MUSTIKKAPIIRAKKA - FINNISH BLUEBERRY BREAD

I am berryholic.

Grrrr

Ingredients:

Bread:

125ml milk

10g fresh yeast

30g sugar

1 egg

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp cinnamon

250g plain flour

35g butter in smaller cubes

Berry mix:

300g blueberries

50g quark/ricotta

2 tbsp brown sugar

1/2 lemon juice

First make the sweet bread.

Combine yeast with milk and sugar. Beat the egg and put 1/2 in a fridge. Add rest of the egg, salt, cinnamon and flour to the milk and pulse on low speed for 3-5 minutes.

On the low speed add butter cubes one after other and pulse another 5 minutes.

Cover the dough and let rise 1 hour in a warm place.

Knead 2-3 minutes and let rise another hour.

Roll the dough in to a round base for the pie and carefully place the dough into pie plate. Spread quark over the middle of the pie. Put blueberries over the quark and add lemon juice and sugar. Brush the dough edges with rest of the beaten egg.

Bake first 15 minutes at 200C, turn the heat down to 180C and cook further 15 minutes.

NORDIC BAKERY RHUBARB MERINGUE PIE

Rheum Rhabarbarum.

Funny word.

But the pie is addictive.

Ingredients:

100g butter

65g caster sugar

2 eggs, yolks and whites separated

90g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

50ml milk

Filling:

2-3 sticks rhubarb, chopped

1 tsp cinnamon

65g + 2 tsp caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla sugar

50g flaked almonds

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Cream the butter and sugar until pale. Add the egg yolks one by one.

Mix the flour and baking powder and add half from it to the butter mixture.

Add half of the milk and mix well.

Add rest of the flour and mix well.

Finally add the other half of the milk and mix well.

Transfer the dough to the tart tin and press it until base and sides are evenly covered.

For the filling mix the rhubarb, cinnamon and 2 tsp sugar together. Spread it roughly over the pie dough. Whisk the egg whites until they hold soft peaks, then gradually add the remaining sugar, whisking until firm. Fold in the vanilla sugar. Spoon on the top of the pie and scatter the almonds over the top.

Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes.

This recipe is from the "Nordic Bakery Cookbook".