Swedish News:

Gustav Adolf pastry. Fewer grocery stores. Sex crimes. 

  • Gustav II Adolf (1594-1632), or ”The Lion of the North” known in English as Gustavus Adolphus or Gustavus Adolphus the Great (Gustav Adolf den store), a formal posthumous distinction passed by the Riksdag of the Estates in 1634. Gustav II Adolf is credited as the founder of Sweden as a Great Power (”Stormaktstiden” in Swedish), as he led his country to supremecy during the Thirty Years’ War. He is often regarded as one of the greatest military commanders of all time, with innovative use combined arms, and his most notable military victory was the battle of Breitenfeld. Gustavus Adolphus is commemorated today with city squares in major Swedish cities like Stockholm, Gothenburg and Helsingborg. Gustavus Adolphus College, a Lutheran college in St. Peter, Minnesota is also named for the Swedish King. Above Gustav II Adolf in a painting by Matthäus Merian the Elder.

  • Gustav Adolf pastry
    The Gustav Adolfsbakelse (the Gustav Adolf pastry) is a special kind of pastry commemorating Gustav II Adolf, who died on November 6 in 1632. The pastry, which includes a silhouette of the king on it, was created in 1909 by pastry chef Carl Bräutigam at the Bräutigam pastry shop on the corner of Östra Hamngatan and Kungsgatan in Göteborg.
    Patrik Bräutigam says his great grandfather got the idea for the pastry from Germany. ”Different saints are celebrated with special pastries there. But in Göteborg there weren’t that many saints, so he picked Gustav Adolf instead.”
    The pastry’s ingredients may vary like the silhouette, which is sometimes made with chocolate and sometimes with marzipan. The original had a silhouette in pink marzipan and the pastry had a taste of chocolate and lemon; they were made with buttercream and dipped in icing. These days, the pastry is still popular in Göteborg and also in Finland. ”You can’t compare it to the 'semla’ because 'semlan’ is sold during a longer period. Or the Princess pastry, which is sold all year. 'Gustav Adolfsbakelsen’ is sold on one day only,” says Martin Lundell, managing director at Sveriges bagare och konditorer, to Dagens Nyheter.

  • Stand back all Princess and Napoleon pastries: Today we only want a Gustaf Adolfsbakelse for our fika! The memory of Gustav II Adolf is celebrated on November 6, which was the day the king died (in 1632). The celebrations date back to the first part of the 1800s. The king is celebrated mainly in Göteborg but also in university- and regiment cities, as well as in Finland (where the day is called "Svenska dagen". Gustav II Adolf is considered the person who turned Sweden into a great power. Gustav II Adolf founded Göteborg in 1619. There are other royal pastries as well, such as the Napoleon pastry, the Princess pastry, the Oscar II cake and the Alexander cake (after Czar Alexander I). Photo: Malter

  • Recipe for 14 pieces of Gustaf Adolf's pastry
    Cake base:
    3 eggs
    6 ounces sugar
    1 cup flour
    1 teaspoon baking powder
    1 Tablespoon water

  • The population in Sweden is growing, but the number of grocery stores is decreasing. Above an old photo of Domus in Huddinge. Domus is a well-known Swedish grocery store chain.

  • Filling:
    1 cup vanilla cream (see below)
    4 ounces heavy cream
    4 ounces black current jelly or jam

  • Decoration:
    12 ounces marzipan or almond paste
    green and yellow food coloring
    1 cup heavy cream
    12 chocolate figures

  • Vanilla cream:
    1 stick unsalted butter (room temperature)
    ½ cup solid vegetable shortening
    3½ cups confectioners’ sugar
    1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
    In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and shortening until well combined. With mixer on low speed, gradually add the confectioners' sugar, and continue beating until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla, and beat to combine. Set aside at room temperature until ready to use.

  • The base
    Pre-heat the oven to 475˚F. Cover a baking plate with baking paper. Beat eggs and sugar until fluffy. Mix flour and baking powder and and stir it into the egg/sugar mix and add the water. Spread out this batter evenly on the baking sheet. Bake in the middle of the oven for 5 minutes. Sprinkle some sugar on top of it and remove it, then put it on a baking paper and let cool.

  • The filling
    Make the vanilla cream. Beat the heavy cream and mix it with 1 cup of the vanilla cream. Spread a layer of jelly or jam on top of the base, and then on top of that, spread the vanilla cream filling. Roll the cake from the longer side.

  • Decoration
    Mix the marzipan or almond paste with the food coloring, and roll out this dough into a rectangular shape. Cut out and put on top of the 14 pastry pieces. Decorate with whipped cream and chocolate figures.

  • Fewer grocery stores
    The number of grocery stores in Sweden has decreased by nearly 2,000 since 1996. Meanwhile the Swedish population has increased nearly 700,000. This means that people living in the sparsely populated areas are particularly affected.

  • Sex crimes
    More and more children in Sweden, especially girls, are lured by adult men to pose sexually on the Internet. More cases are reported, according to statistics from Brottsförebyggande rådet (the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention). In 2009, 137 cases were reported, in 2012, 758 cases, and so far in 2013, about 500 cases have been reported.