Treats from Baltic States Tour

We brought many wonderful memories and goodies from the Baltic States. Šakotis, a Lithuanian Tree Cake was one of them. I am a big fan of Japanese Tree Cakes (Baumkuchen), which have their origin from German Tree Cakes. I couldn't miss the opportunity to have a Lithuanian version. First the appearance was unique. I have never seen Tree Cakes with prickly branches. I learned that Šakotisa means "branched." It does make sense. Maybe because my Šakotisa was the smallest at Kmyninė, the bakery from which we bought it, it had a thin "tree trunk" part, but I could see some "rings" there. The texture was crunchy, more like a cookie than a cake. It tasted egg-rich, buttery with a hint of vanilla. Simple but tasty!

The thirteen kinds of Lithuanian cookies were also pleasant. Some were filled with cream or jam. I liked all of them, particularly, Lithuanian Grybai, a traditional mushroom shaped cookie. How could I imagine the cute mushroom was actually a lovely chocolate-covered gingerbread?

We also made traditional Estonian open-faced sandwich with traditional Lithuanian rye bread and canned Estonian sprats. The bread's strong sourness went well with the gently-smoked, oil-marinated delicate little fish. 

I heard the Baltic States produce excellent honey. I brought back two jars, one from Estonia and the other Latvia. We opened Estonian honey first. It was delightful. The flavor was nicely balanced. We haven't finished the jar yet, but it won't take long. I am also looking forward to tasting the Latvian honey.

The fact that the Baltic States makes high-quality chocolate was another great discovery from the trip. Especially I would like to stock Kalev's Tallinn Rum Flavored Wafers and Rūta's white chocolate bar with lemon and green tea in the pantry. They were delightful. Pergale's large dark chocolate bar, which J picked up at a local grocery store was tasty, too. Pergale is a Vilnius-based chocolate factory, founded in 1922. 

Among Kalev's three kinds of biscuits we bought in Estonia, we have tried the classic and the lemon biscuits. Both were lovely for tea time. The taste and texture reminded me of animal crackers in a good way. We'll try the digestive biscuits very soon.  

The Džiugas cheese wedges rom the Cheese Džiugas House in the Vilnius Old Town were also real treats. The 18 month-aged one was pleasantly aromatic and lightly intense while the 36 month-aged one was sharper and savory. Both were ideal toppings on penne with homemade meat-veggie pasta sauce. 

I realized once again that the Baltic States tour was a really wonderful and delicious trip. Thank you J very much for making it happen!