Sans Rival — Swedish almond praline cake

Sans Rival — Swedish almond praline cake

Sans rival means unrivaled. That’s a hard feat for a cake to live up to — but if one cake can do it, then maybe it is this one. It even has a royal connection: “At least once a year, the king gets a homebaked cake. It is a big, magnificent Sans Rival,...
Swedish curd cake from Småland

Swedish curd cake from Småland

As far as I know, Swedish curd cake comes in two versions. This one, from Småland in the south of Sweden, is the most widely known. The history of Swedish curd cake, or ostkaka Food historian Jan-Öjvind Swahn doesn’t have much to say on the topic of ostkaka,...
Ris à la Malta—rice pudding with orange

Ris à la Malta—rice pudding with orange

Ris à la Malta turns out to be another dish with an “either this, either that”-origin. But before we get into that, the fact is that this dish conveniently solves a potential dilemma. If you’re making copious amounts of rice porridge for Christmas,...
Saffron pancake from Gotland

Saffron pancake from Gotland

Saffranspannkaka, or saffron pancake, is a delicacy most strongly associated with the Swedish island Gotland. The history of saffron pancake I’ll have to find more sources on Gotland’s saffron pancake, but let’s start with what we’ve got so...
Rosehip soup—an underestimated delight

Rosehip soup—an underestimated delight

Rosehip soup with almond macaroons—nyponsoppa med mandelbiskvier Not all dishes get the attention they deserve. Because what happened to real, homemade rosehip soup? Maybe Swedes can blame the ready-made packs of soup for injuring the memory of our sensitive...