Bama-365

A Strawberry & Almond Paste Pastry

August 15th, 2007

Today, on 6th of June, it´s holiday. It is the Swedish National Day. This day became the Swedish national day in 1983. Previously known as Swedish flag day. It marks the coronation of Gustav Vasa in 1523. This old king defeated the Danes and established Lutheranism in Sweden. This day also marks the adoption of one of our constitutions from 1809.

The Swedish Riksdag (parliament) only designated this day a public holiday in 2005. Many immigrants associate the day with receiving Swedish citizenship. They celebrate living in a free and independent country.

There are celebrations in Stockholm, 600 kilometers away. I do not know what to do with a holiday in the middle of the week.

Anyway, here you are. I hereby give you the recipe of our National Day Pastry. A result of a pastry chef competition. The prize winner was Helena Bergmark.

4The Recipe in Swedish

INGREDIENTS:
10 Servings

LAYER:
300 g almond paste, grated
150 g butter
3 eggs, slightly beaten

TOPPING:
100 g almond paste, grated
about 2 tablespoons orange liqueur, (Grand Marnier) or fresh orange juice
1 l (1000 ml) strawberries
lemon balm

METHOD:
* Preheat oven to 175° C [350°F].
* Line a smaller oven pan (ab. 18×24 cm) with parchment paper.
* Grate almond paste.
* Crumble butter and almond paste in a mixing bowl.
* Add slightly beaten eggs and mix to form a mass.
* Spread batter evenly, 1 cm thick, in the oven pan.
* Bake in the centre of the oven, 12-15 minutes.
* Allow to cool.

The topping:
* Mix grated almond paste and liqueur, or orange juice.
* Spread the mixture on top of the almond paste layer.
* Cut into squares or ovals.
* Slice the strawberries lengthwize.
* Place the slices in the almond paste mixture.
* Garnish with lemon balm and a flag.

Entry Filed under: Recipe