SEASON OF CINNAMON AND GINGER

The temperature has finally dropped below zero, and snow is painting the landscape pure white. TALVI, the winter has officially reached Finland, and we love it! This marks also the beginning of the cinnamon and ginger -season; cookie baking, mulled wine tastings and cosy gatherings.

GINGERBREAD

500 g all purpose flour + extra for baking
225 g granulated sugar
225 g butter, room temperature
1 egg, organic
3 tablespoons dark syrup
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon, grind
1 teaspoon gloves, grind
1 teaspoon ginger, grind
1/2 teaspoon bitter orange peel, grind
1 teaspoon cardamom, grind

Mix all the ingredients in a big bowl until well combined. Sprinkle flour to a baking surface and roll out the batter to a thin sheet. Press different shapes with a cookie cutter, line a baking tray with baking paper and bake gingerbreads in a 200 degrees Celsius oven for about 5 minutes. Cool on wired racks and decorate with sugar icing.

MULLED WINE

1 bottle (75 cl) of red table wine
2 dl water or fruit tea
1 lemon, chest and juice
1 cinnamon stick
4 cloves
2 cardamom
fresh ginger, size of your thumb nail, peeled and sliced
sugar according to your taste

Mix all the ingredients in a saucepan, warm the drink on moderate heat, DO NOT let boil. Sieve spices and lemon chest out, serve mulled wine when still steaming hot. Put sliced almonds and raisins on the bottom of each class, serve with a long spoon.

CINNAMON CREME CARAMEL
2 dl granulated sugar to coat the molds
5 dl light cream or whole milk
1 vanilla pod
4 organic eggs
1 organic egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon grind cinnamon
3/4 dl granulated sugar
in addition to that you also need creme caramel ramekins, or ovenproof teacups, and large enough baking dish to make a water bath for all the individual creme caramels

Melt the sugar in a pan, watch carefully not to burn it, remove from the heat when the color is deep gold. Pour immediately into small ramekins swirling around to quickly spread the caramel all over the base and to cote the sides as well. Hot sugar sets quickly, so be fast, but don't burn your fingers.

Heat the milk (or cream) and split vanilla pod in a saucepan,until almost boiling. Remove from the heat, remove vanilla and whisk together cinnamon, sugar and eggs.

Put ramekins in a deep baking dish and pour boiling water into the dish until it reaches halfway up the side of ramekins. Bake in a 175 degrees Celsius oven about 50 minutes. Remove creme caramels from the water bath and leave to cool before serving, preferably overnight. Store in a refrigerator.

Loosen the side of créme caramel with a sharp knife, put a serving plate upside down over the pudding. hold the plate and ramekin firmly together, quickly flip them over. Plate is now the right way up and the creme caramel pudding plops down with the caramel sauce.

OLD FASHIONED WINTER CAKE

5 organic eggs
100 g (about 1 dl) granulated sugar
100 g (about 1/2 dl) dark syrup
1/2 teaspoon grind cardamom
1/2 teaspoon grind bitter orange peel
1/2 teaspoon grind cinnamon
120 g (about 2 dl) all purpose flour

to decorate:
100 g dark chocolate
1/4 dl cream
sugar icing

in addition to that you also need butter to butter the cake tin and bread crumbs to coat the tin

Beat the eggs and sugar until foamy, add syrup, spices and flour. Butter the cake tin and add breadcrumbs, shake around to coat the base and the sides evenly. Pour the cake mixture into the tin and bake in 180 degrees Celsius oven about an hour, until the cake is set and a toothpick stick into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Melt the chocolate, add cream and let simmer over a moderate heat until dissolved. Pour the choco sauce over the cake, let set first, then decorate with sugar icing.