Need Sleep

« Keilaniemi and Keilaranta in Espoo. The buildings for Kone, Elisa and Fortum reflect on Keilalahti on a calm day. It's a strange and rather lifeless corporate office park. The Nokia WHQ is just to the left and not in the photo. »

I don't know if its the return of the 20+ hours of daily sunlight or needing a new bed, but I can't remember the last time I woke up feeling like I actually managed to get a few hours of sleep. I go to bed feeling tired and I wake up the same way even though I don't lie awake staring at the clock for hours on end. I'm surprised that I manage to function at all. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to buy a new bed since the old mattress sags a bit and, since it's an American mattress, I can't buy sheets here to fit it and the ones I brought along are getting a bit tatty.

Otava's leg continues to improve and we took him to Rajasaari, a.k.a. dog island, over the weekend which made him so happy that he ran around the beach in near ecstatic glee. This likely wasn't the best plan as he stressed the joint more than he should have and is now a wee bit gimpy, but it was so nice to see him behaving like a puppy and gleefully bounding into the water and running around on the soft beach. On the way to Rajasaari, I saw a woman dragging a child around in a harness with a leash which made me giggle as I thought that the line distinguishing between child and pet had just vanished except that my child was much more cute and furry. Maybe a bit more drool.

I finally ordered a bed for Otava after having to choose one from about 150 different combinations of size, shape, cover and stuffing. I had bought one for HB that he refused to lie on and instead flumped down the hard, cool bathroom tiles so I didn't bother to get one for Otava, but he has made it clear that wants a bed so I hope he and his aching joints like the one that will arrive in a week or three. Since he's a St. Bernard, I'm pretty certain that as soon as he has his own bed, he'll never lie on it. :)

permalink Ω 30 May 2005, Helsinki

The Euphoric Season

« Suomenlinna at sunset. »

A busy week and nice weather make for a dull time around here, even more dull than my 'cookery' and 'flikr crap photos' that my dear friends here complain about. :) I think we've already had more nice weather in the past few weeks than we've had in the past two years combined so the season is more manic than usual with everyone doing everything all at once, except cleaning house and sitting in front of the computer any more than one has to. :)

permalink Ω 28 May 2005, Helsinki

I had a bad feeling about this

« Three wise men gape in wonder at the crowds paying good money to go see the final (we hope) Star Wars movie. »

We must have been the last people in Helsinki to go see the final Star Wars movie last night judging by the tiny size of the crowd in the theatre. The highest praise one can give this movie is that it "sucks less than the previous two movies" which isn't an encouraging sign that anyone is going to go see it more than once in the theatre. After seeing the original seven or more times when it was first released in 1977, this movie serves only as closure and release from nearly 30 years of waiting for the damn thing to end. Had I known then that I'd have to wait so long and be so apathetic by the time the end arrived maybe I'd not have been so excited about the movies when I was younger.

George Lucas must have forgotten what made the first movie so incredible; a fun story, characters that we gave a damn about and a bit of creativity used to make it all seem believable. The last three movies are all about the special effects with little else to go on since the actors deliver their lines as though there's a teleprompter outside the camera frame and the characters are hard to love given their two-dimensionality. At least Obi-Wan has some redeeming qualities and even delivers the all important "I have a bad feeling about this" line that is uttered in every single movie and, like Hitchcock making a cameo in his movies, leaves you with something to look forward to. It ain't much, but it's something.

Palpatine making his transformation to Darth Swamp Thing did provide some comic relief as all 15 people in the theatre will attest to, but much of the movie was a colossal cosmic bore. I was checking my watch more than 30 minutes before it ended when it seemed like we had been sitting there for an eternity. Anakin is a walking illustration of why 'young and stupid' is one of the immutable constants in the universe, too. And the not very subtle comparison of Sith Lords and Bush was pretty lame in spite of my political leanings. Boring.

There was nothing that made this story human, it was all special effects and set-ups for merch like video games and action figures. I suppose Hollywood figures that special effects can make even the most lacklustre movie worth watching and now, since moviemakers don't seem to have a single original idea, they're going for remakes of classics like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory which will no doubt be filled with every whizbang gizmo and outrageous special effect Hollywood currently has to offer. Ironic when one remembers that the whole movie was about the wonders of childhood imagination. Where's Lewis Black as I need him to rant about this on the Daily Show so that I can laugh instead of wondering who has to disappear to get fresh new people making interesting movies again instead of recycling old ideas with bad acting and computer generated animation.

But, I bought my tickets, served my time and now, it is done.

And I think everyone in Helsinki called in sick to work today as the park was teeming with sunbathers and people eating ice cream when I went home to give Otava is usual afternoon walk and lunch. It's a nearly insurmountable challenge to force yourself to go back to a desk job in a climate controlled environment after that. It almost makes me want to be an ice cream kiosk clerk on the Esplanade for the rest of the summer....

permalink Ω 24 May 2005, Helsinki

Disappearing Act

« Ghosts are supposed to be white... »

After enjoying the lovely weekend weather, teaching Otava how to swim and without being online once, I spent much of the day rebuilding the site from a recent backup and the backup also known as Google. I don't know what happened to the former system and, for those who care, I don't know when the numerous perl related sites will be back, if ever. The box disappeared from the net about 6pm Friday which capped off an entire week of 'if it can go wrong, it probably will.' So, if there are any broken links here, etc. send me an email.

permalink Ω 23 May 2005, Helsinki

Lift and Duck

« Power lines on mustikkamaa. »

Aside from the cantankerous lift at work and the black eye that has gone from red to purple to yellow, I have also sported a huge knob on my head from bumping my head countless times Sunday on the pygmy height range hood in the kitchen which proceeded to be topped by a giant zit. I must also be providing great comedy for the building security guys as I can't get the bunker door to the machine room open, even when gripping with my hands and putting both feet on the wall. People in the park enjoying the weather get free comic theatre when Otava, after a week of not getting to play while his leg heals, tries desperately to play with a familiar puppy and pulls me along like a rag doll. I feel like I could be part of the circus freakshow or maybe a stop on the Helsinki by bus tour. All I need now is some bright spandex and a catchy name.

Black sausage will never be the same again as there is Musta Makia Salmiakkimakkara. I like salmiakki and sausage, but together? I'm willing to try anything once but I'll have to find a package of them first.

There's a new Helsinki outdoor map that now has markings for dog parks [yay!], rug washing areas, skate ramps, swimming pools, miniature golf, cooking/grilling facilities, etc. along with the bike paths. Of course, all the usual places I stopped to get a copy of it were completely out of stock because it was mentioned in the paper on Sunday and demand has exceeded initial production. There is an online version of the map, but it still has the 2002 version instead of the new one. So, hopefully I'll be able to get a copy before winter. Hrmph.

And I'm obsessing over the princess cake this week since the pastry cream pissed me off and I've been finding more information about it around the net. I've noticed many of the local bakeries use the 3rd layer of cake as the top over the dome of cream which makes the cake more stable and easier to cut as well as reduces the amount of filling and marzipan required. So I'm going to try making another this weekend for Jarkko's birthday with the cake dome, a lighter maitorahkaa and cream filling, low sugar/just fruit raspberry jam and overall less sugar and see what happens. I'm going to get foam corners for the range hood this time. :)

permalink Ω 18 May 2005, Helsinki

May the Cream Be With You

« A princess cake / prinsessakakku / prinsesstårta in a Yoda-green marzipan robe. »

I was working hard on my sofa coma on Friday evening by drinking a beer and scanning my newsfeeds when I saw that someone had made one of those funny green cakes from possibly the most pointlessly complex cake recipe I've ever seen. One of the reviewers of the cookbook the recipe was taken from, Birthday Cakes: Recipes and Memories from Celebrated Bakers concurred with my dim view of the recipe:

Finally, several of the recipes are ridiculously complicated for the home baker. "The Princess Cake," for example, requires following four lengthy pages of instructions!

Many of the other reviewers remark at how pretty the book is to look at which I had to laugh at since you know right there they are just in it for the picture porn, not the practicality of the recipes. The princess cake is, in spite of its looks, a simple cake: sponge cake layered with pastry cream and topped with a marzipan shell. Why on earth anyone would put themselves through such torture for something that should be rather simple? I was surprised the recipe didn't also encourage the baker to make their own raspberry jam from hand-picked organic berries or grind their own flour. It's a bad recipe if only for the silly rum 'moistening' solution for the cake since it boils off the alcohol in the rum and then adds more sugar to, perhaps they forget, distilled cane sugar. If the cake wasn't bone dry in the first place it wouldn't be necessary but not only that, rum is not a flavour associated with traditional cakes in the Nordic countries. If you want rum flavour, add a bit of extract to the cream or just brush some of the dark rum right onto the cake. If you've got a good bottle of Meyer's Dark Rum and feel the urge to boil it, please come to my house and don't forget to bring the bottle. :) The Finnish recipes occasionally mention using a wee bit of orange juice for the same purpose but it seems highly optional and up to the discretion of the baker.

So, I went hunting for a recipe since I see these cakes all the time but, aside from getting intense flashbacks to Hostess Snoballs, I've never actually tried one. It's also a cake I can share without regret since I'm not overly fond of marzipan. :) In the late 1920s, Jenny Åkerstr�m, who ran a cooking school for young ladies, published the Prinsessojen Kokbok which featured three cakes, one for each princess; Margaretha, M�rtha and Astrid [a copy of the recipes and illustrations from the 1951 printing in Finnish - 1.6mb pdf]. They were very elaborate cakes, not terribly suited to the home baker. Astrid's cake most closely resembles the princess cake in its current form and even features canned pineapple which was just becoming popular at the time. Annika Larsson, a baker at the Grillska Konditoriet in Stockholm, is credited with combining features from the three cakes and creating the princess cake [pdf, swedish] that has become a tradition. It appeared in Finland not long after it became popular in 1930s Sweden and has remained a traditional cake ever since, particularly for graduation and end of school year parties. The cake may also be known as the operat�rta.

Surprisingly, online there are more recipes for the cake in Finnish than there are in Swedish. And one of the MTV3 cooking shows featured a princess cake recently as well. None of my cookbooks at home had a recipe for it and I even went looking through the cookbooks at Akateeminen and found only two books that had a recipe and neither of them looked very good. I compared all the recipes I could find online and there was little difference save for the cream where there were two camps: pastry cream and plain whipped cream with one Swedish recipe mixing both together which is properly known as "diplomat cream". I turned to CI to compare both the sponge cake and pastry cream recipes and they featured the same ingredients only with far more detailed instructions and perfected technique so I used theirs instead. The sponge cake recipe is ace and, since such cakes are common components in Finnish desserts, I can't recommend it highly enough as it was tasty, moist and spongy just as a good cake of its kind should be.

There are also a few different styles of cake construction. Two layers or three layers, round or rectangular log, cream dome or sponge cake covering the dome as the top layer. It doesn't seem to matter as long as all of the key ingredients are there. The log looks interesting and easier to slice, but getting a sponge cake to bend like that without breaking or popping out of shape would require a few tricks I suspect.

The cream filling is where things get a bit dodgy in many of the recipes since the instructions are vague and don't mention the time needed. I tried the Swedish version of the pastry cream which featured gelatin as a thickener and, from a structural standpoint, I thought it might be the most successful at providing needed firmness to hold the shape of the cake. It eventually set, but the directions were limited and somewhat misleading. The pastry cream should be made the night before as it needs five hours or more to set. It's not difficult to make and it's good to have one less thing to juggle in the kitchen. Americans averse to dairy and/or cream could likely just use Cool Whip™ to replace the pastry cream and whipped cream thus making the cake even easier. We've got so many cream and dairy products that there must be a state embargo on non-dairy products like Cool Whip™.

It's all smooth sailing once you've got your cake layers, pastry cream, jam and marzipan all ready to go. Unless you've got some complex about using organic almonds, don't make the marzipan yourself as it's ready-made in all the usual colours for far less money than all the time and effort you would spend making it. The only drawback to using prepared marzipan is that it can be somewhat dry which makes manipulating it an exercise in patience. It also makes your life easier if you have 2 or preferably 3 round cake pans since this reduces the number of cakes you have to cut from a larger one. I like chocolate layer cakes so I've learned to make my life easier by making the layers at bake time since I suck at slicing cakes evenly or unevenly.

So that's all there is to it. Follow the recipes and make your own princess cake for a graduation party instead of paying 40 euro or so for one from a bakery in town. The 30 euro you save can buy a reasonable amount of beer instead. :)

Prinsesstårta / Prinsessakakku / Princess Cake

makes: 1 cake with 12 servings
special tools: good mixer for whipping, round cake pan[s], pizza cutter
time: about 2 hours total preparation time for cake, cream and marzipan

Preparation steps and approximate time

1. Prepare pastry cream (if using), make it the night before or before leaving for work in the morning. (30 mins)
2. Make sponge cake. (45 mins)
3. Make whipped cream and rahka cream (if using).(20 mins)
4. Assemble cake and chill. (10 mins)
5. Roll out marzipan. (15 mins)
6. Cover cake with marzipan. (15 mins)
7. Chill and serve. (1-2 hours)

Sponge Cake:

makes: two 8- or 9-inch cakes
time: about 45 minutes
source: CI

Sift together

• 1/2 cup or 1,25 dl cake flour
• 1/4 cup or 0,75 dl unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt

Heat together, cover and set aside

• 3 tablespoons whole milk
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla sugar

separate and mix

• 5 eggs room temperature
• 3/4 cup or 1,75 dl granulated sugar

1. Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat oven to 350F/175C degrees. Generously grease and flour two or three round 8- or 9-inch cake pans and cover pan bottoms with a round of parchment paper. Whisk flours, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl (or sift onto waxed paper). Heat milk and butter in a small saucepan over low heat until butter melts. Remove from heat and add vanilla; cover and keep warm.
2. Separate three of the eggs, placing whites in bowl of standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment (or large mixing bowl if using hand mixer or whisk) and reserving the 3 yolks plus remaining 2 whole eggs in another mixing bowl. Beat the 3 whites on high speed (or whisk) until whites are foamy. Gradually add 6 tablespoons of the sugar; continue to beat whites to soft, moist peaks. (Do not overbeat.) If using a standing mixer, transfer egg whites to a large bowl and add yolk/whole egg mixture to mixing bowl.
3. Beat yolk/whole egg mixture with remaining 6 tablespoons sugar. Beat on medium-high speed (setting 8 on a KitchenAid) until eggs are very thick and a pale yellow color, about 5 minutes (or 12 minutes by hand). Add beaten eggs to whites.
4. Sprinkle flour mixture over beaten eggs and whites; fold very gently 12 times with a large rubber spatula. Make a well in one side of batter and pour milk mixture into bowl. Continue folding until batter shows no trace of flour, and whites and whole eggs are evenly mixed, about 8 additional strokes.
5. Immediately pour batter into prepared baking pan[s][makes 9-10dl of batter so ~3dl per cake layer]; bake until cake tops are light brown and feel firm and spring back when touched, about 16 minutes for 9-inch cake pans and 20 minutes for 8-inch cake pans.
6. Immediately run a knife around pan perimeter to loosen cake. Cover pan with large plate. Using a towel, invert pan and remove pan from cake. Peel off parchment. Re-invert cake from plate onto rack. Repeat with remaining cake[s]. Cover with clean cloth until ready to assemble cake to keep the cake moist. **If assembling the cake with the cake layer on top style, you may want to place a layer of cake over a bowl about the size of the cake while it is still warm to make it easier to fit over the cream later.

Pastry cream:

time: about 30 mins - Make at least 5 hours ahead or the night before!
source: CI

Heat until simmering/near boiling

• 2 cups or 2,25 dl half-and-half (half whole milk, half cream)
• 1/2 cup or 1,25dl granulated sugar
• pinch table salt

Whisk together until thick

• 5 large egg yolks, chalazae removed*
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch or arrowroot

Stir in last

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (cold), cut into 4 pieces
• 1,5 teaspoons vanilla extract or 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar

1. Heat half&half, 6 tablespoons sugar, and salt in medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat until simmering (near boiling), stirring occasionally to dissolve sugar.
2. Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks in medium bowl until thoroughly combined. Whisk in remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and whisk until sugar has begun to dissolve and mixture is creamy, about 15 seconds. Whisk in cornstarch until combined and mixture is pale yellow and thick, about 30 seconds.
3. When half&half mixture reaches full simmer, gradually whisk simmering half-and-half into yolk mixture to temper. Return mixture to saucepan, scraping bowl with rubber spatula; return to simmer over medium heat, whisking constantly, until 3 or 4 bubbles burst on surface and mixture is thickened and glossy, about 30 seconds. Off heat, whisk in butter and vanilla. Transfer mixture to medium bowl, press plastic wrap directly on surface, and refrigerate until cold and set, at least 3 hours or up to 48 hours.

*Chalazae are cordlike strands of egg white protein that are attached to the yolks--removing them with your fingers is easy and eliminates the need to strain the pastry cream after cooking.

rahka-Fra�che Cream:

• 250g plain lowfat rahka
• 250g vanilla fra�che 5%
• about 1-2 dl fine sugar
• 1-2 tablespoons cornstarch or arrowroot

1. whip together rahka and fra�che
2. add sugar to suit your taste
3. add cornstarch if a bit too moist
4. mix half of the rahka cream with the whipped cream
5. refrigerate

note: since neither of these products are likely available to people outside the Nordic region or the EU, they are basically thick sour milk products that might be substituted by using thick vanilla yogurt and lowfat sour cream.

Whipped Cream:

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
• 1/3 cup or 0,75 dl confectioners' sugar (use half of sugar if you prefer less sweetness)
• 3,5 dl or 1.5 cups heavy cream

1. Beat cold heavy cream at medium speed in an electric mixer until thickened. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla and beat until thick.

Assembling (see also diagram):

• pastry cream or rahka cream
• whipped cream
• raspberry jam or low-sugar/just fruit jam for less sweetness

There are two methods of assembly: the cream dome on top method:

1. Slice cake to create 3 evenly sized layers unless you bake with 3 round pans in which case you already have three cakes ready to use.
2. Place the first layer on top of a sheet of baking paper and spread a thin layer of raspberry jam on top of the cake.
3. Spread a layer of pastry cream/rahka cream on top of the jam and place another cake layer on top and repeat jam and cream application.
4. Place the third cake layer on top and with a serrated knife, trim off edge to round off the top. Mound the whipped cream on top of the cake and smooth with a spatula. You can also mix part of the remaining pastry cream with the whipped cream if you like. Coat the sides of the cake if you have any cream leftover as well.
5. Lift cake onto a plate or baking tray and chill in the refrigerator while you prepare the marzipan shell.

and the cake layer on top method:

1. Slice cake to create 3 evenly sized layers unless you bake with 3 round pans in which case you already have three cakes ready to use.
2. Spread a layer of pastry cream/rahka cream on top of the jam. Place the second cake layer over the cream and make a dome of the whipped cream/rahka-whipped cream mix leaving a thin margin around the edge for where the top layer will rest on the lower layers.
3. Remove the third cake layer from the bowl and spread a very thin layer of jam on top which will serve to anchor the marzipan to the cake. Place the cake layer on top over the cream and smooth into a rounded shape. Witha serrated knife, trim off edge to round off the top if necessary.
4. Lift cake onto a plate or baking tray and chill in the refrigerator while you prepare the marzipan shell.

Marzipan shell:

• 350-400g or 14oz green (or pink or yellow) marzipan
• confectioners' sugar

1. Roll marzipan between 2 sheets of baking paper or plastic wrap so that it doesn't stick to your rolling pin. Mark center of the marzipan and remove it from the baking paper. Dust rolling pin with confectioners' sugar and roll part of the marzipan onto it to make it easier to maneuver the marzipan on top of the cake.
2. Cover the cake with the marzipan. At this point, the dome of the cake will be smoothly covered, but there will be folds or creases on the sides. To remove the folds and creases, smooth the marzipan gently with your hand from the top of the cake to the bottom. This requires some patience so don't try to rush it.
3. Work your way around the cake. Once all the folds are eliminated, rub the palm of your hand around the sides of the cake to further smooth it and eliminate air pockets.
4. With a rolling pizza cutter or small, sharp knife, carefully cut off the excess marzipan along the bottom edge. Reserve excess for making leaves.
5. Dust top with confectioners' sugar. You can make a stencil for the confectioners' sugar to decorate with a crown or add a single marzipan/real rose on top.
6. If you choose a rose as garnish, cut two or three elongated ovals out of the remaining marzipan to make leaf shapes. Lightly score the top of the leaves with a knife to create veins and place on top of the cake. Garnish with real pink rose or make your own marzipan rose.
7. Chill until serving.
8. Slice with a sharp knife with a slow, firm pressure.

permalink Ω 16 May 2005, Helsinki

Shiner

« Steve Zissou in his red knit cap. »

Friday the 13th passed mostly uneventfully except for Otava unintentionally smashing my glasses into my face when I was trying to help him get up from the floor. Having a lens dig into your cheekbone hurts, for the lack of a better description, like a motherfucker. I have a pretty decent shiner and wonder if I look too much like a victim of domestic violence. At least I didn't get caught in the lift at the office again.

We went to see The Life Aquatic last night and it explained why I thought that the stickers around town were Jaques Cousteau instead of Steve Zissou. Great soundtrack and an all-star cast but, wow, what an odd movie. I was expecting it to be a comedy and I kept thinking that I must be missing key bits of pop culture since I wasn't laughing most of the time. I grew up on Cousteau documentaries but they're only a distant vague memory these days. I'm thinking that it might have helped to watch a few of them first to help ease the intense feeling of missing out on all the inside jokes that were certainly there but passed right over my head. And all my favourite actors whom I drooled over in the 70s and 80s are looking mighty old which is always disconcerting.

I'm baking again today...something for graduation parties. The joy and ease of translating a Swedish recipe by simply being able to use a dictionary or guessing is truly orgasmic.

permalink Ω 15 May 2005, Helsinki

Master Gimp

« The patient in recovery is unable to keep from fiddling with his bandages and is made to wear a t-shirt to keep him from damaging them. It looks more dignified than a cone, but makes him look goofy anyway. :) »

Given how the week has gone, including getting trapped in the lift that goes down to the machine room bunker at least 4 times, and that tomorrow is Friday the 13th I am considering staying at home and hiding under my bed with a book and a bottle of whisky. :)

Jarkko showed me a hilarious trailer for Star Wreck V: The Pirkinning tonight which made me try to think of how many space or sci-fi Finnish movies there are and I couldn't think of any. I thought the lack was somewhat curious. As the title might suggest, Star Wreck is a series that features characters with names that are fun to say, like Mr. Fukov.

We finally took Otava in for an x-ray after his limp continued and settled in on one leg. The x-rays showed that his hips are very good but that the elbow on the gimpy leg had an inflammation due to a thickening of the cartilage, a.k.a. Osteochondritis dissecans or OD, on the surface of the joint part of which breaks off and causes pain in the joint. The vet took him into surgery straightaway, removed the offending bit of cartilage and reported that the joint looked very good otherwise and that he should recover nicely.

He was awfully groggy when we went to pick him up and the vet seemed to think that he could gimp the few blocks home without a problem, but after about 20 metres he sat down clearly zoned out of his gourd, and drooled so we called a taxi to rescue us. As soon as he came through the door at home he flopped down in the hallway and I sat next to him and read a book for a few hours until he woke up and whined at me. I didn't want him to come out of the anesthesia alone since the last thing he knew we were sitting in the vet's office while he was thinking about food, sex or sleep. The vet suggested that we put a t-shirt on him if he started trying to lick or chew at his dressings and this provided at least an hour of comedy between getting the shirt on, giggling at how he looked in it and the amazing amount of attention he seemed to attract while walking him in the shirt. :)

In spite of his surgery, he is beyond eager to go to the park and play with his pals and exhibits an extreme amount of stubbornness when that singular goal is not achieved. He is all Missouri mule when it comes down to the battle of leaving the park. It's going to be a long month of petulant stubborn puppy while his joint heals.

permalink Ω 13 May 2005, Helsinki

Brownie Bomb

« Chocolate brownie topped with chocolate mousse and a fruit gelée. A tasty chocolate cholesterol bomb. »

After the last two days at work I considered ranting about the system that continues to be my nemesis and the comedy that is vendor support but instead I'll write about the deadly chocolate mousse brownies that I made for Mother's Day on Sunday. System administration and these brownies will both contribute to a shorter life span except that one makes you welcome a shorter life span and the other tastes delicious. :)

In the current issue of Ruoka&Viini I noticed a picture of a particularly attractive layered brownie that was part of the ongoing cooking school series. This lesson features a few tips and recipes from one of the pastry chefs at Kakkugalleria on Bulevardi which is always filled with desserts that are so pretty that it's almost a shame to eat them. I looked through the recipes and noted that the various layers in the desserts were fairly easy but they all require a lot of patience and some skill in knowing what the recipes leave out as far as technique goes for the novice baker. The brownie and the glaze are very easy to make, but the mousse requires a bit more attention and ability to keep several things going at once before combining them all together.

I took a few liberties with the recipe by adding instant espresso powder to the brownie and the mousse since I think the flavour complements chocolate perfectly. I have also added whipping half of the egg whites since it's an easy way to add a bit more air to the mousse without increasing the cholesterol load of the already present 10 egg yolks and heavy cream. Another variation would be to use maitorahkaa since it whips easily and has a firmer body to it than whipped cream which will then allow for using only 5 egg yolks to make it a bit less decadent. Having a good mixer and a double boiler for this recipe helps although you can improvise a double boiler with a saucepan and a metal bowl or another slightly smaller saucepan.

Aside from the mousse recipe being a bit complex, the confection is a lot easier to make than it looks as long as you remember to be patient and not overdo the mixing where it specifically says not to. The nice part about these brownies is that they look far more impressive and complicated than they really are. Be sure to keep them refrigerated until it's time to serve them as the mousse contains all those egg yolks which can be dangerous if eaten after sitting out for a while.

Chocolate Mousse Brownies

makes: about 12 artery hardening brownies
time: about 90 minutes preparation
special tools: deep rectangular pan, baking paper
source: Ruoka&Viini nro 28, 3/2005

Chocolate Brownie / Suklaabrownie

• 150g or 5.5oz dark chocolate
• 250g or 2.25 sticks butter
• 100g or 3.5oz walnuts
• 3,5 dl or 1.5 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2,5 dl or 1 cup wheat flour (or cake flour for a more tender brownie)
• 1 teaspoon instant espresso [optional]

1. Prepare pan. Place a sheet of baking paper in the pan leaving enough paper on the sides for lifting the brownies out of the pan when finished. Grease the 2 non-papered ends.
2. Chop walnuts and toast them lightly in a dry skillet. Set aside.
3. Melt butter and chocolate (both cut or broken into small pieces) and espresso powder together in a saucepan over low heat. Stir with a whisk or fork until completely melted and remove from heat.
4. Pour sugar into a mixing bowl.
5. Pour chocolate/butter mixture over sugar and allow to cool.
6. Stir in egg yolks one at a time.
7. Add flour and walnuts, stirring well, but not too vigorously, until blended. You can also choose to pour the nuts on top of the batter instead if you prefer more crunch since the nuts get soft when baked inside.
8. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake at 200C/395F for about 20-25 minutes.
9. Place pan on cooling rack and allow to cool for an hour or so.

Chocolate Mousse / Suklaamousse

• 250g or 9 oz baker's chocolate (70% cocoa)
• 10 egg yolks (reserve egg whites) (or reduce to 5 if you use maitorahkaa)
• 3 dl or 1.25 cups kuohu or whipping cream (or try maitorahkaa)
• 1 teaspoon instant espresso [optional]

• 1 dl or .50 cup water
• 1,5 dl or .75 cup sugar

1. In a saucepan, pour sugar into the bottom being careful not to touch the sides of the pan. Add water and do not stir. Set on medium-high heat, allow to boil vigorously once and set aside to cool.
2. Melt chocolate and espresso powder over low heat [or microwave].
3. Separate the egg yolks and whites.
4. Mix yolks into cooled sugar syrup with a whisk.
5. Warm the egg/sugar mixture just a bit in a double boiler. Stir with whisk until bubbles in the mixture are small and uniform.
6. Remove the mixture from the heat and use electric mixer to whip until light and airy.
7. Stir chocolate into egg/sugar foam.
8. Whip cream/maitorahkaa.
9. Warm half of the egg whites (or all if using only 5 egg yolks) in double boiler and whip until soft peaks form.
10. Gently fold in egg whites and then the whipped cream/maitorahkaa into the chocolate. Stir manually and only until just blended.
11. Pour on top of cooled brownies and smoothe out with spatula.
12. Cool for 2 hours in the freezer or 12 hours in the refrigerator.

Glaze / Mehukiille

• 2 dl or 1 cup concentrated juice, e.g. black currant or cranberry
• 2-3 gelatin sheets (or a packet of knox powdered gelatin)

1. Place gelatin sheets in a bowl of water to moisten them.
2. Warm 1/2 of the juice in a saucepan.
3. Remove gelatin sheets from the water, removing excess water and place in the warm juice until it dissolves.
4. Add remaining juice.
5. Set aside to cool.
6. Gently pour on top of the mousse while using a spoon as a diffuser.
7. Return to the freezer or refrigerator for an hour.

Serving

1. Remove from the freezer or refrigerator and run a warm, dull knife around the edges of the pan, taking care not to cut the baking paper, to loosen the brownie.
2. Carefully lift the brownie from the pan with the paper and place onto cutting board.
3. With a warm, sharp knife, trim the edges of the brownie to make them straight, clean and smooth.
4. Rinse the knife after each cut in hot water and pat dry on a clean dishtowel.
5. Cut the brownie in the center on the long side making two large, long pieces.
6. Then cut the brownie in the center of the short side and continue from there to make even slices.
7. Garnish with a goldenberry, a.k.a. Physalis peruvianus, cape gooseberry or ananaskirsikka and a chocolate flourish if you want to be really fancy. The chocolate garnish is easy to make as all you need to do is melt some chocolate, let it cool a little, pour it onto some baking paper on a flat surface, e.g. a small tray, with a pastry bag and place it into the refrigerator until it's time to use them. Gently lift them from the paper and place on top of the brownie.

permalink Ω 10 May 2005, Helsinki

Poster Child for Contraception

« My grandfather took this photo of me at about six months old. Aside from the demonic expression, I'm sad to know that I had bigger boobies as an infant than I do now. :) Happy Mother's Day. »

permalink Ω 8 May 2005, Helsinki

Large Piles

« The dirtiest car in Helsinki that became quite covered in all sorts of pictures and slogans. »

It has been an odd sort of week as the following days after a holiday weekend usually are, only amplified by visitors and having today as a holiday, too. I'm even more disoriented than usual as I wondered where the copy of Presso was this morning [comes on Saturday]. :)

Last night Jarkko rang me while I was in my odd mood to match the odd week and informed me that we were going to be seeing a movie at 8p if there were any reservation cancellations. He said something about Orlando Bloom and the title and I went home to walk Otava. I asked before the movie what the premise was and when I heard 'the crusades', my mind computed Bloom+Holy War=3 hour epic that is not anywhere close to being comedy which, I suppose, is a good thing since 3 hours of comedy might be hard on the bladder as you try to laugh.

As we sat down and waited for the movie, a pair of actors were running around in front of screen which I assumed was a bit of absurdist theatre as a plug for some of the arts around town. It made no sense until I heard the guy say 'nice teeth' and it became clear that the whole thing was a live action commercial for a certain brand of toothpaste that conveniently had a brochure in the drink holders. On the backs of the seats, Nokia also had glow-in-the-dark ads for some new model of mobile. Maybe it's because I'm old enough to remember going to movies when you had to be on time because the movie started on time with only occasional trailers, but fuck these advertisers who make us prisoners of their incessant pitches and, well, fuck the theatres too. The ads showed a little bit of unusual creativity but, c'mon, glow-in-the-dark ads in a theatre where your light-seeking eyeball keeps being drawn to it? Assholes. There seem to be no boundaries anymore with regard to when, where and how we are hustled by an ever increasing amount of advertisements. I fully expect toilet paper to come with ads and the toilet to play a jingle on flushing any day now.

On the bright side, the movie was quite good. I drooled over Jeremy Irons briefly and thoroughly enjoyed the fact that this movie will likely make the list of movies the Catholic church urges its followers not to see due to objectionable content. Devout Catholics who believe the Crusades were a highlight in the history of christianity will likely be quite offended as I don't expect fanatical Mel Gibson and his sect to be snapping up tickets. I may just have to go see it a few more times to encourage more movies like this in these crazy times. The movie did leave me with the same questions I have when reading the news: Why do the crazy idiots seem to get people to follow them even knowing that without water in a desert against the natives they're dead? Why are the sane people usually agnostic and so rare? Why do religious fanatics still abound and why hasn't anyone burned Vatican City and salted the smoldering ground as a reminder of its thousands of years of corruption? Some questions are eternal. I also thought about what would happen if someone discovered a document that revealed that Jerusalem was not the holy site people have fought so pointlessly over for thousands of years. What if it was really atop Mt. Ararat in Turkey? or some rock long since covered in sand out in the Sahara?

The best quote of the week was from a sure sign of great economic times in the US, a programmer turned pooper-scooper professes his love for St. Bernards in a moment of zen-like wisdom. :)

St. Bernard (dogs) are my favorite customers since they poop in large piles which are easy to find.

And then he goes on to say....

It sure beats computer programming because it's flexible, and I get to be outside.

He's right about technology being even less exciting than scooping poop these days. Hmmm....

permalink Ω 5 May 2005, Helsinki

Gate

« Cryptonomicon gate on Fredrikinkatu. I called it this after I remembered that I had seen similar symbols in Stepheson's Baroque Cycle which were from John Wilkins' Philosophical Language. »

It was a long, long weekend in spite of not much drinking or partying, but included an unexpected houseguest from the US and I'm still trying to recover. I used to be young and spontaneous and now I'm just old and cranky when the rituals that get me through the day are disturbed. In an attempt to be hostess to the houseguest who travelled 4,000 miles where others failed, I finally managed to see the somewhat legendary expat junk food store in the lower level of Kämp Galleria and I am now convinced that I am, in fact, in the wrong line of work judging by the prices. I should open a shop called "Pimp My Crack" in Hakaniemi filled with crap from the US and the UK or maybe a Krispy Kreme store. The first one is always free...

permalink Ω 3 May 2005, Helsinki

Sweet Tentacles

« Tippaleivät in the Eckberg window. »

The traditional Vappu tippaleipä cake is so hard and crunchy that I can only imagine it as a torture device for the hungover as the loud noise inside your head when eating them is truly painful. It makes me wonder if some old granny made them as a cruel way to get back at the drunks in the park. :) [ Well, if I am to believe what I read on the internet, the tradition here came from Germany to western Finland in the 1700s. They were first made in Helsinki in the 1830s at Kaisaniemi restaurant by Kajsa Wahllund (namesake of the park) and became a traditional treat only after the 1900s. They were known as "lonkeroleivistä" or tentacle cakes. :) Sadly, no mention of a vengeful granny. ] They are much like American funnel cakes (and we even have a Funnel Cake King) but the ones people buy from the stores are hard to the point of just assuming that they're stale as they don't really taste like much of anything. Like a bird's nest without the birds. They're also rather expensive since they're a traditional treat that everyone buys instead of making at home. I tested my homemade tippaleivät on a dinner party and everyone, especially the kids, seemed to love them, even those who said they really never liked the traditional crunchy ones.

I consulted my copy of Kotiruoka for a recipe and it had the absolutely brilliant idea of using a catsup or mustard bottle for pouring the batter into the hot oil. Both the funnel technique and the old plastic bag trick are a pain in the ass and make a huge mess. With the catsup bottle, you can make the batter, pour it into the bottle and store it in the refrigerator overnight if you don't want to make them right away. The soup ladle technique is also a great idea although I just used some egg forms I have for frying eggs or small pancakes that worked very well.

For frying, choose a deep metal pot with a lid that fits as it's safer to use with less hot oil splattering around the kitchen. Keep the lid handy in case of problems. The tongs and the oven mitts also minimize contact with the hot oil and the pan. Tongs are better at manipulating the cakes than a spoon or a fork, too. The temperature of the oil is important but it doesn't need to be exact. Sunflower oil has a high smoke point so just keep the oil hot and mind the burner setting to keep it from smoking. Be sure to remove any bits of cake left behind as they'll burn in the oil and start to smoke. The cakes take about a minute to fry and, once they're a nice and medium golden brown on both sides, use the tongs to lift the cake up from the oil, shake a bit of the oil from it and place it onto a cooling rack lined with paper towels to drain. Top with powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar. Eat. :)

Tippaleivät or Finnish Funnel Cakes

Makes: about 24 cakes
Time: less than an hour
Special tools: catsup bottle, deep metal pot, tongs, round egg forms or large soup ladle with long handle
Source: Kotiruoka

• 4 eggs
• 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 dl or 1 cup whole milk
• 4 dl or 1.75 cups wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• about 500ml or 2 inches deep in the pot sunflower oil for frying
• confectioners' sugar and/or cinnamon sugar for dusting

1. Whisk eggs in a bowl with a fork. Add sugar, salt, milk and flour/baking powder mixture. Mix batter well until smooth.
2. Pour batter into a strong plastic bag (double-layer) and close the bag. The batter is handily piped from a clean plastic catsup or mustard bottle. (brilliant idea)
3. Heat the oil in a thick-bottomed iron pot to 180C/355F. Sink a round steel soup ladle into the hot oil so that it is half-full of oil. Cut a small corner from the plastic bag. Let the batter run in a thin ribbon into the ladle so that it slowly forms a lattice. Cook 2-3 tippaleipä at a time. Turn the cake when the bottom turns a golden brown.
4. Lift the finished cakes onto a cooling rack lined with paper towels to drain. After they have drained, decorate with confectioners sugar and/or cinnamon sugar before serving. Serve with sima.

permalink Ω 1 May 2005, Helsinki