It's time to put a Christmas spin on the classic Swedish Biskvi, and in this version it is all about lingonberries and gingerbread. We are making a lingonberry caramel to go in the center of our Biskvi and a gingerbread caramel buttercream to go on top, and it is darn good. Packed full of Swedish Christmas flavors that will not disappoint, and I really hope you will make this one a part of your Christmas feast.
Lingonberry Caramel Center
225 g frozen or fresh lingonberries
50 g glucose
200 g sugar
juice of 1/2 lemon
1. If you are using frozen lingonberries start by letting them thaw.
2. Mix the lingonberries until smooth and then put them through a sieve to get away any bits that might be left.
3. Put all the ingredients in a pot and put over medium heat.
4. Cook to 118 ° C while stirring to keep from catching at the bottom. When making caramel using fruit puré you increase the risk of it burning so keep an eye on it.
5. Now, you have two options. Either you keep it in a bowl to cool, place it in a piping bag and put it in the fridge for a while before assembly so you will be able to pipe nice blobs onto the bottom that will hold long enough to be covered with buttercream. OR, if you have dome shaped silicon moulds you can fill them up and freeze them so you can place nice domes on the bottoms. The mold I use is 4 cm wide and I fill them about half way, and if you choose this option you want to fill 16 - 20 of them.
Gingerbread Caramel
100 g cream
25 g glucose
175 g sugar
1 tbsp ginger bread spice
1 pinch of salt
1. Put all the ingredients and give them a good stir.
2. Put over medium heat and cook to 110° C.
3. Pour into a heat proof bowl and let cool completely.
Biskvi Cookies
200 g almond paste
100 g caster sugar (1 dl)
45 g egg white (1,5)
1. Start by roughly grating the almond paste into a bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer.
2. Add the sugar and a bit of the egg white and start working it into a paste.
3. Add the rest of the egg white bit by bit, stopping when you have a nice, smooth, pipeable mix.
4. Pipe nice, round little circles about 6 cm wide. You should be able to pipe between 16-20 of them.
5. Bake at 180° C for 14-16 minuts until they are nice and golden brown.
Gingerbread Buttercream
90 g egg white (3)
180 g caster sugar (2 dl)
400 g salted butter, soft
the Gingerbread Caramel, at room temp
1. Put the egg whites and sugar in a bowl over a simmering bain marie. Stir constantly to make sure the egg doesn't cook at the bottom or on the sides and keep on the heat until all the sugar has melted (rub some mix between your fingers, feel for sugar grains).
2. Take off the heat and whisk until the mix is thick, glossy and cool.
3. Start adding the soft butter cube by cube an a medium speed, whip until the butter cream is smooth and fluffy.
4. Add the Gingerbread Caramel and give it a good whip, scraping down the sides at least once.
5. Now, this is a lot of caramel we are adding and it might make your buttercream too loose. If so, pop it in the fridge for about 15 minutes and then whip it again. Repeat until it becomes thick and fluffy and looks like it will be able to hold its shape.
6. Pop into a piping bag with a large round nozzle.
Assembly
500 g melted chocolate (preferably tempered)
Lingonberry powder
1. Pipe or place the caramel in the center or the biskvi.
2. Pipe a nice blob of butter cream all the way to the edge. Place in the fridge for 15-30 minuts to firm up.
3. Melt the chocolate (and temper it if you are feeling adventurous). Pour the chocolate into a container that will make dipping easy and also gives you a thick enough layer of chocolate to be able to dipp it without touching the bottom.
4. Holding the bottom of the biskvi dip it into the chocolate all the way down to the base. Shake loose excess chocolate, drag off any top that may have formed.
5. Shake the chocolate in place and sprinkle some lingonberry powder on top. Place in the fridge to set.
6. Enjoy!
If you don't feel like eating all of these guys at once they freeze brilliantly, so there really is no reason not to make them. So I hope you give these a go, until next time!
