From Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant
By Chris Vartis
Vanilla hearts have been a favorite in Norway and Sweden for over a century and, and they are perfect for spoiling your “Swede-e” this Valentine’s Day. They have a quick, delicious, shortbread dough that is filled with a homemade vanilla cream and raspberry jam. Give these traditional treats a try this Valentine’s Day, and try them out with our Swedish Raspberry Jam!
For the Dough:
- 3 1/2 ounces vegan butter, room temperature
- A pinch of salt
- 1/2 ounce confectioner’s sugar
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoon non-dairy milk
For the Filling:
- 2/3 cup non-dairy cream
- 2 1/4 teaspoons potato flour
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter
- 3 tablespoons raspberries jam
- For the dough, start by mixing the room temperature butter, the salt, and sugars and stir thoroughly.
- Stir in the water and the flour and knead it quickly into a glossy dough.
- Place the dough in plastic wrap, flatten it a bit, and chill it in the refrigerator for about an hour.
- While you’re waiting you can make the vanilla filling. Pour the cream, potato flour, sugar, and vanilla into a small saucepan and simmer them on a low heat (don’t boil), stirring the mixture to remove any lumps.
- When the dough has chilled for an hour, roll out the dough between two pieces of plastic wrap. You need 12 pieces of dough to make 6 hearts so roll the dough accordingly.
- Use a heart-shaped cookie cutter or a concave heart form to cut 12 heart shapes out of the dough. If you are using concave forms, lightly press one heart-shaped piece of dough into each.
- Place one spoonful of vanilla cream into the middle of each heart and then one spoonful of raspberry jam. Take the remaining 6 heart-shaped pieces of dough, place them on top of the filling, and press gently on the edges. A good way to make a nice seal is to press the edges using a fork.
- Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, making sure they don’t brown. The dough should still be very light even after cooking.
- If using forms, very carefully turn the hearts upside down and gently pry the form off the back.
- Let them cool before you powder them with confectioner’s sugar and garnish them with fresh raspberries.