FIKA - THE SWEDISH WAY

I have been in Sweden and Finland for the last few days and as usual tasting all the good Scandinavian food and looking out for unusual cooking items and publications. Not surprisingly, most of the cookbooks are written in Swedish, but I found one exciting baking book translated into English that I just had to buy.

'Fika - the Swedish Way' is one of the best selling baking books in Sweden and has become a true classic among the natives. Here you will find everything you might fancy in cakes and cookies, from rusks and buns to tarts, Danish pastries, meringues and tortes. The delightful mix of popular pastries from the past and modern recipes, makes this book a much-loved favourite. A go-to companion when it comes to sweet treats.

Admittedly, the cover of this book is not an immediate attraction, but open it up and the pages are awash with beautiful colour photos of delicacies and demonstrations. Each recipe has very clear step-by-step instructions - you can't go wrong. Starting with practical tips, the publications goes through keys to good baking, showing readers how to decorate, or roll a Swiss Roll, for example. There are Swedish delights like, Rice Fingers, Satofta Cookies and Linzer Torte, as well as the more commonly known Ginger Cake, Carrot Cake and Brownies. If you looking to produce something different, then this 200 page book of over 300 recipes will provide a host of choices - Mint-choc Slices, Meringues of all types, tastes and colours. Most recipes make 10 to 15 cakes, buns or tarts and there are numerous pages of  baking tips, a conversion table and a very useful glossary of terms in case the Swedish Way is full of twists and turns.

'Fika - the Swedish Way' is published by Norstedts (2017) (www.norstedts.se) 
ISBN 978-91-1-308061-1.
Price:- 156 krona (£15).