It’s finally feeling like summer here in Bergen, which is perfect timing since we celebrated Midsummer over the weekend! Swedes celebrated Midsummer Eve on Friday and Norwegians celebrated Sankthansaften on Sunday, and one dish that featured on many tables was smörgåstårta. Smörgåstårta, or smørbrødterte in Norwegian, is a savory cake made of several layers of different sandwiches and decorated with cream cheese, vegetables, and seafood or cold cuts and cheese. While we call it a cake, it’s more like a giant layered sandwich that has been decorated to look like a cake. Swedes traditionally eat seafood on Midsommar, so I…
Swedish
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Continue ReadingAfter visiting Hardangerfjord, “the orchard of Norway,” last week I was not so mysteriously in the mood for apples. Of course it’s not yet apple season here in Norway, but luckily we can still buy apples at the supermarket. So I decided to make äppelkaka, a deliciously fluffy Swedish vanilla…
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Continue ReadingMy birthday is this month, and this weekend I decided to celebrate early with a Swedish pannkakstårta, or pancake cake. This is a popular cake in Sweden to serve on birthday mornings – like a pancake breakfast but more festive! Pannkakstårta is made with a stack of thin Swedish pancakes…
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Continue ReadingOver the weekend I went skiing in Myrkdalen with some friends and we stayed at a cosy little cabin, so of course I wanted to bake something delicious for us. And what’s cosier than kanelbullar, or Swedish cinnamon buns? Kanelbullar are made with a sweet cardamom dough filled with cinnamon…
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Continue ReadingRain is pouring down in Bergen today (I know, I’m shocked as well) and it was cold enough to fire up my wood oven. The good news is that Alfie had really needed a bath after we went on a muddy hike this weekend, and now it looks like the…
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Continue ReadingNorway famously has the longest Easter public holiday in the world, which is kind of funny considering most of the country is pretty secular. No, Norwegians aren’t using their time off to go to church. They’re heading to their mountain cabins! Easter is a huge ski holiday in Norway and…
