2013

This is a dessert I sometimes bake for Christmas Eve, which is the day we celebrate Christmas in Sweden. The dessert in the picture was baked in November 2013. And I thought I’d give you the recipe. The recipe appeared in Swedish in the cookbook Lättlagad Julmat och Julgodis by Maud Onnermark. I translated the recipe.

The measures will be the Swedish ones since it is probably easier for you to change them to your preferred measures.
(dl = deciliter; cm = centimeters)

Saffron Dessert with an Almond Base

A frozen dessert with Christmasy flavors of saffron, cinnamon and cardamom.
Makes one dessert. Serves 10-12 people. (Or so the recipe says, my experience is that you don’t need that many people to finish it in one go)

Ingredients

Almond base
150 g sweet almonds
1 1/2 dl powdered sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 egg whites

Saffron parfait
0,5 g saffron
3 dl whip cream
3 egg yolks
1 1/2 dl powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon pounded cardamom

Garnish/topping
Lightly thawed raspberries

Instructions

1. Put the oven on 175°C. Mix finely pounded saffron with cream.
2. Clamp in place baking paper in a pan with removable sides (springform), 24 cm in diameter. Butter the pan.
3. Finely chop the almonds in a food processor or with a knife, and mix with sugar and cinnamon. (You could also grind the almonds in an almond grinder.) Whip the egg whites into a hard foam and fold the almond-sugar into it. Spread out the mixture in the pan.
4. Bake on the second slot from the bottom for ca 25 minutes.
5. Whip egg yolks and powdered sugar fluffy. Add cardamom.
6. Whip the saffron cream and fold into the egg mixture.
7. Spread out the mixture evenly on the cold almond base. Cover with plastic wrap and put in the freezer for at least 3 hours.
8. To serve, remove from freezer and garnish with lightly thawed raspberries. If the dessert was in the freezer longer than 3 hours, it might have to thaw slightly before cutting.

Enjoy!