I’m so excited that I am going to be back in Sweden soon! I just love everything Swedish… their forests and the rugged beauty of the landscape, their shorter working days to keep the work life balance in better check, the fact that fathers have mandatory paternity leave so they must stay at home and help look after their very young children… it’s the home Pippi Longstocking and Marimekko! I love the fact that they light candles at every opportunity and use their best crystal wine glasses all the time. It is the land of Fika and of wild-picked berries that stain your fingers and lips purple. It is all kinds of wonderful.

When I first heard about this amazing concept called Fika I thought it was the most excellent idea I had ever heard. Fika is the daily tradition of sharing coffee and something to eat with a friend, or the ‘Art of the Swedish coffee break’ as I have heard it called, and many Swedes do Fika every day. It is often a part of the workday and is a time to take a break with a cuppa and a treat, whether you are on your own or with friends. How wonderful to think that taking a planned pause in every busy day is a necessity; what a truly excellent Swedish tradition.

Fika can be a daily time just to reconnect with yourself, or to connect with the people around you and share your thoughts while enjoying a little treat – something I can imagine would be just the thing to get you through those long winter months.

There are many delicious treats that regularly feature on a Fika spread : cakes and cookies and the famous cinnamon or cream bun, as well as delicious cakes made with lots of spices, wild berries as well as swedish apple cake. Apparently there are as many recipes for swedish apple cake as there are people who make it. Everyone’s aunt or grandmother has their own favourite version of the recipe, so I guess as long as it has apples and spices in it (and if like me you are feeling a bit fanciful) you could call it a swedish apple cake.

I freestyled this recipe just because I am so excited that one day soon I will be in the land of Fika again. I feel inspired already. I imagine that if you had ‘windfall’ apples (what a romantic notion) then this would be a great use for them. Alas, my apples were just ones that had sit in the fruit basket a little too long, and were sadly no longer crisp and crunchy like any good apple should be. But they cooked up beautifully on my swedish apple cake, baked in a tray to easily cut up into little squares, along with cardamon and cinnamon.

Swedish Apple Cake : Äppelkaka

Traditionally a swedish apple cake would be made with butter, flour and sugar.  And when I am in the land of Fika I will most absolutely indulge in one of their delicious treats and feel very happy about it! But when I am at home, I like to make things without gluten or sugar, so this recipe is different from any kind of original. I also made it in a single bowl, which makes it low on effort, but with the lovely scalloped apple sliced on top it sure doesn’t look that way. In Sweden, they serve apple cake with a vanilla sauce, almost like a thin custard; I served mine with a dollop of vanilla flecked yoghurt, but I also think some lightly sweetened creme fraiche would be equally delicious.

120g (1 cup) almond meal
160g (1 cup) buckwheat flour
1 tablespoon potato starch
1/3 cup stevia blend (or you can substitute with coconut sugar, or your preferred sugar)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla powder
2 teaspoons ground cardamon
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
2 eggs
175ml (3/4 cup) olive oil
125ml (1/2 cup) milk of your choice
3 apples, peeled and thinly sliced
a drizzle of olive oil for the top

Preheat oven to 180° C / 350° F / Gas Mark 4. Line a brownie tray (mine is 22cm x 32cm) with baking paper and set aside.

In a medium sized bowl whisk together all the dry ingredients. Add the oil, milk and eggs and stir in with a wooden spoon until the mixture is smooth and well mixed.

Pour the batter into the prepared tray and smooth with the back of the spoon. Arrange the apple slices on top, overlapping slightly. Drizzle the top of the apples with a little oil, and bake in the oven for 20 – 25 minutes, or until the apples have started to turn golden and a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Allow to cool for a few minutes before slicing into squares. This cake is great for taking on a picnic (in the forest, if you’re lucky) or sharing with friends, and also makes a lovely lunchbox treat for the week.