Lilac sugar

I can't even begin to explain just how much I love these flowers. They make me all giddy! They smell incredible, and the fact that they are edible make them even better. Making lilac sugar is super simple - all you need is lilac petals, sugar and a jar. That's it! A perfect way to preserve the smell of summer for months to come. It's also a perfect gift!


Lilac sugar
Clean, dry lilac petals (preferably purple as they are very fragrant)
Granulated sugar
A jar

Layer flowers and sugar in a jar. Let stand dark and cool for a few days, shake every now and then. Now your sugar is ready to use. Perfect for baking or in a cup of tea.

Cakes in magazine

Two of my cakes are in the latest issue of Swedish magazine 'Amelia'. The magazine turned 18, and of course they wanted to celebrate with cake! I just wanted to share the photos with you since I am very happy with the result. I think they turned out very pretty, and not too complicated! The first cake is a vanilla sponge with vanilla syrup, mascarpone cream and fresh berries. This kind of cakes are probably my favorite as they are super easy to make but so pretty to look at. The second cake is a chocolate cake with milk chocolate frosting, raspberries, dark chocolate ganache and toasted meringue frosting on top. I could go for one of these right now.. wish they were still in my fridge!

Lomelinos glass (Lomelino's ice cream) - The film

I'm finally done with my little ice cream film. I'm very happy with the outcome, and I hope you'll enjoy it!
Turns out my book is now on sale, at least on Bokus. SOOOO excited! Feels like I've been waiting forever! I must say I'm so so happy with my new book. It's absolutely beautiful! Thank you to my publisher Bonnier Fakta and the ever so talented designer Katy Kimbell.
Anyway, have a look at the video now.
And as usual, the music is by my band Death in the afternoon.




And a few shots from the film..

Lomelino's ice cream (my new book!) teaser

Veggie burgers with coleslaw (and my first food post ever!)

I asked on facebook whether you'd like me to post savory (food!) recipes every now and then. Most people answered "YES!", and I must say I was very relieved. This blog will ALWAYS be a baking blog, but you know, I eat food too. Everyday actually. So why not post about it? If you don't like me posting about food, you'll have to look away for a little while - or pretend that these are semlor, or something. They're almost the same.. hehe. Making hamburger buns was definitely a first for me. I must say I'm not sure these are the hamburger buns. The search continues. I think I want to make a somewhat lighter, more brioche-like bun. Smitten Kitchen-Deb seems to know a lot about hamburger buns, and this is her favorite recipe. Next time.






Hamburger buns 
makes 16
As I mentioned before, these are not the perfect hamburger buns but they are pretty darn good anyway.

50 g fresh yeast
50 g butter
250 ml (slightly more than 1 cup) water
250 ml (slightly more than 1 cup) milk
10-11 dl (approximately 4 1/4 - 4 1/2 cups) all purpose flour
1 tsp salt

1 egg
Sesame seeds

Crumble fresh yeast into a large bowl. Melt butter in a sauce pan, then add milk and water and heat to 37°C (99F). Pour a little of the luke warm mixture over the yeast. Stir until dissolved, then add the rest of the liquid. Add about four cups of the flour, using the dough hook (or your hands of course), and mix until dough comes together but is still a bit sticky. Cover bowl with a towel and let rise for 45 minutes.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Divide dough into 16 equal parts. Gently roll each into a ball and put on baking sheet (with lots of space in between). Cover with a towel and let rise for 30-40 minutes.
Preheat oven to 225°C (430F) with a rack in the center. Beat the egg and brush on top of buns. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for about 10-12 minutes.


Beet burgers 
Makes 6-8
 
400 g beetroot
200 g carrot
1 small red onion
100 g rolled oats
2 medium eggs
1 tsp salt
Pepper, to taste
Pinch of cayenne pepper
A few fresh oregano sprigs

Peel the beets and carrots, then grate them on the large holes of a box grater. Finely dice the red onion. Put beets, carrots and onion in a large bowl and stir in rolled oats. Let stand for 20 minutes, stirring every now and then. Stir in remaining ingredients.
Heat oven to 200°C (390F).

Divide the mixture into 6-8 equal portions and shape into patties. Coat the bottom of a wide skillet with oil and heat over high heat. Carefully add the burger patties. Cook until golden, 2-3 minutes on each side. Put burgers on a baking sheet with parchment paper and bake in oven for 15 minutes.

Coleslaw
2 1/2 cups thinly sliced cabbage
2 small carrots, coarsely grated
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
3 tbsp mayonnaise
3/4 cup creme fraiche
1-2 tsp honey mustard
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Put the sliced cabbage, grated carrots and sliced onion in a large bowl. Add mayonnaise, creme fraiche, mustard, salt and pepper.


Serve with:
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Onion
or whatever you prefer..

Best Ever skillet-baked chocolate chip cookies

I feel like I'm obligated to share this recipe with the world.
Seriously.
Dare I say it? I think they're even better than my chocolate chip cookies.
These are chewy and soft with just the right amount of crunchyness around the edges.

I have been looking for this type of cast iron skillet for a long time now, and I finally found two! You probably know how much I love making things in a small format so these are just perfect. You'll probably see a lot more of them here.







Skillet-baked chocolate chip cookies
Makes two 6-inch (15 cm) cookies

110 g butter
110 g granulated sugar
110 g light brown sugar
1 medium egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
225 g all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
75 g milk chocolate chips
75 g dark chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 350F (175C).
Melt butter in a saucepan. Add sugars, stir and let cool for a few minutes.
Stir in the egg and vanilla extract.
In a bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt then add to the butter mixture.
Stir in chocolate chips. Divide batter between skillets or bake in one larger skillet, for about 17-25 minutes. Cookies should be a little brown and crisp around the edges but soft in the center.

6-layer funfetti ombre cake

Long time no see! I haven't blogged for a whole month. I've been kind of busy lately, with the new blog and all. Now in English aswell! Or the recipes at least.
Christian appointed this cake to be one of the best cakes ever (and I can tell you he has tasted many) and I was actually so surprised when he said that. I mean yeah, it's an awesome cake and it looks great, but I'd never expected it to be his kind of cake. Anyway, he thought the texture was fantastic.
We couldn't eat it all by ourselves though so we gave the leftovers to a friends co-workers. They all agreed the pink frosting was the best (hehe).

You can find the macaron recipe over here!

 











Vanilla funfetti cake

100 g softened butter
400 ml sugar
250 ml milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
500 ml flour
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
2 large egg whites
100 ml confetti sprinkles

Heat oven to 175°C (350F).
Butter and flour two 5 inch (6 inch works too) baking pans. Set aside.
Beat butter and sugar until pale and creamy, about 3-4 minutes. Add milk and vanilla and mix until smooth. Set aside.
Mix flour, baking powder and salt in another bowl, then add it to the wet ingredients. Add egg whites and mix until smooth. Stir in confetti sprinkles.
Divide batter amongst baking pans and bake for about 30-35 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let cool.

Vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream
If the buttercream gets soupy or curdled, please please don't throw it away! I beg of you, just keep whipping and it will eventually come together! 

4 large egg whites
200 g sugar
250 g butter, softened but cool
1 tsp vanilla extract

Put egg whites and sugar in a clean and heat proof bowl. Put the bowl over a sauce pan with simmering water. Whisk the sugar end eggs with a whisk to prevent curdling. The mixture should be about 65°C, about 140-150 F. If you don’t have a thermometer, just rub some mixture between your fingers. If the sugar has melted and mixture is hot, it is done. Remove from heat, whip until you have a white, fluffy and cool meringue frosting. This step can a few minutes. When bowl is cool to the touch, start adding the butter, very slowly. Don’t worry if the mixture looks curdled and soupy, it’s easy to fix! If the buttercream is too cold, just put the bowl over simmering water for a few seconds and whip again. If it’s too hot, just put it in the fridge for a few minutes and then whip. Add vanilla extract and whip until smooth. Leave the frosting white for now.

Assembling the cake
When cake layers are completely cool, cut them so you have six layers altogether. Put the first layer on a cake stand and spread a layer of buttercream on it. Keep doing this until you've used all the cake layers. Spread a thin layer of white buttercream (crumb coating) all over the cake - make it as even as you can. Put the cake in the fridge while you color the rest of the buttercream.
Divide the remaining buttercream between three bowls and color frosting in preferred colors - I used pink, mint green and light turquoise. Frost the cake one color at a time, putting on a good layer of each color. I started at the bottom of the cake with the pink layer but you could start at the top too, if you like. Do take a look at this great video tutorial by Sweetapolita to see how she does it!
Sprinkle extra confetti sprinkles on top.