Outcome of ramson day

"Ramson family picture"

What is the outcome of my ramson creation day yesterday ?

I have made:

• ramson salt
• ramson oil
• ramson pesto with walnuts
• ramson pesto with pine nuts.

A little tip on how to keep the coffee filter fixed during the second/final clearing of the ramson oil. Use a rubber band for keeping the coffee filter in place.

I taste some butter with ramson flavour yesterday, when I was dining out. Do you have an idea how to make ramson butter ? The taste was amazing.

Walnut cream cake a la "Svinkløv Badehotel"

Ever since, that I saw the TV programme "Anne og Anders på Svinkløv Badehotel", I have wanted to make the walnut cream cake, which is a signature cake of Svinkløv Badehotel. Googling "valnøddelagkage Svinkløv Badehotel" let me to this recipe: Valnøddelagkage fra Svinkløv Badehotel.

I made a few changes, as I did not to 1 liter of dairy whipping for one cream cake as I am having a challenging relationship to whipped cream on it´s own. Some times I have the feeling, that whipped cream is growing in my mouth due to it´s fatty taste and texture. So I "downsized" on the amount of dairy whipping cream, and therefore also adjusted on the amount of walnuts and dark chocolate. Dark chocolate being another food stuff, which I have a challenging relationship to due to it´s intense taste. I love milk chocolate and really dislike dark chocolate !!! However, I did not want to exchange the dark chocolate with milk chocolate in this cream cake, as the sweetness of the milk chocolate easily become too much.

Both my good rowing friends and my colleagues (who enjoyed the leftover from my birthday coffee table) became great fans of this walnut cream cake.

Another tip regarding the cutting process of such a cream cake. It is recommended to heat up the the cutting knife in almost boiling water, before making the actual cut in the cake. Also use some kitchen towel for removal of cake leftovers between each cutting. By doing this, the knife will smoothly cut the cake. 

Walnut cream a la "Svinkløv Badehotel": - 10-12 pieces

• 3 cake plates
• rum for brushing of the cake plates - optional
• 650 g dairy whipping cream
• 25 g vanilla sugar
• 175 g walnuts - chopped
• 100 g dark chocolate - chopped
• 1 tablespoon instant coffee
• 2 tablespoons boiling water
• icing sugar

1. Start by brushing the cake plates with rum.
2. Whip the dairy whipping cream with vanilla sugar into firm whipped cream.
3. Gently stir in the chopped walnuts and chocolate into the whipped cream.
4. Place a cake plate on the serving plate. Place half of the cream cake filling on the cake plate.
5. Place the second cake plate on top of the cream cake filling. Place the second half of the cream cake filling on the second cake plate. 
6. Place the third cake plate on the cream cake filling.
7. Dissolve the instant coffee in the boiling water. Stir in icing sugar into the coffee, until the consistency is right for glazing.
8. Glaze the third cake plate with this coffee glazing.
9. Decorate the coffee glazing with 8 walnuts.
10. Place the cream cake cold in the refrigerator for minimum 1 hour, for the cake to set up.
11. Enjoy the cake with a good cup of coffee or tea.

Baked risotto in pepper fruit

Another way of serving leftovers of risotto instead of the usual reheating in the microwave oven, is to divide a green/yellow/red pepper fruit into two halves and remove it's seeds. Afterwards you fill up the pepper fruit with the leftover risotto, sprinkle it with Parmesan cheese.

Place the pepper fruit in a oven stable baking tray, place it in the middle part of the oven at 200'C for approx 30 minutes, until the pepper fruit is warm and soft. I have found this idea in the magazine "Isabellas", issue 08/12.

Rhubarb jam with vanilla

I received a bunch of rhubarb in my weekly vegetable box from Årstiderne, which I decided to turn into rhubarb more or less the same day/evening.

Normally I work with ratio of 1 part sugar to 2 part of fruit, when I am making jam, but as rhubarb is quiet acidic, I decided to increase the ratio between sugar and fruit to 1 part of sugar to 1 part of rhubarb.

If you prefer a less sweet tasting rhubarb jam, you can always start with 1 part of sugar to 2 part of rhubarb, cook up the rhubarb, taste the hot jam and evaluate the entire sweetness of the jam, and when adjust the sweetness by adding in more sugar.

I always add the remain of the vanilla pod, when cooking various things using vanilla. And I never remove the vanilla pod from my jam, so if you are the "lucky" receiver of my jam, you should be prepare to remove the vanilla pod yourself.

Rhubarb jam with vanilla:

• 500 g rhubarb - stems cut into small pieces
• 500 g jam sugar
• 1 lemon - the juice
• 1 vanilla pod

1. Mix the rhubarb pieces with jam sugar, vanilla corns and pod with lemon juice in a cooking pot. I use a Gently heat up to the boiling point.
2. Let the rhubarb jam boil for 4-5 minutes.
3. Prepare the jam glasses by filling them with boiling water. 
4. Fill the glass with jam and close the glass. Store them cold.

Hindbærsnitter "Raspberry Cutting" a la Dr Oetker

I found a "real Dr Oetker recipe" in the latest issue ( issue 3/ 2013) of the magazine Isabella. By real Dr. Oetker I mean, as almost every second or third ingredients is Dr. Oetker ingredients such as the almond flour, vanilla sugar, baking powder, raspberry extract and decoration sprinkles !!!! Anyway, I have never baked the cake called Hindbærsnitte (Raspberry Cutting), so I decided to test this recipe out.

In my opinion the amount of the raspberry extract into the icing sugar could be reduced into ½ amount, as the overall flavour profile becomes a little to perfumed accoring to my taste preference.

Hindbærsnitte (Raspberry Cutting) a la Dr Oetker: - 14-16 pieces

• 200 g (cake) flour
• 50 g almond flour
• 50 g sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar or 2 tablespoon home-made vanilla sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 150 g cold butter
• 25 g cold water
• 200 g raspberry jam
• 1 teaspoon raspberry extract
• 150 g icing sugar
• 3 teaspoon raspberry extract
• 2-3 teaspoon water
• decoration sprinkles

1. Mix flour, almond flour, sugar, vanilla sugar and baking powder together in a mixing bowl.
2. Cut the butter into smaller pieces, which is crumbled into the flour mix.
3. Afterwards add the cold water and knead the dough fast together.
4. Form the dough into a square, cover it with cling film and place for min 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
5. Meanwhile mix the raspberry jam and raspberry extract together.
6. Heat the (conventional) oven up to 200'C.
7. Roll the dough into a square with a size of 30x40 cm on a piece of baking paper and using the cling film for the upper of the dough, so the dough is not sticking to the rolling pin.
8. Place the baking paper with the dough on a baking tray.
9. Shread the raspberry jam on half of the dough and fold the rest of the dough on top of this jam layer. Use the baking paper as support, while you do this.
10. Bake the cake in the middle of the oven at 200'C for 18-20 minutes.
11. Let the cake cold down, before you decorate it.
12. Mix the icing sugar, raspberry extract and water into a icing layer, which should cover the upper part of the cake together with decoration sprinkles.
13. Cut the cake into smaller pieces. 

Tomato soup with cream

This tomato soup with cream is having a great creamy taste and texture being another type of Winter comfort food.

If I have any leftovers of dairy cream from other food activities in my kitchen, I will be placing those smaller portions of ½-1 dl dairy cream in small containers and placing them in the freezer. Many times, when you need dairy cream for a portion of soup, you can easy pick out the right amount of containers with cream from the freezer.


Tomato soup with cream: - 4 servings 

• 2 tablespoon oil
• 1 onion - chopped
• 1 clove of garlic - chopped
• 340 g mashed tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon Sonnentor Hot Stuff (spice mix of paprika, garlic, thyme, chili, oregano, rosemary, basil, black pepper, rose flowers, marigold and sun flower)
• 2 teaspoon Herbamare herb stocking
• ½ l water
• 2-3 dl dairy whipping - 35-40% fat
• 200 g soup pasta horns
• mix of butter and oil for frying the meat and onion
• salt and pepper for seasoning.

1. Fry the onions in the hot oil together with the Sonnentor Hot Stuff in a larger cooking pot.
2. Add mashed tomatoes, water and Herbamare vegetable stock into the cooking pot.
3. Let everything softly for 20-25 minutes.
4. Meanwhile cook the soup pasta horns in a separate cooking pot, so they do not pick up water from the soup.
5. Blend the soup and add in the cream. Let the soup cook for another 5 minutes.
6. Season with salt and pepper.
7. Add the soup paste horn into the soup.
8. Serve together with bread.

Pork tenderloin stew

In wintertime when you need some comfort food to keep you happy and warm during low temperature, rain, snow, grey misty weather, this pork tenderloin stew could be a good option. 

For slicing up the mushrooms I used my egg slicer for boiled eggs, this is a very easy way to slice mushroom in equals slices in no time. I have got this little kitchen from my cousin. And now I am sharing it with you.

Pork Tenderloin stew:  - 4-6 servings

•         125 g bacon – optional
•          30 g butter
•          400 g pork tenderloin – chopped in bigger chunks
•          1 onion – diced
•          2 pepperfruits – diced
•          250 g mushrooms – sliced 
•          2 x 400 g canned diced tomatoes
•          300 g cocktail sausages
•          250 g dairy whipping cream – 38% fat
•          Salt and pepper for seasoning

1. Cut the bacon into smaller pjeces, add them into a big cooking pot, where the bacon is fried. Remove the fried bacon pieces, which will be used for decoration, while serving the dish.
2.  Add the butter on top of the bacon fat in the cooking pot, and heat it for frying the tenderloin meat.
3.  Fry the tenderloin and onion in the warm fat, stir well.
4. Add the mushroom and pepperfruit, and let everything fry for 4-5 minutes, until the mushrooms have taken some colour.
5.  Add in the canned tomatoes, place the lid on the cooking pot and bring the stew to the boil.
6.  Let the stew boil softly for 15 minutes.
7.  Add in the cocktail sausages and dairy, and let everything cooking for another 5 minutes.
8. Season with salt and pepper.
9. Served together with mashed potatoes or rice.