Orange and Chocolate Chip Cake

If you like chocolate with orange, then you will love this cake. This orange and chocolate chip cake is a really moist cake baked with chocolate chips, with an orange sirup poured on top. The orange sirup adds a crunchy texture and caramelization to the cake. 

Chocolate Chip Cake with an Orange Sirup on top

So here is the recipe!

Ingredients

Cake:

200 g butter

250 g sugar (I used 100 g cane sugar and 150 g normal sugar)

150 g flour

1 tsp baking powder

3 eggs
100-150 grams chocolate chips

Orange Sirup:
2 oranges
2 dl sugar

Cake Directions:

1. First, soften the butter and whisk in the sugar with an electric hand mixer, continue to whisk while adding in the eggs one by one. 
2. Then, in a separate bowl mix the flour and baking powder together. 
3. Next, mix the flour mixture into the batter little by little. 
4. After that, stir in 100-150 grams of chocolate chips.
5. Then, pour the cake batter into a spring form pan that's lined with parchment paper.
6. Bake at 190-200c for about an hour. 

Orange Sirup Directions:

Orange Sirup

1. First, wash the oranges. Then, grate the peel (only the orange part).
2. Next, juice the oranges. Then, sift the juice, and discard the pulp. 
3. Put the sugar, orange juice and peel in a pot and bring it to a slow boil (be careful and watch over it!). 
4. Then, when it's reduced to between 3/4 and 1/2 of the original content, and the sirup has become thicker, remove from heat.

Final Step! When the cake comes out of the oven, drizzle the sirup over it so it soaks into the cake. That is it. Hope you enjoy it. :o)

A slice of Chocolate Chip Cake with an Orange Sirup topping

Klejner - Danish Christmas Pastry

In one of my first blog posts I made a list of my favorite Danish pastries. One of those listed was Klejner. It is a fried pastry found in the Scandinavian countries around Christmas time typically made with egg yolks, flour, and sugar.

Today I noticed my local grocery store in Denmark, Føtex, had two kinds of Klejner for sale, Norwegian and Danish, and they looked very different.

Danish Klejner (left) and Norwegian Klejner (right)

I get the feeling that Føtex is probably not the best place to try Klejner at. :o) I have had Klejner before at Tivoli and it was really tasty. These weren't that great. The one on the left was the Danish Klejner. The flavor reminds me of Barnum and Bailey Animal Crackers. If you are from the U.S. you will understand that reference, but it also had a hint of orange. This particular one was pretty dry, and very crunchy, more like a big dry cookie. The one pictured on the right is the Norwegian Klejner. This was totally different. It tasted like a fried donut, without the frosting, and no orange flavoring. Just a plain fried donut, but not a fresh one. hehe

I would say if you have never tried Klejner before, try it at a non-grocery store bakery. :o)

Danish Apple Cake

Today my boyfriend decided to make a Danish Apple Cake, and I didn't complain! :o)

Homemade Danish Apple Cake

He said the cake was very easy to make, and he got the recipe from this website. Let me tell you, this cake is sooooo yummy! It has a crunchy topping and a really good flavor. The cake is very moist as well, and has a perfect ratio of apples to cake, with a nice mix of cinnamon and sugar. If you want to make this cake, the recipe is below, translated from Danish to English, and partially typed by the baker himself!

Ingredients

Cake:

200 g butter

250 g sugar (I used 100 g cane sugar and 150 g normal sugar)

150 g flour

1 tsp baking powder

3 eggs

Topping:

3 apples

2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp cinnamon 

Directions:

1. First, soften the butter and whisk in the sugar with an electric hand mixer, continue to whisk while adding in the eggs one by one. 
2. Then, in a separate bowl mix the flour and baking powder together. 
3. Next, mix the flour mixture into the batter little by little. 
4. Then, pour the cake batter into a spring form pan that's lined with parchment paper.
5. Finally, peel and de-core the apples, then cut them into chunky slices. Mix sugar and cinnamon together, and toss the apple slices in the mixture. Gently push the slices a bit into the top of the cake batter.
6. Bake at 190-200c for an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes (insert a toothpick into the cake to check when it is done, if the toothpick is clean then the cake is finished). :)

That is it. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did. Here are some more pictures! Let me know if you tried this recipe.

Ingredients ready to be mixed in

Apple Cake ready for the oven

Apple Cake fresh out of the oven

Apple cake with fresh whipped cream

Pumpkin Spice Cake Recipe

This weekend I decided to make Pumpkin Spice Cake.

Pumpkin Spice Cake with powdered sugar and fresh whipped cream on top

I have never liked pumpkin pie, even though back home in Texas, it is very popular. So instead, around Thanksgiving time, I make Pumpkin Spice Cake. The recipe calls for half a can of pumpkin puree, which makes the cake very moist, and it has a similar flavor to pumpkin pie but tastes sooo much better. :o) If you live in Denmark, you can find pumpkin puree at Meny and Kvickly in the British/American section. The recipe is pretty simple, and makes a large cake. I used a rectangular cake pan, but you could also use two round cake pans.

Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup fresh or canned pumpkin
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups sifted cake flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 cup buttermilk

Directions

1. First, set your oven to 176C or 350F, and butter and flour cake pan(s).
2. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy with an electric mixer.
3. Then, add eggs, one at a time, and mix well.
4. Next, add the pumpkin puree and vanilla, and beat until incorporated.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices.
6. Then, add the flour mixture and buttermilk, alternately to the pumpkin batter. In three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.
7. Next, if using two round cake pans, divide the batter, and pour into each cake pan. If using a rectangular pan then pour all of the batter in that pan.
8. Bake cake(s) for 25 - 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
9. Once cooled, dust the cake with powdered sugar or top with your favorite frosting. This recipe recommends using a cream cheese frosting, but I didn't use any.

That is it! Note: I baked my cake for 35 minutes at 190C, but I think my oven is a bit off. So just use your own judgement, and check your cake at 20-25 minutes. :o)

Pumpkin Spice Cake with just powdered sugar on top :o)

Homemade Pasta with Meatballs Recipe

Last night I made homemade pasta with meatballs. This is one of my favorite recipes, and it is actually quite simple, and sooooo yummy. So I thought I would share how I make homemade pasta with meatballs. :o)

Homemade pasta with tomato sauce, and meatballs with freshly grated parmesan cheese

First, you need to make pasta dough. It is actually pretty easy to make homemade pasta, but it is easiest if you have a pasta maker. If you don't have one then it may be more difficult to get the pasta as thin as you want, and you would have to hand cut the fettuccine. It's not impossible to do, but it is going to be a little more work. As a solution you could just buy pasta at your local grocery store instead, if you don't want to make homemade pasta.

I will say, though, that once you have had homemade pasta you can really taste the difference. It is creamier, and has a better texture and flavor. I really love it. So, if you would like to try it this is the recipe. Note: Further down is the recipe for the meatballs and sauce. :)

Homemade Pasta Recipe
150 grams Pasta flour (plus more for dusting)
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt

Directions

1. First, pour pasta flour in a bowl mixed with salt. Then, make a well in the center of the flour, and crack the eggs into the well. Next, gently scoop some of the flour into the egg (repeatedly) until a dough starts to form. You can then place the dough onto a clean surface dusted with pasta flour, and knead it just until it comes together.
2. Cover dough with plastic wrap, and place in the fridge for at least 1 hour before using.
3. When ready, divide the dough in half, and dust it lightly with pasta flour. Take half of the dough and run it through the pasta maker starting at 0 until desired thickness. I stop at setting 5. You can always just hand roll out the dough if you don't have a pasta maker.
4. Repeat this process with the other half of the dough.
5. Next, either take a dull knife and hand cut strips or switch to the fettuccine setting on your pasta maker to make the pasta into fettuccine. I split each layer of dough into two so the fettuccine wasn't too long.
6. Then, lightly dust the fettuccine in pasta flour so that it doesn't stick together.
7. Boil pasta in salted water for 2-3 minutes.
8. Drain pasta before serving. :o)

• Tip: Don't boil pasta until dinner is almost ready.

Now onto the meatball recipe. :) This is a recipe that I have adapted by Gordon Ramsay that I found online three years ago, and I have to say these meatballs are the best I have ever tasted.

Homemade Meatballs

The recipe is so easy that I feel anyone can make this. I usually use dry parsley, and have added salt and pepper to the recipe. You can always prepare the meatballs while the homemade pasta dough is chilling in the fridge.

Homemade Meatballs Recipe
200 grams minced beef
200 grams minced pork
1/2 bunch flat leaf parsley
2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp fine breadcrumbs
Milk, enough to cover bread crumbs
salt
pepper

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, place 3 tbsp breadcrumbs, and drizzle milk on top, just enough so the bread crumbs soak up all of the milk, so it is a very little amount.
2. Then, add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl, and with your hands mix it altogether.
3. Cover with plastic wrap, and place in fridge until ready to use. Tip: You can prepare the pasta sauce in the meantime. To make a simple pasta sauce just blend a can of pelati (whole tomatoes) in a chopper mixed with a couple of pinches of salt. Place in a sauce pan and warm on a medium to low setting until time to serve. With a good can of tomatoes you don't have to add a lot to them so don't buy the cheapest kind you can find.
4. Next, place a non-stick frying pan on the stove on a medium to high setting.
5. Then, shape the meat into walnut sized balls, and lightly coat with flour.
6. Finally, fry the meatballs in olive oil until golden. You will have to flip them over, and my advice is to let them sit a bit on each side so they get nice and toasted.

That is it! Typing this makes me feel like this recipe is so much work, but trust me, it isn't. Once you have done it once you will see it is quite simple, and delicious. I hope someone out there enjoys it! By the way this recipe is enough for two to three people, and in case you missed it the pasta sauce recipe is written in the directions of the meatball recipe. Let me know if you have any questions. Happy eating! :o)

Homemade Pasta, tomato sauce, and meatballs with freshly grated parmesan cheese