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Showing posts from December, 2007

Meringue Drops - Marengstoppar

These delicious meringue drops are the perfect accompaniment for home-made ice-cream . It’s good for using up the egg whites left over from the ice-cream making. 5 egg whites 1 tsp cream of tartar (may be left out) 1 2/3 cup sugar, white or confectioners' 1 tsp vanilla essence a dash of salt Whip the egg whites with the cream of tartar until they form stiff peaks. Add the sugar bit by bit, whipping well in-between. Whip until the dough is stiff and mix in vanilla or other flavouring (sherry or rum is also good). Oil and flour a baking sheet, or simply line one with baking paper. Put some of the dough into a pastry bag with a big tip, and squeeze out some even sized blobs onto the baking sheet/paper. The dough will not rise noticeably, so make them the size you want the cookies to be. Bake in a warm oven (150° C) until they are dry and have started to take on a slight golden colour (if you test one for doneness, it does not matter if they are sligthy chewy right at the center).

Ris a la mande – Danish Christmas pudding

The original name is probably riz à l’amande (French for almond rice ), but the Danish call it ris a la mande . Whether it is originally French or the name simply got Frenchified, I don’t know, but I do know this is a delicious pudding if correctly made. In some Icelandic households it is served instead of rice pudding (see previous recipe) at Christmas. The first time I tasted ris a la mande , I didn't like it at all. This is perhaps because it was lumpy and the cook had left out the vanilla. I have since made peace with it, and like it just as much as the traditional Icelandic rice pudding. 50 g rice (not quick-cook or instant) 600 ml milk 1/2 vanilla bean 30 g sugar 15 almonds, blanched and slivered or chopped 370 ml heavy cream, whipped 6-7 (12-14 grams) sheets gelatine Bring the milk to the boil in a large saucepan. Add the rice and vanilla bean and cook up a rice pudding (see previous recipe for method). When the pudding is done, remove the vanilla bean. Add the sugar

Syrup cookies – Sírópskökur

These are popular spiced cookies you often see around Christmas in Icelandic homes. 200 g golden syrup (may be replaced with runny honey or corn syrup, but will be less flavourful if corn syrup is used) 250 g brown sugar 200 g unsalted butter 500 g flour 1 1/2 tsp baking soda 2 1/2 tsp ground cloves 2 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1 egg Mix together flour, spices and baking soda. Add soft butter and mix until crumbly. Add syrup, egg and brown sugar and knead until smooth. Store in a refrigerator for 2-3 days. (BTW, this is not my recipe – I can not imagine that it needs to be stored for this long before baking. Overnight should be plenty of time). Flatten dough until about 2-3 millimetres thick and use cookie cutters to cut into shapes. Put on a lightly floured baking sheet and bake at 175°C on the centre rung of the oven until the edges of the cookies turn dark. Cool and decorate with icing.