Meet fika: the Swedish ritual that makes a simple apple slice feel like a moment worth savouring

Fika is a tradition held tightly by everyone working here at Buena Vista Farm, led by my husband Adam. No, he’s not Swedish, but he worked for IKEA for many years and one of his favourite and enduring memories of the job was stopping for fika with his team.

Fika is not technically morning tea, it’s actually a Swedish ritual, taking time out with friends and colleagues for coffee or tea and maybe a little slice of cake or something else delicious. Our fika is typically mid-morning. Here, a long way from IKEA, it is a little doorstop between a very early breakfast and a late lunch when everyone is in opposite corners of the farm and, at 10.30 am, whomever is nearest to the farmhouse makes sure the coffee machine is on and has a hunt in the pantry for treats.

Occasionally it’s a biscuit or slice of cake, more often it’s some kind of old-fashioned slice which may not be social-media-trendy but stays fresh reliably, can be thrown into a lunchbox if required, can be dressed up with a spoon of cream as dessert, but for fika can be eaten with fingers not forks.

Apple slice is one of my absolute favourites. I judge a bakery on its apple slice (after it passes the Vanilla Slice test, but that’s another column).

Maybe you have a big pile of apples that are past their prime due to an apple-eating grandkid having a wobbly tooth? Or it just hasn’t been a crunchy apple kind of week? Languishing apples make excellent Apple Slice.

On a day that just feels like one long laundry day, errand after errand, commitment after commitment, can I recommend you make an unfashionable slice?

Apple Slice in particular is a simple and delicious slice which works every time; quite frankly a recipe for euphoria.

Of course, the converse could happen, if you were making something untested. Nothing wrecks my day like a baking failure. If you hear me snap at my husband, look no further than the inedible gluten-free baking experiment poking out of the chook bucket. Oh yes, gluten-free baking and I, it’s a battle of wills.

But not today. Today will be a high-five-the-oven day. With a piece of Apple Slice in the fridge to enjoy for fika tomorrow.

Makes 16 pieces

Ingredients

300 g (2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
110 g (½ cup) white sugar plus extra for sprinkling
125 g (1/2 cup) butter, cold and chopped
1 egg, beaten
1 x 400 g tin cooked sliced apple, sold as ‘pie fruit’ OR 400g home cooked apple (3 large tart green apples)
milk, for brushing

Method

Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease and line an 18 x 28 cm (7 x 11 in) slice tin.

Either use tinned pie fruit or cook your own, there’s no judgement here. If you’re cooking your own apples, peel approximately three large tart green apples, quarter and core them, and chop into small pieces. Put the apple into a saucepan with 1 cup/ 250ml water, put the lid on and simmer on low for approximately fifteen minutes until the apple is soft. Cool before using.

You can make this recipe in a food processor if you have one: just whiz all the ingredients, except the apple, together, give it a bit of a knead, then pop it into the fridge for 30 minutes wrapped in plastic wrap.

Or, sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl, stir through the sugar, then mix in the butter with a fork until it looks breadcrumby. Add the egg. Knead well, until smooth then pop it into the fridge for 30 minutes wrapped in plastic wrap.

Break the dough in half and roll out the bottom slab as close to the size of your tin as you can. Press the dough into the bottom and trim if needed.

Spread the apple over, then roll out the top and place it over the apple. Brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 20 minutes. Leave it in the tin until it’s cold, then carefully lift out and slice up. Store in the fridge. High five. Fika for everyone.

Helpful Hint

To make this slice really neat and tidy, particularly the top pastry, trace around your slice tin on a piece of baking paper, then roll out your pastry to fit perfectly within the tracing. You can lift up the baking paper with the pastry on it and flip it carefully into the tin, minimising the chance of it breaking in transition.

Recipe adapted from Fiona Weir’s book “From Scratch” published by Hardie Grant 2022, photography by Alan Benson