Finnish delicacy
Finnish forests are full of berries, mushrooms and other natural resources that everyone has the right to collect. One of the most expensive berries is cloudberry as it's really hard work to collect them from the swamps and if you find a good spot, that is your most valued secret. It's not as common as it used to was to collect berries yourself. Instead, many people buy a 2-5 kg box of fresh berries like strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries to freeze them and use them during winter. Some traditional foods from berries and fruits are vispipuuro (wheat semolina dessert porridge made with lingonberries), crepes with berries, strawberry curd, and rhubarb pie. Here's a recipe for the perhaps most loved Finnish berry dessert for you to try.
BLUEBERRY PIE
CRUST • 100 g butter • 1 dl sugar • 1 egg • 2,5 dl flour • 1 tsp baking powder • Add a touch of grated lime peel, vanilla sugar or cardamom to your liking. 1. Foam sugar and soft butter. 2. Add the egg and continue foaming. 3. Mix baking powder and one of the spices with flour. 4. Turn the flour into the egg-sugar-butter foam. 5. Press the dough gently into the pie plate or a loose base pie tin. (If you want, you can bake the bottom for 10 minutes at the bottom third rack of the oven)
FILLING • 300 g blueberries • 200 g sour cream or crème fraiche • 0,75 dl sugar • 1 tsp vanilla sugar • 1 egg
1. Sprinkle the blueberries over the pie crust. 2. Mix sugar, sour cream, and egg in a bowl. Season with vanilla sugar. 3. Pour the sour cream mixture over blueberries. 4. Bake the pie in the bottom third rack of the oven at 200 degrees for about 30 minutes until the edges are golden brown. 5. Let the pie cool before serving