Pancake Pioneer

I have learnt some interesting things since I have been in Norway, but by far the saddest so far is that this nation has been missing out on Shrove Tuesday. The day before the Christian festival of lent begins was traditionally a time for indulging in rich and fatty (read: delicious!) treats for one last night before the ritual fasting period. And I have to say, I like the way our ancestors were thinking- what better foodstuff for the job of "last hurrah" than the pancake. Understandably it has become more colloquially known as "Pancake day" in the UK and unsurprisingly the non-religious masses have also taken up the tradition.

And who can blame them, who would want to miss out on a day dedicated to pancake flipping and greediness.

The pancake "pålegg" buffet

Normally I would stick to lemon and sugar, or a swirl of warm chocolate sauce if I were feeling wild. However, as a pancake day pioneer in this land, I may have gone overboard presenting the case for this most delicious day. I prepared a selection of pancake "pålegg":

Strawberry compote and whipped cream

Banana and chocolate sauce

Apples with brown sugar and cinammon

and of course, the British classic: lemon and sugar

I made everyone try the lemon and sugar and the majority were converted- one in particular. I quote "This is really good, I mean good...like, tell my grandma good".

Those with keen eyes might notice a block of brown cheese at the end of the table. I didn't grace it with a label for it doesn't deserve it. I bought it by accident in a tired stupor and had hoped that this evening would provide an opportunity to dispose of it. Unfortunately there is quite a lot left- but I have some other ideas after reading about a recent tunnel closing, brown cheese fueled fire that burned for 5 days! No fire lighters needed on my next camping trip.

Loch Ness Leaving Cake

One of my colleagues is leaving for a new post in Scotland. I made her a chocolate cake with a loch ness monster on top as a nod to her new home.

It was really simple, I should have used fondant icing to make the monster, as he wouldn't have cracked if I had. However, I used icing sugar with water and a little vegetable oil to make a moulding paste. I coloured it with a dark green gel food colouring. You can use a liquid colour, but you won't get the vivid colour without sacrificing the correct consistency. If you want to make one, I will give you one tip- to keep his nicely rounded shape set him up to dry out a bit draped over some curved objects- the barrell from a (clean!) garlic crusher, a piping tip...whatever works!

I have decided that cheaping out and not buying fondant worked in my favour, the cracking is my interpretation of scales!