Because of all the snow we have had, sooner or later, we were going to start photographing snowflakes. Easier said than done and most of our efforts ended up being deleted. We got these little flakes on an old pipe near home and also some on our windscreen but nothing really impressive.
So we started a little research project to satisfy our curiosity about how to photograph snowflakes. Very soon Paul came home with a wonderful book full of photos of snowflakes, called - The Snowflake: Winter’s Secret Beauty. That led us to the the author's wonderful website: SnowCrystals.com. It is an interesting site not only featuring a gallery of beautiful snow photos like this one,
The site features interesting facts about snow, how snowflakes form, equipment required and how to photograph snowflakes and grow your own etc, etc. If it wasn’t for the fact that we were returning to the southern hemisphere before the year end, we would have been as busy as beavers building the gear (plans also on the site) needed to do the pictures.
Currently on the menu at the cafés in Finland - Runebergintorttu. Little cakes named after the Finnish poet Johan Ludwig Runeberg. A poem by Runeberg called Maamme (Our land) became the Finnish national anthem. Apparently the gentleman used to have breakfast consisting of a glass of schnapps and a small cylindrical dry cake with a drop of jam on top in a café in his hometown every morning. These cakes appear on the menu from the beginning of February to celebrate the poet’s birthday on February 5th. They contain almonds and rum with a dollop of rasberry jam surrounded by a ring of almond flavoured icing on top.
Also on the menus are Laskiaispulla - soft cardamom buns filled with almond paste or raspberry jam and whipped cream. Traditionally they are/were served on Fat Tuesday but seem to be available all month. Well, after a good few weeks of tucking into all of the above, I think Fat Tuesday could not have been more appropriately named.
Not wanting to bake what every bakery and Finnish housewife was baking this month, I made an unusual cake that combines lemon and coriander with dried figs and walnuts. It is a moist and flavourful cake and the coriander and lemon makes for a delightful surprise on the tastebuds. I do prefer dark cakes and breads with lots of flavour/spice and texture. This is one of them.
Fig and Coriander Cake with Lemon Syrup
For the Cake:
330ml Unbleached Cake Flour
330ml Unbleached Cake Flour
120g Soft Butter
200ml Soft Dark Brown Sugar
2 Large Eggs
10 ml Baking Powder
5 ml Ground Coriander
Pinch Salt
Grated Zest of a large Lemon
125ml Buttermilk
200g Soft Figs, chopped
100ml Dark Port
½ Cup Walnuts, chopped
For the Syrup:
100ml Lemon Juice
Cut some slivers of peel from the lemon and chop into fine strips
15ml Dark Brown Sugar
60ml Honey
30ml Raw Sugar
10ml Whole Coriander Seeds, bruised in a mortar
Soak the chopped figs in the port overnight.
- Prepare a 19cm ring pan – butter and lightly flour.
- Preheat the oven to 200 C.
- Beat the butter and brown sugar till fluffy.
- Add the eggs one by one, continue beating.
- Then add the lemon zest, nuts and figs together with the soaking liquid.
- Sift together the dry ingredients.
- Add the butter mixture and buttermilk to the flour and mix through.
- Ladle into the ring pan and level the top with a spatula.
- Place in the oven and turn the heat down to 180 C.
- Bake for 30 minutes – cover the top with foil when it gets brown.
- Turn the heat down to 160 or 170 C and bake for a further 30 minutes.
- Test and take out of the oven if ready.
Combine the ingredients for the syrup and boil for 2 minutes.
Turn out the cake on a cake rack or plate and ladle the hot syrup over it with a spoon.
Let it cool before serving – it hardly needs much more that a little cream.
The flavours will develop overnight and it will taste even better the following day.
I also love fiery hot food. Watch this space.
