Trine Hahnemann’s Scandinavian baking recipes

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/oct/05/trine-hahnemann-scandinavian-baking-recipes

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Home baking is very different from professional baking. I know there are many keen home bakers who love the challenges of that 100% precision when it comes to decoration. I am not that kind of baker. Recipes have, of course, to be exact and to work, but I like it when things look like they’re home baked. I love the aromas in my house when I bake, nothing can beat that. It’s all about love. To me it feels like, when I bake, I create a time capsule. Real baking can’t be rushed.

Autumn pear and nut tart

Perfect with extra-ripe pears, though I also sometimes mix in apples.

Serves 6-8

For the pastry:plain flour 150g, plus more to dustwholegrain spelt flour 100gsalt ½ tspcaster sugar 2 tbspbutter 100g, cold, choppedegg 1 large, lightly beaten

For the filling:marzipan 100g, coarsely grated, use60% almonds (or see below)vanilla pod 1caster sugar 100gbutter 100g, softripe pears 3-4walnuts 25g, finely chopped (optional)

Sift the flours with the salt into a bowl. Stir in the sugar. Rub in the butter with your fingers until the mixture resembles crumbs. Mix in the egg without over-working the pastry. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Roll the pastry out on a floured work surface until it is large enough to line a 28cm diameter tart tin, then use it to line the tin. Trim off the excess pastry from the sides of the tin with a knife. Cover it with baking parchment, pressing it carefully into the sides, then fill with dried beans. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the beans and baking parchment and allow the pastry to cool a little.

Meanwhile, make the filling. Tip the marzipan into a bowl. Split the vanilla pod in half lengthways and scrape out the seeds with the tip of a knife. Carefully mix the marzipan, vanilla seeds and sugar together. Now add the butter, little by little and stirring very well so there are no lumps, or use your hands.

Core the pears and cut them into thin slices. Spread the marzipan filling into the pastry case, then arrange the pear slices in overlapping circles on top, gently pressing them into the filling. Sprinkle evenly with the walnuts (if using).

Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes. Serve warm or cold with crème fraîche.

Home-made marzipan

Good-quality marzipan should contain 60% almonds. It is super-easy to make but, of course, it’s expensive, as is good-quality shop-bought marzipan. It’s worth it, though, as you’ll find it tastes much better than the shop-bought stuff.

Makes 600galmonds 500g (either skin on, or blanched for pure-white marzipan)icing sugar 100g, plus more to dust

Whizz the almonds in a food processor until they become a paste. Add the icing sugar, whizz again, then add 50ml of water and whizz for a final time. Take out of the food processor and knead it on a work surface dusted with icing sugar.

It is ready to be used for cakes and sweets, and will keep for up to two weeks wrapped in clingfilm in the fridge.

Rose pound cake

This is the cake I baked most as a child, as it can’t really go wrong.

Serves 8For the cake:butter 250g, plus more for the tinalmonds 200g, skin oncaster sugar 250geggs 4plain flour 150gbaking powder 2 tspwhole milk 100ml

For the icing:rose jelly 6 tbspicing sugar 200gpink food colouring (optional)unsprayed rose petals

Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Butter a 1.5-litre loaf tin and line the base with baking parchment.

Blitz the whole almonds with their skins on in a food processor until they are ground. You will get far superior results with freshly ground almonds, so do take the trouble and don’t skip this step!

Cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.

Gradually add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Sift the flour and baking powder and mix them into the ground almonds.

Fold into the butter mixture with a spatula, adding enough of the milk to reach a dropping consistency. Pour the batter into the prepared tin.

Bake for one hour in the pre-heated oven. Leave to cool for 10 minutes, then turn it out on to a wire rack. Leave until cold.

Place the rose jelly in a bowl, gradually add the icing sugar and mix until you have a smooth icing; the colour will be a pale rose-pink. If you want a bright pink, add a tiny bit of food colouring. Now add the minutest splash of water, continuing to whisk, until the consistency is smooth and not too runny.

Place the pound cake upside down on a serving dish – so the flat base is on top – and spread the icing over the cake. Decorate with the rose petals.

Nordic spelt focaccia with fruit and nuts

I serve this for brunch, and then I snack on it throughout the day.

Makes 1fresh yeast 50g, or 10g (1 ½ tbsp) dry yeastlukewarm water 800mlhoney 1 tbspolive oil 2 tbsp, plus more for the traysalt 8gwholegrain stoneground spelt flour 650g, plus more to duststrong white flour 300gdates 100g, choppedraisins 100gapricots 100g, dried, choppedhazelnuts 100g, choppedegg 1, lightly beaten

To make the focaccia, stir the yeast into the lukewarm water. Add the honey, oil and salt and stir again. Stir in the flours, then add the dried fruits and nuts. Knead on a floured work surface, then leave in a bowl covered by a tea towel to rise, at room temperature, for one hour.

Line a 40cm x 30cm baking tray with baking parchment and oil it lightly. Press the dough into the tray as evenly as possible, pressing “dimples” into the surface with your fingers. Now cover with a tea towel and leave the focaccia to rise in a warm place for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 220C/gas mark 7.

Brush the focaccia with the egg and bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 200C/gas mark 6 and bake for another 20-25 minutes, or until the bread sounds hollow when tapped on the base.

Turn it out of the tray and leave to cool on a wire rack.

Nordic ‘pizza’ with kale and potato

Spelt flour works really well with winter vegetables.

Makes 2 pizzas. Serves 4-6

For the dough:fresh yeast 25g, or 7g (1 tbsp) dry yeastlukewarm water 300mlwholegrain stoneground spelt flour 300gstrong white flour 150g, plus more to dustsalt 1 tsp

For the filling:potatoes 500g, scrubbedolive oil 4-6 tbspkale 200g, roughly choppedgarlic cloves 4, finely choppedgreen chilli 1, choppedsea salt and freshly ground black pepperfeta cheese 200g, crumbled

Stir the yeast into 50ml of the lukewarm water, stirring to dissolve. Put 2 tbsp of the spelt flour and 1 tbsp of the plain flour in a cup or small bowl, stir in the yeast mixture to make a paste, then leave to rest under a tea towel for 30 minutes at room temperature. Now place the yeast mixture in a large bowl, stir in the remaining 250ml of lukewarm water, the rest of the flour and the salt.

Knead the dough until smooth, then return it to the bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave in a warm place for 1½ to 2 hours. Meanwhile, cut the potatoes – skins on – into thin slices.

When ready to bake the pizzas, preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6. Divide the dough in half and roll each piece out into a 40 x 30cm pizza base. Brush with the olive oil.

Mix the kale with the garlic and chilli and place on the pizza bases, then arrange slices of potatoes on top and sprinkle with salt and pepper and feta cheese. Bake for 25-30 minutes, then serve right away.

To order a copy of Scandinavian Baking (Quadrille, £25) by Trine Hahnemann for £20, go to guardianbookshop.co.uk or call 0330 333 6846.

Nigel Slater returns next week