{ Mélanger :: to mix }

The idea of having an ulterior motive sounds so clandestine.  So underhanded.  But I must admit, my research into Finnish desserts this month was just that.

Naturally, I am fascinated in Mr Melanger’s Finnish ancestry.  Not only because his makeup and personality is very much predisposed by that background, but it impacts me directly, too.  Well, when I use his last name it does at least.  It is always an amusing scenario where I am faced by a quizzical stare and an immediate request of, “how do you spell that?”

Who you are is shaped by so many influences.  For me, it is important to appreciate, celebrate and understand those very persuasions.

Growing up a first generation Australian, alongside parents and a sister that migrated from England, afforded me a reasonably unique identity.  Not only the extensive British influence of my immediate and past family ties, but the custom and tradition of my new country of birth.  This blend has made me who I am.

I want to follow the role that my parents played in sharing their heritage with me.  I want to play an active role in sharing everything relevant with baby Mélanger … who is on the way!

Baby Mélanger, with their inherent Finnglish connections, will learn about their lineage, no question.  Finland.  England.  And naturally, Australia, of course.

In preparation of the big (or hopefully little) arrival of baby Mélanger in September, I will continue to research, learn and experiment with my baking and cooking.

In the meantime, here is a roundup of the Finnish desserts created this month, plus some other delicious Finnish treats that I am sure will now become even more popular in the Mélanger soon-to-be-expanded home.

{ Mustikkapiirakka :: Blueberry Tart } This simple, rustic style tart is a snap to make and a treat to share.  The blueberries piled high look as inviting as they are delicious.  The simplicity of the tart is the winning secret.  Fresh berries sweetened ever so slightly with a sprinkling of sugar, and topped on an easy to prepare, flaky pastry.  Perfect for any time of year.  { Read more here … }

{ Sekahedelmäkeitto :: Mixed fruit soup } The warm, aromatic aroma of the cinnamon is so alluring and while you are heating the sugary syrup.  Your whole kitchen will permeate with this sweet-spicy smell.  The gentle cooking produces fruit that is both sweet and deliciously soft.  It is equally tasty by itself, or made even more special by the addition of cream, or served alongside creamed rice.  { Read more here … }

{ Åland Pancake } If you enjoy the baked custardy taste of the Far Breton, the quintessential flan from Brittany, you will love the Åland Pancake.  It is creamy, dense and very smooth  – and just perfect with a dollop of lingonberry jam, a staple in this region of the world.  { Read more here … }

{ Rahkatorttu :: Karelian Cheese Torte } Vary the recipe as your tastes please.  Include raisins or fruit into the filling.  Use cream or butter to make the cheese even more rich.  Vary the cheese with cream cheese or cottage cheese if you cannot find quark.  Either way, it will be easy, simple yet flavourful – particularly when served with a healthy dollop of cloudberry jam!   { Read more here … }

{ Omenapiirakka :: Finnish Apple Pie } You need to try this pie.  The best part for me was how easy the pastry was to make.  And even better than that, how delicious it was.  I actually made the pastry a day ahead and was able to quickly roll out, top with apple and then bake in less than 45 minutes.  To keep it simple, I served with a light dusting of icing sugar and some rich vanilla ice cream to complement the gooey caramelised apple centre of the pie.  { Read more here … }

{ Karjalanpiirakat :: Karelian Rice Pasties } The pastry was quite easy to make.  It literally mixed together by hand in less than 5 minutes.  The filling is the most time consuming part taking an hour to slowly simmer.  But well worth the time.  Try with a boiled eggs topping, for the most perfect of snacks.   { Read more here … }

{ Hannatädinkakut :: Aunt Hanna’s Cookies } These simple and quick cookies are a Finnish favourite at holiday time.  They are apparently very popular, and according to Beatrice Ojakangas, can be found in supermarkets across Finland all year round.  One taste, and I was a big fan.  They are light and buttery but not too rich.  The little bite size makes them perfect for a little treat during the day.  I also think they make lovely homemade gifts, too!  { Read more here … }

{ Cardamom macarons with coffee cream} My tribute to Finland.  The Finns are reported to be the largest coffee drinkers in the world.  Cardamom is a very common spice used in Finnish (and Scandinavian) baking.  I love the flavours of both so put together this combination.  And let me just say, I am in macaron heaven.  { Read more here … }

{ Pulla :: Finnish cardamom bread } Pulla was the first item I baked for my (now) husband.  After much searching for the perfect recipe, I took the plunge with my Beatrice Ojakangas baking bible.  When I was told the bread tasted, “just like my mummo used to make”, I knew I had chosen well.   { Read more here … }

{ Mustikkapiiraat :: Blueberry filled buns } These buns are a snap to make and smell wonderful coming out of the oven.  You may clap your hands in delight (as I did) when seeing the gooey berry drizzle running down the side of a bun or two.  It will be hard to wait for them to cool slightly so you can devour them.  { Read more here … }

With a busy, non-stop weekend chock full of errands, major furniture assembly/removal/moving, tidying and organising, there was nothing more ideal than a sweet pick-me-up to restore those rapidly depleted energy stores.

Enter the Mustikkapiirakka, or Finnish Blueberry Tart.

With my mother as a willing kitchen participant (and the most organised helper over the weekend!), I prepared this moreish tart for a delicious morning tea treat for all to share.

Can you imagine anything more perfect to replenish a tired body?

{ Mustikkapiirakka :: Blueberry Tart }

I have seen a few different approaches to the pastry.  Some recipes included cream (a deliciously light, melt-in-your-mouth pastry I am familiar with in Finnish baking), some recipes included sour cream, and others simply a basic flour, sugar, butter combination.

I elected to celebrate the simple style of the tart, but with my own favourite flaky pastry recipe.  For the filling, I loaded up on blueberries and kept the flavour unadulterated with the addition of only sugar for extra sweetness and potato flour to help absorb excess juices from the berries.  This version is my variation on the Mustikkapiirakka.

If you know of the Mustikkapiirakka, I would love to hear about the technique you use.

* Ingredients *
Dough
2 cups all purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
250g / 2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into small cubes and frozen
1/3 cup iced water
Filling
600g / 20oz blueberries
2 tablespoons potato flour
2/3 cup sugar

* Directions *
For the dough, mix the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor to combine.  Add the butter and pulse gently to roughly incorporate into the flour mixture.  Do not over mix – it is fine to have some butter chunks showing.  Again pulsing the processor, slowly add in the iced water until the dough starts to come together.  Once again, do not over mix.  Tip the dough out onto a floured board and gently knead for a few seconds to bring together.  Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.  When you are ready to bake the tarts, remove the pastry from the refrigerator, cut into two even pieces and allow to soften slightly.  In the meantime, prepare the blueberry mixture.  Combine the blueberries, potato flour and sugar in a bowl.  Set aside.  To prepare the pastry, roll out each piece into a 30 cm / 12 in circle.  Trim to neaten edges using a dinner plate as a guide if necessary.  Line two baking sheets with baking paper.  Place a piece of prepared pastry on each.  Top each with one half of the prepared mixture.  Chill the prepared tarts for 30 minutes.  Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.  Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes 2 tarts

While researching Finnish desserts for this month, I reflected on ‘Tropical Fruit’ month.  I was reminded how lucky I am here in Australia to have an abundance of locally produced fresh fruit available to me.  All year round.  No exceptions.

Unless it is your preference, there really is no need to create a dish with ingredients that are preserved, dried, or cured.  No reason the ingredients cannot be fresh.

Fruit soups are a popular part of the dessert table in Finland.  During the summer months they would be made with an abundance of fresh, wild berries.  In the winter, with fruits that have been preserved for those darker (and much cooler!) months.

I came across a variety of mixed fruit soup recipes that incorporated a selection of some of my favourite dried fruits.  Apricots, prunes, pears and apples.  I have always been fond of dried fruit, even though the fresh variety has always been on hand.

This dessert is incredibly simple to make – and well worth the minimal steps required for the taste and scent alone.  The warm, aromatic aroma of the cinnamon is so alluring and while you are heating the sugary syrup, your whole kitchen will permeate with this sweet-spicy smell.  The gentle cooking produces fruit that is both sweet and deliciously soft.  It is equally tasty by itself, or made even more special by the addition of cream, or served along side some creamed rice.

{ Sekahedelmäkeitto :: Mixed fruit soup }

I have seen a few recipes including a variety of different dried fruits, a few different ratios of sugar to water, and a few different cooking techniques.  This version is my variation on the Sekahedelmäkeitto.

If you know of the Sekahedelmäkeitto, I would love to hear about the technique you use.

* Ingredients *
150g / 5oz of mixed dried fruits (I used prunes, apples, pears and apricots)
2 cups of water
1 stick cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons potato flour / starch
Double thick cream, optional

* Directions *
Into a saucepan, add the fruit, water and sugar.  Set aside for 4 hours, or preferably overnight.  Add the cinnamon and gently bring the mixture to the boil, then simmer for 15-30 minutes.  Remove the cinnamon stick and fruit to a separate bowl.  Mix the potato flour with an equal portion of water to form a paste.  Bring the sugary syrup again to the boil, and slowly add in the potato flour.  Whisk well and continuously until well combined and the mixture has thickened.  Set aside and allow to cool.  Once cool, combine the syrup with a selection of fruit in a bowl or glass of choice.  Serve with a dollop of cream, or with rice pudding.

Serves 2

It was the image of a red summer cottage that first caught my attention.  It was set in surroundings so lush and green, it almost looked artificial.  There was an impression of open space, as far as the eye, almost teasing you into the page.  The picture was serene.  Tranquil.   The scene was nested in the archipelago known as Åland.

I remember the article on Åland in that particular travel magazine well before I even knew I would be one day visiting Finland.  That handsome image of the red cottage somehow just stuck with me.

Unfortunately, despite now having traveled to Finland, I still have not had the pleasure of visiting this picturesque area.  But there was a plan.  In Finland, take the ferry from Turku (in Finland’s west) across to Stockholm.  Along the way, stopping at – you guessed it! – Åland.

But the plan was not foolproof.  A fear of my motion sickness, which regrettably is heightened on water, ultimately stood between me and discovering more about this charming area.  (I am still unable to erase the nightmare – for me and all the other passengers – of a rough ferry trip between Koh Samui and Koh Phan Ngan almost 20 years ago!)

Once part of Sweden, Finland now maintains sovereignty over the Åland Islands.  Although this Swedish speaking province is now an independent territory, an autonomous nation, I could not resist including this dessert during ‘Finnish dessert’ month.

{ Åland Pancake } Original recipe by Julia @ Mélanger

This is a traditional dish of Åland.  I have seen recipes including a base of cream of wheat or semolina, as well as rice.  Some including raisins.  Most including cardamom (of course!).  And nearly all suggesting this unconventional pancake, be served with cream and cooked fruit or jam of fruit in season.

This version is my variation on the Åland Pancake.  If you enjoy the baked custardy taste of the Far Breton, the quintessential flan from Brittany, you will love the Åland Pancake.  It is creamy, dense and very smooth  – and just perfect with a dollop of lingonberry jam, a staple in this region of the world.

If you know of the Åland Pancake, I would love to hear about the technique you use.

* Ingredients *
¼ cup short grain rice
2 ½ cups of milk
3 large eggs
¼ cup caster sugar
¾ cup plain flour
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
Pinch salt
Lingonberry (or cranberry) jam, to serve

* Directions *
Preheat the oven to 180C or 350F.  Grease an oven proof casserole dish.  In a mixing bowl, whisk together all the ingredients.  Pour the mixture into the prepared dish.  Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until golden brown.

Serves 4

Do you enjoy research?  I find the process fascinating – particularly when you have limited, to zero!, established understanding on a subject.

With an end goal in mind, you firstly try to read as broadly as you can to understand the subject.  You file little nuggets of detail away as you read.  Those details seem random at first, but as you continue you start to connect the dots.  Then, with again no (or limited!) knowledge on the subject, you try to assess the usefulness of the information you have found.

I typically find myself “looping” here quite a bit (more reading and then more assessing), mostly when I am unsatisfied with what I have dug up.  There is some instant elimination of information or enthusiastic ticking for future use along the way.

This has essentially been the process for me to delve into ‘Finnish dessert’ month.

Starting from a very limited knowledge base, I attempted to come up with an authentic list of Finnish desserts.  This was particularly challenging given Finnish cuisine is not the most popular globally.  Finding references in English were few and fair in between – compared with more popular cuisines such as French, Italian and Spanish.

But determination is a wonderful thing.  And even though the research process took longer than originally anticipated, I managed to create a short list of ideas.

The first dessert that made the list was the Karelian Cheese Torte, or more commonly known in Finnish as Rahkatorttu.

I am familiar with the Karelian area of Finland.  Mr Melanger’s father grew up in the city of Lappeenranta, which is situated in South Karelia between the southern banks of Saimmaa lake and the border with Russia.

In the food stakes, the Karelian Rice Pastry was one of first Finnish items I baked trying to familiarise myself with the unique food of this area.  This Karelian Cheese Torte is the second – and given the significance of the area, hence being first on the list for the month!

{ Rahkatorttu :: Karelian Cheese Torte }

I came across quite a number of recipes in my research.  Some included raisins, some were baked with fruit.  Some fillings incorporated cream or butter.  Some fillings were focused heavily just on the cheese.  The cheese also varied.  Some used cream cheese, some cottage cheese, some curd/quark.  But knowing the word “rahka” in Finnish is “quark”, I figured that would be the best way to go.  (Also, it was about time I finally baked with quark after all the inspiration I have received from Deeba at Passionate about Baking!)

This version is my variation on the Rahkatorttu.  Plain, simple yet flavourful – particularly when served with a healthy dollop of cloudberry jam!

If you know of the Rahkatorttu, I would love to hear about the technique you use.

* Ingredients *
Pastry
2 cups of plain all purpose flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 cup of caster sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter, extra cold and cut into small cubes
1 extra large egg
Filling
380g Quark
1/4 cup sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 extra large eggs

* Directions *
Butter a 20cm (8 inch) springform tin.  Set aside.  Preheat the oven to 180C (350F).  In a food processor quickly mix the flour, baking powder and sugar together.  Add the butter and pulse until you achieve the consistency of chunky breadcrumbs.  Finally, add the egg to bind.  The pastry should be fairly crumbly.  Gently pat the pastry into the prepared tin distributing evenly in sections.  Set the pastry aside and prepare the filling.  In a large bowl, whisk together the quark and sugar until the sugar is dissolved.  Add the lemon zest, lemon juice and eggs and whisk until well combined.  Pour the filling into the pastry and bake for 40-50 minutes.  After 40 minutes start checking.  You want the centre to be just set and firm-ish to the touch.  Cool, and serve with cloudberry jam, or any fruit of choice.

Given Mr Mélanger’s suomi connection, I am fascinated learning anything at all about Finnish cuisine.  During our visit to Finland, I enjoyed a delicious array of fresh produce from the Kauppatori (market square), local fare from modest bistros and cafes, mouth-watering meals from restaurants and outstanding flavours from authentic, homemade cooking.

My limited exposure to Finnish food prior to this trip (and meeting Mr Mélanger!), was instantly lifted during my travels from Helsinki and journeying west to Turku.

In the baking and sweet arena, I am familiar with the staple that is rye bread, as well as the popularity of coffee breads.  But I would, I am afraid to say, draw a blank in visualising a Finnish dessert.

Given the abundance of berries in this Northern European land, I presumed they would feature strongly in this after dinner meal.  But I paused after that.  With such a harsh climate in Finland, I struggled to think what other common ingredient would find its way into a typical Finnish dessert.

What would feature after the abundance of berries had been exhausted?  After Cloudberries.  Lingonberries.  Bilberries.  What next?
I was curious.

After researching, much cross referencing, and endless awkward translating from Finnish to English, I turned up a few ideas.

Stay tuned….

This month, I injected a few traditional savoury ingredients into typical sweet dishes.  As a conservative baker, I challenged myself to take some classic recipes and twist them to introduce some unusual flavour combinations — I was curious how far I would experiment with solid, timeless dishes.

Tried and true recipes such as apple pie, chocolate mousse, shortbread, and crème brûlée were given a flavour make-over.  Enter rosemary, fennel, Chinese five spice, and coriander that featured in the line up this month.

Want more savoury flavours?  How about basil, thyme, pepper and salt?  These usually savoury ingredients were the focus of a citrus tart, chocolate brownie, gingerbread cookie, and caramel chocolate cupcake showcased previously on Mélanger.

Here is the round up for the month. I hope you enjoyed your own experiments in the baking kitchen!

{ Coriander spiced apple pie } Although cinnamon and apple go hand in hand, a temporary substitution made for a surprisingly delicious flavor combination.  The nutty, spicy and rather citrusy flavour of ground coriander pairs unpredictably well with apple in these modest little pies.  { read more here … }

{ Chinese five spice chocolate mousse } For me, there is nothing like chocolate to soothe an unsettled soul.  In this case, a Chinese five spice chocolate mousse.  Inspired by a Belinda Jeffery rich chocolate cake showcasing the same spice these little aromatic pots were a delicious spin on the usual.  { read more here … }

{ Fennel & olive oil shortbread } The rich, sandy texture of the shortbread is preserved despite the variations.  The fennel flavour is prominent as soon as you take a bite.  The olive oil flavour comes through at the end.  It is subtle, but there.  This shortbread sure does lend itself well to different flavours. { read more here … }

{ Rosemary & orange crème brûlée } Rosemary was infused into the cream before making the basic custard for the brûlée.  The zest of one orange was also folded into the final mixture.  The injection of a less traditionally sweet flavour balanced the incredibly rich brûlée.  The end result was a typical creamy brûlée, with subtle suggestions of pine and some zing.  { read more here … }

{ Lime-Basil Tart } The traditional citrus tart is given a twist with the addition of fresh basil.  The fragrance from the basil is subtle but brings out the zesty overtones of the limes.  These flavours pair especially well with a basic sweet tart pastry.  { read more here … }

{ Thyme Brownie } This is the ultimate brownie recipe.  The end result is chewy with the right about of ‘bite’.  The slight variation with the thyme was subtle.  It produced a slightly earthy aroma to the rich, chocolately flavor of the brownie.  If you are a fan of a brownie that is not too cakey, and not too fudgey, this is a must try for you.  { read more here … }

{ Pfeffernussen } Pfeffernussen means ‘pepper nut’ in German.  This cookie features pepper (but no nuts!), and a range of spices such as cinnamon, all spice, nutmeg and cloves.  The light sugary coating of the cookie complements the peppery flavour deliciously. They are incredibly airy and light, and have a beautiful peppery flavour.   { read more here … }

{ Chocolate Salted Caramel Cupcakes } The salted caramel harmoniously melds with the rich chocolate cake and dark chocolate frosting.  Lightly sprinkled to finish, the grey flakes look misleadingly innocent.  When you savour the taste, the flavour faintly lingers urging you to immediately go back for more.  { read more here … }