Bakeland. Marit Hovland

(here, ¼ inch/7 mm)—for example two pieces of wood, or two magazines or books. Place these on either side of the dough so that the rolling pin rolls on them. That way, the dough will be the same thickness all the way across.

      1. Apply the glaze to the cooled cookies. It works best to draw the outline of the glaze first, then fill in the middle. Let the glaze dry for a couple of hours before you make the clouds. The longer you let it dry, the less careful you have to be with the sponge. 2. Cut a new, clean kitchen sponge into small pieces. Make sure to use a natural sponge, not an antibacterial one, as they contain harmful chemicals. 3. Dip the sponge in the food coloring mixture. Press it a couple of times on a piece of paper to get rid of some of the liquid in the sponge before you apply it to the cookies. 4. Gently press the sponge on the cookies. 5. You can also drag the sponge across the glaze to make stripes. Store the cookies in an airtight container.

       SPRING INTO SUMMER

      The days are long, and the evening sun gives off a lovely, warm glow. Sunbeams set off sparkles in the water. Forests and fields abound with flowers in all the colors of the world. Juicy berries begin to ripen everywhere. Summer is a time for refreshing flavors.

       LEMON POPPY SEED CUPCAKES

      makes 18 cupcakes

      “Look, a brimstone butterfly! That means summer is here!” I remember reading in a book when I was a child. Have you ever seen a butterfly roll out its portable straw and suck up the nectar? Say hello to summer with these refreshing and moist lemon cupcakes.

       Butterflies

      1 egg white

      1 tsp lemon juice

      approximately 1⅔ cups (200 g) icing sugar

      yellow liquid gel food coloring

      Start by making the icing butterflies. They need time to dry, preferably overnight. Follow the instructions on page 188 to make icing with the egg white, lemon juice, and icing sugar, adding a few drops of yellow food coloring. Follow the instructions on the next page to shape the butterflies.

       Lemon cupcakes

      ½ cup (100 g) butter, at room temperature

      1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar

      3 eggs

      1⅔ cups (200 g) all-purpose flour

      2 tsp baking powder

      ½ tsp salt

      zest of 2 lemons

      ⅔ cup (150 ml) lemon juice

      ¼ cup (30 g) poppy seeds

      Preheat the oven to 350ºF (175ºC). Line two 12-cup muffin pans with 18 liners (leave the rest of the cups empty).

      Using a handheld mixer, whip the butter and sugar together in a bowl until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each one.

      In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Sift this into the egg mixture and fold it in with a rubber spatula. Stir in the lemon zest, juice, and poppy seeds. Fill the muffin cups and bake for about 20 minutes on the middle rack of the oven.

       Syrup

      juice of ½ lemon