Ebelskiver or Æbelskiver as we call it in Danish

Ebelskiver, or æbelskiver as we say in Danish, is a very popular eating around Christmas. In our family it is tradition to eat ebelskiver in the afternoon on the 4 Sundays before Christmas (advent). Usually my dad bake them in the morning so they are all fresh, mount and crisp at the same time.
However, this year is quite different… My dad is still baking ebelskiver every week in December, but I am not there to eat them any more 😦 As some you know, we moved from Denmark to Atlanta earlier this year to fulfill a dream of owning our own business and create a heritage for the next generation of Demant(s). We are still setting up the business and due to our visa status we cannot go home to spent Christmas with our family, but will have to wait until we are ready to apply for the visa that will make us permanent residence. Hopefully we will be ready very soon!

Well, to get back to the ebelskive part, I have bought my own pan now that I am too far away from my parents house. I bought the electric model from William Sonoma as my dad recommended and I am very satisfied with it. It heats equally in all 9 holes and you can adjust the temperature pretty easily.

The ebelskive is a very old tradition in Denmark. The original ebelskive was a slice of apple turned in a pancake batter and fried on a pan. This version is dated back to the stone age. Later on during the renaissance the ebelskive became round, but still contained a piece of apple in the middle. This didn’t changes until the middle ages where the apple piece was removed and the ebelskive as we know it today was born.

My recipe is only one of thousands recipes for ebelskiver. Honestly I think that each family makes them differently. I, for example, makes them different than my dad as he used baking soda and baking powder, while I do the opposite. Other people use milk instead of buttermilk and the Americanized version calls for yeast… So the only rule that applies when you are making ebelskiver is the somehow round shape 🙂


Ingredients (27-30 ebelskiver)
2 cups buttermilk
9 oz. flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla sugar (or seeds from 1/2 vanilla pod)
Butter for the pan

Mix buttermilk and eggs in a large mixing bowl and the remaining ingredients in another bowl. Shift the dry ingredients into the wet and whisk well to combine.Æbleskiver 1
Turn the ebelskive pan on full heat (medium/high if you use the old fashioned cast iron model) and place a small peace of butter in each hole. Add a 1/4 cup of the ebelskive batter to each hole and let bake until the batter is set in the bottom and the sides are firm and brown.
Use a fork or a stick to turn the ebelskiver. Turn each ebelskive 90 degrees and let sit for 45-60 seconds before turning them all the way around. This allows for the batter to set before turning them all around. This method will leave a small opening and a little hole in the middle of each ebelskive. I use it as a spoon to pick up the sugar and jam.
If you would rather like your ebelskiver to be perfect round, you can add a little bit of extra batter when you turn the ebelskive at 90 degrees.

Æbleskiver 2

Serve warm with powdered sugar and jam on a cold windy Sunday afternoon. Goes very well with a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows 🙂Æbleskiver (10 of 10)

Bon Appétit Friends!

Ingredients (27-30 ebelskiver)
1/2 L buttermilk
250 g flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla sugar (or seeds from 1/2 vanilla pod)
Butter for the pan

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Liquorice Marzipan – my Christmas addiction

Licorice or lakrids as we say in Danish is a favorite of mine when it comes to sweets as well as alternative food spices. I use it regularly when i make my own sweets and as regular candy, my mom sends me a package once in a while, so I can build a stock.
Since I moved to Atlanta in April I haven’t really had any time to play in kitchen, but now that Christmas is around the corner, I have taken a few days out of the calendar to prepare the usual christmas cookies and candy.

I use liquorice products from Johan Bülow, a Danish entrepreneur how with an amazing drive and high quality products, and if you spent $90 or more you get free shipment world wide. However, if you don’t feel like spending that much money for a product you don’t know you can buy some cheaper liquorice powder (can be found in some middle eastern stores or online) and make the liquorice syrup your self (melt some salty liquorice in a little bit of water and wupti, you have made your own syrup).

The marzipan for this recipe is totally similar to a regular marzipan, but with half of the syrup replaced with liquorice in stead of simple syrup. So give it a try, it’s different but so delicious perfect for several Christmas treats 🙂


Ingredients (7 oz.)

3.5 oz. almonds, blanched
1 tbsp. simple syrup (find recipe below)
1 tbsp. salty liquorice syrup from Johan Bülow
1 drop almond extract
2 tsp. raw liquorice powder from Johan Bülow

Simple syrup:
9/10 cup sugar
1/3 cup corn syrup
4/10 cup water

Place all the ingredients for the simple syrup in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Let boil for a few minutes until the sugar is dissolved and the syrup thickens a bit. It is important not to let the syrup reduce to much as it will give you trouble when you are about to make the marzipan. Transfer the hot syrup to a heat- and air tight jar. You will only need 1 tbsp. for this recipe, but you can store the syrup for next time or for other purposes.

Liquorice Marzipan 1Place the blanched almonds in a blender and blend until it turns into flour. For me it takes 45-60 seconds, but my blender is pretty tired these days. I recommend that you take a look at it after 30 seconds. You can always give it more, not less.
Transfer your almond flour to medium mixing bowl and use a finger to make a hole in the middle.
Pour simple syrup, liquorice syrup, almond extract and raw liquorice powder into the hole and use your finders to mix it all together. Keep mixing until it stops being sticky and turns into smooth and uniform mass. Before you know it, you have a perfect and really tasty liquorice marzipan. If you feel that the mixing process takes too long you can transfer the mixture to a blender/food processor and run it high speed for approximately 30 seconds. This solution is only recommended if you have a blender/food processor with a strong motor. Other wise you might end up ruining the machine.

Liquorice Marzipan 2

Wrap the marzipan in cling wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours before using it. This will allow the liquorice taste to be absorbed into the almond flour and create a beautiful sweet and salty flavor.

Liquorice Marzipan 3

Suggested use:
(1) Divide into 18 equally small pieces and roll them into ball. Cover with tempered white chocolate and drizzle with raw licorice powder and lemon zest,
(2) or these alternative liquorice wreaths from Sweet, Sour, Savory.

Liquorice Marzipan (18 of 19)

Bon Appétit friends!

Ingredients (200 g)
100 g almonds, blanched
1 tbsp. simple syrup (find recipe below)
1 tbsp. salty liquorice syrup from Johan Bülow
1 drop almond extract
2 tsp. raw liquorice powder from Johan Bülow

Simple Syrup:
225 g sugar
75 g corn syrup
100 ml water

Chocolate Praline Berry Tart

Time is running and we are leaving Denmark in less than two weeks! It has been a huge decision to leave family and friends and travel to the land of opportunities. Chris and I are quite different when it comes to leaving loved once behind to fulfill our own dreams and hopes for the future, but not once have we disagreed on this decision!

With only 10 days left, we have sold almost all of our kitchen tools so cooking can be quite challenging (and some days quite boring)!! We are used to cooking whatever we want on that particular day, but with a freezer that needs to be emptied and only few tool it takes a lot more kitchen creativity to get interesting and delicious food (I’m not saying that few ingredients and no tools = bad food, I’m just saying that my imagination is somewhere else these weeks, trying to figure where to live, how to buy a car (+ insurance), buying a phone etc.)

Even though the freezer and pantry is almost empty, there is still one ingredient that I have dozens of: CHOCOLATE. I always have lots of chocolate in the house, so that I can create delicious chocolate dreams all day and night if desired 😀 And today has been one of those days where I just wanted to celebrate the existence of world class chocolate, and bake something delicious and pretty for tonights marriage date! Thankfully I haven’t sold my pie dish yet, and I therefore decided to make this fabulous (and pretty) chocolate praline tart with strawberries. If you have trouble finding good strawberries, you can use other berries like raspberries or blueberries. Tonight I’ll serve the tart with a scoop of creamy home made vanilla ice cream, but but you can also serve it with sour cream or just as it is 🙂

 

Ingredients (8 servings)

1 cup flour

2/5 cup icing sugar 1 tbsp. cocoa powder

1 stick butter, cold and cubed

1 large egg yolk

1 tsp. water

Pinch of salt

 

Praline Filling:

4/5 cup double cream

3 1/2 oz. dark chocolate chips (70%)

5 oz. hazelnuts, skinned and finely grounded

 

Topping:

10 oz. strawberries (or other berries)

10 scoops vanilla ice cream (optional)

 

Begin by making the pastry. Shift flour, icing sugar, cocoa powder and salt into a large mixing bowl and add the cold cubed butter. Use your fingers and rub all ingredients together until it looks like breadcrumbs. Then add egg yolk and water and mix well with your fingers until you can form a ball of dough. Cover the dough with plastic foil and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven at 360F and lightly grease a 9-inch pie dish. Place the dough between two pieces of baking paper and roll it out until it can cover the pie dish. Remove the baking paper and place the dough in the dish and trim the edges. Place one of the used pieces of making paper on top of dough and fill it with baking beans (you can also use rice or some other heavy thing, that prevents the dough from raising). Bake for 20 minutes before removing baking beans and baking paper. Bake for 15 more minutes. Place the baked pastry on a wire rack to cool.

Bring cream to a boil and pour it over the chocolate chips. Let rest for 30 seconds before stirring. Add the hazelnut flour when all the chocolate is melted and stir to combine. Let thicken a bit before pouring it into the baked pastry and smooth with a spatula. Leave to cool completely.

Slice the berries (only you use strawberries – all other berries should be added whole, or at least I think so) and place them on top of the cooled chocolate tart.

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Serve immediately as it is or with a scoop of good vanilla ice cream :-

 

Bon Appetit!

 

Ingredients (8 servings)

125 g flour

50 g icing sugar 1 tbsp. cocoa powder

110 g butter, cold and cubed

1 large egg yolk

1 tsp. water

Pinch of salt

 

Praline Filling:

200 ml double cream

100 g dark chocolate chips (70%)

150 g hazelnuts, skinned and finely grounded

 

Topping:

300 g strawberries (or other berries)

10 scoops vanilla ice cream (optional)

White Chocolate, Chili and Liquorice Truffles

Truffles is one of my favorite christmas treats and I make them in several different variations each year.

This version is with home grown dried chilies from my parents garden and the chocolate is of cause Amedei Toscano White which is my favorite chocolate brand and never use anything else. It is bit more expensive than other chocolate brands but I promise that it all worth it!! Having guest over, they alway get an extra big smile on their lips when I bring a small bowl of these delicious and creamy chocolate chip to the table. If you ever get the change to taste it, I will highly recommend that you use the extra few $ and buy this brand instead of your usual choice.

 

Ingredients (40 truffles)

10 oz. white chocolate chips (I prefer Amedei)

4 oz. heavy cream

1 large orange, zest

1-2 tsp. dried chili flakes

2 tbsp. liquorice powder

 

Melt the chocolate in a heat prof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Remove form heat when chocolate is melted.

Add orange zest and cream to a frying pan and bring to a boil. Pour 1/3 of the hot cream into the melted chocolate and stir to combine. Add the remaining cream and chili flakes and stir until evenly combined.

Leave the truffle mixture to cool in the fridge for at least 4-5 hours or preferably over night.

Use a teaspoon to make 30 small pieces (1/2 oz. each) and use your hands to roll it into balls. Fridge again.

Place the liquorice powder in a small bowl and remove the truffles from the fridge just before serving. Toss gently in liquorice powder and serve 🙂

Chili and Liquorice Truffles 1_Fotor_Collage

Chili and Liquorice Truffles 5

Bon Appétit!

 

Ingredients (30 truffles)

280 g white chocolate chips (I prefer Amedei)

113 g heavy cream

1 large orange, zest

1-2 tsp. dried chili flakes

2 tbsp. liquorice powder

Chocolate Orange Cookies

We both love chocolate cookies as they are, but sometimes it is funny to experiment and make new variations of old recipes. As christmas is coming up, I wanted to try a version with orange as it reminds me of my childhood where my mom had oranges with cloves hanging in the windows.
Last year I bought a few tablespoons of orange purée and it was very expensive, so I decided to try and make my own this year. It turned out to be great and will definitely recommend that you make it yourself (it is very easy). Putting my home made orange purée into these cookies has been nothing less than a hit and I am without doubt going to make them for christmas 🙂

 

Ingredients (16 cookies)

1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate (I prefer Amedei Toascano Black 70%)

1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips (— // —)

1 tbsp. butter

1 egg

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla sugar

1/3 cup flour

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. orange purée

 

Melt chocolate and butter together slowly in a heat proof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Be careful not to get any water into the bowl, as it will ruin the chocolate.

In another bowl whisk together egg, sugar, vanilla sugar and orange purée. Whisk until combined and add the melted chocolate (before adding the chocolate, make sure that it is not warmer than room temperature, otherwise it will ruin the batter).

Chocolate Orange Cookies 1_Fotor_Collage

Combine until smooth before shifting in flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk again until combined and then add the chocolate chips (if your chocolate chips are large, it is good idea to chop them roughly, before adding them to the batter).

Chocolate Orange Cookies 2_Fotor_Collage

Put teaspoonfuls on a baking tray, and bake at 350F for 12-13 minutes.

And VERY IMPORTANTLY – don’t forget to lick the bowl, spatula and spoons so that nothing goes to waist 😀

Chocolate Orange Cookies 3_Fotor_Collage

Bon Appétit!

Ingredients (16 cookies)

100 g bittersweet chocolate (I prefer Amedei Toscano Black 70%)

50 g bitterweet chocolate chips (— // —)

1 tbsp. butter

1 egg

85 g granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla sugar

40 g flour

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. orange purée

 

Amazing Whisky and Chocolate Ice Cream

A few weeks ago we finally bought an ice cream maker and googled hundreds of recipes trying to decide which one to make first… While googling, I looked up at our whisky collection and immediately knew that our first ice cream should contain one of our many delicious whiskies. Then I started googling and whisky ice cream and found a recipe that both looked and sounded delicious.

Then the next question popped up…. which one of our many delicious whiskies should be used?? We ended up using a 14 year old Bowmore with a soft smoky taste which compliments the dark Amedei chocolate pieces perfectly.
Knowing just a bit about whisky you might find it odd that we have chosen to use a quite expensive whisky, but as the whisky taste is very intense in this ice cream we find it important to use a good quality whisky 🙂

If you wonder whether you can serve this ice cream to people who do not enjoy whisky due to the strong liquor taste, I can tell you that neither of my parent drink whisky – or any other strong liquors for that matter – and they LOVE this recipe. We have only had the ice cream maker for a few weeks, and they have already ordered a second portion 😀 So there is no excuse not to try it!!

 

Ingredients (6 servings)

2 cups cream

2/5 cup whole milk

2/3 cup condensed milk

4 tbsp. malt whisky

2 vanilla pods, seeds

1 cup dark quality chocolate

 

Whip the cream until it is light and fluffy. Add the remaining ingredients except the chocolate and fold with a spatula until combined.

Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and let it run for approximately 20 minutes. Chop the chocolate and add it after 15 minutes.

Serve immediately or transfer to an airtight container and place it in the freezer until serving 🙂

Whisky Ice Cream 1

Bon Appétit!

Ingredients (6 servings)

5 dl cream

1 dl whole milk

200 g condensed milk

4 tbsp. malt whisky

2 vanilla pods, seeds

120 g dark quality chocolate

Raspberry Yoghurt Ice Cream

Almost everyone we know LOVES ice cream and could eat it every day if possible 🙂 But we also know that most ice creams contain a large amount of fat which we try to avoid in our everyday cooking.

Instead of dropping the everyday ice cream, you can choose a variation which is both tasty and much less fatty: yoghurt ice cream. The yoghurt chosen for this ice cream contains 0.5% fat but many recipes use Greek Yoghurt with 2-10% fat, so the choice of yoghurt is only a matter of taste. I used a low fat variation, as it is the yoghurt I eat for breakfast every day and had some leftovers.

The raspberries are from our own garden and has a fabulous combination of both sweets and sour flavours. I only use the raspberry juice, as I hate getting the small cores between my teeth, but once again it is a matter of taste!

Hope that you will find this ice cream as delicious as we do 🙂

Ingredients (4 servings)

2 cups raspberries

1 1/3 cup yoghurt, natural

4 egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

1/5 cup water

Blend the berries and strain the juice through a strainer. Fold the juice into the yoghurt and set a side while preparing the rest.

Place water and sugar in a sauce pan bring to a boil. Let boil for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Whisk the egg yolks together. Slowly pour the hot sugar mixture into the egg yolks under intense whisking and keep whisking until the mixture is thick and light yellow (like eggnog).

Pour the mixture into the yoghurt and stir until combined. Pour into your ice cream maker and let run for 40-45 minutes. Transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and freeze for at least 1 hour before serving.

Serve for brunch with honey roasted nuts and fresh berries or for dessert after a heavy dinner.

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Bon Appétit!

Ingredients (4 servings)

250 g raspberries

3 dl yougurt, natural

4 egg yolks

120 g sugar

0.5 dl water

Cuban Rum Ice Cream

We have wanted an ice cream maker for years, but Chris has been reluctant to let me as he claimed that he was not a huge fan of ice cream (the reason is that he is cheap 😉 ) Then one day I decided that now was the time to buy one and take the consequence if he god mad (I served the first ice cream and waited for his opinion before telling him that I had bought it, and he loved it)! So I began to search the web to find out which model to choose and on top of the wishlist was a Gelatissimo Exclusive but it is quite expensive and as we are planning some life changing events which quite certainly will be very expensive, I decided to choose an cheaper model.

We have had a Kitchen Aid stand mixer for several year and we use it almost every day – couldn’t live without it! Searching the web for reviews of Kitchen Aids ice cream maker I found mixed opinions but an old colleague of mine have spoken very well about, and I therefore chose to buy it and test it for myself (the price was of cause a huge part of the decision). This Cuban rum ice cream is my third ice cream and I must admit that I am very happy with the result and feel that Kitchen Aids ice cream maker is very good taking the price into consideration.

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Ingredients (6 servings)

2 cups cream

2/5 cup whole milk

2/3 cup condensed milk

2 vanille pods, seeds

4 tbsp. Cuban Rum

 

Dark Quality Chocolate for topping

 

Whip the cream until light and fluffy. Add the remaining ingredients and and whisk to combine. Pour into your ice cream maker and let it run for approximately 20 minutes or until it tells you that the ice cream is finished. Serve immediately if you want a soft ice cream or transfer to an airtight container and freeze. We always freeze the ice cream for 2-4 hours before serving as we like the consistency to more firm than soft ice, but it is a only a matter of taste 🙂

Serve after a good dinner with a glass of rum 🙂

IMG_1570Bon Appétit!

Ingredients (6 servings)

5 dl cream

1 dl whole milk

200 g condensed milk

2 vanilla pods, seeds

4 tbsp. Cuban Rum

Orange Cake with Chocolate chips and Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

This was my first ever orange cake, and I must admit that i am quite proud of myself. It looks good and tastes delicious – what more can one demand?

 

Ingredients (10 servings)

1 stick butter, room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3 large eggs, room temperature

1 1/4 cup flour

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 tbs. baking powder

1/4 tbs. salt

1/2 cup orange juice, fresh-squeezed

2 tbsp. orange zest

1/3 cup dark chocolate chips (I prefer to use Amedei Toscano Black 70%)

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

7 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup confectioners sugar

2 tbsp. orange zest

 

In one bowl whisk together flour, salt and baking powder.

In another bowl whisk together butter and sugar until light and fluffy with an electric mixer, then add one egg at a time and whisk thoroughly between each egg. Now add vanilla extract and whisk again.

Shift in flour mixture i two batches, alternating with orange juice. Whisk until just combined and smooth. Fold in orange zest and chocolate chips (if your chocolate chips are big, you might want to chop then into smaller pieces).

Add half of the batter into a 6 inch greased springform pan and bake at 350 degrees fahrenheit for about 20-23 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let rest on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing the cake from the springform. Do the same with the other half of the batter. Let both cakes cool completely.

When the two cakes are cooled down, whisk together cream cheese and half of the confectioners sugar. Then add one tbsp. sugar at a time until the frosting has the right texture. Whisk till the frosting is smooth and fluffy. Fold in 2/3 of the orange zest.

Add one forth of the frosting on top of one of the cakes, and spread it around and make sure that you get all the way to the cake edge. Take the other cake at put on top of the first one. Cover the whole cake with the rest of the cream cheese frosting and sprinkle the last 1/4 tbsp. orange zest on top.

 

Ingredients (10 servings)

113 g butter, room temperature

112 g granulated sugar

3 large eggs, room temperature

155 flour

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 tbs. baking powder

1/4 tbs. salt

1.25 dl orange juice, fresh-squeezed

2 tbsp. orange zest

50 g dark chocolate chips (I prefer to use Amedei Toscano Black 70%)

 

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

200 g cream cheese, room temperature

2.5 dl confectioners sugar

2 tbsp. orange zest

 

Banana and Blackberry Muffins with Browned Butter Glaze

Bananas is one of those wired fruits which you either love or hate. I out household we hate them, but due to their high level of carbohydrates I alway eat one after my training pass. Sunday evening I realized that I had bought new bananas without eating the old ones first, so I decided to use the old ones for some kind of cake. I never bake anything containing bananas so I did not have any recipes and I therefore had to ask my Facebook friends and search the web, and in the end it ended up the with a combination of several recipes 🙂

If you are more into chocolate than blackberries, you can of cause change that part of the recipe, but if you do that, I would recommend that you chop the chocolate and fold it into the batter instead of placing it in the middle, like the blackberries.

 

Ingredients (12 muffins)

1/3 cup butter, melted

2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. soda

1 pinch of salt

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. honey

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

2 large bananas, ripe

45 blackberries, fresh or frozen

 

Glaze:

1 stick butter

1/4 cup sugar

 

Place bananas in a bowl ans mash well. Set aside while preparing the rest.

Shift flour, baking powder, soda, salt cinnamon and nutmeg into a bowl. Add sugar and mix well. In a second bowl, with a folk, beat together eggs, vanilla extract, honey, butter and milk.

Add the bananas to the egg mixture and stir to combine. Pour the flour mixture into the egg mixture in three steps, folding gently between each.

IMG_1234 IMG_1235

Line standard muffins tins with paper liners. Fill each paper line with 1 tsp. of the banana batter. Then place 4 blackberries in the middle of the batter. Then add another tsp. of the batter. Make sure that the blackberries are fully covered with banana batter.

Bake at 375F for 20 minutes or until at toothpick comes out clean. Let rest in muffin tins for 5 minutes and then 5 minutes in a wire rack.

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While cooling, melt the butter in a saucepan and let brown lightly (be careful not to burn). Transfer to a small bowl – same diameter as the muffins. Dip the top of the cupcakes in the browned butter and sprinkle with sugar.

Serve immediately with a cup of good quality coffee or hot chocolate 🙂

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Bon Appétit!

Ingredienser (12 cupcakes)

75 g smør, smeltet

250 gram hvedemel

1 tsk. bagepulver

1/2 tsk. natron

1 knivspids salt

1/2 tsk. stødt kanel

1/2 tsk. stødt muskatnød

115 gram sukker

1 tsk. vanilje ekstrakt

1 tsk. honning

2 store banner, modne

2 æg

1.25 dl mælk