Window Winter Wonderland

Although many people wouldn't think that Finland would have divine sweets, however the opposite is true and whenever I'm in Finland all I want to do is eat and eat. My favorite would have have to be the addicting, Fazer chocolate and anything it is on, dipped in, etc. They even have a fabulous shop in Helsinki, which I have to visit each time and stare at the beautiful creations and bins of chocolate bites. It feels like a Scandinavian take on Willa Wonka, especially the sundaes, yet surprisingly fashionable and modern. The secret to the deliciousness is that Finnish milk is the best in the world (you must keep in mind that this is coming from the Finn's themselves, but I can believe it). It is mighty fresh and this in turn creates amazing milk chocolate. So I load up on a few kilos of Fazer each time I visit only to eat them all within a week on my return.

Although equally as tasty is the Eckberg Cafe, also near the esplandi where this window photo was taken of the trams in Helsinki. The trams are made in gingerbread of course. They too have a delicious range of products in their bakery portion, such as cheese balls and scrumptious treats in the restaurant portion.

All this occurred, around Christmas time 2008 to visit the in-laws. They are always delighted to see what Scandinavian inspired food I can whip up. This Christmas I made my first ever Karelian Pies, which were quite tasty. They ingredients are fairly straight forward however, the process and preparation is quite demanding. The pies are made of thin rye pastry crust that contain a non-sweeted rice porridge . It may sound like a strange concept, but add a little butter and cheese (as you would to make anything tasty) and they are divine. In London there is a shop that sells them for nearly £2 a pop, whereas you can buy aFazer brand bag of 6 for approximately 3 or so Euros. Upon returning to London, I decided to attempt to make the pies in our tiny London flat. The first batch didn't turn out as fantastic as theFazer ones, probably something to do my novice skills, American background, and English milk. But the second round was much more successful-- the secret is the after baking dip in butter and milkcombination. It helps soften the pies and keep you coming back for more.

Karelian Pie Recipe:

Filling
2 cup water
2 cup milk
1 cup rice porridge
salt and pepper

Crust
1/2 cup water
1 cup rye flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour


Finishing Mixture
1/2 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter

Depending on if you have rapid or quick rice porridge or not, cook roughly according to package directions. I generally boil the water, then add the rice. Wait until the rice has absorbed all the water and then gentle boil/simmer with the remainder of the milk. You may need to add a bit more milk or water depending on how hot your pan is, as it tends to evaporate. Assuming traditional riceporridge, this can take about 30 minutes. Preheat oven as high as it can go.

While you are stirring the rice occasionally, make the rye crusts for the pies. This requires some patience as you need to get the crusts as thin as possible, or as they say, so you can see 'the stars through them'. Mix the ingredients in a bowl, but be careful not to overwork otherwise you will have some tough crust. Then being to roll out your crusts. There are two options here, you can make a long log roll and then cut off portions to roll or just make small balls and then roll out. I would recommend the log roll method as it minimises your contact with the dough. Cut each doughpiece about 1/2- 3/4 of an inch thick.

Then begin to roll out each of your pieces with a rolling pin. The final product should be no larger than the size of your hand and very thin. Then add about 2-3 tablespoons of your riceporridge to the centre. Roll up the edges as you would the edges of a pie crust.

Add parchment paper to a baking sheet and place your finished pies on the sheet. Bake them in the oven for 5-7 minutes. While they are in the oven, scald your milk and take off of heat. Add the butter for your finishing dip. After the pies come out of the oven, dip each one into the mixture and let cool.

The Finn's like to have these with a bit of butter and added cheese, or if you are feeling rather traditional add some egg butter, which is just what it sounds a mixture of boiled eggs and butter. These can be eaten for breakfast or a snack, simply enjoy.