Ironed shoelaces, northern lights.

Ironed Shoelaces, Northern Lights

MY FATHER liked to have things just so. His daily newspaper had to be ironed before it was brought to him, because he did not like the nasty folds it had when the maid fetched it from the newsvendor. He was a very well-dressed man, and whenever he changed shoes the shoelaces had to be freshly ironed. The shoes were always highly polished, and black, for he despised brown shoes. But in July and August he would blossom out in white shoes, and they were immaculate. (Can you imagine an American maid doing all of this? Frankly, I can't).

The only place I have ever found in my travels that gave a level of service of which my father would have approved was the Hotel d'Angeterre in Copenhagen. At the time I knew it (about 25 years ago) it was really fabulous, with a little kitchen and a waiter who knew how to cook on each floor, white lilac blossoms filling the downstairs lobby in January, and two porters who were wonderful at deciding which letters should be sent on to me as I wandered around in northern Scandinavia. The Angleterre is still Copenhagen's best hotel, and Copenhagen is probably the nicest city I know; a city one can walk in, built on a human scale, and full of architectural sights, museums, amusement parks, good restaurants, and wonderful shops.

My winder in Scandinavia, I spent a lot of time in North Norway, beyond the Arctic Circle. I especially fancied Norwegian Lapland, where I saw for the first time the lights of the aurora borealis, which leapt about the black night sky in an absolutely demented manner. I could well understand why the primative, nomadic Lapps were frightened by these mad lights.

Winter is really winter up near the Arctic Circle. I remember once buying for my hostess some "Christmas roses," poor half-dead little begonias, wrapped against the bitter cold in seven layers of newspaper (not ironed), five layers of white tissue paper, and covered with a Christmasy wrapping.

There weren't many other visitors in Lapland at that time of year, but one who seemed particularly out of place was an Indian who was there investigating the Hindu belief, derived from the Vedas, that the Hindus originated in the far north. This man traipsed around Lapland dressed in a dirty pink sari, a thin coat, and a bowler hat, and he always carried a folded umbrella (a rarity in Lapland). I gave him my New York address, and he turned up there one morning, to the distress of my poor husband. He was a vegetarian, which had made things difficult in Lapland, where reindeer meat and fish are the everyday staple foods. Being a vegetarian is easy in New York; but unfortunately the man also wanted to live with us, which was not possible at all. Having a free world pass, the Hindu later plagued my Swiss landlady, but mercifully I never saw him in Switzerland.

In any case, imagine my joy to come back to the delights of Copenhagen after the sterner beauties of Lapland. There, I found Chef Wennberg, Scandinavia's most famous pastry chef. Chef Wennberg, a great artist, had created wonders at the Swedish Royal Palace, such as his superior chocolate and orange cake. This cake, though lighter than our American cakes, has excellent keeping qualities, and is fragrant with orange.

CHOCOLATE AND ORANGE CAKE

Cake

2-3/4 cups flour 3/4 cup Dutch-type cocoa 3 teaspoons baking powder Grated rind of 4 large oranges 2 cups (1 pound) unsalted butter 1-3/4 cups sugar 4 eggs 3/4 cup lukewarm water 3/4 cup milk

Chocolate Coating

Three 4-ounce bars sweet baking chocolate

Marzipan Coating

2 cups almond paste Green food coloring

Decoration

Candied violets, roses, and mimosa

Set over at 350 [degrees].

To make cake: Sift flour with cocoa and baking powder. Stir in orange rind. Cream butter until soft. Gradually beat in sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well. Combine water and milk. Alternately add flour mixture and milk to the batter, beginning and ending with flour. Pour into greased and floured 13" x 4" baking pan. Bake in oven about 1 hour, or until cake tests done. Let stand at room temperature for about 5 minutes before unmolding.

To make chocolate coating: Melt chocolate in the top of a double boiler. Stir until very smooth. Spread with a pastry brush over cooled cake. Smooth with a warmed spatula or knife. Coating must be very smooth. Chill until firm.

To make marzipan coating: If almond paste is too stiff to handle, warm slightly in top of double boiler. Work in sufficient green food coloring for desired shade. Between 2 sheets of waxed paper, roll out almond paste to 1/4-inch thickness or thinner. Roll it long and wide enough to cover the top and sides of the cake. Remove 1 sheet of waxed paper. Flip almond paste ont cake and remove the second sheet of waxed paper. Trim edges of marzipan to fit cake. Cake must be completely covered with almond paste. Use remaining almond paste to decorate cake with hearts, bows, or any desired shapes. Finally, decorate cake with candied violets, roses, and mimosa.