CARDAMOM DREAM COOKIES
50 gr butter
1.5 dl sugar
1 tsp vanilla sugar
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp ground cinnamon
0.5 dl canola oil
2 dl wheat flour
0.5 tsp ammonium carbonate (hjorthornssalt)

1. Preheat oven to 150 degrees celsius.
2. Cream together butter, sugar, cinnamon and cardamom until smooth. Gradually add oil whilst stirring.
3. Mix flour and ammonium carbonate, stir into batter.
4. Make little dough balls and place on greased pan.
5. Bake for 15 minutes. Let cool completely.

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH

Ingredienser grundrecept:
120 gr butter, softened
1 dl brown sugar
1 egg
1.5 dl wheat flour
0.5 dl rolled oats
0.5 tsp baking powder
0.25 tsp salt
100 g chocolate chips
peel and juice from 1 lime

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius.
2.Cream together butter and brown sugar until smooth, then beat in the egg.
3. Stir in flour, oats, baking soda and salt.
4. Mix in chocolate chips and lime peel.
5. Make a roll out of the dough and put in the freezer for 30 minutes.
6. Cut into pieces (2 cm) and put in little dishes.
7. Bake in oven for about 10-15 minutes.

RASPBERRY LEMON CURD ICECREAM
3 dl whipping cream
3 eggs
3 tbsp confectioner's sugar
0.5 dl raspberry jam
250 gr fresh or frozen raspberries

1. Whip cream.
2. Beat in eggs and mix in jam and sugar and whip for another minute.
3. Stir in raspberries.
4. Pour ice cream batter into plastic jar with a lid. Put in freezer for at least 4 hours.
5. Stir the ice cream a few times during these hours.
6. Put in the little dishes on top of the cookie dough when done.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
60 g butter, softened
5 dl confectioner's sugar
1 tsp vanilla sugar
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon
100 g cream cheese

1. Cream together butter, sugar and lemon juice until smooth.
2. Stir in cream cheese.
3. Spread on the cuppy cake icecream and preferably put a cocktail cherry on top.
4. Serve!

CARROT BREAD
5 dl milk
50 gr fresh yeast
0.5 dl canola oil
2-3 carrots
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp honey
8-10 dl wheat flour
1 dl rolled oats
0.5 dl sunflower seeds
0.5 dl flax seeds

1. Preheat oven to 220 degrees celsius.
2. Crumble yeast into a large bowl.
3. Heat milk to 37 degrees celsius and mix with yeast.
4. Add oil, grated carrots, honey and salt.
5. Gradually mix in all of the flour and knead well until not real sticky - just pulling away from the counter, but still sticky to touch.
6. Let rise for 30 minutes.
7. Place in a greased big pan, pushing it all the way to the edges.
8. Cut in pieces and prick with a fork.
9. Let rise for another 30 minute and then bake for approximately 15 minutes.
10. Optionally, lightly brush the top with a mixture of salt and water, the last few minutes to get a crispy crust.

Here are some more pictures of what I did right before I left for the great United States of America. I had a going-away-party and that was so much fun. I absolutely recommend that to whoever is going away for a long time somewhere. It is a great opportunity to meet all of your friends for one last time and have people getting together that maybe you don't see that often. I had mine the night before I left and I cried for seriously 12 straight hours. I was beyond exhausted when I went to bed that night but it was all worth it.

Woke up so early this morning but look what I found! The sun. The sad thing about this sunrise is that this is seriously as light as it gets here in Sweden nowadays. Pretty depressing.

So, I got a question if I could summarize my year in America. What I did before I left, what I did there and how it was coming back. So, sure I'll put together a little something. Firstly I thought I'd write a little about what I did the few last weeks before I left. No matter how cliché it might sound it was probably one of the hardest times of my life. But at the same time I have never had that much fun. The summer of 2010 was the best summer ever. The knowledge that I could count the days I had left in Sweden kind of put me in a state of panic. Hence why I did so much stuff all summer. I went to Gotland, a Swedish island, with my family for a whole week and it was the best trip ever. I spent a lot of time with my friends; having picnics, baking, going for midnight strolls, shaving our legs..., eating icecream, watching movies and a lot more. This is just some of what I did. Stay tuned for upcoming parts about my time before leaving!

SAFFRON CAKE
5 eggs
7.5 dl sugar
200 gr melted butter
1 gr saffron
6 dl whole milk
6.5 tsk baking powder
14 dl wheat flour
1 dl pearl sugar for garnish
.
1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius. Grease a big pan, approximately 40x50 cm.
2. Beat sugar and eggs until a light and creamy. Use an extremely large bowl. One that can fit at least 3.5 liters.
3. Melt butter and mix with saffron and milk.
4. Mix flour and baking powder in a separate bowl.
5. Stir everything together until the batter is nice and even.
6. Pour into pan and garnish with pearl sugar.
7. Bake for 23 to 30 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.
8. Let cool before cutting into pieces.

Baking. Seriously the one thing in my world where it is feasible for me to be completely spontaneous. A hold of this and a hip of that becomes my mantra when baking. However, sometimes..or usually, wait..pretty much every time, something goes wrong. Probably because I am too hasty when reading the recipes. But that doesn't matter. Because the certainty of knowing that when you mix sugar, butter and eggs you will always get something scrumptious is quite satisfying actually. This is a time for me to shut down every thought in my mind and to just be. Even if I am probably the most energetic person I know this is a time where I can relax.

By the way, all these pictures are things that I have baked. First, a three-layer-cake with white and dark chocolate mousse, a fluffy raspberry cream and meringue. Second, a rhubarb and apple crumble pie. Third, a delicious bread with sunflower seeds. Fourth, carrot muffins with a cream cheese frosting. Fifth, a homemade lemon curd raspberry icecream with a chocolate chip cookie dough bottom and a dollop of lime cream cheese frosting. Maybe I'll post the recipes later sometime!

So, I've come to the conclusion that it is completely pointless to write in Swedish here. Considering everyone in Sweden knows how to speak English (poor them who don't) I might as well write in English because it is simply more fun if someone outside of our little country would be able to read this too! However, the Swedish name of this blog, Liten Bit Sockerbit, comes from a lullaby my mum used to sing for my sister and I when we were kids. It is about a little sugarpiece, hence the English name of this blog, Little Piece Sugarpiece, who wants to go for a swim in a cup of coffee. Extremely ridiculous but oh so cute. Probably on of my favorite songs of all times.

In Swedish it goes like this:

Jag åkte som utbytesstudent till Maine, USA förra läsåret, 2010-2011, och fick nyss en fråga om vilken organisation jag åkte med och vad jag tyckte om den. Jag åkte med Explorius. Angående om jag var nöjd med organisationen eller inte är en lite klurig fråga. Jag tycker verkligen att jag var väl förberedd innan jag åkte iväg så det ska de få en eloge för. Dessutom fick jag åka till New York i tre dagar som en liten mjukstart till den amerikanska kulturen och det var vekrligen sjukt värt! Däremot så tycker jag inte att de skötte sig speciellt bra under året jag var borta. Det var krångligt och svårt att få tag på de under årets gång så jag fick vända mig till deras amerikanska medarbetarorganisation istället. Den hjälpte inte för fem öre heller så jag fick gå igenom en himla massa extra energi för att kunna lösa problem jag hade och så.

Jag fick uppfattningen att Explorius i stort sett inte hade någon kontroll eller kontakt med den amerikanska organisationen och hade ingen aning om vad de höll på med. Det kanske bara var jag som hade otur, vem vet. Hur som helst så tog jag mig från Sverige och dit och hem igen hel och välbehållen utan några fel alls så det var ju jätteskönt i för sig. Sedan tror jag att det är svårt att hitta en organisation som är helt perfekt och har allt man letar efter, tror mer det handlar om att välja en organisation som man blir väl bemött av och känner att de har ens bästa i sitt intresse. Då ska det nog gå utmärkt!