Swedish Cinnamon Buns

Hello everyone. I’m back with my kitchen diaries and today, I’m going to share to you a famous Northern European delicacy, truly a Scandinavian confectionery. Although it’s been baked all over the world but I have never enjoyed it as good as the Swedish Kanelbullar. I got this recipe from my Swedish family and apparently, it’s a very old receipt. Hope you enjoy!

Swedish Cinnamon Buns

Ingredients:
 50 g yeast
100 g butter
2 dl milk + 2 dl water
1½ sugar
1 egg
1 tsp ground cardamom
½ tsp baking powder
16- 17 dl flour

Cinnamon Buns Filling:
100 g butter
1 dl sugar
2 tbsp cinnamon

For glazing:
1 beaten egg
pearl sugar (optional)

Method:
1) Crumble yeast in a bowl and mix with melted butter, add milk and water. Add sugar, egg, cardamom, baking powder and flour.
2) Knead the dough for approximately 10-15 minutes. Let the dough rise while covered at room temperature for a minimum of 30 minutes.
3) Roll out the dough about 3mm thick and 30 cm wide. Spread butter on top. Mix sugar and cinnamon, spread it on top of the dough.
4) Roll the dough and cut into slices and place upward in muffin liners. Place the cinnamon buns in an oven safe/ baking tray. Cover with cloth and let rise for about 60 minutes or until the buns have doubled in size.
5) Brush the top with beaten egg mixture and sprinkle sugar pearls.
6) Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes at 225 degrees Celsius. Let it cool before serving.

Enjoy! :)

#CinnamonBuns #CinnamonRolls #SwedishBuns #KanelBullar #Scandinavia

Vasa Museum

The Vasa Museum is a maritime museum in Stockholm, Sweden. With over 1 million visitors a year, it is Scandinavia's most visited museum. The only display is the 17th century war ship that sank on her maiden voyage in 1628. In 1956, the ship was discovered by archaeologist Anders Franzen and it was salvaged in 1961.

Built by King Gustav II Adolf, Vasa was designed by an experienced shipbuilder named Henrik Hybertsson. The reason for its construction is to fight against Poland. When King Gustav Adolf acceded the throne in 1611, he inherited 3 wars: with Russia, Denmark and Poland.


The Vasa Museum
Address: Galärvarvsvägen 14, 115 21 Stockholm, Sweden
Coordinates: 59° 19′ 40.58″ N, 18° 5′ 29″ E
Addmission: 130 SEK

Trip to Norrland

Hello Everyone! Just came back from my unusual holiday. I call it unusual because it's not really my cup of tea to travel to the north on wintertime. Believe me, I love snow and I just love how it looks when it turns everything around into white, giving it a picturesque backdrop but don't like the cold weather! When I was young, coming from a tropical country, I used to wish we have four seasons so I could play with snow or build a snowman or go skiing but when I actually experienced my first winter, I was happy I was born in Paradise. ;)

During this holiday, We drove from the Skåne, Sweden to Umeå, Sweden and yes it was a long drive! However, we made a stop in Dalarna for two nights to see the famous giant Dalahäst (Dala Horse) and visit the old cozy town of Tällberg.

Dalahäst 

one of Tällberg's timber hotels.

Tällberg- one of the most known tourist and visitor resorts in Sweden.

Beautiful view over lake Siljan in Tällberg.

It took about 6 hours drive from Skåne to Dalarna and another 6 hours from Dalarna to Umeå. The reason why I wanted to go to the north of Sweden (Norrland) is to be able to see the Northern Lights and I was willing to go far north to the last city of Sweden, Kiruna. Since we only have two weeks holiday and we also booked a winter cruise to Finland, we didn't really have time to drive another 7 hours from Umeå to Kiruna and back.

So bad weather and snowing heavily going to Umeå.

Driving at 40km/hr since we didn't have spikes on our car.

On our first night in Norrland, we booked a hotel in a small town outside Umeå and drove to the forest hoping to see the Aurora Borealis, regardless of a weak Aurora forecast with only 2 kp. We waited for hours but the sky was not clear enough so we gave up. The next day, we drove to Umeå to see a friend and decided to stay in the city even though the Aurora forecast that night was very active. We stayed at Stora Hotellet and it is probably one of the most fabulous hotels I have stayed. The staff were very helpful with superb service. Nightfall, we drove outside the city to go to a darker area. The sky was clear, the stars were out and on our way to the forest, we saw a greenish glow on the horizon. It was so beautiful and my instincts were telling me to take photos but I was too lazy to take the camera out and I was also assuming to see more so I didn't. Yes, it was the Northern Lights. We drove and drove until we reached a really dark forest, we stopped and waited for a while. Suddenly, we saw a reindeer crossing the quiet forest road. It didn't care and it was busy eating. My husband was very happy since it was his first time to see reindeer in the wild. Apparently, there were more reindeer on the other side of the road. We waited and waited until we became so hungry so we drove back to the city to eat then a few hours later, the weather changed from clear to very foggy so I never got the chance to see the Aurora Borealis again. :(

Downtown of Umeå.

Frozen river in Umeå, Sweden.

Very artistic rooms of Stora Hotellet from 250USD per night.

Stora Hotellet

Stora Hotellet

We found a reindeer!

And more reindeer! Spot them.

The Northern Lights we saw was more like this. I regret I didn't take photo! But still happy to see the Northern Lights low on the horizon.

Photo credit: Jdombstravels

Malmö Opera and Music Theatre

I have always been a fan of performing arts. Back in high school, I would always audition for school plays and musicals. And what I really liked with my old school is they always have this show or presentation for the student's parents during the school's foundation day/anniversary.

Some weeks ago, we went to Malmö Opera and Music Theater to watch Dr. Zhivago. Even though the show was in Swedish, I must say it was spectacular! I was really impressed with the effects, the actions and the emotions of the performers.

Malmö Opera and Music Theater is one of Scandinavia's largest auditorium with 1508 seats. It was built in 1933 and was designed by architect Sigurd Lewerentz amd his colleagues, Erik Lallerstedt and David Helldén. Malmö Opera and Music Theater is considered a masterpiece of functionalist architecture.

For opera and musical performances, check Malmö Opera and Music Theatre.

 Malmö Opera and Music Theatre
Address: Östra Rönneholmsvägen 20, 211 47 Malmö, Sweden

#ootn
Dress: Michael Kors
Scarf: Linda Lykke of Denmark
Ankle Boots: Nine West
Bag: Mulberry
Accessories: Trollbeads (Troldekugler)

5 Most Beautiful Castles in Europe

Coming from a country where we have no grand castles and royalties, it was a great opportunity for me to see the beautiful castles in Europe. Whenever I travel to somewhere in Europe, I always check if there's a castle nearby to visit.

Below are the 5 most beautiful castles I've been.



5) Trollenäs Castle in Eslöv, Sweden.

Trollenäs Castle is known since the 14th century and has been owned by only two families, Thott and Trolle. It was originally called as Näs castle and was then changed to Trollenäs castle in the 18th century. It was renovated by architect Ferdinand Meldahl in the 19th century to resemble a French renaissance castle.

This beautiful castle has a big garden and a chapel.

4) Hohenwerfen Castle in Werfen, Austria.

Built as a fortress during the 11th century by Archbishop Gebhard of Salzburg to protect the Salzburg Archbishopric against the forces of King Henry IV. 

Hohenwerfen was used as a castle 'Schloss Adler' in the 1968 film ''Where Eagles Dare'' and part of the castle were used in the mini-series ''The 10th Kingdom'' and the movie ''Just Married''.

3) Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, Germany.

A 19th century Romanesque Revival Palace built by Ludwig II of Bavaria dubbed also as ''the Fairytale King''. 

Neuschwanstein Castle also inspired Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle. 

2) El Castell de Guadalest in Marina Baixa, Spain.

Eventhough the castle is now in ruins, El Castell de Guadalest is one of the most beautiful attractions I have ever seen.

1) Lichtenstein Castle in Lichtenstein, Germany.

Built in 1802 by King Fredirick I of Württemberg , the castle was used a hunting lodge located on a cliff in the Swabian Alb, Baden-Württemberg (Germany).

The castle now, which has large collections of historic weapons and armors, is owned by the Dukes of Urach.

Outdoor Hot Tub

Going out for an outdoor spa during winter time will surely relax your mind and body.

After a long and tiring day of showing my parents Skåne, where my husband is from. My amazing husband surprised me and my parents with a trip to an outdoor spa hot tub when we were on a holiday in Sweden last month.

It was a big jacuzzi with cozy hydro massage and luxurious led lights, the temperature outside was 3°C but the water was very warm and relaxing. The moment I knew about the outdoor spa, I was thrilled! It was my first ever hot tub experience and believe me, we had a blast.

Relaxing Spa Holidays in Skåne.

Glimmingehus, A Medieval Scandinavian Castle

When Skåne was still a part of Denmark, a ferocious Danish knight named Jens Holgersen Ulfstand persecuted the farmers of Skåne in service of King John I of Denmark. He was then appointed to erect a castle in the area.

Built in 1499, the castle was established as the residence of knight Ulfstand and his family. It was designed by Adam Van Duren and the construction of Glimmingehus was completed in 1506. Dug artifacts like Venetian crystal, painted Rhineland glass and Spanish ceramics proved that Glimminghus was once decorated with the finest embellishment.

For a few generations, it was believed to serve as a residential castle before it was converted into an agricultural storage in the 18th century. In 1924, it was donated to the Swedish State.

Today, Glimmingehus is a museum showcasing the medieval life. It is also one of the best preserved medieval castles in Scandinavia. 


Glimmingehus
Address: 276 56 Hammenhög, Sweden
Coordinates: 55° 30′ 4″ N, 14° 13′ 52″ E
Admission:  90 SEK

Moose Park in Skåne

A trip to Sweden would not be complete without actually seeing a live Swedish moose. Trust me, I have been to Sweden many times and been a lot in the forest searching for this incredible animal but I was never lucky to even spot one. They are very difficult to detect in the forest even though they're big animals. So this summer, my husband brought me to a moose park in Skåne. Although it might not be the same as spotting them in the wild but the good thing about Ingelbo Moosepark, you can feed them with apples and bananas.

Ingelbo Moosepark
Address: Hissmossa 3218, 28292 Västra Torup, Sweden
Admission: 65Kr Adult; 30Kr Children; 150Kr Family

Autumn in Skåne

Coming from a country with seasons- wet and dry, Autumn is something divergent to me. Experiencing it for the first time in Skåne (Sweden), I was in awe of the beauty of the trees. The colors were amazing and seeing the leaves fall one by one was such an incredible moment. Now, I can finally say, Autumn surely is a beautiful season. What's your favorite season of the year?

Lasse ''Lövets'' Gårdscafe

If you are travelling to the south of Sweden, Skåne, you shouldn't miss one of the yummiest bakery in Tyringe. Open only in the Spring/Summer from 15th May to 30th September, Lasse ''Lövets'' Gårdscafe offers the freshest, sinfully delicious bread and pastries. You can also order cakes and cookies for any occassion. :)

Lasse ''Lövets'' Gårdscafe
2724 Myrarp, 28291 Tyringe
Sverige
045165088

Yummy goodies... :)

My Wedding Cake... :)

Visit their website Lasse ''Lövets'' Gårdscafe

Viking Graveyard

When in Scandinavia, a visit to the Viking Graveyard is not only historical but also a very unique experience. Graveyard stones piled, formed like a ship and dates back thousands of years. It was so great to see how the people from Scandinavia preserved and respected their forefathers.

Viking Graveyard

Skåne, Sweden