Danish Rhubarb Custard Recipe from Petersgaard Manor

This recipe I had to tweak a little to get the right temperatures for cooking. The original recipe called to bake it for 30 min at 395F, but I found that baking it as I state below works better. I made this for the first time the other night and my whole family loved it. Even my sweet all American hubby thought it was yummy:-) I will be making this more! 

On the very south of Denmark, on the Island of Sjaelland, amidst yellow fields, green forests and pastures lies Petersgaard Manor.  Built in the early 1700, as part of Frederick IV's national riding districts. Now the manor is run by the Iuel family. Here is a delicious dessert recipe that they make at the Manor. It is actually called a Rhubarb Cake, but is more like a custard in consistency with a "creme broulee" type of crust. YUM!!

Rhubarb Custard 

2 1/2 lbs fresh Rhubarb

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 vanilla bean pod

1 quart whipping cream

6 eggs + 2 egg yolks

2 tsp vanilla sugar or seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean pod

1 Tbs Cornstarch

1/2 cup granulated sugar

The strained rhubarb juice

1. Rinse Rhubarb stalks and cut into 1/2 inch cubes.  Place in greased baking dish with the 1 cup sugar and open sliced down the middle 1/2 Vanilla bean. Cover with aluminum foil and let bake in 395F preheated oven for 1hr or until the Rhubarb becomes cooked all the way thru.
2. Remove the compote to a strainer over a pan and let all rhubarb juices drip for about 1 hr. Set aside.
3. In large bowl, whip the cream until it become fluffy. Than place whipped cream, 8 egg yolks, vanilla, cornstarch and sugar in a large thick based pot over low heat. With a whisk blend it all together, and do NOT LET IT COOK. It needs to become thick and airy. Remove from heat and let it cool. 
4. Once it is cool, add the 6 beaten (till stiff) egg whites to the cream mixture. 
5. In a 9x11 greased dish, place the rhubarb compote to cover the whole bottom. Than the whip cream mixture on top, making sure not to fill all the way to the top (as it can tend to poor over during cooking).
6. Place it on a covered baking sheet on middle rack in a preheated 395F oven for  about 15 min. This will give it a "creme brulee" type of crust. (Make sure not to burn). Than once it gets the darkness of crust that you prefer turn oven down to 350F for 30-45 min, until custard is stiff around edges and still a little jiggly in the middle. 
7. Remove from oven and let sit until cool. (It will stiffen the colder it gets).
8. To serve drizzle a tiny bit of the strained rhubarb juice on top. (Optional)

"Velbekommen!"

Hazelnut cake Recipe from Holsteinborg Castle Denmark

I have an old danish recipe book that my mother gave me many years ago. It features classic Danish recipes that have been passed down from generation to generation. But guess from where? DANISH CASTLES AND MANORS! Cool huh! So, I will be making these and blogging the english translation to them. Reason being that 1~they are in Danish AND 2~they run on the metric system e.g. measurements are in grams and liters. So, my first featured recipe comes from the Castle of Holsteinborg located on the island of Sjaelland.

Here is a little background about the Castle. 

The famous Childrens fairy tale author H.C. Andersen (Little Mermaid, Ugly Duckling, Thumbelina and many more ) even lived there for a time....

HOLSTEINBORG CASTLE
Holsteinborg Castle was built by the Trolle family between 1598 and 1651 but has been owned by the Holstein family for 12 generations, since 1707. The impressive main building consists of four two storey interconnected wings surrounded by a moat. The castle is surrounded by an extensive, undulationg park, which falls gently away to the south towards Holsteinborg Cove. Because of its outstanding beautiful setting, the castle is one of the best known in Denmark. From the main building you can enjoy the view of the Småland Sea and the great Belt, including the idyllic small islands, Glænø and Ormø.

HOLSTEINBORG CASTLE AND H. C. ANDERSEN
Hans Christian Andersen visited Holsteinborg Castle for the first time in may 1856 following innumerable invitations from Count Ludvig Holstein and Countess Joachimine (Mimi) Holstein. Until his death (1875), he returned to the castle almost every year, 35 times in all. Here he truly felt at home. On a photograph taken on the veranda in 1870 he wrote:" At Holsteinborg my sun-picture was created. For here fairytales in my heart was laid."

HAZELNUT CAKE

1 cup Hazelnuts

1 cup dark chocolate ( I used morsels)

4 large egg whites

8 TBS granulated Sugar

Whip cream for garnish

Coarsely chop nuts and chocolate. Beat egg whites and sugar together in large mixing bowl. Add nuts and chocolate with spatula (set aside a little for garnish). Bake cake in a greased spring form pan for 1 hr at 255 F. When it has cooled, remove from pan and place on a round serving plate. Garnish with fresh whipped cream and sprinkled with the leftover nuts and chocolate.