When I visited Scandinavian Kitchen on Saturday, one of my prime reasons for going was to see if they had Kladdkaka on the menu and to try it out precisely so I could see what the texture and feel of the cake was.  You see, kladdkaka is a Swedish cake that is designed not to look done. It’s like serving Brownie in a complete cake version. Kladd means sticky in Swedish, so this is literally ‘sticky cake’.

When you Google kladdkaka it only takes until the second page before all the entries are in Swedish or another scandi language, so you can see that Kladdkaka hasn’t made it big here yet. That’s a shame, because both the ones I’ve made myself and the professional version I ate on Saturday are yummy scrummy, sticky, and very filling in small portions.

I made mine using the recipe from Bronte Aurell’s Fika and Hygge book, and she did give you several options. Her recipe was made with white chocolate, mine with dark because that’s what I had in at the time.

This recipe for Kladdkaka is based on the recipe available online from The Scandinavian Kitchen website. The only big differences are I have to have imperial as well as metric because of my scales, and my oven is gas.

Instructions

1. Melt the butter and leave to cool slightly while you whisk the egg and sugar together until the mixture is light, fluffy and pale
2. Weigh all the dry ingredients and sift them into the egg and sugar mixture. Fold in until everything is incorporated, then fold in the melted butter until you are left with a smooth chocolate mixture
3. Pour into a lined cake tin. This recipe fits a normal 20x30cm tin. The cake will not rise, but it will puff up slightly during baking and bake at 180°C/GM4 for around 20 minutes. Exact times can vary, so keep an eye on the cake.
4. A perfect kladdkaka is very soft in the middle, but not runny once it has cooled – but almost runny. If you press down gently on the cake whilst its baking, the crust should need a bit of pressure to crack. When this happens, the cake is done. Leave to cool in the tin for at least an hour.

You’re looking for a cake that ends up sliceable but not pick-up-able. It looks like a brownie in the middle, you know, moist and almost as if you haven’t cooked it through. The Scandinavians serve it with cream or ice cream. I like it just as is.

Bronte Aurell has a range of suggestions in her book… if you’re a baker in search of something different it is well worth a look, and I reviewed it in Hygge Books; Fika and Hygge. I love the idea of playing with the recipe as well. I want to make one that has dark chocolate and cherries in it, another one that is white chocolate and raspberries, an apple and cinnamon scented one… well, you get the idea. Take the recipe, make it secure and then play with it.

I would love to know what Bronte really thinks about Hygge having a moment in the UK and USA. It must be difficult to see an old, familiar, family word being bandied about, and even harder if it’s being used to describe a lifestyle choice, rather than a way of life. I hope I honour the spirit of hygge in this blog, even if it is hygge with a definite British twist.

Again, if you like what you’ve read please feel free to share, and link back to me. And hygge nuts will find a virtual home at The Hygge Nook on Facebook. It’s a very friendly place; one of the members described it as like having a hug from an old friend, and we do keep it a safe and happy corner of the net.

And if you want to hear me witter any more (and why wouldn’t you?!) then find me on social media. Anti-social media, my husband calls it, as I scroll along all the messages in the evening. I’ve told him if he wants me to pay attention to him, then he should just get more interesting. One of these days he’ll probably do a Full Monty just to see if I’m looking. And knowing my luck, I’ll miss it. I’m on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Drop by and say hi!