Sweden's National Pastime Feeds the Soul and Nourishes the Body

What I learned as a little girl who spent her summers in Sweden

My mom

My mother came to the United States from Sweden as a young nurse, planning to spend six months at a hospital in Boston and another six months in Denver before returning to Stockholm. But, she met my father, a resident at her hospital in Colorado, who asked her to stay, promising she could go home often to visit her family. He also promised that he would win the Nobel Prize. The first promise, at least, he kept, which meant my childhood was one of long summers spent in a tiny village in Northern Sweden. Summers when the sun never set, reindeer walked languidly down the main street, and my brothers and I roamed the nearby lake and forest — careful not to disturb the trolls or bears.

Making the thin, crisp bread of my childhood.

Summers in Sweden meant watching my grandmother, whom we called, “Mor Mor,” make thin crisp bread in her basement. She’d roll out the dough on a stout wooden table and then with a long-handled pizza peel stick it in an oven that looked to this little girl very much like the witch’s oven in Hansel and Gretel. The result was a delicious bread that we ate slathered with butter at every meal.

A perfect playground for kids to roam and pick wild blueberries.

Summers also meant berry picking – practically a national sport in a country where the land inhabits the people as much as they inhabit the land. We’d hike into the mountains to forage for the orange cloudberries found only in the most northern climes. We’d scour the forest around Mor Mor’s village to pluck wild blueberries from the low-lying bushes that carpeted the forest floor. Red currents, gooseberries, and strawberries – all of them made their way into our buckets and then into syrups, drinks. And dessert trays, which is fitting considering Sweden’s other national pastime: Fika. 

To fika, a concept lifestyle bloggers have popularized, is the cherished custom of taking a break (away from your desk, please) and enjoying a cup of coffee and a sweet treat. My mom had 65 cousins and enough aunts and uncles to field a couple of sports teams. There were a lot of opportunities to fika. We’d spend afternoons at the home of an elderly aunt or cousin who had decorated the dining room table with a wildflower spray of bachelor buttons, daisies and poppies for the occasion (it was always an occasion when “the Americans” came to town). My mom’s relative would bring out china tea cups, serving strong coffee to the adults and lemonade for the kids. And then out would come a tray of cookies and a homemade cake which was always - always  - topped with whipped cream and berries.

It’s a rare summer that I don’t head to the fields to pick strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, and huckleberries. It’s an act that reminds me that I am rooted to the land; from a place where berries provide emotional as well as physical nourishment. And when I get home? Well, this is the cake I make. Enjoy, or as they say in Swedish, smaklig maltid!

I’d love to hear from you. What favorite summer memories nourish your soul?

Make this cake and invite a friend to fika!

STRAWBERRY LONG-CAKE ROLL

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 eggs, separated

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

Confectioners sugar

1 pint heavy cream

2 pints strawberries (cut in half if they are large)

Heat oven to 375 degrees

Lightly coat a jelly roll pan (cookie sheet with sides) with vegetable spray. Line the bottom with parchment paper.

• Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl and set aside.

• Using an electric mixer set at high speed, beat the egg whites until foamy. Gradually add 1/2 cup of sugar, one tablespoon at a time, and continue beating until stiff peaks form. 

• In another bowl, beat egg yolks and another 1/2 cup of sugar until pale and thick. Beat in 1 teaspoon of the vanilla.

• Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the flour and beaten yolks into the egg whites until just blended.

  Bake for 15 minutes or until the cake springs back when lightly touched.

• Meanwhile, place a clean dish towel on the counter and dust it lightly with confectioners' sugar. When the cake is done, loosen the edges of the cake from the pan with a knife and invert the cake onto the towel. Peel off the parchment paper. Roll the cake lengthwise along with the towel, and set aside to cool. 

• Whip the cream with the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla until soft peaks form.

• Unroll the cake and spread half the whipped cream. Top with half the strawberries.

• Re-roll the cake up (without the towel, of course!) and top the cake with remaining whipped cream and strawberries.