Fika: The Art of The Swedish Coffee Break, with Recipes for Pastries, Breads, and Other Treats | Anna Brones - Johanna Kindvall

An illustrated lifestyle cookbook on the Swedish tradition of fika--a twice-daily coffee break--including recipes for traditional baked goods, information and anecdotes about Swedish coffee culture, and the roots and modern incarnations of this cherished custom.

Sweden is one of the world’s top coffee consuming nations, and the twice-daily social coffee break known as fika is a cherished custom. Fika can be had alone or in groups, indoors or outdoors, while traveling or at home. A time to take a rest from work and chat with friends or colleagues over a cup and a sweet treat, fika reflects the Swedish ideal of slowing down to appreciate life’s small joys. In this adorable illustrated cookbook, Anna Brones and Johanna Kindvall share nearly fifty classic recipes from their motherland—from cinnamon buns and ginger snaps to rhubarb cordial and rye bread—allowing all of us to enjoy this charming tradition regardless of where we live.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The book is a delicious compendium of nearly 50 illustrated recipes inspired by Brones and Kindvall’s childhoods, equally fueled by Fika. The cookies, cakes and breads (including savory variants) tap right into a growing, universal quest to achieve a more laid-back European lifestyle."
—Lindsey Tramuta, New York Times T Magazine

"As accessible as it is insightful, Fika is a baking book mixed with etiquette how-to and cultural know-how, iced with a calendar of holidays and expressed as a work of illustrated art. "
—Anne Bramley, Paste Magazine

"Operating as both a noun and a verb, the finer points of the fika are sometimes lost on outsiders—until now. Writer Anna Brones and illustrator Johanna Kindvall compiled the history and practice of the fika along with a collection of recipes for Swedish baked goods in their release "Fika: The Art of the Swedish Coffee Break. [...] For those looking to bring fika vibes to their lives, the book is a wealth of Swedish recipes and cooking tips. Swedish classics like kanelbullar (cinnamon buns spiced with cardamom) and hasselnötsflarn (simple cookies best dipped in a fresh cup of coffee) are easily explained and aided by Kindvall's upbeat illustrations. The visual component of the recipes especially comes in handy for more elaborate specialties like lussekatter (saffron buns). Beyond the classic sweet-baked goods associated with fika, the book gives recipes for savory smörgåsbords, jams, drinks and more contemporary recipes like the ultra-rich chokladbollar (chocolate balls that are, admittedly, mostly butter)."
 —Hans Aschim, Cool Hunting
 

About the Author

ANNA BRONES is a Swedish-American freelance writer based in Paris. She is the editor of the online food magazine Foodie Underground, and is a contributor to a variety of publications including BBC, Guardian, Sprudge, GOOD, and PUNCH.
 
JOHANNA KINDVALL is a Swedish illustrator who divides her time between Brooklyn and Skåne in the south of Sweden. Her work has been featured in various books and magazines. She also writes an  illustrated cooking blog, Kokblog, which was named a Saveur “site we love".