Sunday morning pancakes

                                          Mynd: Hlynur Pálmason
Sorry guys, this one is in Icelandic ;-) 
Ég hef séð margar uppskriftir af amerískum pönnukökum en þessi finnst mér sú allra besta. Ég held að það sé vegna þess að maður þeytir eggjahvíturnar sér og blandar þeim varlega saman við deigið og það gerir pönnukökurnar svo léttar og fallegar. 

115g hveiti

2tsk lyftiduft

3 egg

140ml nýmjólk/léttmjólk

salt

100g smjör

3msk sykur

4 bananar

sýrður rjómi, til að bera fram

1. Setja hveiti, lyftiduft, mjólk og eggjarauður í skál og þeyta vel saman. Setja eggjahvíturnar og hnífsodd af salti í aðra skál og þeyta þar til stífar. Velta síðan eggjahvítunum varlega saman við pönnukökudeigið. Baka síðan á pönnu eina í einu.

2. Setja smjörið og sykurinn á heita pönnu og bræða þar til orðið að karamellu. Skera bananana í stóra bita og bæta þeim saman við karamelluna. Velta þeim í örlitla stund og bera svo fram með pönnukökunum og sýrðum rjóma.

Jólin eru að koma!

mynd eftir: Guðmund B Pálmason

Tími til kominn að byrja gera eitthvað aftur á blogginu! Er með uppskriftirnar á ensku svo vinir okkar erlendis geti fylgst vel með.

Prufið þessa uppskrift fyrir jólin...hrikalega góðar!! Svo líka sniðugt sem gjöf, spurning að setja þær svona saman í sellófan eða glæra poka eða eitthvað!

100g special K cornflakes, bashed into fine crumbs
90g flaked almonds
50g dried blueberries
50g dried apricot, chopped
397g condensed milk (niðursoðin mjólk í dós)
300g milk chocolate
60g dessicated coconut

Heat the oven to 180˚C and line a baking tray with a sheet of baking parchment. Put the crushed cornflakes, almonds, blueberries and apricots in a bowl and mix well together. Stir in the condensed milk until all the ingredients are sticky. Spoon tablespoons of the mixture onto the sheet and leave some room for spreading. Flatten each spoonful with the back of the spoon and bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown.

Melt the chocolate over simmering water. When the cookies are cool, spoon or brush the base of the cookies with the melted chocolate and dip in the dessicated coconut. Leave until the chocolate has set and serve or put in a box as presents. Will keep for 5 days in a airtight container.

Banana & Coconut Bread

400g flour

80g unrefined sugar

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

½ tsk cinnamon

150g shredded coconut

3 dl milk

1 egg

4 tbsp butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla

2 bananas, mashed

1. Set oven to 160 C. Add the first 6 ingredients together in a bowl and mix well. 

2. Add the remaining ingredients in another bowl and mix well. 

3. Add the liquid mix to the dry mixture and mix together. Pour into a buttered bread mould and bake for about 60 minutes. 

Mini Walnut Tarts

Mini Walnut Tarts

Serves 6
1 recipe for pie crust!

the filling:
1 cup cream
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
grated orange zest of 1 orange
2 cups walnuts, toasted and chopped
pinch of salt

1. Set owen to 180 C. Cut pastry into 6 pieces and roll each out to fit the moulds you are using. Press the dough gently into the moulds and freeze for 30 minutes. Butter lightly 6 pieces of foil and press them onto the dough. Bake the dough crust for 30 minutes, then carefully remove the foil. Bake for another 5 minutes and then the crust is ready.

2. To make the filling. Stir in the cream and next 5 ingredients i a pan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat and let the sugar bubble for about 6 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the walnuts and then the salt. Increase the heat to 200 C.

3. Divide the filling evenly onto the crust and bake for about 25 minutes, or until golden. Remove from the oven, dust with some icing sugar and serve with vanilla ice cream.

Grilled Tuna with Mango Salsa

This recipe is so quick and easy, and very refreshing especially in the summer time when you really don't feel like eating something heavy. Although I love grilling my red meat In the summer time, this is a great alternative when the misses starts complaining.

As I am from a small lobster-fishing town in Iceland I had the luxury of adding some grilled lobster to my recipe. This is off course not necessary but it does make it very exclusive.

Mango Salsa

1/2 a mango, peeled and diced

1/2 red onion, chopped

1 chilli, finely chopped

1 lime, juiced

1 tbsp soy sauce

handful fresh coriander, chopped

2 tbsp honey

Tuna Steaks

2-3 cm thick tuna steaks

coriander seeds, crushed

olive oil

salt and pepper

1. Place the mango, chill, onion, lime juice, soy sauce, coriander and honey into a bowl and mix well.

2. Season the tuna steaks lightly with salt on both sides. Mix some pepper with the crushed coriander seeds and sprinkle on both sides of the tuna. Drizzle some olive oil over the steaks and place them on the hot grill for 1 - 2 minutes on each side.

3. Slice the tuna in 2 cm slices and serve hot with the mango salsa.

Icelandic Profiteroles - Isländska Semlor

Once a year in Iceland we dedicate a whole day for these treats.... it's called "Bolludagur". Everyone goes crazy for them and they come in all kinds of different flavors.

125ml milk

200ml water

150g flour

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

100g butter

4 eggs, lightly beaten

strawberry jam

5dl simple cream

chocolate sauce:

200g dark chocolate

30g butter

125ml full fat milk

1. Preheat the oven to 200˚C. Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Place the milk, cold water, salt, sugar into a pan and set over a low heat. Once the sugar and salt has dissolved add the butter. Once the butter has melted, bring to a rolling boil. Turn off the heat then tip in the flour and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon. As soon as the mixture starts to come away from the side of the pan, stop beating and tip onto a plate to cool.

2. Return the mixture to the pan, then gradually beat in the eggs, a little at a time, mixing well between each addition, until you have a smooth paste.

3. Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper. Spoon the pastry into a piping bag. Now pipe small balls onto the baking sheet, spaced well apart. Bake for 18-20 minutes until well risen and golden brown.

4. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before filling.

5. Whip the cream until fluffy. Cut each one in half. Add a teaspoon of strawberry jam on the bottom then the cream and close with the top.

6. For the chocolate sauce, break the chocolate into small pieces in a heatproof bowl and melt in the microwave. When the chocolate has melted add the butter and stir. Gradually whisk in the milk until you have a smooth sauce. Serve the cream-filled profiteroles with the hot chocolate sauce drizzled over.

Chocolate and Almond Cake

This cake is really fantastic! Light, yet rich and terribly simple to make. I wish I took this picture but my friend Marius "the gentle giant" from Norway took a series of pictures for a dessert book which is still to be published!

225g butter, room temperature

2 dl caster sugar

1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped out

1 dl brown sugar

4 eggs, separated

200 g sweet almonds

200g dark chockolate 70%

icing sugar to dust

1. Butter a round loose based pan (25cm) and put baking paper in the bottom so it will be easier to remove the cake from the base.

2. Put the butter, 1 ½ dl sugar, vanilla seeds and brown sugar in a bowl and whisk together until fluffy. Then add the egg yolks and stir together with a spatula.

3. Put the almonds in a food processor and pulse until fine sandy consistency. Add the almonds and chockolate to the bowl and mix together

4. Whisk the egg whites with the rest of the sugar until stiff in a separate bowl. Add ½ the egg whites to the cake mix and fold together, then add the other half and fold again. Pour the cake mix in the baking pan and bake for 50-60 minutes. Let cool for 30 minutes and shift some icing sugar on top. Serve with strawberries and whipped cream.