Anyone who has ever read a recipe in a women’s magazine would probably recognize the expression “great for when you have unexpected guests dropping by” but I’m not going to perpetuate that illusion. I’m pretty sure the mobile revolution has killed off that kind of spontaneity a long time ago. Anyway, this little delicious number is an adapted version of one such recipe and it usually comes in handy in the morning when I feel like bringing a cake to work or when I’m struck by a sudden craving. In other words: It’s damn easy and fast.

Raspberry-Chocolate-Coconut Muffins (makes 12)

• 1 egg
• 1 decilitre fine cane sugar
• 1/2 decilitre milk
• 1/2 decilitre rapeseed oil (for baking)
• 1 decilitre dessicated coconut, ligthly roasted and cooled down
• 1 decilitre flower
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 50 grams chopped dark chocolate
• 1 decilitre (frozen) raspberries

Turn the oven on to 225 degrees Celcius. Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet in another bowl and then mix them together. Finally – add the raspberries to the mixture. It’s supposed to be quite runny, but don’t worry, that will change in the oven. Distribute the mixture in a muffin tray and put it on a cooking plate in the middle of the oven for about 10 mins. Check them with a cooking pin just to be sure before you take them out. Allow them to cool for a bit and then try to release them from the tray so the chocolate bits don’t stick to the bottom. Now get comfy in your couch (or at work) and bite into that coconutty delight with tangy bursts of raspberry and sweet chocolate rewards.

• 1 egg
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla sugar
• 115 grams of flour
• 1 1/2 decilitres of milk
• 2 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1 decilitre blueberries (frozen is actually better if you don’t want them too crushed)

Break the egg into a bowl and beat it together. Mix in the sugar and vanilla sugar and then sift in the flour gradually.  Then add the milk and finally the baking powder, so it doesn’t start working too soon. Leave to set for 15-20 mins. When the batter is done, add the blueberries and mix them in gently. Put a 13-15 cm wide pan on the heat and add a small knob of butter. When it has melted, pour in the batter until the surface is covered. Let it cook until you see the bubbles coming through to the surface and turn it over. Cook the other side until it is golden brown and put it on a hot plate (rinse it in hot water and dry it or put it in the oven on 50 degrees Celcius. Cover it lightly so the steam can get out and continue until all of your pancakes are done. Serve hot with a bit of icing sugar on top and enjoy them with a light syrup and this jam:

Spiked Blueberry Jam

• 3 decilitres of blueberries
• 3-4 tbsp light cane sugar
• 1 dl water
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest and a bit of lemon juice (optional)
• A splash of rhum

Take a small saucepan and add berries, water,  sugar and lemon zest/juice (if you want). Let it simmer with the lid on and on low heat for 15-20 mins, always checking the water level. You might have to add some more water as you go, so the berries don’t burst too much and end up too sticky. When they are done, you can add a little more water if you like the “jam” to run down the sides of the pancakes. Finally, add a splash of good rhum – it makes a world of difference. And now you’re done and can sit down for a slow breakfast or a lazy afternoon. The recipe for the jam is aimed at this sole pancake purpose, but if you want it to keep for a long time, remember to scald the jar before use (I always do that anyway and find that it preserves the jam or pickles or whatever very well on its own) and maybe even add some conservatives or some more sugar.

Okay, so I’ve had this amazing New Year’s post planned for quite some time now where I finally give you the recipe for the traditional Danish New Year’s kage “Kransekage” (above left and partly on the right too) that I’ve shown you only in the shape of a picture for the last two years. But then January happened and I’ve done nothing about it so far. That’s why I’m giving you, my supposed readers, the chance to interact and change the course of history. I will post the pictures of my New Year’s cake below and the recipe will follow, but ONLY ON DEMAND!!! How about that for a tempting offer? Anyway, looking forward to seeing if you’re still out there and as curious as ever. Ready? Here we go (I won’t be waiting by the computer, no I won’t. But maybe I’ll finally sort out my desktop while I’m here, you know? Delete my unnecessities and all of those “Linx_ 2_ kool_ stuff.doc” things crowding my workplace. While I’m at it, maybe it’s time to exchange the picture of Matt Damon on a bear skin for something more 2010, say that pale guy from “Twilight”, no wait, that Malibu Ken dude from “New Moon” getting out of the water. Yes! That’s what I’ll do. But don’t mind me. Just post a comment if you want me to fill in the blanks between these pictures.)

UPDATE: It seems there’s a genuine demand for the kransekage-recipe in New York (thanks for a great evening with your really nice friends and your dad’s turtles Sarah!), so here it goes:

Kransekage (12 people)

Recipe adapted from this original

Cake

• 500 grams of marzipan
• 200 grams of icing sugar
• 1 egg white
• 25 grams of chopped almonds (optional – I like the bit of bite it adds)
• 1 tbsp freshly ground espresso beans OR 1-2 tsp lemon zest

Icing

• 250 grams of icing sugar
• 1 pasteurized egg white

Mix all of the ingredients for the cake well - with your hands, yes, get them in there and down and dirty. If you just found a rock where you thought your soft marzipan was, try grating it first. That usually does the trick. The espressoed version makes for a grainy texture and rustic look as you might be able to tell from these pictures – as well as gives a good kick to an otherwise very sweet experience. The lemon zest version on the other hand is much more perfumed and delicate. Anyhoolahoop, after you’ve kneaded the marzipan, sugar, egg white, almonds and espresso/lemon zest put it in a plastic bag and leave it in the fridge for 3-4 hours.

Turn on the oven to 225 degrees Celcius. Take out the mixture from the fridge, sift a bit of flour onto a clean table and roll it into long, 1,5 cm thick “sticks”. Then cut them into separate sticks with alternating lenghts, 8 cm, 12, 16, 20, 24 etc. Depending on how small you want the top layer of the cake to be, you can also start at 6 cm. And now comes the fun part – it’s play dough time. Connect each stick with its own end to create circles. You might need to smooth out the joint with a tiny bit of water. When all of the circles are done, put two fingers on the inside and a couple on the outside of each ring and gently press them down and up so it gets a flat bottom and a narrow top. That way when you layer the rings, the transition between them will be nice and gradual as it should be – but hey, I don’t expect all of you to be that anal. And finally – always stack the rings to match the size before you place them on two baking trays with plenty, and I mean PLENTY of space in between. Bake them for 8-10 mins and leave them to cool completely before you make the icing.

The above measures make a lot of icing, so if you’re not into a laced-over cake, you can also make half and there’ll be enough to go around. Put the icing in a piping bag or a plastic bag with a tiny hole. Then decorate the rings as you like and make sure to finish off with a circle of icing as glue between the layers. Then stack the layers before the icing sets and leave them to dry completely. And – you’re done (literally).

There’s just nothing like sharing a great roast with the whole family. But let’s be honest, the roast alone won’t do. Without the right condiments, eating meat can end up being a very bland experience: Brown, grey and red-ish grey. So try this out as a little splash of colour on the plate. And when these babies are done, you will have replaced the pungent onionyness with a sweet pink flavour and colour. They go perfectly with lamb, poultry, game, roasts in general and can easily sex up a sandwich of left-overs. Have you tried piling up the cutlets from yesterday’s roast on an Italian bread roll along with some chilimayo, tomatoes, pickled red onions, fresh cilantro etc? Well now’s your chance.

Sweet Pickled Red Onions

• 3 decilitres of apple vinegar/white balsamic vinegar + a splash of raspberry vinegar (optional)
• 1 decilitre of water
• 3 decilitres of white sugar
• 4-5 thinly sliced onions (~ 200 grams when done)

Put the vinegar, water and sugar in a saucepan and boil them together. Let the mixture reduce until it has a cordial like consistency. While it is boiling, start preparing the onions. Peel them and cut them in halves, remove the core and slice them into thin slivers.  When the vinegar syrup is done, add the onions and stir, leaving them to boil for 5-7 mins. or until they have become soft and slightly transparent. Pour the onions and the syrup into a disinfected glass (one easy way of doing that is pouring boiling water over and into it). They can keep for quite a while in the fridge and when the onions have been eaten, you can reuse the syrup for the next round. Just reheat and put the new onions in.

Ho ho hoo, just look what Santa Claus brought us the other day! The greatest little box of goodies with some nice old school graphic details on the cover. Just opening the box and smelling the colourful chocolate rings sent me smack right back to my childhood. Not that we had any of these “Tannenbaumkränze” back then, but similar little chocolate buttons covered in coloured sprinklings. By the way, when I said Santa Claus, I might have lied a little. It was actually our climate activist (the committed and not-crazy kind) guest Liv from Germany, who is staying with us during the last week of COP15 (the  so far pretty unsuccesful UN climate change conference that is being held here in Copenhagen). I sure don’t hope this pretty present is all the good that will come from rounding up Schwarzenegger and other important heads of state in Denmark. But until we know for sure - enjoy the Christmas-y feeling it exudes. That and the thick white snow on this website and in the streets of Copenhagen.