Multekrem

Ingredients

Cream

• 500 mldouble cream, very cold
• 60 gicing sugar
• 1 tspvanilla, optional

Berries

• 400 gcloudberries, fresh or frozen and thawed
• 2 tbspsugar, to taste

To serve

• krumkake, thin rolled wafers
• or almond biscuits

Optional

• a splash of aquavit or brandy

Directions

1. Cloudberries are the whole thing here and they are genuinely rare. Picking them on state land in the northern Norwegian counties is restricted to local residents by law.
2. They are amber-orange, tart, and taste faintly of apricot and honey, and nothing else substitutes for them properly.
3. If using frozen berries, thaw them completely and drain off the liquid that comes out.
4. Drain that liquid away, or keep it separately. Water from thawed berries turns whipped cream into soup within minutes.
5. Taste the berries and sweeten them lightly, but only lightly.
6. Cloudberries are sour and the sourness is the point of the dessert. Sweetened heavily they lose the sharpness that cuts the cream.
7. Chill the bowl and the beaters in the freezer for 10 minutes before whipping.
8. Whip the very cold cream with the icing sugar until it holds firm peaks.
9. Whip it firm rather than soft, because the berries loosen it considerably when they go in.
10. Stop the moment it holds a peak. Over-whipped cream goes grainy and then turns to butter, and there is no bringing it back.
11. Now fold the berries in with a spatula, in two or three additions.
12. Fold gently and stop early. The dessert should be marbled, with streaks of orange berry through white cream, not blended to a uniform pale peach.
13. Leave some berries whole rather than crushing them all.
14. Taste and adjust the sugar, keeping it on the tart side.
15. Spoon into glasses or a serving bowl and chill for at least an hour.
16. Serve cold with krumkake or thin crisp biscuits alongside for scooping.
17. Make it the same day. Left overnight the berries weep and the cream slackens and separates.
18. It is a Norwegian Christmas dessert above all, served after the ribbe or the pinnekjøtt.
19. Cloudberries grow on Arctic bogs and the crop is unreliable from year to year, which is why a jar of them is a serious gift in Norway.
20. Multekrem is also eaten in Sweden and Finland under other names, and the Finns pair the berries with leipäjuusto cheese instead.

Technique

• Frozen cloudberries are sold in Scandinavian shops and are perfectly good here.
• Jarred cloudberry preserve works but is usually much sweeter, so cut the sugar entirely.
• The tartness against the cream is the whole balance and a sweet version misses the point.

Substitutions

• Cloudberry jam, with no added sugar at all.
• A mix of raspberries and apricot at a pinch, which is not the same but is in the right direction.

Variations

• With a splash of aquavit folded in.
• Layered in a glass with crushed biscuits.
• Served over vanilla ice cream instead of in cream.

History

Cloudberries whipped into cream; the Arctic berries are so prized that picking on state land in the northern counties is restricted to locals.

Frequently asked questions

What is Multekrem?

Multekrem is a dessert from Norway: golden cloudberries folded into whipped cream, Christmas dessert. Cloudberries whipped into cream; the Arctic berries are so prized that picking on state land in the northern counties is restricted to locals.

How long does Multekrem take to make?

Multekrem takes 15 min of preparation and no cooking at all. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Multekrem?

Yes, within limits. Cloudberry jam, with no added sugar at all. A mix of raspberries and apricot at a pinch, which is not the same but is in the right direction.

What is the most important thing to get right in Multekrem?

Cloudberries are the whole thing here and they are genuinely rare. Picking them on state land in the northern Norwegian counties is restricted to local residents by law.