“Coffee should be black as hell, strong as death and sweet as love”. I somewhat agree with this old Turkish(?) proverb. But I gave up taking sugar in my coffee many years ago. A cup of coffee along with something sweet, I don’t say no to.
Most Turkish and Greek desserts are very sweet and can be paired with a cup of strong coffee. For example “Baklava”. Popular and well-known pastries but too complicated for me to bake.

This less known Turkish and Greek sweet treat is much easier to make than baklava. In southern Greece, it is called “Mosaiko”, while in the north, “Kormos” (tree log). What the Turkish people call it, I have no idea.

INGREDIENTS:
175 grams Digestive Biscuits
125 grams butter, diced
125 ml caster sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten
5 tablespoons cocoa powder
3 tablespoons brandy

METHOD:
1. Melt butter just until soft and not yet hot.
2. Add sugar, beaten egg, cocoa powder, cognac, stir to combine.
3. Cut by hand the Digestive Biscuits biscuits in crumbs
4. Add the biscuits crumbs and stir until mixed.
5. Get a baking paper and form the chocolate mixture into a roll in the middle of the paper.
6. Wrap it up and put the roll in the freezer over night.
7. When the roll is still frozen, slice it and serve frozen as “ice cream”.

With some variations, there are similar recipes in other countries. In Italy, for example, this chocolate roll is called “Salame di cioccolato (chocolate salami). Although the ingredients may vary, the basic preparation is often the same.

Radio cake, or Radiokaka, as we call it in Swedish, is a similar treat. Something I remember eating when I was little. The name comes from the pattern, resembling of the front of the old radios from the 1950s. Radio cake is made of copha, chocolate, eggs, icing sugar, vanilla sugar and Marie-type square or round biscuits. Biscuits and chocolate mixture are layered and placed in the fridge until the cake hardens completely.
Email me if you want a recipe. But remember that copha is one of the worst fats for you. However, butter can be used too.