{Gluten-Free} Kladd Kakka for #FoodieExtravaganza

Welcome to the Foodie Extravaganza! 
v. June 2016 = a Midsummer Celebration

Foodie Extravaganza is where bloggers come together and celebrate food holidays. Did you know there is at least one food assigned to each day of the year to celebrate that food?

Laura from Baking in Pyjamas is our host this month. Laura invited us to "Create a dessert of your choice which is Midsummer Eve themed. Think any kind of summer fruit or an interpretation of what Midsummer means to you."

Posting day is always the first Wednesday of the month. If you are a blogger and you're interested in joining in the fun, visit us at our Facebook Foodie Extravaganza page. You can also visit our past party submissions on our Pinterest Foodie Extravaganza board .

The Midsummer Celebration

 We hope you will enjoy the recipes we are sharing this month.

• Blueberry Slab Pie by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Carrot Vanilla Custard by Sneha's Recipe
• Chocolate Fondue with Strawberries by Making Miracles
• Dark Berry Gelato by Baking in Pyjamas
• Egg Free Mint Gelato by Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Kladd Kakka by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Mango Souffle by G'Gina's Kitchenette
• No Bake Lemon Cheesecake by Fearlessly Creative Mammas
• Nordic Walnut Cake with Coffee Icing by Food Lust People Love
• Simple Peach Crisp by Cooking with Traci
• Swedish Cheesecake with Strawberries by Caroline's Cooking

 

My Midsummer Offering
Most of the people I know who actually celebrate Midsummer - marking the summer solstice - are northern Europeans. So, I decided to look at Swedish traditions as my mother-in-law is half Swedish and half Portuguese. We don't get to see her as often as we'd like, but I figured this was a nice way to honor her heritage.

Midsummer celebrations in Sweden were held to herald in summertime and the celebrate the season of fertility. In some parts of the country, people dressed up as ‘green men' by draping themselves in ferns and other greenery. They decorated their houses and farm tools with foliage, and raised leafy maypoles around which they danced.

Midsummer Night, being the summer solstice, is the lightest and longest day of the year. In Sweden and other parts of northern Europe it is considered a magical night and a night for foreseeing people’s futures. It is said that girls devoured salted porridge before bedtime and whoever, in their dreams, brought them water to quench their thirst was their future husband. Also, it was said, water was turned into wine and ferns into flowers for midsummer. 

Most Swedes have probably baked Kladd Kakka, Sticky Chocolate Cake, at least a couple of times in their lives. If not, they have surely eaten it!

Most recipes I found varied in the proportions of ingredients, but most of the ingredients were the same - egg, sugar, cocoa powder, flour, salt and melted butter. And the processes I found were remarkably similar: the ingredients are mixed together and baked just enough. Hence the stickiness.

There were also variations on flavors that were added into the Kladd Kakka. So, I put the question to my social media circles and asked: chocolate + _________________. The most common answer was 'wine.' Yes, I agree. Peanut butter was a close second. And I was intrigued by suggestions of cayenne and sea salt.

In the end, I decided to go with citrus. But I will be trying out versions with cayenne and coffee, too. Thanks, all.

Kladd Kakka

A quick note on slicing - it is really, really sticky. So, be prepared for it to stick to the knife and come out all jagged and crumbly. It's okay...it's tasty, just not pretty.

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1 C organic granulated sugar
• 6 T unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 C coconut flour
• 1/2 C chestnut flour
• 1/2 C butter, melted
• 1/2 t pure orange extract
• dried citrus slices (thanks to Bar Cart Cocktail Co.)

Procedure
Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Whisk eggs and sugar together in a large mixing bowl. Fold in the coconut flour, chestnut flour, cocoa powder, and orange extract. Pour in the butter and stir until smooth with a spatula.

Transfer the mixture into a parchment-lined baking dish. Smooth the top and press dried citrus slices into the cake. Bake in the oven for approximately 16 to 18 minutes. The cake should just be set on top and sticky inside. Let the cake cool before slicing.