We love using our Weck jars for storing food, as flower vases, & of course, canning but we found out recently they are oven-safe & can be used as single-serving bakeware. This Black Walnut Morning Cake baked in Weck jars is made using foraged black walnuts & topped with a drizzle of chocolate sauce. We found it is really great for dinner parties or brunch desert.

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Recipe: Black Walnut Morning Cake in Weck

Crumble Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup packed light-brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Zest of 1 lemon

1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt

1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into 1 inch cubes

1 1/4 cups chopped black walnuts

Cake Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature (plus extra for greasing Weck jars)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Juice from one lemon

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup chopped dates

Extra brown sugar for center of cake

Caramel or chocolate sauce to drizzle on top

4 19.6 oz. Weck jars

Method:

1. Butter Weck jars and lightly coat with flour. Set aside

2. To make the crumble topping: In a medium bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Mix in the lemon zest. Using a pastry cutter or two butter knives, cut in the butter until small to medium clumps form. Mix in black walnuts. Set aside in the refrigerator until ready to use.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl.

4. In a separate bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time until well combined. Add vanilla and lemon juice.

5. Beat in flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with 2 additions of sour cream (starting and ending with the flour). Beat until well combined.

6. Fill each Weck jar about 1/3 way full, then sprinkle with brown sugar and chopped dates. Top with remaining batter and spread evenly using an offset spatula or back of a spoon. Sprinkle crumble topping mixture evenly over batter.

7. Bake cakes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Let cool completely. Top with caramel or chocolate sauce if you’re feeling extra decadent! If you want to take the cakes out of the Weck jars, just run a knife around the sides to loosen (once cooled). Makes approximately 4 cakes.

Recipe from Terrain

A few months ago we did some custom work at our favorite restaurant in Iceland: Dill.  Images of our pieces coming soon. Until then, enjoy some interior photos shot by Anthony Bacigalupo for an upcoming book.

We’ve been working hard on private projects for restaurants, hotels, bistros & residences in Iceland & California the last few months so we’ve been sleeping a tad on the social media posting & focusing on making & crafting…

Lots of new goods are coming just in time for Autumn / Winter as well as the public launch of our web shop! Feel free to share & inquire about pieces through us or one of our many stockists around the world. Enjoy the weekend.

To continue with our Autumn Recipe posts every few days, here is one of our favorites for this time of the year: Hot Cider & Cinnamon Apple Chips.

Strangely enough, Hot Cider isn’t as popular in Iceland as it is in the states, but that’s quite alright with us because we enjoy making it for our guests & will making  lots of it this winter season at our pop-up markets & future Restaurant Days in Reykjavík with some of our gift boxes & soft goods for sale.

For the Cider:

Ingredients
10 winesap apples, quartered
3/4 cup sugar
4 cinnamon sticks
Pinch of whole cloves
1 tablespoon allspice berries
Enough water to cover

Method
Wrap all spices in a small piece of doubled-up cheesecloth and tie off securely. Add apples, sugar, spice pack and water to a large stockpot and bring to a boil for one hour. Lower heat and allow mixture to simmer for an additional two hours. Remove from heat and let cool. Remove spice pack and discard. Strain the remaining mixture through a fine mesh sieve, as many times as needed to reach desired consistency. Reheat to enjoy, and top with whipped cream and apple chips.

For the Cinnamon Apple Chips:

Ingredients
1 apple, thinly sliced with seeds removed
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Method
Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange apple slices, evenly spaced. In a small bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle the mixture over apples. Bake for two hours, moving the slices with tongs once to prevent sticking. Remove from oven and let cool.

Recipe from Anthropologie

Minarc Living wrote a nice article in their latest issue about Reykjavik Outpost, the new home for our goods in LA.

Autumn has arrived (in Iceland Summer sadly never came) & the one thing in our house that represents this lovely time of the year is baking goods & having small gatherings on the weekends.

Every few days we will be sharing our favorite Autumn & Winter recipes with you-

Since Anthony is from California where apple orchids are just a short drive away from his hometown, the Dutch Oven Apple Crisp was an obvious first R.T.Co. recipe to share since it mirrors the changing season so perfectly.

Recipe: Dutch Oven Apple Crisp

A Dutch oven is defined as a cast-iron kettle with a tight cover used for baking in an open fire; a metal shield for roasting before an open fire; a brick oven in which cooking is done by the preheated walls; and a heavy pot with a tight-fitting domed cover. Before you get started on the Apple Crisp, read our tips on using the Dutch oven in the best possible way!

First of all, the secret to successful Dutch oven cooking is using the proper amount of heat both above and below it. Ideally you’ll want to take the coals out of the main fire and place them to the side (about two feet from the fire) and then place hot coals on top of the lid. This distributes the heat evenly and will help you avoid burning your food on the bottom. Depending on the length of time you need to cook your dish, you can try moving your Dutch oven to a fresh, hot layer of coals every 20 to 30 minutes.

Second tip: To clean your Dutch oven, simply place it upside down over the campfire. Lastly, avoid wrapping your leftover apple crisp in tinfoil and leaving it out in the open. Why, you ask? Because the crows love love love the shiny tinfoil and they will come swooping in and tear it apart, eating all of your leftovers and making a huge mess. These things I have learned from experience.

Ingredients
For the Apple Mixture
10 medium to large apples
Pat of unsalted butter for greasing baking dish
2 tablespoons/30 milliliters fresh lemon juice
2/3 cup (4.6 ounces/130 grams) sugar (we like coconut or demerara sugar)
1/3 cup (1.6 ounces/45 grams) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 teaspoon sea salt

For the Topping
2 cups (10 ounces/285 grams) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces/340 grams) packed brown sugar
1 cup (3 ounces/85 grams) instant oatmeal
1/2 cup (2 ounces/55 grams) walnuts, chopped
1 cup (8 ounces/225 grams) unsalted butter (or coconut oil), melted

Method 
For an ideal apple crisp, choose a combination of apples such as Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Braeburn and Golden Delicious. Peel, core and slice the apples and put them in a buttered 12-inch/30-centimeter Dutch oven. Add the lemon juice and stir to coat the apples.

In a small mixing bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Mix well. Sprinkle this mixture over the apples and stir until the apples are evenly coated. Spread the apples evenly.

To make the topping, mix the flour, brown sugar, oatmeal and walnuts in a medium bowl until well combined. Use a fork to mix in the melted butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Distribute the crumbly topping evenly over the apples.

Cover the Dutch oven and bake using 10–12 briquettes bottom heat and 16–18 briquettes top heat for 60 minutes or until the top is crispy and the apples are tender. Alternatively, bake the crisp in a preheated 350°F/175°C oven.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Serves 16

Recipe from Kinfolk

Mr. Wolf Magazine interviewed Anthony recently about starting a life in Iceland & R.T.Co.

Check out the article here.

Last year we only made smaller private order batches of our Icelandic Wool MacBook Sleeves, but since they’ve been doing so well & people around the world have been wanting them, we’re releasing them for purchase through us & at selected online/ brick & mortar shops very soon!

We proudly introduce our Veggie Tanned Leather & Wood Coasters. 

Meticulously engraved traditional Icelandic knitting patterns along with hand-stained leather & Finnish birch, these original coasters are crafted by hand & are very limited at the moment. Sets of 2 will be available through us privately & in our selected stockists very soon just in time for spring & summer gatherings!

Introducing our Cloche Lamp in Copper crafted from Kentucky-grown oak & blown glass from Oregon.  It was so great to show it for the first time in Iceland during DesignMarch along with our other new goods.  

We’ve just about sold out of our first batch so thank you to all the private & stockist orders we’ve received!

DesignMarch is this week in Iceland!  Here is a lovely video of our friends from Orri Finn making their beautiful jewelry.  Come check out our new goods at Epal & Aurum this week in Reykjavík.  

Sorry for not posting the last few weeks- we’ve been out in nature, even a little out at sea, getting inspiration & working on side projects we can share soon-

DesignMarch is in Iceland next week & we’re excited to meet new folks & showcase some of the new goods we’ve been working on! 

RECIPE: CRISPY HAM AND CORNMEAL WAFFLES

We love winter for a few reasons: the weather, the cozy times spent inside & most of all, the baking. We’ve been collecting & trying recipes out to share with you over the last few months.

To start our series of recipe posts , we turn to one of our favorite magazines & friends over at Kinfolk.

INGREDIENTS
2 sticks (8 ounces/225 grams) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
8 ounces (225 grams) ham, preferably country ham, chopped or shredded by hand
1 1/2 cups (7.5 ounces/210 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (1.25 ounces/35 grams) coarse yellow cornmeal
3 tablespoons (1.5 ounces/45 grams) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons (.2 ounces/6 grams) baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons (.16 ounces/4.5 grams) baking soda
1/2 teaspoon (.1 ounce/3 grams) salt 2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces/350 milliliters) buttermilk

METHOD
Note: Adjust one oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 200°F/95°C. Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the ham, stirring occasionally, until well crisped, about five minutes. Remove from heat.

Heat waffle iron according to manufacturer’s instructions.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs, then whisk in the buttermilk and remaining butter. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir in the ham.

Cook the waffles and transfer them to the preheated oven to keep warm.

Serve with Quick Pickled Peaches and Three Whipped Butters.

Make waffles up to one month in advance. Cool them completely and freeze them in zipper-top bags. Reheat the waffles in a toaster oven or an oven preheated to 300°F/150°C.

Notes: I use a standard waffle iron that makes one 7-inch round waffle. While you can use a Belgian waffle iron, the waffles won’t be as crisp. You can, however, bake the thicker waffles in an oven preheated to 350°F/180°C until they crisp. Can be made without ham or with bacon instead.

Makes about 8 (7-inch/18-centimeter) waffles

We’ve been away for a month gathering, crafting, traveling far & near so that we will be ready to introduce new goods for the spring! One of the things that people may not know about our Oak Serving Boards- we hand pour & wax each individual mineral oil vile…to us it’s the little things that matter.

Have you starting wrapping gifts yet? Use our milk painted Wooden Gift Tags-we have limited quantities left for the holidays! Either order from our Square Market online shop or message us so we can get them to you in time!

Thank you all who came to our holiday pop-up in Reykjavík, Iceland at the beautiful Harpa. We loved being able to show new goods & know that they will find some great homes this holiday season!