Pancake Tower

It has become something of a tradition that once (or twice) a summer I need to make my own version of the traditional, Scandinavian pancake tower. Thin, crispy edged crepes layered with thick yoghurt (or cream, if you fancy) and berries is all there is to this easy summer treat. You can make the pancakes on a frying pan, but for a truly Scandinavian effect, you would need a cast iron pan on a camp fire (or on BBQ!).

Pancake Tower

2 eggs (large, free-range, organic)

500ml milk (organic, full cream)

about 150g plain flour 

pinch of salt

1 tablespoon olive oil (or other vegetable oil)

butter, for frying

200-300ml thick yoghurt (natural, full cream, organic)

about 100g berries (fresh or thawed)

honey, to taste

1/4 teaspoon pure ground vanilla

1. Make the batter by whisking the eggs in a bowl. Add half the milk, flour salt and oil and whisk until smooth. Add rest of the milk and stir to combine. Leave to rest for half an hour.

2. Heat small amount of butter in a frying pan and fry the pancakes one by one. Let cool before layering.

3. Sweeten the yoghurt with honey and vanilla and stir in the berries leaving some for topping. Spoon the yoghurt between each pancake and top the tower with the extra berries. Enjoy immediately.

Hilloviipaleet - Jam Slice Cookies

One of my favourite treats as a kid (and there were quite a few!) used to be "hilloviipaleet" or jam slices, as it would translate in English. Mum wouldn't make them very often, in fact not nearly often enough, and that made them even more special and tasty. Last weekend I baked a batch of these cookies and had a taste for the first time in about 15 years. They were as good as I remembered, if not better, flavoured with a touch of nostalgia.

I packed two boxes to bring with me to my 88 year old swimming buddy, whom I meet every morning at the local pool. The cookies were a small gift for all the little tokens he has given me and he seemed very happy indeed to receive them.

 

Hilloviipaleet

(makes 30-40 cookies)

200g butter (organic)

85g (raw) sugar

1 egg (free-range, organic)

1 teaspoon baking powder

250g plain flour

1/4 teaspoon pure ground vanilla

raspberry jam

60g icing sugar

about 1 1/2 tablespoons hot water

1. Beat soft butter and sugar with electric beaters until fluffy and pale. Add egg and use electric beaters to combine. Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl and stir quickly to form a smooth dough. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and refrigerate for half an hour.

2. Line two baking trays with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 175C. 

3. Divide the chilled dough in four pieces and shape the pieces to long (30cm) bars. Flatten the bars slightly and make a "well" in middle, running lengthwise along the whole bar. Fill the well with jam.

4. Bake the cookies for 15-20 minutes (depending on your oven) until golden. Leave to cool.

5. Combine icing sugar and hot water in a bowl and stir well to form a smooth, glossy paste. Spoon the paste into a piping bag and pipe along the jam edges on cool cookies. Cut the bars into about 2 1/2 cm pieces. These can be stored in the fridge or freezer in an airtight container.