North Wild Kitchen

Tag: old fashioned

  • Heitevegger (Bergen’s Warm Shrovetide Buns)

    Heitevegger (Bergen’s Warm Shrovetide Buns)

    Heitevegger (Bergen Hot Buns for Shrovetide/Fastelavns) Heitevegger (Bergen Hot Buns for Shrovetide/FastalavnsChange is in the air. That time again when the sun stays a little longer each day and the once, all-white landscape has become a collage of earthy tones. We are edging towards spring and that means we are also edging toward the cusp of lent with the celebration of Fastelavns, ‘the fast evening’.

    The typical fare for Fastelavns in Norway is a sweet bun with a layer of whipped cream in the middle called Fastelavnsboller (you can find my recipe and the history here). You will also find different names and slightly different ways of serving these buns across Scandinavia, but the heart of the treat is always the same. The bun. (more…)

  • Sirupskake (Layered Spice Cake with Candied Oranges )

    Sirupskake (Layered Spice Cake with Candied Oranges )

    Norwegian Sirupskake (Layered Spice Cake with Candied Oranges and Orange Frosting)Norwegian Sirupskake (Layered Spice Cake with Candied Oranges and Orange Frosting)

    The sound of wood crackling in the fireplace. A good friend stopping by for the day. The trickle of snow seen from the window. Folk music resounding and the smell of fragrant spices filling the air. The atmosphere seems too enticing, as if you could eat it all up. It can only mean one thing. Holiday baking has begun.

    Quite recently I visited the Rollag Bygdekvinnelag, a wonderful group of ladies who meet throughout the year to swap stories, share meals, go on excursions, and maintain traditions, which have been shared and passed down through the women in the area. I was invited to look through some old cookbooks that had been kept within each respective family for generations. Some dated back to the 1800s and some were as recent as the 1970s. Mostly all were handwritten and well-used with smudges and small tears caressing the pages.

    Pages filled with exciting and interesting recipes. Some still popular today, some forgotten, some a bit more unusual and some, perhaps, better left as ink on the page. With the holiday season fast approaching, a few of the traditional baked goods popped out at me. One of them being, sirupskake or syrup cake.

    Norwegian Sirupskake (Layered Spice Cake with Candied Oranges and Orange Frosting) (more…)