This month is very special for 2 reasons. First, my husband Jens, my soulmate, friend and lover is turning 40! Second, we are visiting Scandinavia - Sweden and Iceland.This week we will be taking a culinary journey to Sweden a country very close to my heart. When I think of Sweden in the summer, I think of freshness.... green forests teeming with fresh mushrooms and wild berries, beautiful cool blue lakes and rivers teeming with fresh seafood, breezy long warm sunny days with blue skies, cool and crisp summer evenings. To celebrate Jens big day the family decided to have a surprise party for him. As part of the festivities, my sister-in-law Helene prepared and shared a delightful recipe with me for a quintessential Swedish cake called Berry Dream........the name says it all. This fresh and delicious cake combines the decadence of chocolate with the sweetness of berries to make a wonderful and deliciously decadent cake. And the best part of it, we picked the berries ourselves from the forest! Aromatic wild raspberries, blueberries and cranberries! Welcome to Sweden! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Join me in August for a fresh and delightful culinary journey to Scandinavia!
Berry Dream
Preparation Time: 30 minutes Cooking Time: 30 minutes Cooling time: 3 hours Total time: 4 hours Ingredients (Makes 14 pieces) Brownie Base 4.4oz/130g butter 4.4oz/130g dark chocolate 2 eggs 4.3oz/120g castor sugar 1oz/27.5g whole wheat flour 1 tablespoon butter to grease the baking pan Berry Mousse 3 eggs 1 teaspoon castor sugar 4.3oz/120g castor sugar 4 tablespoons water 4 gelatine leaves 14oz/400g whipping cream 6.8oz/200g fresh or frozen thawed berries (raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, lingonberries) Garnish 6.8oz/200g fresh berries (raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, lingonberries) Method Brownie Base: 1. Melt the butter and dark chocolate in a saucepan. Whisk the eggs and sugar in a bowl. Mix together the flour, chocolate mixture and egg mixture in a bowl 2. You will need a round baking pan with removable sides and base 9 1/2-inches/24-cm in diameter. Grease the baking pan with1 tablespoon of butter. Pour the mixture in a round baking pan 9 1/2-inches/24-cm in diameter. Bake in the oven at 400 deg F/ 200 deg C for 10-15 minutes or until firm. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Remove the brownie from the pan. You will use the same baking pan again at step 5. Berry Mousse: 3. Whisk the eggs with 1 teaspoon of sugar in a stainless steel bowl until it becomes frothy. Mix 5oz/150g sugar with the water and heat in a saucepan until the temperature reaches 252 deg F/122 deg C. Pour the warm water and sugar mixture into the egg mixture slowly and carefully while whisking at a low speed. Increase the speed and whisk thoroughly until the mixture becomes frothy and the merengue has cooled. Set aside. 4. Place the gelatine leaves in cold water for 5 minutes. Whisk the whipped cream until it is fluffy. Set aside. Purée the berries and pass through a strainer to remove the seeds. Remove the gelatine from the cold water and place in a saucepan. Mix the gelatin with the berry purée. Pour the berry mixture slowly into the merengue you set aside at step 3 and mix. Add the whipped cream and mix 5. Place the brownie base prepared in step 2 on a cake dish. Remove the base of the cake pan and place the pan over the brownie base. Fill the cake pan with the berry mousse. Cover the top with baking paper or foil and place in the fridge for 3 hours. Take out of the fridge and remove the edge of the cake pan. Garnish the cake with fresh berries and serve.