BOOK REVIEW: MONIKAS JUL

Swedish cookbook author Monika Ahlberg made a name for herself as a self-taught baker and  cafe manager at the garden cafe of Rosendal in Stockholm in the early nineties. Her signature baked goods, including a carrot cake with mounds of frosting, were included in her first cookbook, a large coffee table book published in 1994. She has has since penned 21 cook books.

Ahlberg bluntly states in her foreword that it is quite the challenge to convince readers that hers is the complete hand book for a felicitous feast. The competition is fierce. Yet, she doesn't hesitate a second that she will, since her love for the season is unmatched by anyone she has ever known. It is that spunk and self confidence combined with an artistic sensibility and brilliant art direction that has paved the road to quite a few best sellers in the genre. Ahlberg has a unique ability to infuse her cookbooks with personality and atmosphere. She invites readers into her bohemian home, sharing blurry family photos and witty thank you notes from dinners past, or in this case, seasonal greetings from famous friends.



The home made style of her baked goods along with the colourful mismatched china and rustic ceramics have become part of Ahlbergs trademark. Premium ingredients are treated with respect but never with reverence. Sloppy or artistic plating? You be the judge, but when cooking along with Ahlbergs books your food will end up looking like the photo in the book - or better. And isn't this what intimidates so many of us when we look at cook books styled and photoshopped into perfection? That we can attempt perfection, but perhaps also fail. Ahlberg recipes are well, doable. They're simple to the point where you wonder if cream cheese mixed with jam even counts as a recipe? Ingredient lists are mostly short and uncomplicated, and the instructions to the point.

In all fairness, despite this being one of my seasonal favourites, the recipes I've actually tried have been so-so. Both the buns and cake rolls were underachievers compared to the recipes I usually make, but I am yet to sample the savory dishes featured in the book. However, as far as inspiration goes, this is the first book I pull from the shelves when temperatures fall and I begin to plan for winter, in mid-August or so  (well, this is a Christmas blog after all, what did you expect?). Ahlberg makes contemporary Scandinavian Christmas look like fun, with her updated take on tradition in a mix of festive and casual, sensible and sensual.

As of November 2017 Monikas Jul is available in Swedish and soft cover only. Sample recipes are found here.

Monikas Jul, Monika Ahlberg, Piratforlaget, 2009, 240 pages, ISBN 978-91-642-03014. PHOTO CREDIT: COVER IMAGE PIRATFORLAGET, ALL PHOTOS ©BJORN TERRING; USED WITH PERMISSION