Lemon meringue pie

I made this pie for Mother's Day, and it turned out very good! I was a bit skeptical while preparing the filling, because it got very thick and was difficult to spread over the pie crust - but in the end it was just the right consistency for the pie not to fall apart after being cut into pieces. So everything worked out great, and my mother certainly liked it. Original recipe here. 

For the crust:

• 2 dl all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla sugar
• 0.5 dl sugar
• 100 g butter or margarine
• 1 egg yolk

Those tiny drops are just condensation that I didn't dare try to get rid of!

For the filling:

• 3 dl water
• 1 dl sugar
• 4 tbsp corn starch
• juice and zest of one lemon
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 tbsp butter

For the meringue:

• 3 egg whites (at room temperature)
• 1 dl sugar

Prep time: about half an hour
Baking time: 20-25 minutes in total

Baked omelet roll

Tired of regular old omelets? Make it into a roll! I actually found it easier to make than a pan-fried omelet, although it took longer to prepare. I made a vegetarian filling with mushrooms and leeks, but minced meat would work well for a more filling alternative. Recipe for the omelet by Valio, and for the filling by Pirkka.

For the omelet batter:

• 5 dl milk
• 5 eggs
• 2 dl all-purpose flour
• 0.5 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt

For the filling:

• 300 g mushrooms
• 1 fresh leek
• 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 200 g cream cheese (I used spring onion flavor)
• salt and pepper

 + some grated cheese

Veggie patties and coleslaw

The original recipe (here) is for veggie burgers, but I left out the bun :) The patties on their own were very filling, and perfect with the coleslaw. The measurements here are enough for 3-4 servings.

For the patties:

• 400 g canned kidney beans
• 400 g canned chickpeas
• 1 dl canned corn
• 1 dl breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• salt, pepper and chili powder

For the coleslaw:

• 400 g cabbage
• 2 carrots (peeled)
• 1 dl mayonnaise
• salt, pepper and cumin

Quark buns (rahkapullat)

These buns are quite popular in Finland, and are also similar to the Russian "vatrushka" buns. You can add raisins and/or orange peel to the filling, but I decided to keep it simple this time. Recipe adapted from here.

For the dough:

• 1 baggie of dry yeast (or 25 g of fresh yeast)
• 2 dl milk
• 0.5 dl sugar
• pinch of salt
• 6-8 dl all-purpose flour
• 50 g butter or margarine (melted)

 For the filling:

• 200 g quark
• 1 egg
• 0.5 dl sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla sugar

Enough for 7-9 fairly large buns

Prep time: about half an hour

Baking time: 15-20 minutes

Chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

I only had tiny muffin cups left, so these ended up being mini cupcakes. That only made them cuter, and more irresistible ("Oh it's so tiny, I can eat one more..."). However, I still need to work on my piping skills to get a prettier swirl of frosting. The recipe for cupcakes adapted from Joy of Baking, and the recipe for frosting is from here.

For the cupcakes:

• 25 g unsweetened cocoa powder
• 120 ml boiling hot water
• 90 g all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla sugar
• pinch of salt
• 55 g butter or margarine
• 100 g sugar
• 1 egg

 For the frosting:

• 30 g butter
• 100 g cream cheese (e.g. Philadelphia)
• 65 g icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla sugar

Enough for 25 mini cupcakes, or 10-12 normal-sized cupcakes.

Prep time: 15-20 minutes

Baking time: 15-20 minutes

Coconut-strawberry cheesecake

This cheesecake tasted very light and creamy, with just a hint of coconut in the filling. I also really liked the coconut flakes in the crust. It could have been decorated with basically anything - I went with strawberries because I happened to have some in the freezer. Also, decorating cakes is really not my strong suit... That makes me a little sad. Recipe adapted from Valio.

For the crust:

• 10 Digestive biscuits (150 g)
• 1 dl coconut flakes
• 75 g unsalted butter or margarine

For the filling:

• 300 g unflavored cream cheese
• 2 dl (200 g) coconut cream
• 1 dl sugar
• 5 gelatin sheets
• juice of one lime (3-4 tbsp)

+ Fresh or frozen strawberries for decoration

Prep time: 30-40 minutes

Chilling time: at least 4 hours, or overnight

Cream cheese brownies (aka cheesecake brownies)

I brought these brownies to work, and they were gone within half an hour. Several people asked for the recipe too, that's how yummy they were. The only downside was that they ended up quite thin - I think I should have used a smaller dish, or made more dough. Maybe they would've looked prettier then too. But when it comes to brownies, the taste is what counts! Original recipe by Joy of Baking.

For the brownie layer:

• 125 g butter or margarine
• 125 g unsweetened chocolate
• 250 g sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla sugar
• 2 eggs
• 65 g all-purpose flour

For the cream cheese layer:

• 200 g unflavored cream cheese (full-fat)
• 60 g sugar 
• 1 tsp vanilla sugar
• 1 egg

Prep time: 20-30 minutes

Baking time: 30-40 minutes