Autumn Greetings
Late summer and early autumn is foraging season the Finnish forests.
I have very fond memories of wandering in the woods around the mökki (summerhouse) with family and friends in search of these sweet treasures. My Finnish mum made delicious pies with them but also used them to make juice and froze some of them for us to enjoy during the winter months. If you are not one to roam around nature, you will be able to buy the puolukoita (lingonberries) at the markets, in the fresh or frozen sections of supermarkets.
In Switzerland, however, fresh or frozen lingonberries are not very common – they are not really sold in supermarkets, and you would have to know a specific spot where you can pick them in the wild. So when I coincidentally stumbled across a very beautiful pond within a moor landscape (it looks so much like Finland) on one of my solo hiking trips, I knew that I had to come back in order to pick berries to make a Lingonberry Crumble Pie for autumnal equinox.
Puolukkapiirakka – Lingonberry Crumble Pie
yields around 24 pieces
For the dough
312 g white flour
170 g sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground kardamom
1/2 tsp salt
5 dl buttermilk
44 g butter, melted
For the topping
300 g lingonberries, fresh or frozen
For the crumble mixture
60 g white flour
60 g sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
60 g butter, cold and in small pieces
Dough & Topping
In a bowl mix the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cardamon and salt.
Add the buttermilk and melted butter, and mix until smooth.
Pour the dough mixture on to a with parchment lined baking sheet.
Sprinkle with the lingonberries.
Crumble mixture
Mix the flour, sugar and baking powder, add the cold butter pieces and rub with cold hands into a crumbly mass. Sprinkle the crumbs on to the pie.
Baking
Bake on the middle rack for about 25-30 minutes at 200 degrees, or until golden.
Hyvää ruokahulua!
Tips:
– instead of Lingonberries you may use any seasonal fruit
