Coffee and Cake

 

2006: Hot Coffee (Design - Ingela |Peterson Arrhenius)

As we have just entered a higher stage of Covid restrictions I can just dream of entering a coffee shop. Imagine that I'm at a counter with the empty cups ready for a caffeine hit. What will I choose, the caffé latte ready on the counter, or a shot of espresso.  Oh to hear that steam of milk, as the stamp says -  Pshtt!  

If I'm having a coffee then I'll be browsing the cakes

1998: Greeting Stamps - Bakelser -  Pastries (Design I Åberg)

Spoiled for choice.  The green Princesses Cake so called because in the 1940s when the 3 Swedish princesses were young it was their favourite cake. It consists of sponge cake, creme patisserie, raspberry jam and a thick dome of whipped cream covered with green marzipan and topped off with a pink marzipan rose. Next is the Gustav Adolf pastry which is traditionally eaten on 6 November the date of the king's death and comes with his silhouette made of chocolate or marzipan. The pastry varies with the region but the filling is of vanilla cream. The Napoleon pastry is a variety of mille-feuille.

On the bottom shelf is Mocha Cake which as far as I can tell is a coffee and chocolate cake with raspberries.  Next is the National Cake eaten on National Day June 6, created in 1994 in a fruit council competition .  This is a pastry with a mazarin base (ground almond pastry) topped with strawberries, lemon balm and a Swedish Flag.  Lastly is Semla, we would call this a cream bun except this is a cardamon version.  England had a king that 'died eating a surfeit of eels(lamprey)' and it seems the Swedes also had a king of excess for their king died in 1771 after consuming 14 creamy buns soaked in warm milk.  The buns are traditionally eaten on Shrove Tuesday but appear in the shops just after Christmas.

 

Sunday Stamps II theme this week is - Food and Drink - indulge at See It On A Postcard