Estonian recipes: Condensed Milk Cookies (kondenspiimaküpsised)

I'm continuing with sharing Estonian recipes with you this month, in anticipation of the national holiday later this month. Here's a small baking project for the weekend - small, delicious and crispy-tender condensed milk cookies. The recipe is adapted from a classic Estonian cookbook "Valik toiduretsepte" (the 1974 edition), where they're called simply "milk cookies". The sweetened condensed milk gives those cookies not only a desired sweetness, but also a slight dulce de leche flavour, which I find very appealing.

Condensed Milk Cookies
(Kondenspiimaküpsised)

250 g all-purpose/plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla sugar or vanilla extract
150 g cold butter, cubed
175 g sweetened condensed milk
2-3 Tbsp water

a small egg whisked with some water, for brushing

Mix the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, vanilla sugar) in a bowl, then add the cold cubed butter. Using a knife, cut the butter into the flour mixture, until it resembed wet crumbs. Now add the condensed milk and using your hands, knead into a ball (you may not need the water at all).
Place the dough into the fridge for half an hour, so the gluten can relax a little.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough until 3-4 mm thick (1/8th of an inch). Cut into shapes (I cut into diamonds, using a roller cutter).
Transfer the cookies into a lined baking sheet and brush with an egg wash.
Bake in a preheated 200 C / 400 F oven until light golden brown.

Estonian recipes: Cocoa Cake with Sour Cream (Kräsupea)

This popped into my mailbox yesterday:

Manu has left a new comment on your post "Tapas, Estonian style":

Hi,
My name is Manu and I`m looking for a estonian cake recipe... the problem is I don`t know the cake`s name, but it is a chocolate cake,with peaces of sponge cake with french cream.
Do you know any thing similar???
I just love this cake, I will be so thankful if you could help me.
Thanks!!!

After a moment of confusion, it hit me - Kräsupea, which translates as (someone with) curly hair, though "microphone hair" wouldn't be all wrong either! It's an ever-popular cake on children's birthdays, and I've made it for my two nephews on countless occasions. I don't know the exact origins of the cake, but it's been popular in Estonia since late 1980s or so.

Estonian cocoa and sour cream cake
(Kräsupea)
Serves about 16



The sponge cakes:
4 large eggs
340 g caster sugar (400 ml)
360 g all-purpose flour (600 ml)
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
400 g sour cream

ALSO:
3 Tbsp cocoa powder

Cream:
1 kg sour cream

Glaze:
100 g butter
2 Tbsp fresh cream
3 Tbsp caster sugar
2 Tbsp cocoa powder

Preheat the oven to 180 C / 350 F. Line a small baking sheet (a Swiss roll tin is excellent) with a parchment paper, and line a 24 cm springform tin also with parchment paper.
Whisk the eggs, sugar, flour, soda and sour cream until combined. Quickly pour about 2/3 of the mixture onto a small baking sheet.
Now add the cocoa powder to the rest of the mixture, and then pour that into the lined round cake tin.
Place both of the baking tins into the oven and bake for about 25 minutes, until golden brown (test for doneness with a toothpick - it should come out clean).
Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.
Place the dark cake on a cake tray, spread with a thick layer of sour cream.
Cut the light cake into large cubes, then mix gently with the rest of the sour cream - you don't want to break up the cake cubes. Pile that mixture of cake cubes and sour cream on top of the cocoa base - whether you want a dome or something flatter, is up to you.
To make the glaze, gently melt the butter, pour in the cream, cocoa and sugar. Stir until smooth and then drizzle over the cake. (This is the traditional "chocolate glaze" of the 1980s and 1990s, when proper chocolate was hard to come by. Feel free to substitute with proper melted chocolate glaze).

Leave to stand in the fridge or cool place for about 12 hours before serving.

Estonian recipes: Alexander cake (Aleksandrikook)

Alexander cake, March 2011, dyed with sea-buckthorn juice concentrate

I'm dedicating February to various Estonian recipes, so if you've travelled to Estonia and want a specific recipe or two, let me know. Aleksandrikook aka Alexander cake has been requested here on Nami-Nami on several occasions, so it's about time to listen to my dear readers and post a recipe :)

To start with, Alexander cake is not actually Estonian in its origin, even though it's rather popular here and found in many traditional coffee and pastry shops. Our Nordic neighbours, Finns, claim the cake as their own. But then I've even come across recipes for Alexander cake in Latvian cookbooks, so it's popular in all over the North-Eastern corner of Europe.

Apparently its history goes back to 1814 or 1818, depending on your sources, when Alexander I of Russia, the reigning czar, visited Helsinki, and was served this concoction on his birthday. The cake is mentioned in Kullo manor's ledger books from 1819-1821. By 1850s, the cakes were sold in Café Ekberg (they still are, gorgeously pink in colour and sandwiched with apple spread).

In principle, it's a simple cake. Two layers of shorcrust pastry, sandwiched with thick raspberry (or other) jam, and topped with simple icing. However, as one talented Estonian food blogger has written somewhere, it's actually a tricky cake to do well. First, it's important not to overmix the pastry, as it won't have the right texture. It's important to roll out the pastry evenly, as otherwise it won't bake evenly. To lift one cake layer on top of the other is tricky as well - if you're unlucky, it'll break apart. If you're making this in a cafeteria, then you'll need to cut perfectly even-sized rectangles, and the glaze needs to be pretty and pink (or cocoa-brown, if you're opting for the cocoa glaze).

NOTE: this should be baked and put together a day before serving, otherwise it'll be too dry and crumbly!


Alexander cake, September 2009, dyed with fresh black aronia juice and white chocolate

I've included some links to Estonian and Finnish foodbloggers that have written about the cake - you'll find them at the end of this post.

Alexander cake
(Aleksandrikook)
Cuts into 12 rectangles


Alexander cake, March 2011, dyed with sea-buckthorn juice concentrate

Pastry layers:
125 g caster sugar (150 ml)
300 g all-purpose flour (500 ml, about 2 cups)
1 tsp baking powder
200 g butter, at room temperature
1 egg

Filling:
250 ml (1 cup) thick raspberry jam

Glaze:
250 g icing sugar/confectioners sugar (about 400 ml)
3-4 Tbsp raspberry or black aronia juice

Make the pastry by mixing all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the butter, and using your fingers for mixing, mix until you've got large crumbs. Add the egg and quickly mix the pastry until it comes together.
Take a parchment paper that fits your baking sheet. Place the pastry on top of the paper and using a slightly floured rolling pin, roll the pastry to fit the baking sheet.
Bake in a preheated 175C/350F oven until dry and light golden brown (about 20 minutes).
Take out from the oven, and cut into two even-sized rectangles (the final cake will be half the size of your baking sheet). Cool lightly.*
Spread the jam over one shortcake base. Then very carefully lift the other shortcake layer on top of the one covered with jam.
Cut into squares (but don't separate the pieces) and leave to cool completely.
Make the glaze by mixing some colourful juice into the icing sugar until you've got a runny sugar glaze. Pour and spread that over the cake pieces and leave to set.

* Note that there is an alternative way of baking this cake - you'll sandwich two shortcake layers together with jam BEFORE baking (obviously you'll need to bake it a bit longer then). I've never tried this version.


Alexander cake, March 2011, dyed with sea-buckthorn juice concentrate

Fancy more? Here are some links to other foodbloggers' posts about Alexander cake - these give you a good idea about the different ways of glazing the cake.

ESTONIAN BLOGGERS:
Aniitram (a classic cocoa frosting and white frosting, zigzag pattern), MARU (Estonian designer and food writer), Qsti, Ragne, Liina, Sille

FINNISH BLOGGERS:
Kinuskikissa (one of the most popular Finnish foodbloggers, she used a cappuccino-flavoured glaze), Jaana, Sarppu (apple version), Maija (she uses marzipan in the filling!).

LATVIAN BLOGGERS:
Zitinja