Fika is something so ingrained in the Swedish culture that once moving here I learned it's importance within days.
Fika does not have a direct translation, but roughly it just means a break with coffee. You can have a fika alone, with friends, at home, at a cafe, on the train... if there's coffee and something sweet then it's a fika. I love coffee and I love sweets so I was immediately on board. After skyping with my family, I recently realized that I only go to a restaurant to enjoy a fika. I have only been in Sweden 3 weeks, but the only times I have "eaten out" was to have a fika. I'm not sure if that's good or bad. The Swedes have many different typical sweets paired with their coffee, but my favorite is by far is kanelbullar (cinnamon buns)! They aren't too sweet and the cinnamon goes really well with coffee.
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| Kanelbullar from a small bakery in Lund |
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| Kanelbullar from a bakery in Helsingborg |
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| Marziner - a small almond tart with icing |
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Prinsesstårta - fit for a princess!
A sponge cake bottom, jam layer, cream and marzipan covering
(yes I did spill my coffee) |
In only 3 weeks, my fika time has become so vital that I search out people to meet with over coffee and cakes. Good conversations always seem to start with coffee. I will say that Swedes prefer their coffee very strong, so my cup is usually 2/3 coffee and 1/3 milk. Over the years this may change, but my love for fika will never change.
I plan to bake my own kanelbullar in the next few weeks, so stay tuned for that!
your little mouse
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