Finland, home of Santa Claus, his reindeers and his elfs. Finland is the only country in Scandinavia I haven’t been. History proves that the Finns are tough people, tough enough to fight of nazi’s during the Second World War and the Russians, and don’t forget the climate with freezing long winters and very short summers.

What else is Finland famous for; sauna’s of course their national obsession! They even organize  the world championship saunaing (is that a word? I don’t know). The Russian contestant died and the winner was Finnish and had 3th degree burns all over his body. Kind of taking it a little to far there.

Things you didn’t know about Finland:

• Finland is referred to as the Land of a Thousand Lakes, but that number doesn’t even come close. There are an astonishing 187,888 lakes within Finland – the most of any country in the world. If you’re more comfortable roaming around by foot, there’s a total of 179,888 Finnish islands to explore.
• Are you fast and furious and mega rich? Then you better not get caught zooming through Finland. The cost of traffic and speed violations is calculated by the offending driver’s annual income. One unfortunate, mega rich dare devil was once fined over 200,000 dollars for a single speeding offense.
• The North of Finland is the least populated area in Europe

I made this tart for my friends, I was really nervous about it coming out properly from it’s form since I transported it from Amsterdam to my friends in Utrecht by train. But it was perfect!

This Blue Berry Tart is amazing! It’s sort of like a cheesecake more tart like, healthier and quicker.

Ingredients:

Pastry:

• 100g butter, softened
•  50ml sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 200g plain flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

Ingredients Filling:

• 400g blueberries (fresh or frozen)
• 50ml milk
• 200ml sour cream or 200g cream cheese (full fat versions!)
• 50g sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F).
2. Make the pastry – cream everything into a smooth dough. Press over the bottom and sides of pie dish – don’t worry about it being a little rough, the rustic look is part of the charm.
3. Sprinkle the blueberries into the pie dish. Mix the milk, sour cream/cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth. Pour slowly over the berries.
4. Bake for 30 minutes or until the filling is set (it should wobble, but not look runny). Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Serve cold.