My Apartment Cafe

My second apartment cafe was inspired by Swedish Fika, the ritual in which Swedes take a break to connect over coffee and pastries. My last apartment cafe featured an assortment of Norwegian-inspired goodies, so I was inspired to keep this apartment cafe in the realm of Scandinavia since that is the type of pastry I am best at baking.  

I changed the menu a few too many times (sorry, everyone), but I am a perfectionist. I wanted to deliver a menu that would blow people away, and that meant that I could not have any mediocre pastries.  

I made six different types of Swedish-style buns and had cold brew accompanied by a couple of homemade syrups and milk options. I would have had homemade almond milk, but my blender exploded everywhere, and I needed to get the buns baked. Priorities!  

The six flavors of buns were traditional cinnamon, cardamom, blood orange-glazed cardamom, date caramel cinnamon, halva tahini dark chocolate, and black sesame matcha. This was a good assortment because I could showcase the incredible traditional buns and new and exciting fillings with innovative flavors.  

I kept the decor simple—I put out a couple of Swedish Dala horses, some Swedish flags, and a couple of flyers explaining what Fika is. I served the pastries on a large sheet of parchment paper and had people serve themselves with little ice tongs. After everyone got the buns they wanted, I served them their coffee and thanked each person for coming.

I served 50 people, made over 100 buns, and enjoyed coffee and conversation with many close friends and family (and some strangers!), which is the whole point of Cooking Convos. I want to connect with people over food and bring folks together to talk about cooking and baking. These two apartment cafes have filled me with joy and kept the flame lit inside me to keep going.  

My most asked question was, “When did you start making all of these buns?” I have found a system that works for me, and that is prepping a majority of the buns the day before. I prepped the buns until their second rise, so they had already gone through their first proof and were filled, rolled out, and wrapped up. The second rise in the fridge overnight helps develop a better flavor in the bun and helps me tremendously the next day.  

I only had room in my fridge to prep 75 buns, so the next 25+ had to be made the day of. This made things a bit stressful, but it was the only way I could do it. I may need a friend’s fridge next time if these apartment cafes continue to grow!  

I also made a homemade cinnamon-cardamom coffee syrup and a honey syrup, and people were shocked to find out that it is super simple to make your own syrups at home. I love doing this, as it just adds an extra level of excitement to the cafes.  

If you are looking to host your own apartment cafe, my biggest advice is to start small! My first one had 25 people, and this was the perfect amount (for me) to start off with. If I had done this right out of the gate with 50 people, I don’t know if I would have been able to do it. Invite close friends and family to your first one, get their feedback and advice, and then expand it later if you so choose.  

Here is a little shameless plug: I am now a Minnesota-registered cottage baker! Please feel free to contact me if you want to collaborate on a pop-up or if you need pastries baked for an event or special occasion. I will post a menu of what I will offer on my page soon, but feel free to contact me if you have any questions or inquiries.  

Thank you again to everyone who came to my Swedish Fika apartment cafe! I am blown away by all the support, and I am super excited for the next one 😊