Baked Goods by Kristin H.

At Home with: Kristin H. 
Location: Iceland

I always wanted to put this up and never got around to it... So, sometimes the Cake Tour doesn't just involve visiting bakeries. After all, the idea is to find the tastiest baked goods, not where they can be found, and sometimes people (that is, home baking) can wow me with their baking in the same way the best bakeries/pastry shops/cafes can. :) I can still remember my grandma's crumble pies and yeast cakes made with fruit picked from her backyard garden. Or my godmother's amazing slab cakes or super soft, prune-stuffed rożki (rugullah) which, try as I might, I can't find even a decent imitation (both in bakeries and in terms of recipes) anywhere!! Sometimes you need to try someone else's baking (especially when you're short on bakeries and cash~ though it doesn't serve any purpose here except for nostalgia's sake...)! ^-^;;

Actually, I only got this whole idea after this picture; I asked permission to take it and I must have looked like the biggest lunatic there is, so I'm putting it into good use. :D This summer, while I was volunteering in Iceland, Kristin came to stay with us (that is, our host -- she was his sister -- and the other workers) for a few days and in that time, she cooked our dinners. When one of the other workers told me she was in the process of publishing a cookbook, I was impressed but it wasn't too shocking. She could cook. And as part of every meal, she made dessert. Or just baked during the day.

Once, while I was working, she ran over to the makeshift station in the garage, asking me if I wanted to join her in the house since she had just made cinnamon buns and they were fresh from the oven. I sometimes wonder if people know who they're talking to... O___O Suffice to say, you didn't need to ask me twice. XD Waiting for me on the kitchen table were two heaping bowls of hot, small cinnamon buns with more coming out of the oven and an urn of freshly made coffee. If you don't know it already, I'm in love with Scandinavian cinnamon buns and, simple and unadorned as they were, these were heavenly.

Another time, dinner was concluded with the announcement of whether anyone wanted a slice of hot rhubarb tart (the rhubarb coming from the garden out back) with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top (sadly, I didn't have the courage to take the photo). Whoa, can you guess who jumped at that chance? And who was the only volunteer who eagerly and in a transport of bliss accepted the offer for seconds? .__.; Delicious crumbly tart stuffed with soft chunks of rhubarb and topped with crumble. Mmm... I was actually craving rhubarb (something I don't normally eat) so much after this delicious tart that I *had* to have a rhubarb cake in Tallinn!

It's so ironic how I was hunting for bakeries and the baked goods I ended up enjoying the most were the ones that Kristin made for us. It still makes me a little sad/mad that she disappeared (i.e. went home) one day after dinner without saying anything to anyone; I really wanted to thank her and let her know how much I (and my stomach) appreciated the chance to try her tasty food and amazing baking! Now I can only wish her good luck on her cookbook.

Thanks for the goodies! :)