This dessert is about as simple as them come, but surprisingly tasty, and I’ve been told that it’s truly unique to Finland. Cloudberries themselves aren’t unique to Finland. They can be found all over Scandinavia and parts of northern Canada (according to Wikipedia), but apparently this particular preparation is uniquely Finnish.
The Super Simple Recipe
Ingredients
- Bread cheese (also called Juustoleipa)
- Cloudberry jam
- Cream
- Crackers (optional)
Place the bread cheese in a baking dish, pour a little cream over top, and cover in cloudberry jam. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes until it’s mostly melted and the cream has just begun to bubble. Watch carefully during the last few minutes.
You can serve it with mild flavored crackers like we did, or you can simply eat it with a spoon.
A Note about Sourcing Ingredients
You can buy the bread cheese and cloudberry jam in the Helsinki airport, after passing through security, or you can buy them on Amazon. The interwebs seem to like this bread cheese
Enjoy with Friends!
I brought both of the key ingredients home at the urging of two fun ladies I met on a Food Sightseeing Tour in Helsinki. They assured me that I had to try it, and I’m glad I did. It’s not overly sweet, and the cheese stays mostly solid, like soft bread.
I brought it to a potluck at a friend’s house shortly after getting back to San Francisco. As it came out of the oven, we all gathered around the kitchen counter and stayed there until virtually every last bite was gone.
The novelty was lots of fun! And it’s one way to explore Finnish culture without leaving home…
Update: If you’re interested in learning more about what exactly constitutes Finnish food, then check out Traditional Food of Finland and For the Love of Food: Helsinki, Finland. The last one talks about the same Food Sightseeing Tour I attended. Both are great posts written by Ayngelina of Bacon is Magic.
