Fika: The Art of The Swedish Coffee Break, with Recipes for Pastries, Breads, and Other Treats [A Baking Book]

Fika: The Art of The Swedish Coffee Break by Anna Brones is a great addition to the cookbook collection. The Scandinavians know how to celebrate and take a break with coffee and homemade fika or baked goods to go with coffee or tea. Book starts out answering the question, "What is fika?" It also shows Swedish words inspired by fika. It gives a list of Swedish ingredients and alternatives, and baking tools. The history of Swedish coffee is an interesting chapter. Swedes top the list of global coffee consumers. The the recipes follow for coffee gatherings —from cinnamon buns to cardamon cake. The most iconic Swedish recipes are given for the traditional fika. Book is well-illustrated and recipes are diagramed where needed. There are a bunch of summer recipes, all sound delicious. Celebrating more than everyday has recipes for Name Day, Fat Tuesday, Midsummer, Birthdays, Jul, or Christmas Season. A recipe or Swedish Rye Bread is also given. Index included. Wonderful book for those who love Scandinavian cooking.

I have purchased this book for myself and a friend and both of us LOVE it! We have tried many of the cookies, tortes, and cakes and all have been delicious! Follow the instructions exactly as written and everything will turn out great. I love the simplicity of ingredients and the fact that I didn't have to fully re-stock my kitchen in order to make any of the recipes. A basic background knowledge of baking and the science involved will also help tremendously, though I wouldn't consider most of the recipes 'advanced' by any means. Although, it does not include 'photographs' of the bakes, the whimsical illustrations were sufficient enough in my opinion to demonstrate techniques used to shape/mix/assemble the ingredients. The history of fika was also fascinating to read about, making this not only a great collections of recipes, but a good read on it's own, as well. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to branch out beyond traditional American bakes and is looking for a new taste and feel to appreciate. :)

Upon spending a number of months in Sweden, I fell in love - with the country, the culture, and FIKA! Fika is about so much more than just the food, it is a cultural thing, a way of life. Before heading there, we were organizing a workshop, and wanted to skip one of the Fika breaks, planning to let students go early. We didn't understand the ruckus made when we made this suggestion. But oh, spend a little time in Sweden, and you will quickly understand - you just don't mess with Fika, and I get it, and completely agree. What's amazing is that in this culture they have their Fika typically twice a day - that's two sweets daily - and yet the entire country seems trim, absolutely svelte. Part of it is due, I'm sure, to genetics, and part to the fact that it is a largely walkable country, however, I suspect too that the ability to look forward to Fika actually helps reduce one's urges to respond to food cravings. I mean, who needs to binge when you know that at 10:30 and 3:30 you're going to have your kaffe and treat? This book explores some of the history and cultural meaning behind fika, while also presenting all of the important recipes, with clear, easy-to-follow directions. Well done!

The book contains lots of recipes for Swedish sweets and breads and is very informative.

This is a surprisingly fun book. I haven't baked anything from it yet but I'm totally enjoying the narrative about the ritual and history of Fika. In addition to this book I've purchased another Danish cookbook or baking book with Fika recipes. Fika is recipes are quite different from others as Fika is a unique ritual with special requirements. For example, no Christmas or other celebratory recipes are included. That isn't the Danish approach. Fika is special unto itself. A suggestion: The best book to accompany this is an odd but fun book entitled My Year of Living Danishly. Together these books are great, teaching me all kinds of cultural aspects and insights offering up some enticing new recipes. I'm so glad I indulged my curiosity. Learning about this cultural world has made me look at my world with more insight and delight.

I read through this book in an afternoon, and, while I haven't tried the recipes yet (I will, trust me), there's a lot to like about this book. First is, I've struggled with weight all my life. While I've got something going now that seems to be working well, there's that difficulty passing up sweets. Sigh. The idea, though, that you're allowed a small sweet a couple times a day... seems to have solved that problem. The result is that after a couple weeks of embracing the idea of fika, I can look at a tub of malted milk balls and think, no, I really don't want that, not right now; I'll have one or two at my coffee break, and not think about them all day like I used to. (Oh, yeah, and I'm making coffee again. Shoveled the dust off my coffee maker, and, wow, I'm enjoying that, too.) Second is, the recipes leave me wanting more. The authors talk about another book, Seven Kinds of Cookies (sorry, I don't speak Swedish, so I can't remember the Swedish title), and I thought, this must be a remarkable book. I poked around, found the English translation (sadly, it doesn't have the Swedish names, but you can't have everything) Swedish Cakes and Cookies, and bought that right here on Amazon. Another book where everything looks quite yummy. Third, there's the knobby Swedish rolling pin. OK, bought one of those, too. And another textured pin from a Lithuanian outfit, again right here on Amazon. Knowing me, I'll probably end up buying the rest of the Lithuanian pins eventually. So... once the weather cools a bit (heat index has been running over 100F this week), I'll turn the oven on and make a stab at some of these gorgeous cookies. All around, a bad influence, but one I'm glad to have.

A friend of ours lent us this book, after she purchased it in Sweden. We made the cardamon buns and had to buy our own copy! The illustrations are beautifully detailed and help guide baking/cooking, the recipes are delicious (we have only made the cardamon buns, however our friend has made numerous recipes), and the book is enjoyable to read on its own. I read through the entire book, front to cover, to determine which recipes we wanted to try.

To try something new and remember to enjoy the concept of fika at least once a day. I learned about fika from Swedish relatives last summer -- never heard of it, although grandparents emigrated from Sweden -- and it's almost a necessity in a fast-paced schedule. Great recipes to enjoy.

Ich habe das Buch als Geburtstagsgeschenk gekauft. Seitdem werde ich immer wieder mit tollen Leckereien verwöhnt. Absolute Empfehlung für alle nicht ganz uneigennützigen Geschenkemacher. 😜

Incluso para los que saben cocinar muy bien con masas. No decepciona y las recetas están muy bien! Merece la pena totalmente.

I wanted a book for fika as a small reminder of my time spent living in Sweden, so I got this book. I personally felt it was very simple and written as the target audience are children. there ar eno pictures of the baked goods only drawings of them. But all in all is a good collection of recipes.

行事と本格を求めるならこちらがオススメ。 日本語バージョンは、日本人が書いているので日本人から見た観点がいい。 本当は、2種持って比べると面白いのだけど、高いのよ、お値段が。

The perfect book for those who miss Sweden and its incredible desserts!!