cake today, and I couldn't be more pleased.

Yesterday I tried baking a British tart and completely messed the measurements up (which I'd like to think is easy to do when you're trying to convert grams to cups, gah!), so today I was on a mission to use my leftover raspberries. Allrecipes pointed me to this heavenly treat. It's the perfect blend of sweet-tartness, light and refreshing, and easy to make. Which is good, because I'll be making it again.

What you'll need:
1 cup fresh raspberries
3 TBSP brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup sour cream
2 TBSP butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1/4 cup sliced almonds

For the glaze:
1/4 cup sifted confectioners' sugar
1 tsp milk
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C. Spray an 8inch round cake pan with cooking spray.

Combine raspberries and brown sugar in a small bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl mix the sour cream, melted butter, vanilla extract and egg. Add to the flour mixture. Stir until just moist. 

Spoon 2/3 of the batter into the prepared pan and spread over the bottom. Add the raspberry mixture over top. Spoon the remaining batter mixture over the raspberries. Top with almonds.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Combine the glaze mixture and drizzle over the cake. 

Enjoy it warm with a cup of coffee or tea! :-)

Have you tried any tasty recipes lately? I'd love if you shared a link in the comment section below. And a big "Thank you!" to those who recommended healthy spinach and cabbage recipes to me through Twitter (MichaelaRae). My health kick lives on!!

Michaela Rae

Lemon Cupcakes with Raspberry Jam Filling

The rain let up making for a sunny Monday here in London-town. I'm pretending it's not 35 degrees out because I woke up with lemon on the brain and wanted to make something light and fresh. Something just like Lemon Cupcakes with Jam Filling! Gotta love Ming Makes Cupcakes.

What you'll need
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, room temp.
4 eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup lemon juice
Lemon zest to taste
Raspberry jam
Whipped cream and berries

Mix flour, powder, and salt in small bowl. In medium bowl cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in flour mixture and buttermilk alternately. Mix in lemon juice and zest.

Bake at 350°F/175°C for 20 minutes. Makes ~18 cupcakes.

After cupcakes have cooled. Use a small knife to cut a cone-shaped segment from the top of the cupcake. Trim off the bottom of the cone, fill the hole with jam, and cover with the remaining cupcake top. Top with whipped cream and berries.

You could totally use different types of jams and berries with this recipe. And the cupcakes are delicious without any filling or topping too. Question to the more experienced bakers though: what ingredients could be altered/added to make these fluffier? I felt they were a bit dense.

No matter where you are, I hope this brings you a little Spring cheer!

Michaela Rae

P.S. I made a Facebook page. It seems odd to have one, but I decided it was better to share blog links there than on my personal wall. So, now you can "Like" Michaela Rae to get updates via Facebook. :-)

My First Cobbler

Today, while jamming to The Temptations, I made my first southern peach cobbler. It tastes just like the cobbler I used to get at the Country Kitchen restaurant in my small hometown, i.e. it's delicious! So simple to make, this will definitely be a recipe I make again, over and over. And next time I'll try to be more patient and wait for my peaches to fully ripen.

Peach and Cinnamon Cobbler
originally found here

Filling:
6 cups peaches, pitted and sliced
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup tapioca (I used Ambrosia canned tapioca)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
Pinch salt

Topping:
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting
3 1/2 TBSP sugar
1 1/2 TBSP baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
6 TBSP cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
2/3 cup heavy cream, plus additional for brushing

Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C. Butter a deep 2 1/2 quart baking dish. In a medium bowl stir together the filling ingredients. Pour filling into prepared baking dish.

In a large bowl, prepare the topping. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the butter and mix with your fingers until it resembles coarse crumbs. Slowly pour in the cream and stir until dough just comes together. On a lightly floured surface, pat the dough together. Form 2-inch balls and flatten them slightly.

Evenly arrange the dough rounds on top of the filling. Brush lightly with cream. Bake ~40 minutes or until golden brown and filling is bubbling.

Michaela Rae

Link your Thursday adventures up at my sister's blog, Alicia's Homemaking.

Mommy's Cookies

Yesterday I was writhing in bed thinking I was going to die (Kurt's still poking fun at my dramatics) and today I'm skipping along with productivity having a grand ol time. I love quick turn arounds. I'm also loving the rain the last few days. The patter on our skylight makes for a cozy backdrop for everything I do.

Tonight we're hosting life group again and I decided to make my family's infamous Mommy's Cookies. Growing up I thought we'd come up with the recipe, and although now I'm certain we didn't, they were made so frequently we might as well have. They're seriously the best thing ever. Just making them brings back fond memories...mainly of me sneaking into the fridge for a spoonful or three of the leftover dough (my mother always doubled the recipe).

Ingredients:

1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cups) butter, softened

1/2 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar, packed

2 eggs

1/4 cup water

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups flour

1 3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

3 cups old-fashioned oats

1 pk semi-sweet chocolate chips

3/4 cups coconut (optional)

In a large bowl mix softened (but not melted) butter, sugar, eggs, water, vanilla, brown and white sugar. Blend until there are no large clumps of butter left.

Add the flour, salt and soda on top and cream everything together. I'm often tempted to call it quits at this point because the dough is so delicious, but what awaits is even better.

If you want, stir in the coconut at this point. I prefer less coconut so I add 1/2 cup instead of 3/4. 

Stir in the oats with a wooden spoon for a good arm workout. 

Mix in the chocolate chips. 

On a baking sheet place one inch balls of dough 1.5 inches apart. Bake at 350°F (175°C). Be sure not to over cook these bad boys. Take them out while they still look slightly undercooked and once they set they'll be perfectly moist. In my oven they take approximately 10-15 minutes.

Enjoy with a glass of cold milk. :-)

Michaela Rae

A Beautiful Cookbook

I love the internet for cooking and baking. Just a couple clicks and you have hundreds of recipes to choose from. It's really convenient when you're in a rush or low on ideas. The internet can't take away from the magic of cookbooks though. There's something irreplaceable about them. You can hold, flip through and (literally) bookmark them. They bring memories with their bent pages and stains. They have photos, and I love a cookbook with beautiful photos. Couple amazing recipes with colorful food photography and I'm truly inspired. Some cookbooks even tell stories.

So when on Christmas morning I opened, From Season to Season by Sophie Dahl, I was pretty excited. This cookbook has it all. Her recipes, snippets on food and life along with Jan Baldwin's photos, all constellate a genuine story about changing seasons, creativity and love. Her bits on English life and use of British terms and foods also encourage me to continue embracing the culture here to the fullest.

I hope to try a couple recipes from each of her season sections this year. I'll be sure to share photos and thoughts. I've been on such an oatmeal kick the last week that I can hardly wait to try her porridge with poached plums.

Do you still use cookbooks? Which is your favorite?

Michaela Rae

Easy British Scones

Good morning readers! I have to say, I had the best day off yesterday. Not only did I get to do my food shopping in my new favorite coat, but I made proper British scones and enjoyed them with clotted cream and tea. How appropriate of me, right?

Let me first show off my little red riding hood coat, as I like to call it. I snagged this one on Boxing Day. I love the color red, warm coats with big hoods and good deals, so this was a win x3.

Now for the scones. These are so easy it's hard to believe they taste so good. I started making these late in the morning and they were the perfect brunch. The recipe lends approximately 10 scones and takes hardly any time to whip up.

You'll need:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup white sugar

5 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup butter at room temp.

1 cup milk

1 egg

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.

1. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Cut butter into dry ingredients and mix it in with your fingers until only small pea sized bits are left.

2. In a small bowl beat egg and milk together. Sir wet mixture into flour mixture until fully moistened. 

3. On a lightly floured surface kneed dough briefly. Choose whether to add other ingredients, like dried fruit, lemon or orange zest. I cut my dough in half and added dried cranberries and orange zest to one part. 

4. Roll dough out into 1/2 inch round. Cut pie piece wedges out of the dough and place on baking sheet.

5. Bake 10 minutes or until golden brown. 

While the scones are baking, I highly recommend making some Devonshire cream. Here's a great recipe for it. I was able to get Robba's Cornish Clotted Cream at my local grocery so I stuck with that. It's really tasty. I even enjoyed mine with the homemade blueberry jam my sister sent me for Christmas. Thank you Alicia, I love it!

So so good. 

What adventure did you have this week? Link up at Alicia's Homemaking. 

Michaela Rae

Cranberry Coffee Cake

It's been awhile since I shared a recipe, to be frank, I haven't spent much time in the kitchen recently. But today (hooray for days off), I made baking a priority. I wanted to try something warm and Christmasy - something I could enjoy by my Christmas tree with a cup of hot chocolate. This Cranberry Coffee Cake was the perfect thing. I love anything cranberry and Greek yogurt is my new thing and this recipe perfectly incorporates both! Thanks Two Peas and Their Pod and thanks Pinterest for guiding me there.

Here's what you'll need

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

Zest of 1 large orange

1/2 c butter at room temp.

2 large eggs

1 cup plain Greek Yogurt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup fresh cranberries

Streusel Filling & Topping

3/4 cup all-purpose flower

3/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 stick unsalted butter at room temp.

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.

2. In a small bowl blend dry ingredients together: flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. 

3. In a medium bowl combine sugar and orange zest. Cream together the butter and sugar mixture until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until smooth. Add Greek yogurt and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.

4. Slowly add dry ingredients to the wet and mix until combined. Gently fold in the fresh cranberries.

5. For the streusel topping and filling, stir together the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl. With your fingers work the butter into the mixture until evenly distributed.

6. Pour half of the cake batter into the prepared cake pan. Sprinkle half of the streusel topping over top. Spoon the rest of the batter over the filling and spread gently. Sprinkle the remaining of the streusel on top. 

7. Bake until golden and toothpick comes out clean, approximately 35-40 minutes. 

ENJOY! Before baking, I sprinkled a few finely chopped pecans on the top of my cake and it was a tasty touch. 

What recipes have you tried recently and loved? Has anyone made homemade eggnog? I can't find any here and I'm really craving it. Just might be my next venture.

Michaela Rae

White Chocolate Butter Pecan Cookies

Remember my sorrowful post about not being able to find canned pumpkin? Well, I still had all of the other ingredients for that delicious-looking Pumpkin Pie Coffee Cake with Crumbled Pecan Topping recipe lying around and wanted to use them (especially the pecans). I didn't have to look long, when I came across a recipe for Butter Pecan Cookies it was a sealed deal! And I knew as soon as I smelled the incredible aroma coming from my oven this was one to share.

I decided to add white chocolate chips to my cookies. I was inspired by a similar recipe for Butter Pecan Cookies that called for butterscotch chips, but I couldn't find them (another thing the British are missing out on?). The white chocolate chips were a really tasty addition though, so I'm glad I went with them.

What you'll need:

3/4 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temp.

1/3 cup sugar, plus more for coating

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup white chocolate or butterscotch chips

Preheat your oven to 350° F. On a baking-sheet roast your pecans until fragrant (about 6-10 mins). Let cool and then finely chop.

Cream your butter for about a minute. Add sugar and blend the two together for another minute. Beat in vanilla, salt and flour. If it seems like hardly any dough, never fear, it'll make at least a dozen cookies. 

Fold in pecans and white chocolate chips (I used the mini ones).

Separate, squeeze and roll dough into small balls. Roll the balls in sugar before placing them on your baking-sheet (about 3 inches apart).

Gently flatten with the bottom of a glass. Reshape the edges of the cookies if you want them to be all purdy.

Bake until just golden brown (~12 mins).

Enjoy them warm with a glass of milk or all on their own! They are seriously so melt-in-your-mouth delicious and perfect for a fall party.

If you try them do let me know what you think. My next mission is to make something that involves Nutella, any suggestions? Happy Friday everyone; enjoy your weekend!

Michaela Rae

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Recently

Happy Monday! I hope your weekend was great; mine was :-). Instead of touring ourselves to death, like we nearly did last weekend, Kurt and I decided to have a lazy Saturday. We slept in, ate breakfast for lunch and laid around in our pjs reading and talking for the majority of the day.

As usual, after spending some time on Pinterest, I was inspired to bake. Don’t you love Pinterest for that (mine)? So for the fourth time that week (I’ll explain later), I ran to the grocery store to get ingredients for Pumpkin Pie Coffee Cake with Crumbled Pecan Topping. Doesn’t that sound like the best thing ever? I gathered what I needed but couldn’t find the pumpkin for the life of me. I soon discovered that CANNED PUMPKIN IS NOT SOLD IN THE UK. Or at least not at the three different stores where I then proceeded to look. Talk about heartbreak, I was depressed for a good two hours. 

Can you imagine Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie? Neither can I. I found online stores that sell Libby's Canned Pumpkin but they're all a bit spendy. Have any suggestions? Or know of a recipe for making pumpkin puree from scratch (I might just be that daring). And in the meantime, I’d love if you made the Pumpkin Pie Coffee Cake and let me know how it is. The recipe's here.

As for frequent grocery runs, that’s just the way it goes around there. We quickly discovered that Morrison’s was going to be our second home when considering that food is sold more fresh here, we have a dorm room sized fridge and carrying two bags of groceries up 4 flights of stairs is enough for our poor American bodies.

We've decided to attend Queens Road Church, and we're pretty excited about it :-). I love how integrated it is, young and old, obviously from all walks of life. People seem really down to earth and have been really welcoming. We've already gone to a Life Group that they have during the week and on Sunday we went to the park with a group of 10 or so to eat lunch. Good community was one things at the top of our list when looking and it definitely seems we'll find it there. Oh, and it's a three minute walk from our flat, nice bonus. :-)

In other news, you guys should really consider going without internet at your house for a week so. It's been quite great. You'll find more time to enjoy reading, talk to your spouse (haha), play board games (Rivals for Catan is really fun), go for walks, and just reflect. :-) Although we'll probably have internet by the end of the week, I'm going to try and spend less time online knowing how it benefitted me the last 3 weeks. 

Cheers! 

Michaela Rae

Coffee Chocolate Cupcakes w/ Baileys Irish Cream Frosting {Try New Adventures Thursday}

Hello all! After taking a vote on twitter and facebook, it was decided that today for Try New Adventure Thursdays I'd bake Coffee Chocolate Cupcakes topped with Baileys Irish Cream Frosting. So, I've done just that...and be warned, by the time you finish reading this blog post, your mouth is sure to be watering!

I found the recipe on Ming Makes Cupcakes. The same place I got the recipe for the Sour Cream Raspberry Cupcakes I made a couple months ago and loved. Her recipes are fabulous because they're simple (you probably already have most of the ingredients in your kitchen) and unique, since when did did you come across recipes for fig, apricot or parsnip cupcakes?

Sour Cream Raspberry Cupcakes

For the cupcakes you'll need:
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup buttermilk (I used a buttermilk blend)
3 heaping TBSP cocoa
1/2 cup coffee
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

For the icing you'll need:
1 stick butter
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup Baileys Irish Cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 TBSP milk
2 TBSP coffee

First, in a small bowl, dissolve the baking soda in room-temp. buttermilk. In a small sauce pan melt together on low the butter and cocoa. When melted and smooth, add coffee.

In a separate bowl, sift together sugar, flour and salt. Add the cocoa mixture and egg and mix on low. Add the buttermilk mixture and vanilla extract to the rest of the ingredients and beat until smooth.

Poor your finished recipe into cupcake pan and bake at 350 for 20-30 mins or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Now it's time for the yummy frosting! Beat all of the ingredients listed above together until smooth.

That's it! Just spread it on the cupcakes.

YUUMMM! If you make these tell me what you think. If there's one critique I have, it's that the cupcakes aren't as coffee-flavored as I'd hoped they'd be. Next time I'll try using much stronger coffee.

Michaela Rae

P.S. Although I was never able to get my visa, my passport is being mailed back to me. I'll be going over with Kurt as a "tourist" for the time being. Hopefully we'll get visa stuff straightened out later. WE BOOKED OUR TICKETS FOR MONDAY! London here we come =).