An Irishman once explained to me that as soon as the weather gets a wee bit warm…. and that would be about 17 or 18 degrees celcius for them, all Ireland celebrate the preciousness of the moment with an ice cream, or two or three….each. While the Irish are going mad for ice cream on the other side of the UK the Danes revel in the warmth of their short but sweet summer with Koldskål og Kammerjunkere – that’s not Danish for ice-cream!

Koldskål og Kammerjunkere is simply a bowl of chilled buttermilk with small sweet biscuits floating on top. Sometimes the Koldskål, which literally means cold bowl will just involve buttermilk while eggs, sugar, vanilla, lemon and cream may also be added to the buttermilk. Kammerjunkere are the little sweet biscuits, usually spiced with cardamom, that are made specifically to be eaten with the koldskal.

The Dansk bliss of warm sunshine, chilled buttermilk and sweet spiced biscuits is often accompanied with another summer favorite – their treasured strawberries. Now who on earth does not love strawberries and cream? And who would be mad enough to say no to a helping of little sweet biscuits? And why wait for summer to come? I’ll have this blissful combo any time of the year thankyou…..as long as I can have a “legal” version and by that I mean one that involves no dairy, no grain and no high FODMAPs….I want to enjoy life after the cold bowl too!

Danish Biscotti in Macadamia Nut Buttermylk is my version of this delightful dish. It is made using alternative ingredients such as macadamia nuts, almond meal, tapioca starch, potato starch, chia seeds, maple syrup and coconut sugar. Oh how everyone at home loved sampling the numerous not quite right batches of bisc ‘n’ mylk. No one wanted the experimental sessions to end. But now that this bowl of bliss has been perfected it is time to move on to my next adventure in the kitchen.

No matter the season, no matter the reason, this is a dish to enjoy with the people you love whenever you can get your hands on some yummy, sweet strawberries…thanks to the Dansk for the wonderful inspiration.

DANISH BISCOTTI IN MACADAMIA NUT BUTTERMYLK

Biscotti

250g almond meal

250g potato starch

60g chia seeds

80g coconut sugar

1 tsp aluminium-free baking powder

1/4 tsp pink himalayan salt

1 tsp cardamon seeds, ground

1 lemon, zest

1 tsp vanilla extract

140g purified coconut oil

50ml filtered water

1 egg

Macadamia Nut Buttermylk

80g macadamia nuts (or cashews if you can tolerate Oligos)

60-80g raw sugar

50g tapioca starch

60g ghee

6 egg yolks

1 tsp vanilla extract

550ml filtered water

1 pinch pink himalayan salt

1 lemon, zest

to serve

fresh organic/biodynamic strawberries, sliced

To make the Buttermylk place all ingredients into a high-speed blender. Blend on high until smooth and creamy (3-4 minutes). Pour into a saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring continually until mixture thickens and comes to the boil. Remove from heat and pour the custard into a glass container (I use a glass jar). Set aside to cool before placing in the refrigerator.

To make the biscotti preheat oven to 150C. Place all ingredients into a food processor and process for 2-3 minutes or until a dough forms. Dust a work bench with tapioca starch and place the dough on this surface. Divid dough into quarters. Roll one quarter of the dough into a four centimetre thick log and cut one centimetre thick rounds. Place rounds close together (they will not spread during baking) on a baking tray. Repeat same procedure for the remaining quarters of dough. Bake for 1 hour or until golden and crispy. Allow to cool on a wire rack. Store biscotti in an air-tight jar for two weeks.

To serve place the strawberries in a bowl, pour chilled buttermylk on top and sprinkle with pieces of biscotti.

ps these Danish inspired Biscotti are perfect with a cup of coffee too.