Pepparkakor - -Swedish Gingerbread

Time needed: Has to cool over night in fridge

Makes about: 125 cookies
Ingredients:
2,5 dl (1 cup) brown sugar
0,8 dl (1/3 cup) light sirup
0,8 dl (1/3 cup) water
150g (1,3 stick or 2/3 cups) butter or margarine

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
8 dl (3 1/3 cups) flour

1,5 teaspoon baking soda

Instructions:
Part 1.

1. Mix the brown sugar, syrup, and water in a saucepan. Let boil.
2. Add the butter or margarine and let it melt. Continue by adding the spices.
3. Let the contents cool without stirring.
4. Mix the baking soda with 3/4 of the flour in a separate bowl (the rest of the flour will be used for working the dough on the counter.
5. Add the flour mixture to the saucepan and work to dough to a ball.
6. Wrap the dough in plastic-wrap and let chill in fridge until next day.

Part 2.
7. Turn the oven on to 175°C (or 350°F)
8. Work the dough on a floured surface, kneed the flour into the dough if needed.
9. Roll out the dough and cut out cookies with cutters, or by hand. Place them on a greased tray or tray with oven paper. Let the cookies bake in the middle of the oven between 6-8 minutes.
Let cookies cool before serving. Can be kept in a tin in room temperature or in the freezer. Enjoy your Swedish Pepparkakor!

Christmas Cake - as made by Sylvia Drake's friend

Ingredients:
3/4lb (340g) butter
3/4lb (340g) brown sugar
6 eggs
1 heaped Tsp marmalade
1 heaped Tsp treacle
1dsp vanilla essence
3/4 tsp almond essence
2 dsp mixed spice
1/2 tsp nutmeg
Small pinch of salt
17oz (482g) plain flour
3oz (85g) SR flour
2 kg  mixed fruit
3/4 cup sweet sherry

Combine dried fruit, sherry,spices and essences - stand overnight.
Cream butter and sugar then add marmalade and treacle.
Add eggs then flour and fruit.

Put mix into a well lined 10" (25cm) cake tin.
Smooth over with wet hands.

Cook for 4 hours at 150C.

If cooking a multi tiered cake this is the amount of mix for the middle and top tier

Ice upside down.

Cassatta

1st Layer:

2 eggs separated
1/2 cup Icing Sugar
1/2 cup cream
Almond Essence - few drops

A)Beat egg whites and sugar. Fold in lightly beaten egg yolks.
B)Beat cream with essence
C)Fold A & B together.
Freeze in 20cm tin

2nd Layer

2 eggs separated
1/2 cup Icing sugar
1/2 cup cream
60g dark chocolate
2Tsp cocoa
3 Tsp hot water

A)beat egg whites and sugar
B)Whip cream
C)Melt chocolate, stir in egg yolks
D)Combine cocoa and water

Combine C & D
Mix this into B
Fold this into A

Pour on top of frozen 1st Layer - return to freezer

3rd Layer:

A)1 cup cream &1tsp vanilla essence - beat together
B)1 egg white & 4 Tsp Icing sugar - beat together
C)2 Tsp red glace cherries
1 Tsp green glace cherries
4 dried apricots
2 glace pineapple rings (or dried equivalent)
30g toasted flaked almonds

Chop all fruit (C).Stir A & B together and fold fruit and nuts in.

Spread into tin on top of other frozen layers.

Return to freezer.

To serve - turn out onto plate

PS I sometimes line the tin with cling wrap. I usually double the recipe if I'm serving a large number.