Three Nordic sauces to take your dessert to the next level: an apple compote, a sweet cherry topping and a fudgy Finnish caramell
Apple compote
A classic dessert served warm or cold, often in a bowl with milk or cream poured over it. It can be flavoured with cassia cinnamon, cardamom pods or grated lemon zest. The sweet and sour balance is important. If your apples are not tart enough, add a dash of lemon juice towards the end.
Prep 5 min
Cook 15 min
Serves 4
500g peeled, cored and diced tart apples
90g sugar
Cassia cinnamon stick, lemon zest and juice, or lightly crushed cardamom seeds, to taste (optional)
2 tbsp potato starch
Combine the apples, sugar and your choice of spices in a large pot. Pour in 500ml water, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat. Simmer until the apples begin to soften all the way through. The spices will need to simmer for a bit with the fruit.
In a small bowl, mix the potato starch with a couple of tablespoons of cold water. Stir it into the compote and bring to a boil again. Adjust the balance of sweetness and acidity, and add any more of the fragile seasoning, like the lemon zest.
Sweet cherry sauce (Kirsebærsauce)
This is the most common condiment for Danish almond rice pudding, served at Christmas time. Most of the recipes I have seen seem to use a shop-bought cherry jam that is diluted with water and thickened with some starch. Quite a few recipes use a little alcohol towards the end. It can be cherry wine, rum – pretty much anything. Add that if you want to. Serve your cherry sauce warm or cold.
Prep 5 min
Cook 10 min
Serves 4
250g cherries, fresh or frozen, pitted
80g sugar
Cherry wine, rum, or your choice of alcohol, to taste
1 tbsp potato starch
Combine the cherries, sugar in a small pot. Add 200ml water, bring to a simmer and cook until the cherries are tender.
Mix the potato starch with a little water and pour into the pot, stirring constantly. Return to a simmer and cook for another two to three minutes. Add the alcohol, if using, just before serving the sauce.
Finnish fudge/caramel sauce
Kinuski is different from other fudge and caramel sauces made in the Nordic countries in that a great part of its flavour comes from the aroma of caramelising lactose – much like French confiture de lait or the Latin American dulce de leche. The name comes from the Russian word тянучки (tyanuchki). Kinuski was brought to Finland (commercially, at least) by Karl Fazer, the founder of Fazer, one of Finland’s largest producers of processed food and sweets.
In Sweden, where the sauce is also popular, a great deal of confusion exists about what to put in a kinuski. Many recipes use butter, which is unthinkable in Finland, and quite a few are also flavoured with dried and ground ginger. These recipes produce a very tasty caramel sauce – but not a true kinuski. Finnish recipes vary a bit in that the balance between cream and milk can differ, from all milk to all cream and everything in between. The more cream, the richer the sauce; the more milk, the stronger the flavour of caramelised lactose. A slow cooking is essential for a proper caramelisation, so even though you could achieve the proper colour in a much shorter time, it is essential to let it take its time for a great flavour. Kinuski is often poured hot over frozen tart berries (such as lingonberries) as a dessert. Sometimes ice-cream is served on the side.
Prep 2 min
Cook 3 hr
Serves 4
250g sugar
250ml milk or cream, or a mixture of both
Combine the sugar and milk or cream in a pot and heat gently over a low heat. Keep at a low simmer, stirring frequently, until the sauce thickens to a nice consistency, is a good amber in colour and tastes of deeply caramelised dairy. Be prepared for this to take a good two and a half to three hours. If it gets too thick you can add a little more milk towards the end. If you are uncertain of the correct consistency, it should reach a thick, but still runny sauce at about 105–107C/220–225F on a thermometer.
- This is an edited extract from The Nordic Baking Book, by Magnus Nilsson, published by Phaidon at £39.95. To order a copy, got to guardianbookshop.com
Source : The Guardian
