Celebrating Midsommar

Midsommar is a celebration of nature and the changing seasons in many European & Scandinavian countries, usually held the weekend after the summer solstice. For many, it's as popular as Christmas as a time to gather with friends and family. There are picnics, dancing around a maypole, singing funny little songs about frogs, bonfires and more. Girls pick 7 different types of wildflowers to put under their pillow to dream of their future husband.

As a family, we usually celebrate by packing a picnic and heading to the mountains in search of cooler temperatures. This year we decided to bring the festivities to the shop as part of our rebrand. It was so fun and I hope to make it an annual tradition. We'd love to grow it even more.

We brought in buckets of fresh flowers and people were able to stop in and make flower crowns- part of any good midsommar gathering. We were very impressed with the gorgeous pieces people were making. There were some rounds of the game Kubb, a Swedish game with wood blocks, some potato sac races, and a craft making tote bags with flowers and hammer. We also served up some yummy potato salad with plenty of fresh dill, strawberry cream cake cupcakes, and elderflower punch. 

1 lb. new red potatoes, washed but not peeled

8 oz. sour cream (or crème fraiche)

4 tbsp mayonaise

1 large bunch of fresh dill

1 leek washed and diced

Salt and Pepper to taste

Wash red potatoes and cut into bite size pieces. Boil them until just soft. Rinse and cool. Dice the leeks then wash well in a colander. Chop fresh dill. Add all ingredients to a bowl and combine. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

3 cups flour

1 1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 cups sparkling water

2/3 cup oil

1 tbsp vinegar

1 tbsp vanilla 

Strawberry jam

1 package Whipped Cream

1 small box Vanilla pudding

Fresh Strawberries, washed and hulled

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Prepare two 8" round cake pans with parchment on the bottom. Mix together dry ingredients with a whisk. Add wet ingredients (careful not to overmix). Divide into the pans. Place in the oven and turn the temperature down to 350 degrees. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool completely on a cooling rack.

Prepare pudding and whipped cream as directed on the packages. Once the cake has cooled, spread strawberry jam on the top of one of the cakes, followed by a layer of vanilla pudding. Place the second cake on top and spread a strawberry jam to the top. Frost the whole cake with thick whipped cream and decorate with fresh strawberries. Keep cooled until served. 

Ingredients:

Elderflower syrup

Sparkling water

Fresh lemons

Okay, this feels too easy for an actual recipe. Each bottle of elderflower syrup will have its own dilution ratio-ours was about 1 part syrup to 6 parts sparkling water. Slice fresh lemons and add ice.