Review: “Fika” (cookbook), Brones & Kindvall

Pros: Sooo delicious!
Cons: …
Rating: 5 out of 5

I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review.

Fika: The Art of The Swedish Coffee Break is an absolutely delicious cookbook! It explains that in Sweden having coffee is more than just grabbing a cup of java to go–it involves a bit of relaxation, sociability, and delightful foods.

Each recipe we tried from this book came out perfectly. They were all delightful and very, very difficult to stop eating! I suspect the social aspect of fika is there to keep people from eating too many cookies themselves.

Oat crisp chocolate sandwich cookies

The oat sandwich cookies went over wonderfully when we brought them to a gathering of friends, and that’s despite the fact that we made them in advance and froze them. They were just as good after thawing as the ones we tried fresh.

Many of these recipes are short and easy, and the instructions are quite clear:

The ideal of homemade is at the heart of this book. In fact, it is the essence of every single recipe. While we have modernized many of the recipes so that they’re easy for even the beginner baker, the book isn’t about speeding up the baking process and taking shortcuts.

Coconut peaks

One afternoon I got it in my head at the last minute to make coconut peaks; the only ingredient in it that one might not already have in the house is the unsweetened coconut. They were easy to throw together in minutes, and so delicious we didn’t end up saving any for friends (oops). The ones in the picture are a little pale; while I think I probably should have baked them for a couple of extra minutes, they were still to-die-for.

Blackberry almond cake

Despite how good those two cookie recipes were, the blackberry almond cake is my favorite of the things we made. It’s a bit like clafoutis, just less eggy. It includes almond extract and fresh blackberries, and the combination is fantastic. Once again, the cake is disappearing way too quickly.

Pretty much the only people I wouldn’t recommend this cookbook to would be those trying to watch their weight and/or sugar intake, unless they have awfully good willpower! Recipes include caramel cake(!), chocolate buttercream almond rounds, cinnamon and cardamom buns, fig squares, anise and hazelnut biscotti, ginger meringues, rhubarb cordial, sticky chocolate cake, and lots more. I’ll have to limit myself to making these right before we visit friends. It’s just extra incentive to share!