Inas Butterfinger Space

Daring Bakers January Challenge - Scones

2012-01-27T21:55:00.002+01:00

Audax Artifex was our January 2012 Daring Bakers’ host.. Aud worked tirelessly to master light and fluffy scones (a/k/a biscuits) to help us create delicious and perfect batches in our own kitchens!

The challenge scone (biscuit) recipe has been especially formulated by Audax Artifex after a large amount of research and experimentation. So if you want to make perfect scones, you should follow the link to his blog and read all the hints & tips he has been coming up with. I myself should have read them more accurately because my scones were more flat discs than puffy and muffin-like. I guessed I patted them too flat and kneaded them a little bit too long. Resting into the fridge helped the raising process, thats the reason the walnut-gorgonzola ones are higher (they rested longer).

Nevertheless, the taste was great and the baked dough soft. I put them onto my to-do list for my next birthday lunch - a few batches more before should make a perfect result at the end ;)

My modifications were gorgonzola and walnuts for a more savoury and buttermild and passion fruit puree for a more sweet version.

Walnut-Gorgonzola Scones (front) and buttermilk-passion fruit Scones (back)

Walnut-Gorgonzola Scones
makes 6-8 scones

1 cup (240 ml) (140 gm/5 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
2 1/4 teaspoons fresh baking powder
¼ teaspoon (1¼ ml) (1½ gm) salt
2 tablespoons (30 gm) frozen grated butter
Approximately ½ cup (120 ml) cold milk
40 g grated gorgonzola cheese
4 tablespoons roasted and finely chopped walnuts
Optional 1 tablespoon milk, for glazing the tops of the scones

Buttermilk-Passion fruit Scones
makes 6-8 scones

1 cup (240 ml) (140 gm/5 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
2 1/4 teaspoons fresh baking powder
¼ teaspoon (1¼ ml) (1½ gm) salt
2 tablespoons (30 gm) frozen grated butter
60 ml cold buttermilk
60 ml passion fruit puree
Optional 1 tablespoon buttermilk, for glazing the tops of the scones

Directions:

Preheat oven to very hot 475°F/240°C/gas mark 9. Triple sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl. (If your room temperature is very hot refrigerate the sifted ingredients until cold.) Rub the frozen grated butter (or combination of fats) into the dry ingredients until it resembles very coarse bread crumbs with some pea-sized pieces if you want flaky scones or until it resembles coarse beach sand if you want tender scones. Add gorgonzola and walnuts when making the walnut-gorgonzola scones.

Add nearly all of the liquid at once into the rubbed-in flour/fat mixture and mix until it just forms a sticky dough (add the remaining liquid if needed). The wetter the dough the lighter the scones (biscuits) will be!

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board, lightly flour the top of the dough. To achieve an even homogeneous crumb to your scones knead very gently about 4 or 5 times (do not press too firmly) the dough until it is smooth. To achieve a layered effect in your scones knead very gently once (do not press too firmly) then fold and turn the kneaded dough about 3 or 4 times until the dough has formed a smooth texture. (Use a floured plastic scraper to help you knead and/or fold and turn the dough if you wish.)

Pat or roll out the dough into a 6 inch by 4 inch rectangle by about ¾ inch thick (15¼ cm by 10 cm by 2 cm thick). Using a well-floured 2-inch (5 cm) scone cutter (biscuit cutter), stamp out without twisting six 2-inch (5 cm) rounds, gently reform the scraps into another ¾ inch (2 cm) layer and cut two more scones (these two scones will not raise as well as the others since the extra handling will slightly toughen the dough). Or use a well-floured sharp knife to form squares or wedges as you desire.

Place the rounds just touching on a baking dish if you wish to have soft-sided scones or place the rounds spaced widely apart on the baking dish if you wish to have crisp-sided scones. Glaze the tops with milk if you want a golden colour on your scones or lightly flour if you want a more traditional look to your scones.

Bake in the preheated very hot oven for about 10 minutes (check at 8 minutes since home ovens at these high temperatures are very unreliable) until the scones are well risen and are lightly coloured on the tops. The scones are ready when the sides are set. Immediately place onto cooling rack to stop the cooking process, serve while still warm.

Daring Cooks January Challenge: Tamales

2012-01-15T22:33:00.000+01:00

Maranda of Jolts & Jollies was our January 2012 Daring Cooks hostess with the mostess! Maranda challenged us to make traditional Mexican Tamales as our first challenge of the year!

Honestly, I do not like Mexican food at all - or South American. My taste buds can't get used to those strange and very spicy flavours (I like spicy, but not hot-so-you-can't-taste-anything-else spicy). I didn't liked the flavour of the Ceviche or the result of the enchilada challenge (too fatty althoug the filling was nice). And now Tamales with a list of ingredients hard to find and corn flour (tastes strange too) ... Luckily I know someone who runs an British-American food store and had canned tomatoes with chilies and refried black beans I could use. And I had some corn flour left which I mostly use for bread baking. I made the vegetarian version and one of my own, using salmon and avocado. Instead of corn husks, I rolled them into baking paper bound with dental floss. The final tamales were really saturating - but sadly nothing more than that. South-American food and I will never go well together I guess.

Vegan Black Bean and Salmon Avocado Tamales
Servings: About 12 tamales each (if you want to make both, double the dough recipe)

8 ounce (225 grams) bag dried corn husks or about 15 cm wide baking paper stripes

Black Bean filling:

15.5 ounce (440 gm) can black beans, drained and rinsed
14 ounce (400 gm) can diced tomato with green chiles, drained
10 ounce (285 gm) can diced green chiles, drained
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (7 gm/¼ oz) garlic salt
½ teaspoon (2½ ml) (3 gm/ 1/10 oz) ground cumin

Salmon and Avocado filling:

two fresh salmon filets, skin removed and cut in cubes
two ripe avocados, flesh removed and cut in cubes
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
juice of a lime
1 teaspoon fresh grounded pepper mix (black, red and green peppercorns)
salt

Masa dough (for 12 tamales):

4 cups (960 ml) (480 gm/17 oz) masa harina (corn tortilla mix), I used instant masa mix
2 ½-3 cups (600-720 ml) vegetable broth
½ cup (120 ml) Extra Virgin Olive Oil
¼ teaspoon (1¼ ml) (1¾ gm) salt

Directions:

Soak the corn husks: Place the dried corn husks in a large pot and cover with water. Place a heavy plate or a smaller pot full of water on top of husks to keep them in the water. Let soak for 3 hours or up to 1 day, flipping occasionally until husks are softened. Take 3 large corn husks and tear them into ¼ inch (6 mm) strips. (I would suggest you put these back in the water until use because they dry out and start breaking when you try to work with them.

Make the filling. Combine all ingredients for the filling in a medium mixing bowl. Make the masa dough. Combine the olive oil, salt and masa mix in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium speed until combined. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add 2 cups (480 ml) of vegetable broth. If the mixture seems to dry (you can taste it for moistness at this point) add more broth 2 tablespoons (30 ml) at a time.

Unfold 2 corn husks (or a baking paper stripe) onto a work surface. Take ¼ cup (60 ml) of dough and, starting near the top of the husk, press it out into a 4 inch (10 cm) square, leaving 2-3 inches (5 -7½ cm) at the bottom of the husk. Place a heaping tablespoon (15 ml) of the filling in a line down the center of the dough square. Fold the dough into the corn husk and wrap the husk around the dough. Fold up the skinny bottom part of the husk and secure it with one of the corn husk ties.

Stand them up in the steamer. If there aren’t enough tamales to tightly pack the steamer, place crumpled aluminum foil in the excess space. Steam the tamales for about 40 minutes or until the dough deepens in color and easily pulls away from the husk.

Storage & Freezing Instructions/Tips:
The fillings can be made a day in advance and kept in an air tight container in the refrigerator. The tamales can be stored in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. Tamales can be made 2 days in advance. Let cool one hour, place in refrigerator in an air tight container.

Daring Bakers December Challenge: Sour Dough & French Country Bread

2011-12-25T11:09:00.001+01:00

Our Daring Bakers Host for December 2011 was Jessica of My Recipe Project and she showed us how fun it is to create Sour Dough bread in our own kitchens! She provided us with Sour Dough recipes from Bread Matters by AndrewWhitley as well as delicious recipes to use our Sour Dough bread in from Tonia George’s Things on Toast and Canteen’s Great British Food!

I have made sourgh dough bread before - but mine was made with rye flour (post in German).I liked the idea of making bread myself, especially after I watched a tv documentary about frozen-and-baked at the spot bread and breadrolls wich are used in lots of supermarkets and bakeries nowadays. The big bunch of enzymes used in those goods are not my kind of idea how to achieve good quality bread. So I gladly jumped in back to the roots and just the use of flour, water, salt and time.

There has been a book n my shelv for a while I wanted to bake all the recipes from the beginning to the end - The Bread Bakers Apprentice by Peter Reinhard. I made two ore three recipes but didn't manage to go further. Thanks to this challenge my 'bread sparkle' is back, because the French Country Bread I made was astonishing. I used a ceramic baking plate (last year's christmas present from a friend) which is suppode to produce a really good crust - and it worked! At first I was a little bit afraid because I had no proofing basket and the dough came out really flat onto that plate, but it got all right in the end.

The second task which came which the challenge was to 'showcase' the baked bread. A lot of ideas came into my mind, recipes I made before. There where French toasts (especially good for leftovers) or 'Arme Ritter' how we call them here. Or 'Strammer Max' which is basically bread covered in ham and fried egg, a popular cheap dish. I remember we eat lots of it during study time, using cheese and ketchup in addition. Old bread is always good for bread & butter pudding - don't throw it away! My favourite dish is 'Schweizer Brotauflauf' - Swiss bread pudding which is savoury. Here is a similar recipe from epicurious - Savory Bread Pudding with Asparagus, Gruyère, and Fines Herbes.

I wanted something special for my special bread, and I decided for my own version of a famous French dish - Coq au vin. I served the warm dish onto the (dry roasted) bread which made a great christmas meal.

French Country Bread
Servings: 1 large loaf plus extra wheat starter for further baking

Wheat Starter - Day 1:

4 1/2 tablespoons (70 ml) (40 gm/1 ½ oz) stoneground breadmaking whole-wheat or graham flour
3 tablespoons (45 ml) water
Total scant ½ cup (115 ml) (3 oz/85 gm)

In a Tupperware or plastic container, mix the flour and water into a paste. Set the lid on top gently, cover with a plastic bag, to prevent messes in case it grows more than expected! Set somewhere warm (around 86 F if possible). I sometimes put mine on a windowsill near a radiator, but even if it’s not that warm, you’ll still get a starter going – it might just take longer.

Note: I learned from before you should not use plastic. Because I had success before with my normal (ceramic) bowl covered with a plate I used them.

Wheat Starter - Day 2:

4 1/2 tablespoons (70 ml) (40 gm/1 ½ oz) stoneground breadmaking whole-wheat or graham flour
3 tablespoons (45 ml) water
scant 1/2 cup (115 ml) (3 oz/85 gm) starter from Day 1
Total scant cup (230 ml) (6 oz/170 gm)

Stir the flour and water into the mixture from Day 1, cover, and return to its warm place.

Wheat Starter - Day 3:

4 1/2 tablespoons (70 ml) (40 gm/1 ½ oz) stoneground breadmaking whole-wheat or graham flour
4 teaspoons (20 ml) water
scant 1 cup (230 ml) (6 oz/170 gm) starter from Day 2
Total 1⅓ cup (320 ml) (230 gm/8-1/10 oz)

Stir the flour and water into the mixture from Day 2, cover, and return to its warm place.

Wheat Starter - Day 4:

3/4 cup plus 1½ tablespoons (205 ml) (120 gm/4 ¼ oz) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup less 4 teaspoons (100 ml) water
1⅓ cup (320 ml) (230 gm/8 oz) starter from Day 3
Total scant 2⅔ cup (625 ml) (440 gm/15½ oz)

Stir the flour and water into the mixture from Day 3, cover, and return to its warm place. At this point it should be bubbling and smell yeasty. If not, repeat this process for a further day or so until it is!

French Country Bread - Stage 1: Refreshing the leaven

1 cup less 1 tablespoon (225 ml) (160 gm/5 ⅔ oz) wheat Leaven Starter
6 tablespoons less 1 teaspoon (85 ml) (50 gm/1¾ oz) stoneground bread making whole-wheat or graham flour
1 cup plus 2 teaspoons (250 ml) (150 gm/5 ⅓ oz) unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup (120 ml) water
Production Leaven Total 2¾ cups plus 4 teaspoons (680 ml) (480 gm /1 lb 1 oz)

Mix everything into a sloppy dough. It may be fairly stiff at this stage. Cover and set aside for 4 hours, until bubbling and expanded slightly.

French Country Bread - Stage 2: Making the final dough

3/4 cup less 1 teaspoon (175 ml) (100 gm/3 ½ oz) stoneground breadmaking whole-wheat or graham flour, plus more for dusting
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (510 ml) (300gm/10 ½ oz) unbleached all-purpose flour
1¼ teaspoons (7½ ml) (7 gm/¼ oz) sea salt or ⅔ teaspoon (3⅓ ml) (3 gm/⅛ oz) table salt
1 ¼ cups (300 ml) water
1 ¾ cups (425 ml) (300 gm/10 ½ oz) production leaven – this should leave some (1 cup) for your next loaf.
Total 6 cups less 2 tablespoons 1415 ml (1007 gm/35 ½ oz/2 lb 3½ oz)

Mix the dough with all the ingredients except the production leaven. It will be a soft dough. Knead on an UNFLOURED surface for about 8-10 minutes, getting the tips of your fingers wet if you need to. You can use dough scrapers to stretch and fold the dough at this stage, or air knead if you prefer. Basically, you want to stretch the dough and fold it over itself repeatedly until you have a smoother, more elastic dough.
Smooth your dough into a circle, then scoop your production leaven into the centre. You want to fold the edges of the dough up to incorporate the leaven, but this might be a messy process. Knead for a couple minutes until the leaven is fully incorporated in the dough.

Spread some water on a clean bit of your work surface and lay the dough on top. Cover with an upturned bowl, lining the rim of the bowl with a bit of water. Leave for an hour, so that the gluten can develop and the yeasts can begin to aerate the dough.

Once your dough has rested, you can begin to stretch and fold it. Using wet hands and a dough scraper, stretch the dough away from you as far as you can without breaking it and fold it back in on itself. Repeat this in each direction, to the right, towards you, and to the left. This will help create a more ‘vertical’ dough, ready for proofing. Video demonstration here.

Heavily flour a banneton/proofing basket with whole wheat flour and rest your dough, seam side up, in the basket. Put the basket in a large plastic bag, inflate it, and seal it. Set aside somewhere warm for 3-5 hours, or until it has expanded a fair bit. It is ready to bake when the dough responds to a gently poke by slowly pressing back to shape.

Preheat the oven to hot 425°F/220°C/gas mark 7. Line a baking sheet with parchment, then carefully invert the dough onto the sheet. I like to put the baking sheet on top of the basket, then gently flip it over so as to disturb the dough as little as possible. Make 2-3 cuts on top of the loaf and bake for 40-50 minutes, reducing the temperature to moderately hot 400°F/200°C/gas mark 6 after 10 minutes. Cool on a cooling rack.

Notes: I usually knead my doughs into my large IKEA plastic bowl because I have a small working surface wich really fast gets messy during baking. I don't own a proofing basket either - so I put the dough onto a floured (linen) kitchen towel into the the IKEA bowl, covered it with cling film and put it into a large plastic bag.

Coq au vin toasts
serves four

half of my recipe for Coq et lapin au vin, slightly cooled
8 large slices of a French country bread

Roast your slices into a pan until they turn slightly brown. Put two to Three tablespoons on the slices and serve.
For a deluxe version, you can fry the bread into some butter, rub them with fresh garlic and sprinkle chopped parsley on top.

Coq et lapin au vin rouge

2011-12-25T11:04:00.001+01:00

What is a graet winter dish especially around christmas time? Something warm with a bunch of spices of course. I had a couple of bottles red wine and some frozen meat into the freezer which were supposed to be put together into a pan. Inspired by dishes like Brunswick Stew (a Daring Cooks Challenge) and a risotto with rabbit and black olives, I decided to create my version of the French classic Coq au vin.

Coq et lapin au vin rouge
adapted from Lea Linster

two legs of a corn-fed chicken (400 g)
4 forelegs of a rabbit
5 allspice corns, crushed
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
125 g bacon, cut in cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil
600 ml red wine (dry)
400 ml chicken stock
1 Bouquet garni (2 bay leaves, one celery stalk, 2 spring onions, 2 sprigs of parsley and one sprig of thyme and rosemary bound together)
2 cloves garlic, cut in stripes
1 carrot, cut in thin stripes
280 g Kalamata olives, pit removed and cut in halves
pepper & salt
3-4 tablespoons flour

In a large (and high) pan, saute the bacon with the oil and allspice and cinnamon until it starts to smell. But into a bowl and set aside. Fry the rabbit forelegs and chicken legs on both sides in bunches into the same pan until they are slightly brown. Remove and set aside. Add the carrot and garlic stripes with the bacon and fry for another minute. Put the meat in layers on top, add bouquet garni, red wine and chicken stock and some salt and pepper. Bring to a boil.

Preheat oven to 200°C. Cover the lid of your pan inside with some wet baking paper before putting it on the top (this is for sealing so nothing will spoil around). Put the pan onto the middle rack.
After 30 minutes, remove from the oven and add olives and remaining 200 ml of wine and put back into the oven for another 30 minutes.
Let cool a little bit and remove the bouquet (and toss it). Separate the meat from the bones and rip or cut it into medium size pieces. Meanwhile put the pan back on the stove and bring to a boil. Add the flour until your sauce has the consistency of your choice. Add the meat and let it warm (no further cooking required). Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with French Country Bread.

Daring Cooks December Challenge: Char Sui & Char Sui Bao

2011-12-14T22:52:00.000+01:00

Our Daring Cooks’ December 2012 hostess is Sara from Belly Rumbles! Sara chose awesome Char Sui Bao as our challenge, where we made the buns, Char Sui, and filling from scratch – delicious!

Char Sui is a Cantonese dish and nothing else than barbecued (pork) meat. Char Sui Bao is a bread bun with a Char Sui filling - Char Sui to go if you like ...

I didn't feel like blogging lately. I guess my annual winter depression (especially because of the lack of light) is around the corner, and my other new (excessive) hobby - knitting - are the two main reasons. My work is exhausting me, and even the joy of cooking and baking isn't enough to compensate. I didn't skip the last challenges because I didn't like them but because I couldn't get myself motivated to stand in the kitchen and concentrate for at least an hour or two.

Today, against all odds like bad time, terrible photo conditions because of the artificial light and another tiring round of overtimes, I found my way to my favourite place (besides the couch) in my appartment. I'm glad I did because now it smells ridiciously good. The buns are just ouf of the oven and I haven't had such a good outcome in a while. The marinade is similar to the one for BBQ chicken I discovered into a cooking book years ago and have used in lot of variations since. Well, I think this one wan't invented by the author of that book, wasn't it? There were lot's of variations given for cooking the meat, but I decided for the oven method (simple & easy). The result was incredible, the meat was soft and tasty (I marinated over 10 hours), and some of it dissappeared somewhere during the filling-preparing process. Must have been the occasionally occuring black hole which crossed my kitchen from time to time (although my man isn't present right now). I think the buns with their soft texture and moist & spicy filling won't last any longer ...

Char Sui (Cantonese BBQ Pork)

marinade without red food colouring or maltose

1 teaspoon (6 gm) salt
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon (3 gm) ground white pepper
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons (30 gm/1 oz) sugar
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon shaoxing cooking wine
1 teaspoon (3 gm) five spice

Trim the pork loin to remove fat and tendon and slice lengthways so you have two long pieces, then cut in half. Place in container that you will be marinating them in. Combine all the other ingredients in a bowl and mix well to combine. Cover pork well with ⅔ of the marinade mixture. Marinate for a minimum of 4 hours, best overnight. Place the reserved ⅓ portion of the marinade covered in the fridge. You will use this as a baste when cooking the pork.

Pre-heat oven to moderate 180˚C/350°F/gas mark 4. Cover a baking tray with foil or baking paper. Place on top of this a rack on which to cook the pork. Place pork on the rack and place in oven. Bake for approximately 10 minutes, basting and turning. Turn the heat up to moderately hot 200˚C/400°F/gas mark 6 for the final 20 minutes as this will aid the charring. Cook until cooked through. The meat will shrink a lot, but with this method it's still moist inside.

Baked Char Sui Bao (Cantonese BBQ Pork Bun)
Servings: 12

350 gm (12 oz) char sui (finely diced)
2 green onions/spring onions (finely sliced)
1 tablespoon hoisin
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
¼ cup (60 ml) chicken stock
1 teaspoon (2 gm) cornflour
½ tablespoon vegetable oil

Dough Ingredients:

2½ teaspoons (8 gm/1 satchel) of dried yeast
¼ cup (55 gm/2 oz) sugar
½ cup warm water
2 cups (280 gm/10 oz) plain flour
1 egg (medium size - slightly beaten)
3 tablespoons oil
½ teaspoon (3 gm) salt
Egg wash: 1 egg beaten with a dash of water

Filling Directions:

Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or pan. Add diced char sui to the wok/pan and stir then add spring onions, cook for 1 minute. Add hoisin, dark soy sauce and sesame oil to the pork mixture, stir fry for one minute. Mix cornflour and stock together and then add to the pork mixture. Stir well and keep cooking until the mixture thickens, 1 or 2 minutes. Remove mixture from wok/pan and place in a bowl to cool. Set aside until ready to use.

Bun Directions:

Place the sugar and warm water in a bowl, mix until the sugar has dissolved. Add yeast and leave it for 10 - 15 minutes until it becomes all frothy. Sift flour in to a large bowl. Add yeast mixture, egg, oil and salt and stir. Bring the flour mixture together with your hands. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead for approximately 10 minutes. The dough should be smooth and slightly elastic. Place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Leave to rise until it is double in size. This will take from 1 - 2 hours depending on weather conditions.

Once dough has doubled in size knock back and divide in to 12 portions and shape in to round balls. Use a rolling pin to roll out to approximately 5cm (2 inches) in diameter. Then pick the piece of dough up and gently pull the edges to enlarge to about 8cm (3 inches) in diameter. By doing this it keeps the dough slightly thicker in the centre. This means when your buns are cooking they won't split on the tops.

Place a good sized tablespoon of filling on the dough circle. Then gather the edges and seal your bun. Place the bun seal side down on your baking tray. Continue with rest of dough. Once all buns are complete brush surface with egg wash. Place in a preheated oven of 200º C/392º F for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Halloween Special: "Gruselaugen" - Cupcakes

2011-10-31T22:30:00.000+01:00

Es ist mal wieder soweit, Halloween steht vor der Tür. Nur mache ich mir überhaupt nichts aus Halloween, denn ich bin der Meinung man muss nicht jeden Feiertag eines anderes Landes übernehmen, nur weil man nicht genug eigene hat ... Kulinarisch sehe ich es natürlich etwas anders, und mir ist jede Gelegenheit recht, neue Rezept auszuprobieren. Als ich nun die Gelegenheit hatte, an gleich zwei Cupcake-Backwettbewerben teilzunehmen, konnte ich nicht widerstehen. Ob ich Lust habe? Aber sicher - nur Zeit ... eher weniger. Gerade weil ich wieder einmal arbeiten musste und erst wieder in letzter Minute darauf stieß. Einmal hatte mich Maria von Ich bin dann mal kurz in der Küche. eingeladen, und auch der nächste BackAthon stand vor der Tür. Also blieb mir nichts anderes übrig, als meinen Lieblingscupcake (Schoki mit Chai) mit einer grusligen Halloween-Dekoration zu kombinieren. Als Frosting musste es unbedingt etwas mir Kürbis sein, denn das passte sowohl zum Motto als auch zur Jahreszeit. Das Karamel konnte ich leider aus Dekorationsgründen nicht so üppig benutzen, aber wer es besonders süß mag, kann seine Cupcakes auch gerne damit füllen.

"Gruselaugen"-Cupcakes

Chocolate Chai Cupcakes mit Kürbis-Frischkäse-Frosting und Ahornsirup-Karamellsauce

Chocolate Chai Cupcakes
12 Cupcakes

100 g Zartbitterschokolade, mind. 61%*
165 g Butter
200 g Zucker
4 Eier
65 g Mehl
15 g Kakaopulver
3/4 TL Backpulver
1 1/2 TL Chai-Gewürz**
Messerspitze Salz

* ich nehme gerne 71%ige mit Kakoasplittern für das gewisse Extra

** zB gemahlender loser Chai Tee, ansonsten eine Mischung aus 2 TL Fenchelsamen, 2 TL Nelken, 1 EL Kardamom, 2 TL Zimt, 2 TL Ingwer (alles gemahlen)

Butter und Schokolade im Wasserbad schmelzen und gut miteinander vermengen. Dann aus dem Bad nehmen und den Zucker einrühren. 10 Minuten abkühlen lassen. Mit dem Mixer 3 Minuten schlagen, die Eier nacheinander unterschlagen, jedes mindestens eine halbe Minute. Das gesiebte Mehl, Kakaopulver, Gewürzmischung und Salz dazugeben und unterrühren bis eine homogene Masse entstanden ist. In die Cupcake/Muffin-Formen füllen und bei 180°C für 25 Minuten backen.

Kürbis-Frischkäse-Frosting

125 g Kürbispüree*
250 g Frischkäse
2 TL Pumpkin Pie Gewürz **
90 g Puderzucker
55 g Butter

* Für das Kürbispüree habe ich Hokkaido-Kürbis gekocht, ordentlich abtropfen lassen und dann durch ein Sieb gestichen. Das Püree sollte nicht zu feucht sei, am besten vor der Weiterverarbeitung in mehreren Lagen Küchentüchern ausdrücken. Wenn sich das Püree auf dem Küchentuch "zusammenrollen" läßt bzw sich daraus Kugeln formen lassen, ist es trocken genug.

**Pumpkin Pie Gewürz

15 g Zimt, gemahlen
1 EL Ingwer, gemahlen
1 TL Nelken, gemahlen
1/2 TL Muskatnuß, gemahlen
1/4 TL Kardamom, gemahlen (optional)

Ahornsirup-Karamellsauce

50 g Zucker
50 ml Ahornsirup (kalt, aus dem Kühlschrank)
1 1/2 EL Sahne
eine Prise Salz

Den Zucker in einem kleinen Topf karamellisieren lassen, bis er goldbraun ist, dann den kalten Ahornsirup dazugeben (Achtung, spritzt!). Gut rühren, damit sich keine Klumpen bilden bzw so lange rühren, bis sich die Klumpen aufgelöst haben. Sahne und Salz dazugeben, kurz aufkochen lassen. In eine Schüssel geben und abkühlen lassen.

6 bunte Lakritzstangen, quer halbiert (ich habe die Kurzen aus der 'Colorado'-Packung verwendet)

Die Cupcakes nach dem Abkühlen mit Frosting bestreichen. Mit der Ahornsirup-Karamellsauce einen Klecks in die Mitte setzen und einer Lakritzstange dekorieren.

Daring Bakers October Challenge: Povitica

2011-10-27T09:49:00.003+02:00

The Daring Baker’s October 2011 challenge was Povitica, hosted by Jenni of The Gingered Whisk. Povitica is a traditional Eastern European Dessert Bread that is as lovely to look at as it is to eat!

Povitica (pronounced po-va-teet-sa) is traditional Eastern European dessert bread that is traditionally served during the holiday season. It is also known as Nutroll, Potica, Kalachi, Strudia, just to name a few. Family recipes, and the secrets on how to roll the bread so thin, was passed down through generations of families.The traditional filling for this bread is an English walnut filling, but other typical fillings also include apple/cinnamon, apricot preserves, and a sweet cheese (like cream cheese).

Spontaneously I remembered a bread I baked long time ago, during my study time, for a 'Polish evening' with some Polish students. It was a recipe from a Polish cookbook and called "poppy seeds strudel". I guess it was one of the traditional recipes mentioned above - and I liked it a lot. So I started this challenge enthusiasticly - and I went nuts (a little bit).

I used the half batch recipe and made the first two small loaves for a birthday brunch we had, and filled one with butter, sugar and sinnamon and the other with my favourite selfmade strawberry & lime jam (with a whole glas of the asset of my last ressorts). The second batch I made for a family get-together with coffee and cake, and the fillings were the traditional nut filling (which was prefered by ma sister-in-law) and a poppy seed & curd cheese filling (which was prefered by my brother and my parents).

I found out that the leftovers were the right thing for my sweet tooth. Slice for slice was wandering into my lunchbox every day ... I think I got addicted and have to make a bunch every week, so thanks for this great recipe!

Povitica

Half Batch Dough Ingredients (Makes two loaves each 1.25 lbs/565 grams)

To activate the Yeast:

1 Teaspoon (5 ml/4 ½ gm) Sugar
½ Teaspoon (2½ ml/1½ gm) All-Purpose (Plain) Flour
¼ Cup (60 ml) Warm Water
1 Tablespoon (15 ml/7 gm/¼ oz/1 sachet) Dry Yeast

Dough:

1 Cup (240 ml) Whole Milk
6 Tablespoons (90 ml/85 gm/3 oz) Sugar
1½ Teaspoons (7½ ml/9 gm/1/3 oz) Table Salt
2 Large Eggs
¼ Cup (60 ml/60 gm/½ stick/2 oz) Unsalted Butter, melted
4 cups (960 ml/560 gm/19¾ oz/1¼ lb) All-Purpose Flour, measure first then sift, divided

Topping:

¼ Cup (60 ml) Cold STRONG Coffee
1 Tablespoon (15 ml/14 gm/½ oz) Granulated Sugar
Melted Butter

To Activate Yeast:

In a small bowl, stir 2 teaspoons sugar, 1 teaspoon flour, and the yeast into ½ cup warm water and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to stand for 5 minutes

To Make the Dough:

In a medium saucepan, heat the milk up to just below boiling (about 180°F/82°C), stirring constantly so that a film does not form on the top of the milk. You want it hot enough to scald you, but not boiling. Allow to cool slightly, until it is about 110°F/43°C.In a large bowl, mix the scalded milk, sugar, and the salt until combined. Add the beaten eggs, yeast mixture, melted butter, and 2 cups (480 ml/280 gm/10 oz) of flour.Blend thoroughly and slowly add remaining flour, mixing well until the dough starts to clean the bowl. Turn dough out onto floured surface and knead, gradually adding flour a little at a time, until smooth and does not stick.
Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces (they will each weight about 1.25 pounds/565 grams). Place dough in lightly oiled bowls, cover loosely with a layer of plastic wrap and then a kitchen towel and let rise an hour and a half in a warm place, until doubled in size.

To Roll and Assemble the Dough:

Spread a clean sheet or cloth over your entire table so that it is covered. Sprinkle with a couple of tablespoons to a handful of flour (use flour sparingly). Place the dough on the sheet and roll the dough out with a rolling pin, starting in the middle and working your way out, until it measures roughly 10-12 inches (25½ cm by 30½ cm) in diameter. Spoon 1 to 1.5 teaspoons (5ml to 7 ½ ml/4 gm to 7 gm) of melted butter on top.

Using the tops of your hands, stretch dough out from the center until the dough is thin and uniformly opaque. You can also use your rolling pin, if you prefer. As you work, continually pick up the dough from the table, not only to help in stretching it out, but also to make sure that it isn’t sticking. When you think it the dough is thin enough, try to get it a little thinner. It should be so thin that you can see the color and perhaps the pattern of the sheet underneath.
Spoon filling (see below for recipes evenly over dough until covered. Lift the edge of the cloth and gently roll the dough like a jelly roll. Once the dough is rolled up into a rope, gently lift it up and place it into a greased loaf pan in the shape of a “U”, with the ends meeting in the middle. You want to coil the dough around itself, as this will give the dough its characteristic look when sliced. Repeat with remaining loav, coiling each rope of dough in its own loaf pan. Brush the top of each loaf with a mixture of ½ cup (120 ml) of cold STRONG coffee and 2 tablespoons (30ml/28 gm/1 oz) of sugar. If you prefer, you can also use egg whites in place of this.

Cover pans lightly will plastic wrap and allow to rest for approximately 15 minutes.Preheat oven to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4. Remove plastic wrap from dough and place into the preheated oven and bake for approximately 15 minutes. Turn down the oven temperature to slow 300°F/150°C/gas mark 2 and bake for an additional 45 minutes, or until done. Remove bread from oven and brush with melted butter. Check the bread every 30 minutes to ensure that the bread is not getting too brown. You may cover the loaves with a sheet of aluminum foil if you need to.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for 20-30 minutes. It is recommended that the best way to cut Povitica loaves into slices is by turning the loaf upside down and slicing with a serrated knife.

Traditional Nut Filling
enough for filling two loaves

3½ Cups (840 ml/560 gm/1¼ lb/20 oz) Ground English Walnuts
½ Cup (120 ml) Whole Milk
½ Cup (120 ml/115 gm/1 stick/4 oz) Unsalted Butter
1 Whole Egg, Beaten
½ Teaspoon (2½ ml) Pure Vanilla Extract
1 Cup (240 ml/225 gm/8 oz) Sugar
½ Teaspoon (2½ ml/2 gm) Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
½ Teaspoon (2½ ml/1½ gm) Cinnamon

In a large bowl mix together the ground walnuts, sugar, cinnamon and cocoa. Heat the milk and butter to boiling. Pour the liquid over the nut/sugar mixture. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix thoroughly. Allow to stand at room temperature until ready to be spread on the dough. If the mixture thickens, add a small amount of warm milk.

Poppy Seed & curd cheese fillling

enough for one loav

250 g (store-bought) poppy seed filling
200g curd cheese
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon grated zest of a lemon

Mix curd cheese, cornstarch, zest and sugar together. When spreading the filling, make 'stripes' about one sixth of the whole dough. Start with curd cheese, then poppy seed filling - repeat two times and end with the poppy seed filling.

fillings from left to right: jam, cinnamon & sugar, poppy seed & custard, traditional nut filling

For the jam filling you'll need about 150 g jam, for the cinnamon & sugar filling brush the dough with some melted butter and cover with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar in a proportion of your choice.

Daring Cooks October Challenge: Moo Shu Pork

2011-10-14T23:57:00.000+02:00

The October Daring Cooks' Challenge was hosted by Shelley of C Mom Cook and her sister Ruth of The Crafts of Mommyhood. They challenged us to bring a taste of the East into our home kitchens by making our own Moo Shu, including thin pancakes, stir fry and sauce.

"Simply put, Moo Shu is a stir fry, containing thinly sliced or shredded vegetables, meat (traditionally) and scrambled egg. It is usually served on flat, thin, steamed pancakes, and is accompanied by a complementary sauce.

Moo Shu pork (the protein most commonly used in Moo Shu dishes) originates in Northern China (commonly attributed to the Shandong province, though sometimes attributed to Beijing), rising in popularity in Chinese restaurants in the West in the 1960's and 70's. As the dish became more popular, different restaurants adapted the recipe to meet their own styles, or to accommodate for expensive or hard-to find ingredients, so there is a lot of variation among recipes. Common among them, though, is a basis of cabbage and the inclusion of scrambled eggs."

The challenge recipe provided for the Moo Shu filling comes from The Chinese Kitchen by Deh-Ta Hsiung. The pancake recipe comes from the same source, adapted from a variety of online demonstrations. The sauce recipe provided is from epicurian.com.

This is a really great & quick recipe - my pancakes landed in a zipper bag and followed me to work, where they were heated into a microwave oven and eaten with lots of joy. I had some leftovers, which I ate with some rice the day after.

Pancakes
makes 24-30 pancakes

4 cups (960 ml) (560 gm) (19¾ oz) all purpose flour
About 1½ cup (300ml) (10 fl oz) boiling water
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vegetable oil
Dry flour for dusting

Sift the flour into a mixing bowl. Gently pour in the water, stirring as you pour, then stir in the oil. Knead the mixture into a soft but firm dough. If your dough is dry, add more water, one tablespoon at a time, to reach the right consistency. Cover with a damp towel and let stand for about 30 minutes.

Lightly dust the surface of a worktop with dry flour. Knead the dough for 6-8 minutes or until smooth, then divide into 3 equal portions. Roll out each portion into a long sausage and cut each sausage into 8-10 pieces. Keep the dough that you are not actively working with covered with a lightly damp dish cloth to keep it from drying out.
Roll each piece into a ball, then, using the palm of your hand, press each piece into a flat pancake. Dust the worktop with more dry flour. Flatten each pancake into a 6 to 8 inch (15 cm to 20 cm) circle with a rolling pin, rolling gently on both sides.

Alternative: Working two pieces at a time, roll each piece into a three inch pancake. Using a pastry brush, brush sesame oil onto the top of one of the pancakes, and top it with the other pancake. Further roll the doubled pancake into a 6 to 8 inch circle and cook as the above method:
Place an un-greased frying pan over high heat. Once the pan is hot, lower the heat to low and place the pancake in the pan. Remove when little light-brown spots appear on the underside. Cover with a damp cloth until ready to serve.

Hoisin sauce

4 tablespoons (60 ml) soy sauce
2 tablespoons (30 ml) peanut butter OR black bean paste
1 tablespoon (15 ml) honey OR molasses
2 teaspoons (10 ml) white vinegar
1/8 teaspoon (⅔ ml) garlic powder
2 teaspoons (10 ml) sesame seed oil
20 drops (¼ teaspoon) Chinese style hot sauce (optional, depending on how hot you want your hoisin sauce)

Simply mix all of the ingredients together by hand using a sturdy spoon - or you can do as me, put it into a clean jar, close the lid tightly and shake until your arm stars to hurt ;)

Moo Shu Pork
Serves 4

2/3 cup (1 oz) (30 gm) Dried black fungus ('wood ears')
½ lb (450 gm) pork loin or butt
¾ cup (3½ oz) (100 gm) bamboo shoots, thinly cut
3 cups (6 oz) (170 gm) Chinese cabbage (Napa cabbage), thinly cut
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (6 gm) salt
4 tablespoons (60 ml) vegetable oil
2 scallions
1 tablespoon (15 ml) light soy sauce
2 teaspoons (10 ml) rice wine
A few drops sesame oil
12 thin pancakes to serve

Soak the fungus in warm water for 10-15 minutes, rinse and drain. Discard any hard stalks, then thinly shred. Thinly cut the pork, bamboo shoots and Chinese cabbage into matchstick-sized shreds.
Lightly beat the eggs with a pinch of salt. Heat about 1 tablespoon (15 ml) oil in a preheated wok and scramble the eggs until set, but not too hard. Remove and keep to one side.
Heat the remaining oil. Stir-fry the shredded pork for about 1 minute or until the color changes. Add the fungus, bamboo shoots, Chinese cabbage and scallions. Stir-fry for about 2-3 minutes, then add the remaining salt, soy sauce and wine. Blend well and continue stirring for another 2 minutes. Add the scrambled eggs, stirring to break them into small bits. Add the sesame oil and blend well.

To prepare each pancake for eating, the following is the most common process: a small amount of hoisin sauce is spread onto the pancake, on top of which a spoonful (about 2 tablespoons) of the stir-fry is placed. In order to prevent (or, realistically, minimize) the filling from spilling out while eating, the bottom of the pancake is folded up, then the pancake is rolled, similarly to a soft taco. Once rolled, the prepared pancake is eaten immediately.

Buchteln (alias Dampfnudeln) mit Pflaumenmusfüllung

2011-10-10T22:20:00.000+02:00

Die Tage werden kürzer, das Wetter stürmischer und kälter, also genau richtig, um drinnen zu bleiben, die dicken Socken hervorzukramen und sich mit warmen Speisen zu verwöhnen. Das folgende Gericht ist einfach perfekt dazu - zwar habe ich es im heißesten Sommer gekocht und fotografiert (bei 28°C mache auch nur ich den Herd an ...), aber beim Anblick läuft mir schon wieder das Wasser im Mund zusammen. Hier in der Region sind Buchteln zwar als Dampfnudeln bekannt - zumindest wies es so immer der Essensplan der Schulspeisung aus - aber es ist die selbe Bezeichnung für eine ursprünglich aus dem Böhmischen stammende Mehlspeise. Mein Rezept ist aus einer Ausgabe der A la Carte "Das süße Wien" - einem Magazin welches ich bei meinem Besuch in Wien unbedingt kaufen musste. Wer sonst, wenn nicht die Wiener, verstehen sich auf solchen Süßkram am besten ... Ich habe noch eine Pflaumenmusfüllung 'ergänzt', aber es geht sicherlich auch jede andere Marmelade, wer möchte kann sie aber auch ganz 'pur' herstellen. Mit dem gemeinen Germknödel, der hier zu Lande in den Supermärkten feilgeboten wird, hat die Buchtel aber nichts zu tun, den der reichhaltige buttrige Teiggeschmack lässt sich gar nicht mit den geschmacklosen Luftschwämmen vergleichen ...

Buchteln mit Pflaumenmusfüllung
für 3-4 reichliche Hauptmahlzeiten oder 6-8 Dessertportionen

15 g frische Hefe
125 ml lauwarme Milch
250 g Mehl
55 g weiche Butter
1-2 Eigelb
60 g Puderzucker
1 Päckchen Vanillezucker
1 Prise Salz
abgeriebene Schlae einer halben Zitrone
60 g flüssige Butter zum Bestreichen
6-8 Teelöffel Pflaumenmus (plus zum Servieren)

Notiz: Per Hand geht es unkomplizierter als mit dem Teigknethaken einer Küchenmaschine, nur bitte beim Anrühren des Teigs am Anfang einen Holzlöffel benutzen.

Die Hefe zerbröseln, in der warmen Milch auflösen und mit 50 g des Mehles verrühren. An einem warmen Ort ca 15 Minuten gehen lassen. Die Butter mit dem Vanille- und dem Puderzucker, dem Eigelb einer Prise Salz und der Zitronenschale verrühren, den Vorteig und das restliche Mehl dazugeben und zu einem glatten elastischen Teig verarbeiten - am besten mit der Hand auf einer leicht bemehlten Arbeitsfläche einige Minuten kräftig kneten. Zugedeckt an einem warmen Ort um das doppelte des Ausgsngsvolumens aufgehen lassen. Danach noch einmal kräftig durchkneten, zu einer etwa 40 cm langen Rolle formen und diese in 6-8 gleich große Scheiben schneiden. Auf jede eine Löffel Pflaumenmus geben und den Teig darüber schließen bzw zusammendrehen. Mit der Verschlußstelle nach unten in eine mit Butter ausgefettete ofenfeste Form setzen, mit der restlichen Butter großzügig bestreichen. Zugedeckt nochmal 20 Minuten gehen lassen. Keine Angst wenn es zuerst nach Wenig aussieht, die Buchteln gehen im Ofen ordentlich auf. Im vorgeheizten Ofen bei 180°C für 35 Minuten backen, dabei öfter mit der restlichen Butter bestreichen. Wenn gewünscht mit Puderzucker bestäuben und noch heiß mit warmer Vanillesoße servieren.

Daring Cooks September Challenge: Berlin Noodle Soup with with marrow quenelles & lye rolls

2011-09-14T22:10:00.001+02:00

Peta, of the blog Peta Eats, was our lovely hostess for the Daring Cook‟s September 2011 challenge, “Stock to Soup to Consommé”. We were taught the meaning between the three dishes, how to make a crystal clear Consommé if we so chose to do so, and encouraged to share our own delicious soup recipes!

I have made soups and broths (mainly for risottos) before, but they were simple, easy and quick to make. I'm not really fond of soups as a main dish - I don't know why - so I don't cook them very often. The only one I loved to eat was "Buchstabensuppe" (letter noodle soup) made bey my grandaunt who died three years ago. It was a simple dish, with a broth made from sausages (wiener) and small noodles shaped in letters. Her soup was the best noodle soup I can remember - it reminds me so much of my childhood. So I wanted to taste something similar again, and by accident I found a suitable recipe by one of my favourite German chefs, Kolja Kleeberg. It's a recipe that reminds him of his childhood and a typical/traditional dish of Berlin, our beautiful capital. This soup is made with noodles, a broth of veal, cooked veal meat, parsley and little balls made out of beef marrow, bread and eggs (I learned they are called quenelles). As accompaniment I chose a very German bread/pastry too - lye rolls.

Unfortunately my first attempt to make quenelles went completely wrong and they dissolved themselves instead of getting firm. That ist the reason the soup is not as clear as supposed to be. The bread rolls were easy to make, I skipped topping them with coarse salt because I don't like that either.

Berlin Noodle Soup with marrow quenelles

adapted from Kolja Kleeberg

serves four

2 onions
1 carrot
1 kg breast of veal
1/2 leek
one bay leaf
10 peppercorns
100 g beef marrow (from about 500 g marrowbone)
5 egg yolks
2 tablespoons flour
100 g white bread, crust removed
1/4 bunch parsley, finely chopped
salt & pepper
nutmeg
125g soup noodles

Half the onions and the carrot. Lay with cut side down onto aluminium foil into a pan (so you don't need to clean it afterwards) and roast until golden. Cut the veal breas into large pieces, salt and put into a large pot with 2000 ml cold water. Bring to a boil and skim of the foam. Add roasted vegetables, leek, bay leaf, salt, peppercorns and boil onto low heat for about an hour. Remove vegetables, spices and meat, cut the meat into smaller pieces as desired - I used a cookie cutter for getting an interesting shape.

Remove the marrow from the bone and soak into cold water, flush away any remaining blood. Melt into a small pan slowly (you don't want it to burn), pass through a sieve and let cool. Crumble the bread into small pieces and mix with the marrow, egg yolks, salt, pepper and nutmeg (spice after taste). Make small dumplings and poach into some of the hot broth you made before. Remove with a slotted spoon.

Cook the noodles into a separate pot until done (don't forget the salt). Put them into a bowl together with the parsley, meat and quenelles. Fill with broth and enjoy!

Marrow quenelle

Lye rolls

adapted from "Brot backen leicht gemacht", makes about 10

400 g flour
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
60 g fresh yeast
100 g baking soda
125 ml lukewarm water

In a large bowl, blend salt and flour. Dissolve the yeast and the sugar into the water, mix with the flour and knead until you have a smooth and elastic dough - I had to add some additional water to get the dough to this stage. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel, place warm and let rise for about an hour. Knead againg and divide into 10 even pieces. Form rolls. Place on parchment paper, cover with a kitchen towle and let rise again for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile preheat your oven to 220°C. Dissolve the baking soda into the water and bring to a boil. Dip your rolls into the boiling water using a slotted spoon for 30 seconds (each side). Do not overcrowd your pot ... Place the rolls back on the parchment paper (and the paper on a baking tray of course) and cut the top as you like (crosswise for example, or using a cookie cutter). Bake for 20 minutes until they are dark brown.

National Cupcake BackAthon: Trollheimen Cupcakes & Red velvet cake with summer berries

2011-09-01T21:47:00.001+02:00

It's time for another BackAthon - and a premiere: my first double post. The BackAthon's topic was berries. I remembered a cake I found at epicurious and made for our last summer party. It was a red velvet cake with cream cheese topping and filled (and topped) with berries. II really liked this cake and remembered it when I read the topic. I thought red velvet cupcakes would be a nice idea too. They had to be with blueberries, becuase at our summer vacation in Norway we found lots of them along the way, and I still had a huge craving for them. I added some cardamom to the dough - Norwegians like to put this spice into their baked goods and I kind of like that too. The filling uses an ingredient which ist also typical for Norway - rømme (or in my case, creme fraiche). The moment I turned my back to the finished cupcakes, the first one was already gone ...

Red velvet cake with summer berries

adapted from epicurious

Cake:

155 g cups sifted cake flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
230 ml buttermilk
1 tablespoon red food coloring
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon cardamom (grated) *
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (grated) *

* for cupcakes only

Preheat oven to 160°C. Butter and flour a 26cm-diameter cake pan. Sift sifted flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into medium bowl. Whisk buttermilk, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla in small bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until well blended. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating until well blended after each addition. Beat in dry ingredients in 4 additions alternately with buttermilk mixture in 3 additions.Pour batter into pan.

Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes. Cool in pan on rack. When cooled, divide into two layers lenghtwise.

Frosting:

halve for cupcakes

250 g cream cheese, room temperature
200 g mascarpone
110 g unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
175 g powdered sugar

250 g fresh strawberries, rinsed and halved
400 g fresh blueberries

Beat cream cheese, mascarpone and butter in large bowl until smooth. Beat in vanilla. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth.

Place 1 cake layer, flat side up, on platter. Spread 1 cup frosting over top of cake. Arrange half of the strawberries and blueberries atop frosting, pressing lightly to adhere. Top with second cake layer, flat side down. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Arrange remaining berries decoratively over top of cake. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Let stand at room temperature before serving.)

Trollheimen-Cupcakes

Cupcakes: dough see above, fill into your muffin moulds (max half of the mould, or you'll get a mess) and bake for about 20 minutes

Frosting: see above

Filling:
for 12 cupcakes

100 g creme fraiche
2 tablespoon blueberry jam
50 g fresh blueberries + 150 g for decoration
1 1/2 sheets gelatin

Puree creme fraiche, blueberries and blueberry jam into a food processor. Soften the gelatin in cold water for 5 minutes. Squeeze out excess water from the gelatin. Heat (into a small pan on the stove) or into the mircrowave until melted, then add the filling little by little, stirr to prevent lumps. Let cool into the refrigerator.
Note: For a sweeter alternative you can use 150 g blueberry joghurt and gelatin.

Assembling:

Meanwhile cut holes into your cupcakes. When the filling starts to thicken, pour into the cupcakes. Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes and decorate with blueberries.

Daring Cooks August Challange: Appam and Eggplant Curry

2011-08-30T21:49:00.000+02:00

Mary, who writes the delicious blog, Mary Mary Culinary was our August Daring Cooks’ host. Mary chose to show us how delicious South Indian cuisine is! She challenged us to make Appam and another South Indian/Sri Lankan dish to go with the warm flat bread.

Next day, next post ... Really sad that I couldn't post this one in time. I love Indian food - and I loved the result from this challenge. It took me lots of time and sweat, because last weekend we had about 28°C in the kitchen - and I went into it and started frying eggplants ... (something I would normally never do - I hate frying, as I mentioned a dozen times before) I enjoyed the curry sauce - the combination of flavours was delicious, would be perfect with meat, fish or other vegetables too. I used the Appams as a wrap, and the rest of the curry ended up into Naan breads. Yummy!

Appam
makes about 15. (3-4 are enough for a serving)

1 ½ cups (360 ml/300 gm/10½ oz) raw rice
1 ½ teaspoons (7½ ml/5 gm) active dry yeast
2 teaspoons (10 ml/9 gm) sugar
½ cup (120 ml) of coconut water or water, room temperature
1 ½ tablespoons (22½ ml/18 gm) cooked rice
½ teaspoon (2½ ml/3 gm) salt
about ½ cup (120 ml) thick coconut milk (from the top of an unshaken can)

Soak the raw rice in 4 to 5 cups of water for 3 hours. You can soak it overnight, although I did not try that. Dissolve the sugar in the coconut water or plain water and add the yeast. Set aside in a warm area for 10-15 minutes, until very frothy. Drain the rice and grind it in a blender with the yeast mixture to make a smooth batter. You can add a bit of extra water if needed, but I did not. Add the cooked rice, and grind/blend to combine well. You can see that it is not completely smooth, but very thick—that’s about right. Pour into a large bowl, cover and leave in a warm place for 8-12 hours. You not only want the mixture to rise and collapse, but to ferment. When it is ready, it will have a slightly sour and distinctly yeasty smell. Don’t worry--they are mild tasting when cooked!

Add the coconut milk and salt, and a bit of water if necessary, so that you have a batter that is just a bit thicker than milk. Notice how it bubbles after you add the coconut milk. I recommend test-cooking one before thinning the batter. Heat your pan over medium heat. Wipe a few drops of oil over it using a paper towel. Stir the batter and pour in 3-4 tablespoons, depending on the size of the pan. Working quickly, hold the handle(s) and give the pan a quick swirl so that the batter comes to the top edge. Swirl once only, as you want the edges to be thin and lacy. Cover the pan and cook for about 2 minutes. Uncover and check. The center should have puffed up a bit, and will be shiny, but dry to the touch. When ready, loosen the edges with a small spatula and serve immediately. These need to be served hot out of the pan.
The leftover batter can be refrigerated for a day or 2.

Fried Eggplant Curry
recipe source: le sauce

makes 4-6 side servings, or 3-4 large servings

2 1/2 lbs japanese eggplants
1/4 c white vinegar
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp salt
vegetable or peanut oil for frying

1 small onion, halved
1 green chili, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1-inch piece ginger, sliced
10 curry leaves, fresh or frozen
1 3-inch piece rampe (pandan or screw pine leaves)
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 can (200ml) coconut milk

Slice eggplants: first, cut each eggplant crosswise into 3-inch pieces. then cut those pieces in half lengthwise. Finally cut all pieces, lengthwise, into 1/3-inch thick pieces. in a large bowl, mix vinegar, 1/2 tsp turmeric and 1/2 tsp salt together. Add eggplant and toss to coat well in the marinade.

In a wide, heavy pan, pour about 1/2-inch of oil. heat over high heat, then add eggplant carefully, and fry in batches (do not overcrowd oil) until eggplant is golden (about 4-5 minutes/batch). Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels.

In a large pan, add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil over medium heat. Add the fried eggplant and stir well. then lower the heat, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is mostly absorbed.

Daring Bakers August Challenge: Candylicious - Milk Chocolate & Hazelnut Pralines and self-made Fudge

2011-08-27T23:12:00.000+02:00

The August 2011 Daring Bakers’ Challenge was hosted by Lisa of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drive and Mandy of What the Fruitcake?!. These two sugar mavens challenged us to make sinfully delicious candies! This was a special challenge for the Daring Bakers because the good folks at http://www.chocoley.com offered an amazing prize for the winner of the most creative and delicious candy!

After (nearly) two weeks with dehydrated food in the Norwegian mountains I'm back home, enjoying fresh ingredients and all the things harvested from my brothers garden. We have lots of cucumber, zucchini and tomatoes.On our way home we were at my parent's annual plum-dumpling dinner and I got some of the remaining fruits. So we had plum cake (recipe from Dorie). Then we got pears from the father of my sister-in-law. So I made pear butter. Then there was the Daring Cooks Challenge for this mounth which I missed. So we had eggplant curry and appams (post will follow). After that it was time for this challenge. Really, my kitchen looked like a mess. Now I am exhausted writing this post, lucky I could assuage my sweet tooth. I decided to make the milk chocolate & hazelnut truffles which looked very appealing and reminded my of Ferrero Rocher which I like. I added some pepper to the truffle mixture - a spicy idea I borrowed from an ice cream recipe of David Lebovitz. As second I chose fudge although it's something I would call my nightmare. I tried svseral times to make a fudge recipe from Trish Deseine's Caramel-book. It never worked out. This time too I had to make another recipe for fudge twice before it worked.

Milk Chocolate & Hazelnut Praline (Truffles)
makes +- 30 truffles, recipe easily doubled or halved
adapted from the Cook‟s Academy Curriculum, Dublin

Praline Ingredients:

½ cup (120 ml/2 oz/60 gm) hazelnuts, shelled & skinned
½ cup (120 ml/4 oz/115 gm) granulated white sugar
2 tablespoons (30 ml) water

Note: I used 30 g hazelnuts and 30 g ready roasted and salted macadamias (a pinch of salt is my 'secret ingredient when making all things caramel)

Preheat oven to moderate 180°C / 160°C Fan Assisted (convection oven); 350°F/320°F convection / Gas Mark 4. Place whole hazelnut on a non-stick baking tray and dry roast for 10mins. Allow to cool. Place hazelnuts in a clean dry kitchen towel and rub to remove the skins. Line a baking tray with parchment paper or a silicon mat. Place the skinned hazelnuts onto the prepared tray. Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan over medium low heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Turn the heat up and bring to the boil (do not stir), brushing down the sides of the pot with a pastry brush dipped in water to remove any sugar crystals. Boil until the mixture turns amber (160°C - 170°C / 320°F- 340°F on a candy thermometer). Remove from heat immediately and pour the syrup over the hazelnuts. Allow to cool completely. Break into small pieces. Transfer pieces to a food processor and process until desired texture, either fine or rough. Set aside.

Ganache Ingredients:

1¾ cup (9 oz. / 255 g) Milk chocolate, finely chopped ½ cup (4 oz. / 125 ml)
Double/Heavy Cream (36% - 46% butterfat content)
2-3 Tablespoons (1-1 ½ oz. / 30ml – 45 ml) Frangelico Liqueur, optional (my choice: Baileys with hazelnut)
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper (optional)
½ - 1 cup Crushed or Ground Roasted Hazelnuts for coating

Note: I used 100g chocolate with 43% cocoa and 155 g chocolate with 37% cocoa

Finely chop the milk chocolate. Place into a heatproof medium sized bowl. Heat cream in a saucepan until just about to boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate and stir gently until smooth and melted. Allow to cool slightly, about 10 minutes. Stir in the praline and (optional) liqueur. Leave to cool and set overnight or for a few hours in the fridge. Bring to room temperature to use.

Forming the truffles: Using teaspoons or a melon baller, scoop round balls of ganache. Roll them between the palms of your hands to round them off . Handle them as little as possible to avoid melting (when wearing food safe latex gloves, it's less messy and prevents you have to much heat from your hands). Finish off by rolling the truffle in the crushed roasted hazelnuts Tip: you can also roll them in hazelnut praline. Place on parchment paper and leave to set. I put them into mini muffin paper moulds and stored them into a plastic container.

Self-made fudge
adapted from TheInfamous7 on Squidoo

Ingredients:

340g caster sugar
250 ml heavy cream
25g butter
12g white chocolate
1/2 vanilla pod

Note: I failed the fist time. For the second try, I first melted and caramelized the sugar and then added the remaining ingredients (except the chocolate) - that worked.
Put all ingredients except the white chocolate into a good heavy saucepan. For the vanilla pod, lay it flat on chopping board, and run a sharp knife down the center of the pod, split the pod in two and scrape out the seeds from each half, add to the mixture. Grease and line a baking tin ready to pour fudge in once cooled (I used a silicone mould).
Place saucepan on a very low heat for the beginning stage. You want to dissolve all the sugar crystals before it comes to the boil. Look for a smooth liquid texture without any graininess at all. Once sugar is dissolved, and you have a beautiful buttery, creamy golden sugar syrup, Increase the heat until it comes to boil! Keep stirring constantly or that cream in there will burn at the bottom of your pan and ruin your beautiful fudge. Continue to boil and stir for 15-18 minutes.
Remove Fudge from heat once you feel you got the Beautiful Golden Thick Honey Syrup and put to one side! Have a rest..you'e earned it!
You'll need a cake/pastry mixer or you can do this by hand with whisk and bowl. Pour fudge into mixer or bowl and begin to beat.
Cooling/beating should take at least 10-15 min, all the while you'll see your fudge come into life as it begins to cool. About 5 minutes into the cooling process add the handful of white chocolate while the fudge is hot enough to incorporate but not toohot to burn the chocolate.
Before it starts completely setting, spoon the fudge mixture into your pre greaseproofed tin and smooth out so the mix lies flat. Leave to cool out of the sunlight for at least 4-6 hours (its best 36hrs after and lasts in perfection for 5-7 days after making). Enjoy!

Daring Bakers July Challenge: Matcha and Cherry Frasier (Anne's birthday cake)

2011-07-27T22:13:00.064+02:00

Jana of Cherry Tea Cakes was our July Daring Bakers’ host and she challenges us to make Fresh Frasiers inspired by recipes written by Elisabeth M. Prueitt and Chad Robertson in the beautiful cookbook Tartine.

As many times before, I used the challenge to create something for a special occassion. This time, it's a friends birthday I made the fraisier for. And as the cake is supposed to be a suprise, I'm not telling anything until it will have been served on saturday because this particulary friend is reading my blog. I'll give you just a small hint: The flavours are coming from far east, from the country of the cherry blossoms and tea ceremonies.

Right - this was supposed a Japanese Frasier flavoured with matcha and cherries, especially made for my friend Anne's birthday. For the filling I wanted a subtle and sweet taste, so choose some jasmine tea instaed of the vanilla for the creme anglaise. The ready cake didn't look very pretty - I omitted the almond paste topping because I thougt it would be to sweet for the matcha, and the fillings did look unpleasantly greyish brown (because of the jasmine tea) but must have tasted really good.
Why do I write 'must have'? Because I didn't get a single crumb of it - the birthday guests were eating faster than I could cut the pieces and some guests even ate more than one ... I am glad it turned out so well - I was a little bit unsure if the combination would work out but it obviouly did. It even tasted better than a second cake I made (which was a delicious red velvet cake with straw- and blueberries and a mascarpone and cream cheese frosting). I guess I have to add frasiers to my birthday cake repertoire - next time maybe a lemon-blueberry one? The pictures I took were mostly made at the party, so the quality isn't that brilliant but they are quite nice shots.

Matcha and Cherry Fraiser
- adapted from the cook book Tartine by Elisabeth M Prueitt and Chad Robertson -

Matcha chiffon cake

120 g all-purpose flour
35 g matcha powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
170 g sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
60 ml vegetable oil
3 large egg yolks
95 ml water
3/4 teaspoon lemon zest, grated
5 large egg whites
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar (you can use 'Weinstein-Backpulver')

Preheat the oven to moderate 325°F (160°C/gas mark 3). Line the bottom of an 8-inch (20 cm) spring form pan with parchment paper. Do not grease the sides of the pan.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, matcha and baking powder. Add in all but 3 tablespoons of sugar, and all of the salt. Stir to combine. In a small bowl combine the oil, egg yolks, water, vanilla and lemon zest. Whisk thoroughly. Combine with the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly for about one minute, or until very smooth.
Put the egg whites into a stand mixer, and beat on medium speed using a whisk attachment on a medium speed, until frothy. Add cream of tartar and beat on a medium speed until the whites hold soft peaks. Slowly add the remaining sugar and beat on a medium-high speed until the whites hold firm and form shiny peaks. Using a grease free rubber spatula, scoop about ⅓ of the whites into the yolk mixture and fold in gently. Gently fold in the remaining whites just until combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack. To unmold, run a knife around the sides to loosen the cake from the pan and remove the spring form sides. Invert the cake and peel off the parchment paper. Refrigerate for up to four days.

Pastry cream filling

250 ml whole milk
2 tea bags jasmine tea
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons (10 g)cornstarch
55 gm sugar
1 large egg
2 tablespoons (30 g) unsalted butter
3/4 teaspoon (4 g) gelatin
1/2 tablespoon (7½ ml) water
250 ml heavy cream

Pour the milk and salt into a heavy sauce pan. Place over medium-high heat and scald, bringing it to a near boiling point. Add the tea bags and let infuse for about 5 minutes. Stir occasionally. Meanwhile, in a stand mixer add the cornstarch and sugar. Whisk to combine. Add the eggs to the sugar and cornstarch and whisk until smooth.
When the milk is ready, remove the tea bags; gently and slowly while the stand mixer is whisking, pour the heated milk down the side of the bowl into the egg mixture. Pour the mixture back into the warm pot and continue to cook over a medium heat until the custard is thick, just about to boil and coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and pass through a fine mesh sieve into a large mixing bowl. Allow to cool for ten minutes stirring occasionally. Cut the butter into four pieces and whisk into the pastry cream a piece at a time until smooth. Cover the cream with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic wrap onto the top of the cream to prevent a skin from forming. Chill in the refrigerator for up to five days.
In a small dish, sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let stand for a few minutes to soften. Put two inches (55 mm) of water into a small sauce pan and bring to a simmer over a medium heat. Measure 1/4 cup (2 oz/60 ml) of the chilled pastry cream into a small stainless steel bowl that will sit across the sauce pan with the simmering water, without touching the water. Heat the cream until it is 120 F (48.8 C). Add the gelatin and whisk until smooth. Remove from the water bath, and whisk the remaining cold pastry cream in to incorporate in two batches. In a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream until it holds medium-stiff peaks. Immediately fold the whipped cream into the pastry cream with a rubber spatula.

Vanilla-flavoured sirup

75 gm of sugar
80 ml of water
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Combine the water and sugar in a medium saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil and let the sugar dissolve. Stirring is not necessary, but will not harm the syrup. Add the vanilla extract. Remove the syrup from the heat and cool slightly. Transfer syrup to a lidded container or jar that can be stored in the refrigerator. Simple syrup can be stored for up to one month.

Frasier assembly:

1 baked 8 inch (20 cm) chiffon cake
1 recipe pastry cream filling
80 ml vanilla syrup
500g sweet cherries, deseeded and halved
confectioners’ sugar (plus one teaspoon matcha) for dusting
140 g almond paste (I omitted that)

Line the sides of a 10-inch (25 cm) spring form pan with plastic wrap. Do not line the bottom of the pan. Cut the cake in half horizontally to form two layers.
Fit the bottom layer into the prepared spring form pan. Moisten the layer evenly with the syrup. When the cake has absorbed enough syrup to resemble a squishy sponge, you have enough.
Arrange the cherries around the sides of the cake pan. Place the cut side against the sides of the pan, point side up forming a ring. Pipe cream in-between cherries and a thin layer across the top of the cake. Place the remaining cherries in the middle of the cake. Cover entirely with the all but 1 tbsp. (15 ml) of the pastry cream.
Place the second cake layer on top and moisten with the simple syrup. Lightly dust a work surface with confectioners' sugar and roll out the almond paste to a 10-inch (25 cm) round 1/16 inch (1.5 mm) thick. Spread the remaining 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of pastry cream on the top of the cake and cover with the round of almond paste (I just dusted the cake with a mixture of sugar and matcha). Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. To serve release the sides of the spring form pan and peel away the plastic wrap. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Daring Cooks July Challenge: Homemade Noodles - Tiramisu Ravioli with red fruit jelly

2011-07-14T17:02:00.001+02:00

Steph from Stephfood was our Daring Cooks‟ July hostess. Steph challenged us to make homemade noodles without the help of a motorized pasta machine. She provided us with recipes for Spätzle and Fresh Egg Pasta as well as a few delicious sauces to pair our noodles with!

I love pasta, especially filled one like tortellini or ravioli. I could eat it every day - just look at the label 'Risotto und Pasta' and you'll find a lot of recipes. Normally I buy the usual stuff at the store, but sometimes when I'm really in the mood for passionate cooking, I am liberating my pasta machine from the depths of my pantry and make pasta from scratch. I've made lasagne and pappardelle (recipes are in German) and even bought a ravioli mould which I hadn't used before. So I thought a Daring Bakers challenge would be the perfect possibility for trying to make ravioli - sweet ravioli. There are a lot of recipes with chocolate pasta, so why not make chocolate ravioli with a sweet filling; and because I am addicted to coffee and Italian desserts I choose to make a tiramisu filling. As the base for the filling I made a Crème pâtissière (pastry cream) with coffee instead of milk and added the mascarpone cream afterwards. The sauce we had red fruit jelly because it's season for sour cherries and red currants which are a good contrast to the sweet pasta.

Tiramisu Ravioli

makes about 50 ravioli (when using ravioli mould)

dough:

4 eggs at room temperature
340 g pasta flour (farina di tipo '00')
60 g dutch processed cocoa
1 tablespoon water
semolina (semola di grano duro) for assembling

In a large bowl, combine cocoa and floura and add the eggs. Blend together, using a fork, until mixture begins to form a ball. If mixture is too dry, add enough water, a little at a time, to form a stiff dough. On a lightly floured surface knead dough until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Wrap into cling film and chill at least half an hour.

Tiramisu filling:

two egg yolks
60g sugar
5 g vanilla sugar (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
5g starchflour
100 ml strong coffee
one tablespoon coffee liquer (optional, I used Kalua)
250 g mascarpone

In a pan, combine half of the sugar with the coffee and bring to boil. In a large bowl, stir egg yolks, starch and remaining sugar together until foamy. Remove the pan from the heat, let cool a little and add to your mixture in the bowl, stirring constantly - be carefull, if your coffee is too hot, the egg yolks will curdle. Put the mixture back into the pan and cook over medium heat until boiling, whisking constantly. When it boils, whisk mixture constantly for another 30 - 60 seconds until it becomes thick. Remove from heat and immediately whisk in the liqueur (if using), stir in vanilla extract if using instead of a vanilla sugar. Stir in the mascarpone, cover the surface with cling film and let cool completely.

Assembling:

Remove the dough from the fridge. Cover your work surface with semolina to prevent the dough from sticking. Take an egg-sized piece of dough and flatten it with your hand so you have a disc. Cover the remaining dough with a wet towel or it'll dry out. Then crank your disc through the rollers of the pasta machine until it reaches the proper thinness - I found no 6 suitable, at no 7 was too thin and it got holes very easily. Using your ravioli mould make the ravioli - you need two sheets of dough, a teaspoon of filling is enough. Cook the pasta in boiling water for three to five minutes - since it's sweet pasta, you have to need to sugar the water instead of using salt! Serve with the red fruit jelly.

Red fruit jelly

500g sour cherries, pitted
200 ml water
125 g red currants
100 g red currant jelly (or 100 g of sugar)
1 1/2 tablespoons starch flour

In a pan, mix cherries, water and sugar/jelly and bring to a boil, cook until the cherries start to get soft. Add the red currants. Dissolve the starch flour into some water - it should be lump free. Add to the fruits, stirring constantly while the jelly thickens. Cook for about a minute, you may add more starch until the jelly has the desired consistency.

Birnen-Minze-Sorbet

2011-06-30T21:11:00.000+02:00

Heute ist eine Ausnahme - es ist nicht so drückend heiß wie die letzten Tage. Ok, es ist Sommer und da ist es naturgemäß heiß, aber ich mag es lieber kalt. ehrlich gesagt ich hasse die Hitze und könnte mir etwas besseres vorstellen als mich stundenlang selbst in der Sonne zu grillen. Bei solchem Wetter bleibe ich zu Hause und ... mache Eis - oder genauer gesagt - Sorbet. Einige Rezepte habe ich schon ausprobiert, unter anderem ein Rotwein-Himbeer-Sorbet von David Lebovitz (dem Eiscreme-Papst) oder ein umwerfendes Zitronensorbet von Jamie Oliver, das man auch hervoragend in den ausgehöhlten Zitronenschalen servieren kann. Ein anderes Rezept von ihm wollte ich auch noch ausprobieren, nämlich das Birnensorbet (welches aus dem selben Buch wie das Zitronensorbet -"Genial italienisch"- stammt). Das Originalrezept (englisch) erschien mir aber ein bißchen fad, und ich erinnerte mich an meine Zeit in Polen, wo ich in der Sommerhitze immer Birnen-Minze-Eistee getrunken habe, nur den gibt es hier in Deutschland nicht. Warum also diesen Geschmack selbst herstellen? Ich hatte kurz vorher Nanaminze im Teeladen gekauft, und die schien mir genau richtig dafür.

Birnen-Minze-Sorbet
ergibt ca einen Liter

175 g Zucker
200 ml Wasser
1 kg weiche Birnen, geschält, geviertel und Kerngehäuse entfernt
Saft und abgeriebene Schale einer Zitrone
6 g getrocknete Nanaminze

Den Tee mit dem (kochenden) Wasser übergießen und ca 10 Minuten ziehen lassen. Die Minze entfernen und das Teekonzentrat mit dem Zucker in einem Topf vermischen, bis sich der Zucker aufgelöst hat. Den Sirup dann bei schwacher Hitze 3 Minuten köcheln lassen. Die Birnen dazugeben und nochmal für 5 Minuten köcheln - falls die Früchte sehr weich sind, kann dieser Schritt übersprungen werden. Zusammen mit dem Saft und der Schale der Zitrone im Mixer oder mit dem Pürierstab pürieren. Durch ein grobes Sieb streichen und abkühlen lassen. In der Eismaschine gefrieren lassen. Alternativ in eine große flache Form füllen, das Sorbet muss dann jede halbe Stunde aus dem Gefrierschrank genommen werden und mit einer Gabel bearbeitet und aufgelockert werden, bis es komplett durchgefroren ist.

Leider waren meine Birnen nicht gerade von guter Qualität, so dass ich vielleicht das nächste mal auf Birnensaft zurückgreifen werde, dann würde ich das Wasser mit Saft ersetzen und den Zucker um 25 g reduzieren.

Einen Teil des Sorbets (ca ein Drittel) habe ich in die Eisförmchen von IKEA gefüllt - da Sorbet in meinem Gefrierschrank immer sehr fest friert, ließ sich das Sorbet später auch problemlos als 'Eis am Stiel' lutschen. Empfehlen kann ich auch die Kombination mit Ginger Ale als 'Cocktail' - sehr erfrischend!

Daring Bakers June Challenge: Baklava and Homemade Phyllo dough

2011-06-27T22:06:00.000+02:00

Erica of Erica’s Edibles was our host for the Daring Baker’s June challenge. Erica challenged us to be truly DARING by making homemade phyllo dough and then to use that homemade dough to make Baklava.

I paniced a little bit when reading the challenge. This kind of recipe requires a lot of time and patience; things, I don't have lot's of (especially patience). Finally I made it - as always - and daring enough for me I guess. I was suprised as with every challenge that the result was tastier and prettier than I could have imagined. I hardly could stop my boyfriend trying before I took pictures ("No, I didn't take pictures yet. Back off!") This recipe is something to be definitively made again (but only with store-bought dough) ;) !

Phyllo Dough

will fill a 8” x 5” baking dish

recipe source: "Kaffeehaus – Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague” by Rick Rodgers

1 1/3 cups (320 ml) (185 gm/6½ oz) unbleached all purpose (plain) flour
1/8 teaspoon (2/3 ml) (¾ gm) salt
1/2 cup less 1 tablespoon (105 ml) water, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil, plus additional for coating the dough
1/2 teaspoon (2½ ml) cider vinegar, (could substitute white wine vinegar or red wine vinegar, but could affect the taste)

Note: I just used a fork and my hands, and it came out perfect, so you don't realy need fancy kitchen supplies ;) For the rooling part - I'm not really gifted (or trained) when it comes to rolling out dough. My 'sheets' weren't as large or as thin as supposed. It reminded me sadly of the Strudel-Challenge were I was Fortune favoured. This time, I had only ONE (out of 12) sheet without holes.

In the bowl of your stand mixer combine flour and salt. Mix with paddle attachment. Combine water, oil and vinegar in a small bowl. Add water & oil mixture with mixer on low speed, mix until you get a soft dough, if it appears dry add a little more water. Change to the dough hook and let knead approximately 10 minutes. You will end up with beautiful smooth dough. If you are kneading by hand, knead approx. 20 minutes. Remove the dough from mixer and continue to knead for 2 more minutes. Pick up the dough and through it down hard on the counter a few times during the kneading process.Shape the dough into a ball and lightly cover with oil. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let rest 30-90 minutes, longer is best.

Unwrap your dough and cut off a chunk slightly larger then a golf ball. While you are rolling be sure to keep the other dough covered so it doesn’t dry out. Be sure to flour your hands, rolling pin and counter. As you roll you will need to keep adding, don’t worry, you can’t over-flour.
Roll out the dough a bit to flatten it out. Wrap the dough around your rolling pin/dowel. Roll back and forth quickly with the dough remaining on the dowel. Rotate and repeat until it is as thin as you can it. Don’t worry if you get rips in the dough, as long as you have one perfect one for the top you will never notice. When you get it as thin as you can with the rolling pin, carefully pick it up with well floured hands and stretch it on the backs of your hands as you would a pizza dough, just helps make it that much thinner. Roll out your dough until it is transparent. You will not get it as thin as the frozen phyllo dough you purchase at the store, it is made by machine.
Set aside on a well-floured surface. Repeat the process until your dough is used up. Between each sheet again flower well. You will not need to cover your dough with a wet cloth, as you do with boxed dough, it is moist enough that it will not dry out.

Baklava

Adapted from Alton Brown, Food Network
30 servings

For the syrup:

1 1/4 cups (300 ml) honey
1 1/4 cups (300ml) water
1 1/4 cups (300 ml) (280 gm/10 oz) sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 (2-inch/50 mm) piece fresh citrus peel (lemon or orange work best)
a few cloves or a pinch or ground clove

When you put your baklava in the oven start making your syrup. When you combine the two, one of them needs to be hot, I find it better when the baklava is hot and the syrup has cooled.
Combine all ingredients in a medium pot over medium high heat. Stir occasionally until sugar has dissolved. Boil for 10 minutes, stir occasionally. Once boiled for 10 minutes remove from heat and strain cinnamon stick and lemon, allow to cool as baklava cooks.

Note: My dough just fitted a small pan, so I halved the recipe for the filling. I used the occassion to use up all the rests of nuts in my household which were peanuts, pecans, walnuts, almonds and hazelnuts. I had only 12 layers of dough, so I changed to 3 layers (the thickest) - half of the filling, 4 layers - half of the filling, 5 layers (the thinnest).

Filling:

1 (5-inch/125 mm piece) cinnamon stick, broken into 2 to 3 pieces or 2 teaspoons (10 ml) (8 gm) ground cinnamon
15 to 20 whole allspice berries ( I just used a few pinches)
3/4 cup (180 ml) (170 gm/6 oz) blanched almonds
3/4 cup (180 ml) (155 gm/5½ oz) raw or roasted walnuts
3/4 cup (180 ml) (140 gm/5 oz) raw or roasted pistachios
2/3 cup (160 ml) (150 gm/ 5 1/3 oz) sugar

phyllo dough (see recipe above)
1 cup (2 sticks) (240 ml) (225g/8 oz) melted butter

Preheat oven to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark. Combine nuts, sugar and spices in a food processor and pulse on high until finely chopped. If you do not have a food processor chop with a sharp knife as fine as you can. Set aside.

Trim your phyllo sheets to fit in your pan. Brush bottom of pan with butter and place first phyllo sheet. Brush the first phyllo sheet with butter and repeat approximately 5 times ending with butter. (Most recipes say more, but homemade phyllo is thicker so it's not needed). Sprinkle 1/3 of the nut mixture on top. Continue layering phyllo and buttering repeating 4 times. Sprinkle 1/3 of the nut mixture on top. Continue layering phyllo and buttering repeating 4 times. Sprinkle 1/3 of the nut mixture on top. Continue layering and buttering phyllo 5 more times. On the top layer, make sure you have a piece of phyllo with no holes if possible, just looks better. Once you have applied the top layer tuck in all the edges to give a nice appearance.

With a sharp knife cut your baklava in desired shapes and number of pieces. If you can't cut all the ways through don’t worry you will cut again later. Then brush with a generous layer of butter making sure to cover every area and edge. Bake for approximately 30 minutes; remove from oven and cut again this time all the way through. Continue baking for another 30 minutes. (Oven temperatures will vary, you are looking for the top to be a golden brown, take close watch yours may need more or less time in the oven). When baklava is cooked remove from oven and pour the cooled (will still be warmish) syrup evenly over the top, taking care to cover all surfaces when pouring. It looks like it is a lot but over night the syrup will soak into the baklava creating a beautifully sweet and wonderfully textured baklava.

Allow to cool to room temperature. Once cooled cover and store at room temperature. Allow the baklava to sit overnight to absorb the syrup. Serve at room temperature.

Daring Cooks June Challenge: Potato Salad - Baked Potato and Pineapple Salad

2011-06-14T22:20:00.001+02:00

Jami Sorrento was our June Daring Cooks hostess and she chose to challenge us to celebrate the humble spud by making a delicious and healthy potato salad. The Daring Cooks Potato Salad Challenge was sponsored by the nice people at the United States Potato Board, who awarded prizes to the top 3 most creative and healthy potato salads. A medium-size (5.3 ounce) potato has 110 calories, no fat, no cholesterol, no sodium and includes nearly half your daily value of vitamin C and has more potassium than a banana!

One thing we Germans should know how to make is potato salad - we eat it at every BBQ, summer party and every christmas eve. Every time you order or buy a sausage at a place to eat you can have it with potato salad. Not to speak of 'Schnitzel' or other kinds of fried meat. But normally the salad is boring and made with lots of mayonnaise and pickled cucumber, but not lots of love. The best and really simple potato salad I had was at a traditional Austrian Restaurant in Vienna, the 'Figlmüller'. The serve the most famous 'Wiener Schnitzel' in town with a stunning potato salad with lamb's lettuce and Styrian pumpkin seed oil. So if you are in Vienna, you have to try it!

I posted a potato-salad recipe some time before (it's unfortunately in German), this one is with smoked trout, radish and a dressing of mayonnaise, mustard, honey and dill. For the challenge I wanted to make something really different. If you are a fan of 'toast Hawaii' or Hawaiian pizza, it's your kind of recipe. I personally don't like the mentioned above, but quite liked the salad; and in case of doubt just serve the potatoes separately ;)

Baked Potato and Pineapple Salad

makes 4 servings

two baby ananas
12 medium-sized potatoes
4+2 tblsp sesame oil
salt and pepper
one pepperoni (or more according to your taste)
8 tblsp unsalted roasted peanuts
juice and zest of 1 1/2 lemons
2-3 tblsp honey
8 sprigs fresh mint, minced

Peel the potatoes and slice them about half and inch thick. In a large bowl, blend with 2 tblsp of the sesame oil and season with salt and pepper. Preheat your oven to 200 °C. Spread the potatoes on a baking sheet (try to prevent stacks) and bake for 15-20 minutes until they are golden brown.
Meanwhile prepare your ananas - remove the outer part and the stem and cut into cubes; try save the juice which might be released. Deseed the pepperoni and slice thinly. For the dressing, mix juice and zest of the lemons, honey, remaining oil and pineapple juice. Put your warm potatoes, the pineapple cubes, pepperoni and peanuts into a bowl and blend with the dressing, using your hands, add the mint at the end. Let the salad rest for at least an hour before serving.
If you want to impress your guests, you can try to remove the flesh of the ananas without cutting the outer part (for example with a spoon) and serve the salad in those 'ananas bowls'.

Daring Bakers May Challenge: Chocolate Marquise on Meringue

2011-05-27T09:41:00.001+02:00

The May 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Emma of CookCraftGrow and Jenny of Purple House Dirt. They chose to challenge everyone to make a Chocolate Marquise. The inspiration for this recipe comes from a dessert they prepared at a restaurant in Seattle.

"When we learned we’d be hosting a Daring Bakers challenge, we knew this was the dessert to share with all the other bakers willing to take it on. Why is this dessert so special? Well, for starters, it’s rare for us to meet anyone who’s even heard of a marquise, much less tasted one. Nobody makes this dessert anymore. I found a recipe for it in a professional pastry curriculum, but I’ve almost never seen it in mainstream cookbooks, and rarely is it written about online (although there seem to be plenty of photographs). We’d better share it if we want to keep it alive.
It’s also a fairly involved dessert, if you make all of the components. Imagine a cube of spicy and creamy chocolate resting on a tuft of something that tastes like burnt marshmallow cream, drizzled with tequila caramel, spicy nuts, and some cacao nibs. Yum. But take away all of those accoutrements, and you have a lot of technique in these recipes, things you may not get to do every day. When was the last time you worked with a frozen mousse? Boiled meringue? A blowtorch?"

Yes, they were right. I have never heard of or seen a recipe for a marquise.It tasted intersting but I had a hard time making it. First, I learned again that it is important to read correctly because there IS a difference between egg yolks and egg whites - which was the reason I had do toss the first attempt away. Second, I still did something wrong. My marquise didn't get solid enough for cutting or any kind of shaping. That's the reason for this lump in the middle of the meringue. Third, the method for making the meringue was quite different but idiot proof. My meringue got creamy, stiff but still fluffy without any problems. If everyone was experiencing the problems I had while making, I do not wonder why nobody makes it anymore ...

Chocolate Marquise
Servings: 6 2"x2" (5cmx5cm) cubes

3 large egg yolks at room temperature
1 large egg
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons (40 ml) (40 grams/ 1½ oz) sugar
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon (2/3 fluid oz/ 20 ml.) water
Chocolate Base, barely warm (recipe follows)
½ cup (4 fluid oz./ 120 ml.) heavy cream
½ cup Dutch process cocoa powder (for rolling
Torched meringue (recipe follows)

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the egg yolks and whole eggs. Whip on high speed until very thick and pale, about 10 - 15 minutes. When the eggs are getting close to finishing, make a sugar syrup by combining the sugar and water in a small saucepan.
Bring the syrup to a boil and then cook to softball stage (235F/115C). If you have a cake tester with a metal loop for a handle, the right stage for the syrup is reached when you can blow a bubble through the loop (as seen in the following picture). With the mixer running on low speed, drizzle the sugar syrup into the fluffy eggs, trying to hit that magic spot between the mixing bowl and the whisk.

When all of the syrup has been added (do it fairly quickly), turn the mixer back on high and whip until the bowl is cool to the touch. This will take at least 10 minutes. In a separate mixing bowl, whip the heavy cream to soft peaks. Set aside. When the egg mixture has cooled, add the chocolate base to the egg mixture and whisk to combine. Try to get it as consistent as possible without losing all of the air you've whipped into the eggs. We used the stand mixer for this, and it took about 1 minute. Fold 1/3 of the reserved whipped cream into the chocolate mixture to loosen it, and then fold in the remaining whipped cream.

Pour into the prepared pans and cover with plastic wrap (directly touching the mixture so it doesn't allow in any air). Freeze until very firm, at least 2 - 4 hours (preferably 6 – 8 hours). When you're ready to plate, remove the marquise from the freezer at least 15 minutes before serving.
While it's still hard, remove it from the pan by pulling on the parchment 'handles' or by flipping it over onto another piece of parchment.
Cut it into cubes and roll the cubes in cocoa powder. These will start to melt almost immediately, so don't do this step until all of your other plating components (meringue, caramel, spiced nuts, cocoa nibs) are ready. The cubes need to sit in the fridge to slowly thaw so plating components can be done during that time. They don’t need to be ready before the cubes are rolled in the cocoa powder.

Chocolate Base

this is an ingredient for the chocolate marquise, not meant to be used separately

3 oz (85 grams/ 6 tablespoons) bittersweet chocolate (about 70% cocoa)
1/3 cup + 2 teaspoons (90 ml/3 fluid oz.) heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/16 teaspoon cayenne
1 tablespoon (15 ml/ 1/2 fluid oz.) tequila
1 tablespoon (15 ml/ 1/2 fluid oz.) light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon/(less than 1/4 ounce) cocoa powder
dash freshly ground black pepper
1/4 oz unsalted butter (1/2 tablespoon/8 grams), softened

Place the chocolate in a small mixing bowl. In a double-boiler, warm the cream until it is hot to the touch (but is not boiling). Remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate. Allow it to sit for a minute or two before stirring. Stir until the chocolate is melted completely and is smooth throughout.
Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Set aside until cooled to room temperature. Do not refrigerate, as the base needs to be soft when added to the marquise mixture. If you make it the day before, you may need to warm it slightly. Whisk it until it is smooth again before using it in the marquise recipe.

Torched Meringue
Makes about 1 cup of meringue

3 large egg whites
1/2 cup less 1 tablespoon (105 ml) (3½ oz or 100 gms) sugar
Splash of apple cider vinegar
1/8 teaspoon vanilla

Combine the egg whites, sugar and vinegar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using your (clean, washed) hand, reach in the bowl and stir the three together, making sure the sugar is moistened evenly by the egg whites and they make a homogeneous liquid.

Over a saucepan of simmering water, warm the egg white mixture. Use one hand to stir the mixture continuously, feeling for grains of sugar in the egg whites. As the liquid heats up, the sugar will slowly dissolve and the egg whites will thicken. This step is complete when you don't feel any more sugar crystals in the liquid and it is uniformly warm, nearly hot.

Remove the mixing bowl from the saucepan and return it to the stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Whisk until you reach soft peaks. In the last 10 seconds of mixing, add the vanilla to the meringue and mix thoroughly.

When you're ready to plate the dessert, spoon the meringue onto a plate (or use a piping bag) and use a blowtorch to broil.

Plate the marquise with the torched meringue and some caramel sauce, and toss spiced almonds (I used chocolate covered coffee beans) around for garnish. You want to handle the cubes as little as possible because they get messy quickly and are difficult to move. However, you want to wait to serve them until they've softened completely. The soft pillows of chocolate are what make this dessert so unusual and when combined with the other elements, you'll get creamy and crunchy textures with cool, spicy, salty, bitter, and sweet sensations on your palate.

Crumb Cake à la Dorie mit Rhabarber und Himbeeren (der perfekte Sonntagskuchen)

2011-05-22T22:09:00.001+02:00

Crumb cake - was soll das denn sein?! Na ja, wenn ich es einen Streuselkuchen nennen würde, klänge es nicht mehr so spektakulär und kein Mensch würde diesen Post lesen, denn wie spektakulär kann ein Strueselkuchen schon sein? Sehr sogar! Besonders wenn es sich um ein Rezept von Dorie Greenspan handelt. Da werden in die Streusel schon mal gehackte Nüsse mit eingearbeitet, und der Rührkuchenteig erinnert eher an Bisquit als an einen trockenen Kaffeebegleiter. Der perfekte Sonntagskuchen, wenn es schnell gehen und sowohl Freunde als auch Omas begeistern soll. Könnte ich mir auch gut als Muffins vorstellen.

Meine Variante ist mit Himbeeren und Rhabarber, weil ich diese Kombination verführerisch finde, aber es gehen noch andere (frische oder Tiefkühl-)Früchte. Nur Erdbeeren oder Dosenobst sei zu feucht, schreibt Frau Greenspan, also Finger weg davon!

Streuselkuchen mit Rhabarber und Himbeeren
nach einem Rezept von Dorie Greenspan
für eine 23x23 cm oder 26 cm im Durchmesser große Springform

Streusel:

70 g weiche Butter
50 g Zucker
73 g brauner Zucker
83 g Mehl
1/4 Teelöffel Salz
60 g gehackte Pekanüsse

Alle Zutaten mit der Hand zu einem krümeligen Teig verkneten. Kühl stellen. (Hält sich in einem geschlossenen Behältnis bis zu 3 Tagen)

Kuchenteig:

250 g Mehl
2 Teelöffel Backpulver
1/2 Teeleöffel Natron
1/4 Teelöffel Salz
1/4 Teelöffel Zimt
eine Prise Muskatnuß
135 g Zucker
abgeriebene Schale einer Zitrone
85 g weiche Butter
2 große Eier
120 ml Buttermilch

Zucker, abgeriebene Schale der Zitrone und Butter in einer Schüssel cremig schlagen. Dann die Eier einzeln dazugeben und unterschlagen. Mehl, Backpulver und Gewürze vermischen. Abwechselnd die Mehlmischung und die Buttermilch einrühren, mit dem Mehl anfangen. Am Ende sollte ein glatter Teig entstanden sein.

Den Ofen auf 180°C vorheizen.

Früchte:

150 g Tiefkühl-Himbeeren
2 Teelöffel Mehl
150 g Rhabarber, in schmale Stücke geschnitten
1 Teelöffel Wasser
30 g brauner Zucker

Die Himbeeren müssen noch gefrostet in den Kuchen, also erst bevor sie eingerührt werden, aus dem Tiefkühlschrank nehmen. Für den Rhabarber den Zucker in einem Topf karamellisieren lassen und das Wasser einrühren (vorsicht, spritzt!), dann den Rhabarber dazugeben und gut mit dem Karamell vermischen. Kurz im entstehenden Saft dünsten, bis er etwas weich geworden ist. Den Saft abgießen (und zB mit Wasser zu einer Schorle weiterverarbeiten). Himbeeren und Rhabarber mit dem Mehl vermischen und zum Teig geben, vorsichtig unterheben. In die gefettete Backform geben, mit den Steuseln bestreuen und für 55 bis 60 Minuten backen.

Daring Cooks May Challenge: Spicy Meat gumbo

2011-05-14T00:13:00.000+02:00

Our May hostess, Denise of There’s a Newf in My Soup!, challenged The Daring Cooks to make Gumbo! She provided us with all the recipes we’d need from creole spices, homemade stock and Louisiana white rice, to Drew’s Chicken & Smoked Sausage Gumbo and Seafood Gumbo from My New Orleans: The Cookbook, by John Besh.

Luckily, we where allowed to use any gumbo recipe we had at hand. Although there were really good recipes provided, I grabbed my chance to cook a recipe I wanted to try even more - one by my all-time-favourite Jamie. I bought his book 'Jamie's America' some time ago. It was a little bit disappointing, and only a few of the recipes in it were appealing - one of them the recipe for a spicy meat gumbo. I added some crawfish to it and played a little bit with the spices and the result was amazing. The sauce had a creamy consistency (thanks to the sweet potatoes) and the smoky flavour was overwhelming. I guess my boyfriend loved it like I did because he licked the plate clean again ;)

Notes:

Roux - Crucial to the gumbo is the roux. According to Besh, there are other thickeners besides flour for making their roux, but only a flour-based roux yields that traditional flavor. As for the fats in a roux, just about anything works. Rendered duck fat, chicken fat, or lard is preferred, but canola oil works nearly as well. Use a 1:1 ratio of flour to fat/oil. Heat the oil first and whisk the flour into the hot oil. This speeds up the process and yields a deep, dark chocolate-colored gumbo. Always add the onions first to the dark roux, holding back the rest of the vegetables until the onion caramelizes. Otherwise, the water in the vegetables will keep the onion from browning and releasing its sweet juices. Chef Link stresses that it’s essential to whisk the roux constantly as it cooks (but not so vigorously that you splatter the roux and burn yourself), because if even a small bit of flour sticks to the pot, it will become spotty, scorch quickly, and burn the entire roux. Also, Link advises against using a wooden spoon to stir the roux, until after the onions are added. A whisk allows the roux to pass through it and reduces the possibility of splashing, as well as getting into the sides of the pan.

Holy Trinity - As a culinary term, Wikipedia tells us the holy trinity originally refers specifically to chopped onions, bell peppers (capsicums), and celery, combined in a rough ratio of 1:2:3 and used as the staple base for much of the cooking in the Cajun and Louisiana Creole regional cuisines of the state of Louisiana, USA. The preparation of classic Cajun/Creole dishes such étouffée, gumbo, and jambalaya all start from the base of this holy trinity. Similar combinations of vegetables are known as mirepoix in French cooking, refogado in Portuguese, soffritto in Italian, and sofrito in Spanish. While a "trinity" may refer to a generic representation of three cornerstone ingredients of a particular national cuisine, a trio of specific ingredients combined together to become essentially flavor bases, much like its original usage within Louisiana cuisine, are also called "trinities". This is often created by sautéing a combination of any three (or at least, the primary three ingredients in a more complex base) aromatic vegetables, condiments, seasonings, herbs, or spices.

Gumbo - Spices

Spicy Meat Gumbo
adapted from Jamie Oliver's 'Jamie's America'
for 2-3 persons

2 chicken drumsticks and breasts (with bones)
olive oil
200g spicy cured sausage, sliced into 1cm rounds (I used Cabanossi)
3 thick slices of ham, diced
1,5 litres chicken stock
1,5 heaped tablespoons plain flour
1/2 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 green pepper, deseeded and finely chopped
1/2 yellow pepper, deseeded and finely chopped
2 stalks of celery, trimmed and finely chopped
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons of thyme (dried)
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
teaspoon allspice, freshly grounded
Tabasco sauce
alt and pepper
one medium sized sweet potatoe, cut into small cubes
150g cooked crawfish
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat a large pan over a medium to high heat and add a lug of olive oil and your sliced sausages and ham. Let them get some nice colour. Move your cooked sausages, the chicken and the ham to a plate and add the flour to the fat left behind in the pan.

Turn the heat down to low and stir. You want the roux to have a semi-loose, doughy consistency, so add a splash of olive oil if there isn’t a lot of fat. (You also want the roux to get really nice and dark, so have a bit of patience and keep stirring to stop it sticking. It might take around 10 minutes to get it to the right darkness. Peanut butter colour is a good starting point, but you can take it even darker if you prefer by stirring and cooking it for another 20 to 30 minutes.)

After about 2 minutes, add a splash more olive oil to the roux along with the holy trinity of onion, peppers and celery. Stir and cook for about 5 minutes, then scrunch up your bay leaves to help bring out their flavours and stir these into the trinity mixture with the thyme leaves. Fry for 5 minutes, then add your garlic, cayenne, allspice, ham, sausages, potatoes and chicken. Give it all a good stir and fry for a couple of minutes.

At this point, add your stock. Stir and bring everything up to the boil. Let simmer for about 40 minutes until the meat is done. Remove the bones from the chicken parts, tear the meat into small parts and put back into your pan, add the crawfish. Use salt, pepper and Tabasco to taste. Serve with chopped spring onions.

Kartoffel-Blumenkohl-Curry Shahi Style (und mein Jamie-Oliver-Mörser)

2011-05-09T20:57:00.000+02:00

Zu Weihnachten bekam ich von meinem Bruder einen Jamie-Oliver-Mörser geschenkt. Ich hatte ja schon öfter mit dem Erwerb eines großen Mörsers geliebäugelt, den Kauf dann aber immer wieder nach hinten geschoben, es ging ja auch ohne. Meine Freude war groß, obwohl ich ja nicht so ein Freund dieser ganzen Merchandising-Produkte bin. Nur weil ein Name irgendwo drauf steht, kocht man damit nicht automatisch besser, in meinen Augen größtenteils Geldmacherei. Ich könnte mich jetzt noch aufregen, dass Herr Oliver inzwischen schon Parmesan oder fertiges Pesto mit seinem Namen verkauft, wie ich neulich im Jamie Magazin feststellen musste (ok, beim Magazin habe ich mich auch verleiten lassen). Er, der sonst frische Zutaten und Herstellung von Grund auf propagiert. Kein bissiger Kommentar dazu (*auf die Zunge beiß*).

Nun ja, über diesen Mörser kann ich jedenfalls kein bißchen klagen, er ist sehr praktisch - ob kleine Mengen Gewürze oder Kuchenzutaten, alles bekommt er klein. Mein leidliches Problem mit Schokolade hacken oder Nüsse zerkleinern hat sich auch erledigt. Früher habe ich dazu immer eine Tüte und meinen Fleischklopfer benutzt, nur führte dass zur Löcherung der tüte (selbst wenn ich die glatte Seite des Klopfers benutzt habe) und versprühte Nusssplitter in der gesamten Küche. Jetzt kommt alles in eine Tüte und wird im Mörser zerklopft - funktioniert wunderbar. Die Reinigung ist ebenso einfach - mit Wasser ausspülen und auswischen. Ein sehr nützliches Küchenutensil, nur seine Zehen sollte man außer Reichweite halten ...

Zehenkiller

Gerne mache ich indische Currymischungen damit. Irgendwann hatte ich einmal eine lose Garam masala Mischung gekauft, die ich nun wieder einsetzten kann. Denn frisch geröstet und gemörsert schmecken Gewürzmischungen einfach besser als die ferig gemischten und gemahlenen Varianten. So konnte der Mörser beim folgenden Curry zum Einsatz kommen. Letztens sah nämlich nur noch der Blumenkohl in der Gemüsetheke einigermaßen akzeptabel aus. Nur mag ich die traditionellen deutschen Methoden der Blumenkohlzubereitung nicht, deswegen verwende ich ihn fast nur wenn ich indisch koche. Ich erinnerte mich an unseren letzten Besuch beim Inder in der Neustatdt, wo ich Appetit auf ein vegetarisches Gericht hatte und mich für Shahi Paneer, den typischen indischen Käse in einer würzigen Sahnesoße mit Mandeln, entschied. Ja, richtig gelesen, Rosinen - wo ich die Dinger doch hasse. Es gibt nur wenige Ausnahmen wo ich sie in meinen Gerichten toleriere, und dieses Gericht klang zu verführerisch. Meine Erwartungen wurden nicht enttäuscht, und ich suchte mir ein entsprechendes Rezept aus dem Internet heraus. Paneer selbst herstellen ist mir etwas zu aufwendig, und warum sollte nicht auch normales Gemüse in dieser Soße funktionieren? Zum Glück musste ich nicht einmal den Blumenkohl kochen, denn nach etwas intensiverer Recherche stellte sich heraus, dann dieser sich auch hervorragende im Ofen (zB zusammen mit Kartoffeln garen läßt).

Kartoffel-Blumenkohl-Curry
für zwei große Portionen

Curry:

einen Blumenkohl (750 g)
600 g Kartoffeln
Garam masala (s. Soße)
3 Eier, gekocht und in Spalten geschnitten

Soße:

eine große Knoblauzehe, gerieben
ein daumengroßes Stück Ingwer, geschält und gerieben
3 Lauchzwiebeln, in Ringe geschnitten
1 TL rotes Chillipulver (1/2 für eine weniger scharfe Variante)
3/4 TL Kurkuma, gemahlen
2 EL Garam masala (whole, zB von TRS)
4 Pimentkerne
1/2 TL Mangopulver
60 ml Sahne
200 ml Milch
60 g Rosinen und gehackte Mandeln, gemischt
Salz
Öl

Die Kartoffeln waschen und in kleine Würfel schneiden. Den Blumenkohl waschen, vom Strunk befreien und in kleine Röschen zerteilen. Inzwischen das Garam masala zusammen mit den Pimentkörnern in einer heißen Pfanne (ohne Öl) anrösten, bis es duftet. Im Mörser oder einer Küchenmaschine zermahlen. Ein Drittel der Mischung zusammen mit ca 4 EL Öl über Kartoffeln und Blumenkohl geben und gut vermischen. Dann auf ein mit Backpapier ausgelegtes Backblech geben und im vorgeheizten Ofen bei 200°C 35 Minuten garen.

Inzwischen die Sauce vorbereiten: In etwas Öl Rosinen und Mandeln anrösten. Zurück in eine Schüssel geben. Dann die Zwiebeln in Öl andünsten bis sie glasig sind. Knoblauch und Ingwer dazugeben und eine Minute weiterdünsten. Noch einmal etwas Öl und die Gewürze dazugeben, die Hitze erhöhen und kurz anbraten, bis es so richtig gut duftet. Die Milch einrühren und aufkochen, kräftig mit Salz würzen. Köcheln lassen, bis die Sauce etwas eingedickt ist. Sahne, Mandeln und Rosinen einrühren und nochmal zwei bis drei Minuten köcheln lassen. Über Blumenkohl und Kartoffeln geben, zum Schluß die Eierviertel darauf legen.

Mandel-Knoblauch-Suppe

2011-05-04T21:14:00.001+02:00

Wer mag Knoblauch? Ich schon. Die Meinungen zu dieser kleinen Knolle gehen aber sehr weit auseinander. Ich kann nicht ohne leben, und so oft wie möglich (wenn es zum Gericht passt) reibe oder hacke ich eine Zehe und werfe sie in den Topf - und das auch, wenn ich am nächsten Tag wieder arbeiten muss. Sonst fehlt dem Essen irgend etwas, und es schmeckt irgendwie fad. Natürlich übertreibe ich es auch nicht gerne, und Rezepte mit mehr als drei Zehen werden in ihrem Knoblauchanteil reduziert. Mit einer Ausnahme: Diese Suppe. Ein Wohlfühlessen für Knoblauchliebhaber an kalten Abende oder kühlen Sommernächten. Die Methode, Knoblauch im Ofen zu garen, funktioniert auch gut in Aufläufen oder bei Ofengemüse. Einfach Zehe mit dem Messerrücken zerdrücken und (mit Schale) unter das Gemüse mischen.

Mandel-Knoblauch-Suppe
(nach einem Rezept von Jamie Oliver, reicht für 2 Personen)

anderthalb Knoblauchzwiebeln
zwei Schalotten, gehackt
150 g Creme fraiche
500 ml Gemüsefond oder -brühe
ein halbes Ciabatta*
1 EL Weißweinessig
100 g blanchierte Mandeln
eine große Bio-Orange
Salz & Pfeffer

* es muss nicht unbedingt Ciabatta sein. Die Suppe eignet sich auch gut zur Verwertung alter Brotreste, dann nur die sehr harten Teile entfernen oder länger in der Suppe weichen lassen.

Den Knoblauch auseinanderbrechen und die harten Teile der Zwiebel entfernen. Die Zehen ungeschält auf einem Backblech im Ofen bei 180°C rösten, bis sie weich sind (Gabeltest machen, dauert ca 10-15 Minuten). In der Zwischenzeit die Orangenschale abreiben und die Orange filettieren, dabei den Saft auffangen. Die Zwiebel in Olivenöl dünsten bis sie weich ist. Gemüsefond, Orangenschale, Orangensaft und Creme fraiche dazugeben und bei kleiner Hitze für 10 Minuten köcheln lassen. Den Knoblauch etwas abkühlen lassen, dann ausdrücken und die Schalen entfernen. Zusammen mit dem Innenleben des Ciabattas und dem Essig in die Suppe geben und nochmal 5 Minuten köcheln lassen. Zusammen mit den Mandeln pürieren, dann mit Salz und Pfeffer abschmecken. Mit den Orangenfilets und einem extra Schuß Olivenöl servieren.

Beim nächsten Mal würde ich eine Kombination mit Cheddar, kräftigem Schwarzbrot und Salbei probieren, so ähnlich wie man eine englische Zwiebelsuppe macht - in ofenfeste Schüsseln geben, die Scheiben Brot etwas toasten, auf der Suppe verteilen, mit Käse überstreuen und im Ofen überbacken.

Gefüllte Focaccia-Stangen

2011-05-02T21:34:00.000+02:00

Mit gefülltem Brot hatte ich bisher nie richtig Glück - entweder war es zu feucht oder der halbe Inhalt quoll aus dem Endprodukt, ganz zu schweigen von diversen Zusammenrollproblemen. Das einzige Brot, was mir immer gelingt, ist mein Focaccia. Zugegeben, das Rezept aus einer meiner Lieblingszeitschriften ist kein Original mit wahnsinnig viel Öl, sondern eine kleine runde handliche Variante mit verschiedenen Zutaten oben drauf - ich hatte schon Backpflaumen und Mandeln, Zwiebeln und Ziegenkäse (das muss ich auch noch unbedingt posten...) oder Kartoffeln und Thymian als Belag. Einfach Salz und Zucker gab es natürlich auch. Diese Brote sind bei meinen Freunden sehr beliebt, und immer das Erste was alle ist - ob beim Brunch oder beim Grillen. André mag sie sogar so sehr, dass er gerne einmal ein gutes Steak dazwischen legen möchte.

Normalerweise mache ich den Teig in meinem Brotbackautomat - Zutaten rein, anstellen, und wenn es piept, ist der Großteil der Arbeit erledigt. Nach meinem positiven Hefeteig-Erlebnis bei der vorletzten Daring Bakers Challenge (Meringue filled Coffee Cake) wollte ich es genau wissen - kann ich Focaccia-Teig auch nur 'by hand' machen? Dabei wollte ich unbedingt ein gefülltes Brot probieren, denn die herzhafte Variante des Coffee Cake von Audax Artifex mit Oliven, Parmesan und Mortadella tireb mir das Wasser im Mund zusammen. Ich war zuerst etwas skeptisch, ob der Eischnee unter dem Käse so eine gute Idee war, aber wie von Audax geschrieben war die Konsistenz dieser Mischung im fertigen Brot unwiderstehlich, also unbedingt ausprobieren! Die fertigen Stangen waren dann ein sehr schmackhafter Reiseproviant auf unserer Tour in der Sächsischen Schweiz.

Gefüllte Focaccia-Stangen
Rezept für 4 mittelgroße Stangen

für den Teig:

100 g Tomaten-Pesto
40 ml Olivenöl
1/2 Würfel frische Hefe (oder 1 Päckchen Trockenhefe)
500 g Mehl
1 1/2 EL Honig
200 ml lauwarmes Wasser

Die Hefe zusammen mit dem Honig ins Wasser geben (am besten zerbröseln) und rühren, bis sie sich komplett aufgelöst hat. In einer großen Schüssel das Mehl anhäufen und in die Mitte des Haufens eine Kuhle drücken. Da hinein nach und nach die Hefemischung geben, dabei mit einem Holzlöffel das Mehl aus der Mitte einrühren, bis die Mischung eine dickflüssige Konsistenz hat. Den Vorteig 10 Minuten ruhen lassen, bis er anfängt Blasen zu bilden. Dann das Öl mit dem Pesto in den Vorteig rühren, danach immer mehr Mehl vom Rand dazugeben bis alles eingearbeitet ist. Den Löffel weglegen und nun kräftig mit einer Hand den Teig kneten, bis er schön elastisch ist. Das ist anstrengend und kostet Kraft, deswegen nicht zu zeitig damit aufhören ... Die Schüssel mit einem Geschirrtuch oder Frischhaltefolie abdecken und mindestens eine Stunde gehen lassen. Dann in vier gleich große Stücke teilen. Zu Rechtecken ausrollen (ca 15 x 20 cm), dabei nicht zu dünn werden lassen, damit beim Einrollen dann keine Löcher entstehen.

für die Füllung:

2 Eiweiß, zimmerwarm
2 EL Zucker
eine Prise Salz
10 große Scheiben Mortadella, hauchdünn geschnitten
100 g Parmesan, frisch gerieben
125 g (grüne) Kräuteroliven, in Scheiben geschnitten
Rosmarin und Thymian
Salz und Pfeffer

Das Eiweiß mit dem Salz in einer Schüssel schlagen, bis sich weiche Spitzen bilden. Den Zucker langsam einrieseln lassen und weiterschlagen, bis das Eiweiß fest/steif ist. Jeweils 1/4 der Eiweißmasse auf dem Teig verteilen. Mit Parmesan und Oliven bestreuen, dann mit Rosmarin, Thymian, Salz und Pfeffer würzen. Zum Schluß die Mortadella drauf legen. Zusammenrollen (über die lange Seite), die Enden zudrücken und unter die Rolle stecken, dabei aufpassen, dass die Rolle auf der Naht liegt. Auf ein mit Backpapier auslegtes Blech legen. Mit einer Küchenschere oder einem Messer die Stange einscheiden - die Schnitte sollten 2-3 cm tief sein und einen Abstand von zweieinhalb Zentimenter haben. Die Stangen abdecken und auf dem Blech noch einmal 15 Minuten gehen lassen. Im vorheheizten Backofen bei 180°C 25 Minuten backen.

Daring Bakers April Challenge: Maple Mousse and (sweet) edible containers

2011-04-27T21:56:00.000+02:00

The April 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Evelyne of the blog Cheap Ethnic Eatz. Evelyne chose to challenge everyone to make a maple mousse in an edible container. Prizes are being awarded to the most creative edible container and filling, so vote on your favorite from April 27th to May 27th at http://thedaringkitchen.com!

After being choosen as a finalist for the savoury was the bar set very high for the Daring Bakers Challenge too. But to my despair all my ideas for sweet edible containers were posted into the forum thread before I could realize them - so I had to say goodbye to chocolate and caramel bowls, and I don't wanted to make an ice or sorbet bowl again.

There were lots of other creative ideas I never would have thought of, so I would like to share my (five) favourites before showing with what I came up finally.

The Flirty Blog - Pancake Vol-au-vents
Audax Artifex - Sour glazed maple syrup petit fours (he did 9! different versions and I love each one of them)
Anasbageri - Maple red flowers (raspberry tuiles)
Catalina bakes - Cookie egg shells
TxFarmer - Coffee jello (in a flower shape)

My idea was making candy bars because I have bookmarked lots of candy bar recipes recently, including making Twix bars and other sweet treats. I remembered some candy bars I liked to eat when staying in Norway. They are called 'Smash!' and consist of salted corn cores covered with chocolate. I liked the idea of creating a similar bar and used cornflakes with a version of my favourite salted caramel sauce as the base - call it a salty cornflake fudge. This was topped with the maple mousse and covered with chocolate. The remaining mousse was piped into some ice cube moulds from IKEA and covered just with chocolate (what made really nice pralines). Thanks to my dear friend André I could use my new praline set with a special rack and forks for that (this was a great birthday present indeed).

My brother- and sister-in-law were my guinea pigs this time and they loved those sweet treats. They dind't taste like 'Smash!' but this melting symphony of sweet & salty in your mouth was irresistable. The only downside was the calorie content ...
I had rarely used maple sirup before - the only recipes I did were in combination with walnuts like those muffins (should make them again soon) or donuts. The mousse was fabulous and really easy to make, so I think about making a swiss roll with walnut sponge cake and maple mousse filling. Maybe a maple ice cream with roasted walnuts wouldn't be bad either ;)

Maple Mousse Candy Bars

Salty Cornflake Fudge

(makes 10 small bars)

100 g sugar
2 tablespoons cold water
25 g salted butter
40 ml heavy cream
75 unsweetened cornflakes, crushed
salt to taste

In a small pan, melt the sugar and let caramelize until golden brown. Stop the process by adding the cold water in two steps - be careful, the caramel will splatter - and dont forget to stir to avoid lumps. Add the butter and cream and salt, depending on how salty you would like your fudge. Stir until completely dissolved and bring to a boil, then remove from the heat and add the cornflakes. Line a heatproof rectangle-shaped mould (mine was about 15x15 cm) with baking paper and press the warm fudge into the mould until you have an even layer. Let cool. When cooled, cut into bars with a sharp knife.

Maple Mousse
(enough for 20 small bars)

1 cup (240 ml/ 8 fluid oz.) pure maple syrup (not maple-flavoured syrup)
4 large egg yolks
1 package (7g/1 tbsp.) unflavoured gelatine
1 1/2 cups (360 ml. g/12 fluid oz) whipping cream (35% fat content)

Bring maple syrup to a boil then remove from heat. In a large bowl, whisk egg yolks and pour a little bit of the maple syrup in while whisking (this is to temper your egg yolks so they don’t curdle).Add warmed egg yolks to hot maple syrup until well mixed. Measure 1/4 cup of whipping cream in a bowl and sprinkle it with the gelatine. Let it rest for 5 minutes. Place the bowl in a microwave for 45 seconds (microwave for 10 seconds at a time and check it in between) or place the bowl in a pan of barely simmering water, stir to ensure the gelatine has completely dissolved. Whisk the gelatine/whipping cream mixture into the maple syrup mixture and set aside.Whisk occasionally for approximately an hour or until the mixture has the consistency of an unbeaten raw egg white.Whip the remaining cream. Stir 1/4 of the whipped cream into the maple syrup mixture. Fold in the remaining cream and refrigerate for at least an hour. When firm, pipe on top of the cornflakes fudge.

Assembly:

200 g semi-sweet chocolate

Put your bars into the freezer for at least 2 to 3 hours. This helps o prevent the mousse from melting when coverd with the warm chocolate and speeds up the 'drying' process for the chocolate. Melt the chocolate in a water bath. Cover the bars completely with the chocolate and let cool on a rack until completely cooled. Keep into an airtight container in your refridgerator.

Daring Cooks April Challenge: Edible Containers - Lime & Mint Sorbet bowls and Pasta Cannoli

2011-04-14T13:12:00.004+02:00

I'm late again this month and I apologize for that, but this time it's not about bad time managment but nasty visitors. I catched a stomach flu at work and was battling agains fever, chills and nausea the last two days. Not to speak of a big antipathy of food of all kinds - I even couldn't stand the taste and smell of my toothpaste. So I hope you don't mind me sharing late ...

Renata of Testado, Provado & Aprovado! was our Daring Cooks’ April 2011 hostess. Renata challenged us to think “outside the plate” and create our own edible containers! Prizes are being awarded to the most creative edible container and filling, so vote on your favorite from April 17th to May 16th at http://thedaringkitchen.com!

The challenge was to make edible containers of all kind, so I went a little bit nuts.There were lots of suggestions, from bread bowls to noodle salad bowls and other nice things. The idea of fresh food, salsa and smoked salmon had been haunting my mind for a while and I tried to find a edible container suitiable for that dish. Than I had a look at my ice cream machine - and I thought 'I guess you can make bowls from sorbet too'. I used my silicone muffin moulds and some plastic drinking cups (the ones you can buy for parties) which I cut to a height of about 4 cm and used as my second mould.

I - Lime & mint sorbet bowls
makes 24 bowls

560 ml water
three small branches mint leaves
100 g sugar
one tablespoon aquavit (optional)
zest of one lime
180 ml freshly squeezed lime juice

Put 24 mint leaves aside for decoration. Place the rest into a heat proof mug. Heat your water just before boiling point and pour over the leaves. Let cool for about ten minutes, add sugar and stirr until dissolved. Let cool completely. Remove the mint leaves and add aquavit, zest and lime juice, place the mug into your refridgerator and let cool overnight.

Moisten the remaining mint leaves and press onto the side of your silicone moulds (see beneath). Put into your freezer until needed.

When cooled, put the sorbet mixture into your ice cream machine and freeze according to manufactors instructions. When ready, fill into the silicone moulds and press the cut cups into the sorbet until the filling level between the moulds is even. Freeze another eight to twelve ours. Carefully remove from the muffin mould and remove plastic cup before serving (you can remove the inner cup when completely frozen and 'stack' the remaining bowls into a plastic bag so they don't take so much space).

Serving suggestion: Salsa and smoked salmon

smoked salmon, thinly sliced
bread or potatoes to serve

for the salsa:

juice of one lime
one ripe avocado, peeled, cut into small cubes
a handfull cocktail tomatoes, cut into small cubes
half a bell pepper, deseeded, cut into small cubes (optional)
one spring onion, cut into stripes
one pepperoni, deseeded, cut into small cubes
one tablespoon avocado oil
salt and pepper

Mix all ingredients, salt and pepper to taste. Transfer into your sorbet bowl, arrange onto a plate with the salmon and bread/potatoes and serve immediately.

II - Pasta Cannoli: Despite that I hate frying, I wanted to try out my newly bought cannoli tubes, so why not fry pasta - I had seen that for a dessert (fried lasagne sheets with vanilla ice between) long time ago. The result was really tasty and crispy and remided me a little bit of cornflakes.

II - Pasta Cannoli

tagliatelle* (about 10 g uncooked pasta per cannoli tube)
oil for frying

*You can use other pasta as linguini or spaghetti too.
Cook the tagliatelle according to the package instructions. When done, drain the pasta and flush with cold water until cooled. Coat your cannoli tubes with a thin layer of oil. Wrap two layers of tagliatelle around your cannoli tubes - if you are planning to prepare more than 10 tubes, ask someone to help you or cook smaller batches - otherwise the remaining pasta will start sticking together. Put the tubes on a rack or flat plate and let dry nearly completely - if you want to fasten the process, put your plate into the baking oven set to 50°C for about 20-30 minutes. If you don't dry the pasta, you'll get a frying disaster, because water and oil do not like each other that much ...
In a small pan, heat your oil to 180°C. Fry each cannoli tube for one to two minutes from each side until golden brown. Let drain on paper towels and when cooled enough to handle, carefully remove the tube.

Filling suggestion - Tomato & eggplant curd cheese

I originally wanted to make the filling too (and take a picture of course) but with all my food dislike mentioned above, I couldn't do it. So I am just sharing the recipe and hope you will like it. It is a mixture of favourite ingredients and recipes, for example my all-time-favourite tomato sauce Jamie-Oliver-style and grilled eggplants I started to love after making one of Bea's great recipes, stuffed eggplants.

In Germany, I recognised, we have some food I miss(ed) when abroad, like curd cheese, also known as 'Quark'. It's a kind of cream cheese and you can buy it here in the local supermarkets in a variety of versions - different fat contents and flavours, sweet and savoury. A popular and 'poor-mans-dish' here are potatoes and curd cheese (Kartoffeln und Quark), potatoes boiled with skin, served with chopped onions and the pure curd cheese. Some versions add herbs to the cheese as chives or parsley. Another well-known savoury version is with horseradish, but of course you can by nearly everything: Tomato-, pepper-, radish-, onion- or walnut-flavoured ones. The sweet versions are loved by children and eaten for dessert - my childhood memories everytime come come back when eating a 'Leckermäulchen' - and of course used for baking our famous 'Käsekuchen'. That is why I choose to use a curd cheese filling (I like especially the fresh ones from the farmers market) - but you can substitute with cream cheese or ricotta cheese.

200 ml of your favourite tomato sauce
one small eggplant
salt and pepper
olive oil
250 g curd cheese

Half your eggplant, brush with oil, salt and pepper and bake in your oven at 180°C for about 20 minutes until soft. Mash/puree and mix with your tomato sauce. Let cool. Stir in the curd cheese, salt and pepper to taste.

Daring Bakers March Challenge: Meringue filled Coffee Cake

2011-03-27T00:11:00.001+01:00

The March 2011 Daring Baker’s Challenge was hosted by Ria of Ria’s Collection and Jamie of Life’s a Feast. Ria and Jamie challenged The Daring Bakers to bake a yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake.

Recipe Source: Jamie found this recipe on a piece of yellowed paper in her dad’s collection of clipped out and hand-written recipes from the 1970’s, no source, no date, and she tried the recipe and it was brilliant!

This time, the Daring Bakers helped me to oversome one of my worst fears: Making yeast dough without my bread machine and with fresh yeast. I usually use dried yeast and my bread mashine when making that kind of dough because otherawise I made the experience that it turns into a non-rising lumpy disaster. I have to confess I acidentally bought the fresh yeast (because I thougt we had to use them), and as I found out I didn't need to I decided to be really daring and started an adventure for me: yeast dough, handmade - and it worked! What I found out: Make sure your yeast ist dissolved completely. Use a wooden spoon and your hands, and knead until the dough feels 'good' (I guess the times before I just didn't knead long enough). With that sense of achievment in mind, I eventually will repeat skipping the bread machine part ;)

For the fillings, I decided to use some dark orange-flavoured chocolate I got as a present (don't like to eat this kind of chocolate pure) and thought a combination with pine nuts would give it an Italian touch (filling I). The other filling was supposed to be a 'real coffee cake filling' with coffee beans and coffee meringue (I just LOVE the combination of chocolate and coffee). Both turned out fine, but I liked the second one better - of course ;) This cake is really genius and versatile, and I'll try some other combinations soon, maybe with jam or fruits (and maybe some savoury ones), so a bit thank you for sharing this recipe!

Note: I had some problems with the meringue leaking out of the cuts because it dind't get stiff enough, so make sure yours does. It doesn't have an influence on the taste, but it does look a little bit nasty ...
When making the dough, you have to add a little bit more fluid that given in the recipe, so add about one tablespoon water extra.

Meringue filled Coffee Cake
makes 2 round coffee cakes, each approximately 10 inches in diameter
recipe can be halved to make one round coffee cake

Yeast cake dough:

4 cups (600 g / 1.5 lbs.) flour
¼ cup (55 g / 2 oz.) sugar
¾ teaspoon (5 g / ¼ oz.) salt
26 g fresh yeast
¾ cup (180 ml / 6 fl. oz.) whole milk
¼ cup (60 ml / 2 fl. oz. water (doesn’t matter what temperature)
½ cup (135 g / 4.75 oz.) unsalted butter at room temperature
2 large eggs at room temperature
two (old or already emptied) vanilla pods (used some from my vanilla sugar glass)
5 kardamom pods, slightly crushed

Meringue:

3 large egg whites at room temperature
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ cup (110 g / 4 oz.) sugar

Filling I ('Italian version'):

100 g bittersweet chocolate with orange zests, coarsly chopped
50 g pine nuts

Filling II ('Real Coffee Cake version'):

6 g instant espresso
100 g chocolate with cocoa nibs (39 % cocoa), coarsly chopped
50 g chocolate covered coffee beans, crushed

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, the sugar, and salt, and make an indentation in the middle. In a saucepan, combine the milk, water and butter and heat over medium heat until warm and the butter is just melted. Stir in vanilla and cardamom pods and allow to steep off of the heat for 10 minutes. This will give the mixture a distinct aroma and flavor. Stir in the fresh yeast until completely dissolved.
Pouring through a sieve (or just remove the pods), gradually add the warm liquid to the flour mixture (into the indentation), beating until blended with the flour from the sides. Add the eggs and stir again, using a wooden spoon, adding the remaining flour in small portions. Use our hands to make a dough that holds together (a had to add about one tablespoon water otherwise it would have been to dry). Knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is soft, smooth, sexy and elastic.

Place the dough in a lightly greased (I use vegetable oil) bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rise until double in bulk, 45 – 60 minutes. The rising time will depend on the type of yeast you use.

Prepare your filling. In a small bowl, combine the ingredients. Once the dough has doubled, make the meringue: In a clean mixing bowl – ideally a plastic or metal bowl so the egg whites adhere to the side (they slip on glass) and you don’t end up with liquid remaining in the bottom – beat the egg whites with the salt, first on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high and continue beating until foamy and opaque. Add the vanilla then start adding the ½ cup sugar, a tablespoon at a time as you beat, until very stiff, glossy peaks form. Divide the batch into half, mix one half with the instant espresso powder.

Assembling:

Line 2 baking/cookie sheets with parchment paper. Punch down the dough and divide in half. On a lightly floured surface, working one piece of the dough at a time (keep the other half of the dough wrapped in plastic), roll out the dough into a 20 x 10-inch (about 51 x 25 ½ cm) rectangle. Spread half of the meringue evenly over the rectangle up to about 1/2-inch (3/4 cm) from the edges. Sprinkle half of your filling of choice evenly over the meringue

Now, roll up the dough jellyroll style, from the long side. Pinch the seam closed to seal. Very carefully transfer the filled log to one of the lined cookie sheets, seam side down. Bring the ends of the log around and seal the ends together, forming a ring, tucking one end into the other and pinching to seal.
Using kitchen scissors or a sharp knife (although scissors are easier), make cuts along the outside edge at 1-inch (2 ½ cm) intervals. Make them as shallow or as deep as desired but don’t be afraid to cut deep into the ring.
Repeat with the remaining dough, meringue and fillings. Cover the 2 coffee cakes with plastic wrap and allow them to rise again for 45 to 60 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Brush the tops of the coffee cakes with the egg wash. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until risen and golden brown. The dough should sound hollow when tapped. Remove from the oven and slide the parchment paper off the cookie sheets onto the table. Very gently loosen the coffee cakes from the paper with a large spatula and carefully slide the cakes off onto cooling racks. Allow to cool.
Just before serving, dust the tops of the coffee cakes with confectioner’s sugar as well as cocoa powder if using chocolate in the filling.

Geburtstagsbrunch Nr 2 und eine schwergewichtige Überraschung

2011-03-19T18:18:00.001+01:00

An einem Sonntag im März war es wieder einmal soweit: Mein jährlicher Geburtstagsbrunch stand an, eine Veranstaltung, die wohl Tradition werden wird (so hoffe ich). Nicht nur weil die Zeiten für Kleinkind-Eltern freundlicher sind, sondern auch weil Brunchen meiner Meinung nach die beste und genüßlichste (gibt es das Wort überhaupt?) Form des Essensverzehrs ist. Angelehnt zum letzten Jahr war der Tisch wieder reichlich gedeckt, und nachdem ich den ganzen Sonnabend in der Küche stand um alles vorzubereiten stand für meine Gäste alles bereit, und zwar:

Erdnussbutter-Brownies (nach einem Rezept von Dorie Greenspan)
Tiramisu-Torte (Reste vom Familien-Geburtstags-Kaffetrinken vom Vortag), ebenfalls ein Dorie-Rezept
Panzanella (ein ital. Salat mit Tomaten, Rezept nach Jamie Oliver, ähnlich zu diesem hier)
Oliven-Baguette vom Bio-Bäcker
ein Hokkaido-Milchzopf
indisches Jalafrezi-Curry mit Hühnchen
Brokkoli-Tomaten-Schinken-Quiche mit Sbrinz (herzhafter Schweizer, Parmesan-ähnlicher Käse von der Feinschmecker-Messe)
Focaccias (nach einem Rezept aus der 'Lust auf Genuss', die sind immer zuerst weg ...)

Außerdem noch:

Eiersalat (von meiner Kollegin Ariane)
Früchte-Mascarpone-Creme (von Annelie)

Von diesen Leckereien war leider nach Ende des Brunches auch nicht mehr viel übrig.

Das Highlight für mich war die Terrine de Campagne von Patrick, stilvoll in einer Staub-Terrineform zubereitet, die gleichzeitig mein Geschenk war. Die Form ein echter Zehenkiller (wenn sie da mal drauffallen sollte), aber qualitativ das Höchste, was man in Sachen Terrinenform käuflich erstehen kann. Bisher hatte ich meine Terrinen immer in einer Porzellan-Form von Asa zubereitet, die war nicht schlecht, aber eben nicht das Beste ... Die Terrine war wie immer geschmacklich der Himmel auf Erden, aber ist für viele aufgrund der etwas ausgefalleneren Zutaten abschreckend. Deswegen teile ich hier mal ein abgewandeltes Rezept für eine Bauernterrine, die ebenfalls gut und auch nicht aufwendig herzustellen ist.

Bauernterrine
abgewandeltes Rezept aus 'essen & trinken', für 8-10 Personen

50 g Haselnusskerne, geröstet und grob gehackt
1 Zwiebel, fein gehackt
1 Knoblauchzehe, fein gehackt
60 g grüne Oliven, entsteint
800 g gemischtes Hackfleisch
2 Eier
100 ml Schlagsahne
4 EL Calvados (optional)
1/2 TL gemahlener Piment
1/2 TL gemahlene Muskatnuss
250 g Schinkenspeck oder Bacon, in dünne Scheiben geschnitten (ca 8-10 Stück)
3 Lorbeerblätter
Butter
Salz und Pfeffer
1 EL getrockneter Majoran

Knoblauch und Zwiebeln in der Butter glasig dünsten, den Majoran unterrühren und beiseite stellen. Hackfleisch, Sahne, Eier, Calvados, Oliven und Nüsse in einer großen Schüssel vermischen, dann die Zwiebel-Knoblauch-Mischung untermengen. Mit Muskat und Piment würzen und mit Salz und Pfeffer abschmecken. Eine Terrinenform mit dem Speck auslegen, dabei einen Teil der Scheiben über den Rand hängen lassen. Die Masse einfüllen, glattstreichen, die Lorbeerblätter darauf legen und mit dem überhängenden Speck bedecken. Die Form verschließen und im vorgeheizten Backofen bei 220°C (Ober-/Unterhitze, keine Umluft!) ca eine Stunde garen. In der Form abkühlen lassen und kalt in Scheiben geschnitten servieren.

Andrés Geschenk, ein Buch des French Culinary Institute, werde ich auch bald näher beleuchten, nämlich wenn ich das erste Rezept daraus präsentiere. Aber bis dahin pssssst ...

Daring Cooks March Challenge: Peruvian Food - Fish Ceviche

2011-03-14T09:04:00.003+01:00

Kathlyn of Bake Like a Ninja was our Daring Cooks’ March 2011 hostess. Kathlyn challenged us to make two classic Peruvian dishes: Ceviche de Pescado from “Peruvian Cooking – Basic Recipes” by Annik Franco Barreau. And Papas Rellenas adapted from a home recipe by Kathlyn’s Spanish teacher, Mayra.

I've never cooked Peruvian food before, and every recipe sounded really tasty. I finally decided to make the Ceviche recipe, because I hate frying and don't wanted the smell of hot oil into my kitchen and clothes again. I would have liked to cook more, but when you are reading this, I'm already skiing the white snow-covered mountains near Lillehammer/Norway. While writing and cooking, I am busy packing my stuff and preparing for departure, so there is little time left for other things right now. The taste was interesting, but not really my favourite one; but I guess I have to repeat it with fresh corn, cilantro and better fish ...

Fish Ceviche (Cheviche de Pescado)
serves 4 as a starter or 2 as lunch

2 lbs. (about 1 kg) firm white fish (scallops or other seafood may be substituted)
2 garlic cloves, mashed
1 chili pepper, minced (recommended: Aji if you can find it, but Jalapeno or other peppers can sub)
1 cup (240 ml) freshly squeezed lime juice (between 8-12 limes)
Fresh juice only, no bottled. Can use lemons in lieu of limes.
1 tablespoon (15 ml) (4 grams) (1/8 oz) fresh coriander (cilantro), finely chopped
1 red onion, thinly sliced lengthwise
Salt and pepper (to taste)

Garnish:

1 large sweet potato
1 large ear of corn
Lettuce leaves

Boil sweet potato and corn (separately) if using for garnish. Allow to cool. (Can be done hours or even a day in advance) Wash and trim your fish. Slice into pieces between ½ inch (15 mm) cubes to 2 inch (50mm) pieces, depending on taste. Place fish in a non-reactive, shallow pan in a thin layer. Season with salt and pepper.

Combine lime juice, chili pepper, coriander and garlic. Pour mixture over fish. Stir lightly to expose all the fish to some of the lime juice mixture. Put sliced onion on top of fish as it “cooks”. Let fish stand for 10 minutes. Lift fish out of the lime juice and plate individual portions, garnishing with lettuce, slices of sweet potato and slices or kernels of corn if using.

Kathlyn's notes: It is important to use high quality, really fresh fish. You can use previously frozen (I’ve been using it because I am too cheap to buy this much sashimi grade fish), but it’s not as good. The better your fish, the better your ceviche.

The fish is going to “cook” in the lime juice – how thick you make the pieces will determine how much the fish cooks, so keep your own preference in mind when you are cutting the fish up.

I have looked at recipes all over the interwebs for ceviche, and they all have different “cooking” times – I am going with 10 minutes because that’s what my Peruvian cookbook says. While I was in Lima, all the ceviche I ate was just barely white, and basically raw. I may cause a raging debate about ceviche by saying this, but I think that is most traditional. However, you can thoroughly cook the fish by letting it sit much longer – a few hours or even overnight. When I did this, it made the fish taste of nothing but lime and it was a bit rubbery, so it’s not what I would recommend.

My notes: I used canned corn and ground cilantro because I couldn't find fresh one.

Schoko-Kaffee-Brownies

2011-03-09T12:45:00.003+01:00

Letztens stöberte ich mal wieder bei Epicurious auf der Suche nach einem Rezept für etwas Süßes und stieß dabei auf Brownies.Ich hatte ja schon einige Rezepte für Brownies ausprobiert und fand sie nicht schlecht, aber irgendwie zu trocken. Allerdings stieß ich auf ein Rezept für Brownies mit Kaffee, und da konnt ich nicht widerstehen genauer hinzusehen. Das Rezept war wie öfters (da aus dem Magazin Bon Appétit) etwas abgehoben. Der Kaffee sollte unbedingt Jamaica Blue Mountain sein (eine der teuersten Kaffeesorten überhaupt), und in die Brownies sollten noch Pecanüsse sowie darauf kandierter Ingwer, nicht gerade mein Geschmack. Also habe ich ein bißchen überlegt, umgerechnet, selbstverständlich wie immer den Zuckergehalt um ein Drittel reduziert und violá, fertig waren meine Schoko-Kaffee-Brownies.

Schoko-Kaffee-Brownies
für ein 28 x39 cm großes Blech

Brownies:

250 g Zucker
180 g Butter
100 g dunkle Vollmilchschokolade (mind 40% Kakaoanteil)
60 g Kakaopulver (ungesüßtes zum Backen)
3 Päckchen (9 g) Instant-Espressopulver
1/2 TL Salz
4 große Eier
155 g Mehl
1 1/2 TL Vanilleextrakt

Die Butter zusammen mit der Schokolade schmelzen (geht sowohl im Wasserbad als auch in der Mikrowelle). Gut verrühren bis alle Stückchen aufgelöst sind, dann den Zucker, Salz und das Espressopulver dazugeben und unterrühren. Etwas abkühlen lassen. Mit einem Mixer die Eier einzeln unterschlagen, dann den Vanilleextrakt und zum Schluß das Mehl dazugeben und gut vermengen.

Eine 28x39 cm großes Backblech mit Öl einfetten (Ich lege meine Bleche mittlerweile auch noch mit Dauerbackfolie aus, das erleichtert die Reinigung und verhindert 'Blech'schäden durch das Zerschneiden). Den Ofen auf 160°C (Ober- und Unterhitze) vorheizen. Die Browniemasse in das Blech geben und gleichmäßig verteilen. Ca 25 Minuten backen. Aus dem Ofen nehmen und die Form auf einem Rost abkühlen lassen.

Ganache:

100 g Zarbitterschokolade
100 ml Sahne
1 EL Karamell (oder Zucker)
1 TL Kalua oder anderer Kaffeelikör (optional)
50 g ital. Schoko-Kaffeebohnen, zerkleinert

Die Zartbitterschokolade zusammen mit der Sahne in der Mikrowelle langsam erhitzen, bis die Sahne heiß und die Schokolade angeschmolzen ist. Dann kräftig rühren, dabei die anderen Zutaten dazugeben und alles gut vermischen (die Masse sollte zähflüssig sein). Auf den abgekühlten Brownies gleichmäßig verteilen und nochmal für ca 30 Minuten abkühlen lassen, bis alles fest ist.

Daring Bakers Challenge: Panna cotta with Elderberry Gelée & Florentine Cookies

2011-02-27T21:48:00.001+01:00

The February 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and Nestle Florentine Cookies.

I love panna cotta. Every time we eat at Vapiano, I have to have one of theirs for dessert. I made some variations myself, even as cake (a recipe from Aran of Cannelle et Vanille, published at Design Sponge). So I was glad to have the opportunity to make one again, eager to add a tonka bean (which I hat only used once before) as flavouring agent. But what to choose as topping? A time ago I had bought elderberry juice which was originally thought to top an apple mousse (as gelee). I didn't make the mousse, but wasn't elderberry gelee a delicious topping for panna cotta to? I bet!

Giada's Vanilla Panna Cotta
serves 8

1 cup (240 ml) whole milk
1 tablespoon (one packet) (7 g) unflavored powdered gelatin
3 cups (720 ml) whipping cream (30% fat)
1/3 cup (80 ml) honey
1 tablespoon (15 g) granulated sugar
pinch of salt
one large tonka bean (my modification)

Pour the milk into a bowl or pot and sprinkle gelatin evenly and thinly over the milk (make sure the bowl/pot is cold by placing the bowl/pot in the refrigerator for a few minutes before you start making the Panna Cotta). Let stand for 5 minutes to soften the gelatin.Pour the milk into the saucepan/pot and place over medium heat on the stove. Add the tonka bean. Heat this mixture until it is hot, but not boiling, about five minutes. (I whisk it a few times at this stage). Next, add the cream, honey, sugar, and pinch of salt. Making sure the mixture doesn't boil, continue to heat and stir occasionally until the sugar and honey have dissolved 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat, allow it to sit for a few minutes to cool slightly. Then pour into the glass or ramekin. Refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight.

Elderberry Gelée

250 ml elderberry juice
30 g granulated sugar
half a package unflavored powdered gelatin
one tablespoon water (for gelatin)

Sprinkle gelatin over water, wait until the water has completely been absorbed. Place juice and sugar in a small saucepan and simmer until sugar has dissolved. Now mix the gelatin into the mixture and stir until gelatin has dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool (close to room temp, again, if you're planning on layering on pouring on top of your Panna Cotta, a hot mixture will also heat up your chilled Panna Cotta).

Nestle Florentine Cookies

Recipe from the cookbook “Nestle Classic Recipes”, and their website

150 g unsalted butter
160 g quick oats
230 g granulated sugar
95 g plain (all purpose) flour
60 ml dark corn syrup
60 ml whole milk
5 ml vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to moderately hot 375°F (190°C) (gas mark 5). Prepare your baking sheet with silpat or parchment paper. Melt butter in a medium saucepan, then remove from the heat. To the melted butter add oats, sugar, flour, corn syrup, milk, vanilla, and salt. Mix well. Drop a tablespoon full, three inches (75 mm) apart, onto your prepared baking sheet. Flatten slightly with the back of your tablespoon, or use a spatula. Bake in preheated oven for 6-8 minutes, until cookies are golden brown. Cool completely on the baking sheets. While the cookies are cooling melt your chocolate until smooth either in the microwave (1 1/2 minutes), or stovetop (in a double boiler, or a bowl that fits atop a saucepan filled with a bit of water, being sure the water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl). Peel the cookies from the silpat or parchment and place face down on a wire rack set over a sheet of wax/parchment paper (to keep counters clean). Spread a tablespoon of chocolate on the bottom/flat side of your cookie, sandwiching another (flat end) cookie atop the chocolate.

Note: The cookies were easy to make but a little bit too sweet for me, so I recomment that you reduce the sugar to half the amount given. The were good with a spread of Nutella too.

Finito!

Risotto mit Balsamico-Zwiebeln und getrockneten Tomaten

2011-02-23T22:46:00.000+01:00

Letztens beim Italiener: In meiner Kaufwut bei so vielen verlockenden Delikatessen packe ich auch ein Glas Zwieblen in Balsamicoessig und eine Packung getrocknete Tomaten ein, genauso wie einen großzügigen Nachschub an Risotto-Reis. Dass sich diese Zutaten aber in einem Topf zusammen wiederfinden würden, war mir am Anfang nicht bewußt, erst als mich mal wieder eine unstillbare Risotto-Lust erfasste. Ich wollte diesmal ein vegetarisches Risotto mit intensivem Geschmack, und was schmeckt intensiver als getrocknete Tomaten? Außerdem hatte meine Schwiegermutter bei ihrem Weihnachtsbesuch wieder jede Menge Rotwein dagelassen, dessen Konsum ich nicht nur aufs Trinken beschränken wollte (außerdem kann ich nicht immer Rotwein-Sorbet machen ...). Der edle Tropfen harmonierte perfekt mit den restlichen Zutaten, und ich konnte nicht widerstehen einen Teil der unten angegebenen Gemüsebrühe während des Kochvorganges mit ihm auszutauschen ...

Risotto mit Balsamico-Zwiebeln und getrockneten Tomaten

ein Glas Balsamico-Zwiebeln*, die Zwiebeln geviertelt
zwei Gläser Rotwein
50 g Butter
2 EL Olivenöl
eine Handvoll getrocknete Tomaten (bitte nicht die in Öl eingelegten!), in Streifen geschnitten
300 g Risottoreis
1 l heiße(r) Gemüsefond/-brühe
25 g frisch geriebener Parmesan
eine Knoblauchzehe, gewürfelt
Salz und Pfeffer

*alternativ:

ein Glas Perlzwiebeln
guter Balsamicoessig (ca 100 ml)

Wer keine Zwiebeln in Balsamico-Essig hat, kann auch zuerst die Perlzwiebeln kurz in Butter anschmoren, dann die Hitze erhöhten und Essig in kleinen Portionen dazugeben, dabei warten bis die vorherige Portion komplett reduziert ist. Danach weiter wie unten beschrieben.

Das Öl und die Butter in einem großen Topf erhitzen, die Tomaten, Zwieblen und den Knoblauch kurz darin andünsten und dann die Hitze erhöhen. Ein Glas Rotwein hintereinander in kleinen Mengen dazugeben, dabei rühren und warten bis die vorherige Portion verkocht ist. dabei sollte eine kleine Menge cremiger Soße entstehen.Den Reis unterrühren und weiter erhitzen, bis er anfängt leise zu knistern. Dann mit dem zweiten Glas Rotwein ablöschen. Danach das übliche Risotto-Procedere: Schöpflöffelweise die Brühe dazugeben und unterrühren, warten bis der Reis die Flüssigkeit komplett aufgenommen hat. Wem die Brühe ausgeht, kann auch mit Wein weitermachen ;) Nach 20 Minuten sollte der Reis außen weich und innen noch bißfest sein. Die restliche Butter mit dem Parmesan unterrühren, mit Salz und Pfeffer würzen und zwei Minuten mit geschlossenem Deckel ziehen lassen.

Daring Cooks February challenge: Soba & Tempura

2011-02-14T21:31:00.000+01:00

The February 2011 Daring Cooks’ challenge was hosted by Lisa of Blueberry Girl. She challenged Daring Cooks to make Hiyashi Soba and Tempura. She has various sources for her challenge including japanesefood.about.com, pinkbites.com, and itsybitsyfoodies.com

"Soba is a type of thin Japanese noodle made from buckwheat flour. It is served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or in hot broth as a noodle soup. It takes three months for buckwheat to be ready for harvest, so it can be harvested four times a year, mainly in spring, summer, and autumn.
Hiyashi Soba is a popular dish in summer. It's like a noodle salad. Restaurants in Japan serve Hiyashi Soba only in summer. Even if you don't have much appetite because of the heat, Hiyashi Soba can be appetizing. Common Hiyashi Soba toppings are omelet strips, ham, cucumber and grated Daikon. You can also have the noodles just with the dipping sauce.
Tempura is a Japanese dish of seafood or vegetables that have been battered and deep fried. A light batter is made of cold water (sometimes sparkling water is used to keep the batter light and soft wheat flour (cake, pastry or all-purpose flour). Eggs, baking soda or baking powder, starch, oil, and/or spices may also be added."

Well, would I like to eat this dish into a Japanese restaurant. For sure. But make it again into my kitchen - certainly not. I liked the taste, especially of the dipping sauce but as I hate frying, it won't become a favourite dish...

Hiyashi Soba

Recipes courtesy of Globetrotter Diaries and About.com-Japanese Food
Serves 4

Soba Noodles:

2 quarts (2 L) water + 1 cup cold water, separate 12 oz (340 g) dried soba (buckwheat) noodles (or any Asian thin noodle)

Heat 2 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Add the noodles a small bundle at a time, stirring gently to separate. When the water returns to a full boil, add 1 cup of cold water. Repeat this twice. When the water returns to a full boil, check the noodles for doneness. You want to cook them until they are firm-tender. Do not overcook them. Drain the noodles in a colander and rinse well under cold running water until the noodles are cool. This not only stops the cooking process, but also removes the starch from the noodles. This is an essential part of soba noodle making. Once the noodles are cool, drain them and cover them with a damp kitchen towel and set them aside allowing them to cool completely.

Spicy Dipping Sauce:

¾ cup 70gm/2½ oz spring onions/green onions/scallions, finely chopped
3 tablespoons (45 ml) soy sauce
2 tablespoons (30 ml) rice vinegar
½ teaspoon (2½ ml) (4 ⅔ gm) (0.16 oz) granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon (1¼ ml) (1/8 gm) (0.005 oz) English mustard powder
1 tablespoon (15 ml) grape-seed oil or vegetable oil 1 tablespoon (15 ml) sesame oil (if you can’t find this just omit from recipe.)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste - roughly 1/3 a teaspoon of each

Shake all the ingredients together in a covered container. Once the salt has dissolved, add and shake in 2 tablespoons of water and season again if needed.

Common Hiyashi Soba Toppings:

Thin omelet strips
Ham
Boiled chicken breasts
Cucumber
Boiled bean sprouts
Tomatoes
Toasted nori (Dried Seaweed) Green onions Wasabi powder
Finely grated daikon (Japanese radish)

(I chose bell peppers and spring onions.)

Traditionally soba is served on a bamboo basket tray, but if you don’t have these, you can simply serve them on a plate or in a bowl. Divide up the noodles, laying them on your serving dishes. Sprinkle each one with nori. In small side bowl or cup, place 1/2 cup (120 ml) of dipping sauce into each. In separate small side dishes, serve each person a small amount of wasabi, grated daikon, and green onions.
The noodles are eaten by sprinkling the desired garnishes into the dipping sauce and eating the noodles by first dipping them into the sauce.

Tempura
Recipes courtesy of pink bites and itsy bitsy foodies
Serves 4

1 egg yolk from a large egg
1 cup (240 ml) iced water
½ cup (120 ml) (70 gm) (2½ oz) plain (all purpose) flour, plus extra for dredging
½ cup (120 ml) (70 gm) (2½ oz) cornflour (also called cornstarch)
½ teaspoon (2½ ml) (2½ gm) (0.09 oz) baking powder
oil, for deep frying preferably vegetable
ice water bath, for the tempura batter (a larger bowl than what will be used for the tempura should be used. Fill the large bowl with ice and some water, set aside)

Very cold vegetables and seafood of your choice ie:

Sweet potato, peeled, thinly sliced, blanched
Carrot, peeled, thinly sliced diagonally
Pumpkin, peeled, seeds removed, thinly sliced blanched
Green beans, trimmed
Green bell pepper/capsicum, seeds removed, cut into 2cm (¾ inch)-wide strips
Assorted fresh mushrooms
Eggplant cut into strips (traditionally it’s fanned)
Onions, sliced

(I chose king prawns, eggplants and mushrooms.)

Place the iced water into a mixing bowl. Lightly beat the egg yolk and gradually pour into the iced water, stirring (preferably with chopsticks) and blending well. Add flours and baking powder all at once, stroke a few times with chopsticks until the ingredients are loosely combined. The batter should be runny and lumpy. Place the bowl of batter in an ice water bath to keep it cold while you are frying the tempura. The batter as well as the vegetables and seafood have to be very cold. The temperature shock between the hot oil and the cold veggies help create a crispy tempura.
Heat the oil in a large pan or a wok. For vegetables, the oil should be 320°F/160°C; for seafood it should be 340°F/170°C. It is more difficult to maintain a steady temperature and produce consistent tempura if you don’t have a thermometer, but it can be done. You can test the oil by dropping a piece of batter into the hot oil. If it sinks a little bit and then immediately rises to the top, the oil is ready.
Start with the vegetables, such as sweet potatoes, that won’t leave a strong odor in the oil. Dip them in a shallow bowl of flour to lightly coat them and then dip them into the batter. Slide them into the hot oil, deep frying only a couple of pieces at a time so that the temperature of the oil does not drop.
Place finished tempura pieces on a wire rack so that excess oil can drip off. Continue frying the other items, frequently scooping out any bits of batter to keep the oil clean and prevent the oil (and the remaining tempura) from getting a burned flavor.
Serve immediately for the best flavor, but they can also be eaten cold.

National Cupcake BackAthon: Mars Cupcakes

2011-01-31T21:09:00.001+01:00

It's time for another BackAthon! This time, the challenge was to create a cupcake in honor of your childhood's favourite chocolate bar. No question, mine was (and is) the Mars bar. So I thougt of a creative way to stuff all of it's flavours into a cupcake. There are many recipes in the blogosphere it you search for Mars + cake, but none of it suited my needs. Melting some bars and putting this gooey messinto my cupcake batter - no thanks! I wanted to resemble each of the three parts of the bar in my cupcake. The filling had to be caramel, the topping with milk chocolate and the cupcake itself had to be this brown filling ...which is called candy cream. The recipe wasn't that easy to find as - of course - it's a secret. I only found out that candy cream is beatened/foamed (don't know if this term ist the correct one) sugar. I finally decided for a brown sugar cupcake recipe and added browned butter instead of normal one (because it's said brown butter intensifies the flavor).

Mars-Cupcakes

Brown sugar and butter-cupcakes:

375 g all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
225 g unsalted butter, browned**
300g packed light-brown sugar*
4 large eggs, room temperature
50 ml buttermilk

* The original recipe calls for 500 (!) g sugar, I found 300g were enough, but sweet as you like.

** For making the browned butter, look here.

Preheat oven to 160 degrees celsius. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk dry ingredients in a large bowl. Cream butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Reduce speed to low. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the buttermilk.Fill tins and bake for about 30 minutes - only fill tins half otherwise the batter will overflow (it rises very much during the baking process).

Let cool and remove the center with a round cookie cutter, cut the top of and use as lid after filling (with the caramel cream).

Filling:

about 12 tablespoons caramel cream/sauce (store-bought or self-made*)

* I usually make my own using the recipe from Trish Deseines book 'Caramel'

Topping:

four small Mars-bars, frozen and sliced into thirds (frozen is better for cutting them)

Milk chocolate cream cheese frosting

1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon confectioners sugar
170 g milk chocolate (37% cocoa)
225 g cream cheese
50 g butter

Melt chocolate in top of double boiler over simmering water, stirring until just melted and smooth. Cool to room temperature. Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar and butter in large bowl to blend, then add cooled chocolate and cocoa.

Assembling:

Top cupcakes with the cream cheese frosting using a piping bag - I used my brand new nozzle I bought two days before. Decorate with the Mars bar slices.

Daring Bakers January Challenge: Biscuit Joconde Imprime/Entrement

2011-01-27T23:58:00.000+01:00

The January 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Astheroshe of the blog accro. She chose to challenge everyone to make a Biscuit Joconde Imprime to wrap around an Entremets dessert.

"A joconde imprime (French Baking term) is a decorative design baked into a light sponge cake providing an elegant finish to desserts/torts/entremets/ formed in ring molds. A joconde batter is used because it bakes into a moist, flexible cake. The cake batter may be tinted or marbleized for a further decorative effect. This Joconde/spongecake requires attentive baking so that it remains flexible to easily conform to the molds. If under baked it will stick to the baking mat. It over baked it will dry out and crack. Once cooled, the sponge may be cut into strips to line any shape ring mold.
Entremets (French baking term)- an ornate dessert with many different layers of cake and pastry creams in a mold, usually served cold. Think Trifle in a mold vs. a glass bowl."

This challenge was tough but came out nicely. The first thing challenging was to find a mould which fit into my freezer. Luckily there is this new baking shop in Dresden, where I found the mould and the recommended silpat mat and pastry combs - I don't know how I would have survived this challenge without them ...

And as nothing is as tempting and delicious as a combination of chocolate and coffee, I choose a quick mousse au chocolat and coffee mousse as my fillings - which was really clever because I could use all my leftover egg yolks.

3C*-Entrement (*Cocoa, Chocolate, Coffee)

Joconde Sponge
for a 33 x 46 cm jelly roll pan, I halved the recipe

85g almond flour/meal - *You can also use hazelnut flour, just omit the butter
75g confectioners' (icing) sugar
25g cake flour
3 large eggs
3 large egg whites
210g white granulated sugar or superfine (caster) sugar
30g unsalted butter, melted

In a clean mixing bowl whip the egg whites and white granulated sugar to firm, glossy peeks. Reserve in a separate clean bowl to use later. Sift almond flour, confectioner’s sugar, cake flour. (This can be done into your dirty egg white bowl). On medium speed, add the eggs a little at a time. Mix well after each addition. Mix until smooth and light. (If using a stand mixer use blade attachment. If hand held a whisk attachment is fine, or by hand. ) Fold in one third reserved whipped egg whites to almond mixture to lighten the batter. Fold in remaining whipped egg whites. Do not over mix. Fold in melted butter. Reserve batter to be used later.

Patterned Joconde-Décor Paste

for a 33 x 46 cm jelly roll pan - I halved that too

200g unsalted butter, softened
200g Confectioners' (icing) sugar
7 large egg whites
170g cake flour
60 g cocoa powder

Sift the flour and cocoa powder together. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (use stand mixer with blade, hand held mixer, or by hand) Gradually add egg whites. Beat continuously. Fold in sifted flour-cocoa-mixture.

Spread a thin even layer of décor paste approximately 1/4 inch (5 millimeter) thick onto silicone baking mat with a spatula, or flat knife. Place mat on an upside down baking sheet. The upside down sheet makes spreading easier with no lip from the pan. Pattern the décor paste – You can make horizontal /vertical lines using a knife, spatula, cake/pastry comb. Squiggles with your fingers, zig zags, wood grains or use a piping bag. Slide the baking sheet with paste into the freezer. Freeze hard. Approx 15 minutes. Remove from freezer. Quickly pour the Joconde batter over the design. Spread evenly to completely cover the pattern of the Décor paste.
Bake at 475ºF /250ºC until the joconde bounces back when slightly pressed, approx. 15 minutes. You can bake it as is on the upside down pan. Yes, it is a very quick bake, so watch carefully (it took me only 10 minutes). Cool. Do not leave too long, or you will have difficulty removing it from mat.Flip cooled cake on to a powdered sugared parchment paper. Remove silpat. Cake should be right side up, and pattern showing.

Cut in desired shape. Press the cake stripes inside of the mold, decorative side facing out. Once wrapped inside the mold, overlap your ends slightly. You want your Joconde to fit very tightly pressed up to the sides of the mold. Then gently push and press the ends to meet together to make a seamless cake. The cake is very flexible so you can push it into place. You can use more than one piece to “wrap “your mold, if one cut piece is not long enough.

I used my dessert rings/mould which I lined with stripes of silpat mat (I bought a second which was cut in different shapes for all my baking and dessert moulds). Fill with the mousse (recipes below) and refridgerate for at least two hours.

Quick mousse au chocolat

100g milk chocolate (with cocoa nibs)
75 g semi or bittersweet chocolate*
2 egg yolks
200 ml heavy cream

*You can use all kinds of chocolate 'leftovers', eg those from christmas. If only using bitter or semisweet chocolate, you have to add some sugar

Melt the chocolate in a water bath. Let cool and add the egg yolks, stirring continuously. Beat the cream until stiff, combine with the chocolate mixture.

Coffee mousse

chocolate covered coffee beans (for decoration)
2 teaspoons instant espresso
1 tablespoon Kalua (coffee liquer)
20 g sugar
200 ml heavy cream
125 ml water
2 egg yolks
4 sheets of gelatin

Soak the gelatin sheets in cold water until soft and remove excess water. In a sauce pan, mix water and sugar. Heat until the mixture boils and add the instant espresso. Remove from heat and add Kalua and the gelatine sheets. Stirr until completely dissolved. Let cool. Beat the cream until stiff. Beat the egg yolks into the cooled coffee-mixture and combine with the cream.

Rindergeschnetzeltes mit Bohnen und Steinpilzen

2011-01-10T18:00:00.000+01:00

Manchmal habe ich so richtig Appetit auf Fleisch. Der befiel mich letztens beim Einkaufen auch wieder - da ich normalerweise immer nach der Arbeit mit schon leerem Magen einkaufen gehe, reicht schon eine volle Käsetheke oder ein volles Regal mit Würstchen und ähnliches um solche Zustände auszulösen. Ich hatte plötzlich Lust auf Geschnetzteltes. Da denkt natürlich ein jeder an Züricher Geschnetzeltes, aber das hat mir die Fertigprodukte-Industrie mit diesen ekeligen salzigen Tütenmischungen verdorben. Also schaute ich mich um und griff in der Tiefkühlabteilung erst einmal zu (da zur Zeit die Frischgemüsetheken im Supermarkt wie ausgeräubert aussehen). So landeten Prinzessbohnen und Steinpilze im Einkaufskorb (Pfifferlinge oder die Pilzmischung wären sicherlich auch gegangen). Für die Soße hatte ich noch ein halbes Glas Waldpilzfond im Kühlschrank - wer den nicht hat kann auch ordinäre Instant-Gemüsebrühe nehmen - und für den cremigen Anteil entschloß ich mich Creme fraiche zu verwenden, denn ich mag meine Soße eher dickflüssig. Beim Fleisch wollte ich keine Kompromisse eingehen, das 'normale' Rinderfilet in der Fleischtheke hat oft viele versteckte Sehen, und so entschied ich mich für die preisintensivere argentinische Variante (und selbst die war am Ende nicht so zart wie erwartet). Insgesamt ein schnelles unkompliziertes Essen für den akuten Fleischappetit.

Rindergeschnetzeltes mit Bohnen und Steinpilzen

400 g (argentinisches) Rinderfilet
150 g Prinzessbohnen (gefrostet)
150 g Steinpilze (gefrostet)
eine kleine Zwiebel, fein gehackt
200 ml Waldpilzfond oder Gemüsebrühe
2-3 große Esslöffel Creme fraiche
Salz und Pfeffer

Das Rinderfilet in Streifen schneiden. Mit Salz und Pfeffer würzen und in heißem Olivenöl anbraten. Die Zwiebel dazugeben und kurz mit anschwitzen. Pilze und Bohnen (in gefrostetem Zustand) ebenfalls in die Pfanne geben, andünsten und Hitze reduzieren. Den Fond angießen und die Creme fraiche unterrühren, mit Salz und Pfeffer abschmecken. Ca 20 Minuten auf kleiner Flamme köcheln lassen. Am besten schmecken dazu Kartoffeln, die können in der Zwischenzeit gekocht werden.

Chestnut Cocoa Cake with mascarpone filling

2011-01-07T22:09:00.001+01:00

I've been fascinated quite a while by the possibility of using chestnuts for baking. I discovered them about two years ago at the christmas markets where they were sold fresh roasted and I loved the nutty taste and floury consistency. Later I found out they were sold in the larger supermarkets and so they found the way to my kitchen. I used them mostly for savoury dishes, eg for last year's christmas dinner (post is in German) as filling or for this year's dinner together with brussel sprouts. I tried a version of Chocolate Chestnut Cake from Melanger before, but I did something wrong and the result was merely that what I had expected. Searching for a more dry and light version, I stumbled over dozen recipes involving chestnut flour or puree, none of which I had at hand. So I had to create something suitable for me and I think it worked out. The filling was the result of the idea of adding another interesting taste and a leftover ramble of my fridge. The Tonka beans were bought of pure curiositiy some days earlier and were the perfect match to the mascarpone...

Chestnut Cocoa Cake with mascarpone filling

Cake:

250 g whole chestnuts, roasted and shelled
225 g all-purpose flour
50 g cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
225 g butter, softenend
215 g light brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
150 ml heavy cream
50 ml buttermilk

Puree the cream and buttermilk with the chestnuts until smooth and set aside. Mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, beat the butter with the sugar until pale and fluffy. At eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition. Add the vanilla. Beat in flour mixture and chestnut puree alternly in two to three batches, starting with the flour mixture. Preheat oven to 180°C. Butter a springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper, then fill in the batter. Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clearly. Let cool on a rack. When cooled completely, cut horizontally in halves. Clean your springform and wrap it with cling film, put the first cake layer back into the form.

Filling:

250 g mascarpone
200 ml heavy cream
3 teaspoon Kalua or other coffee liquer (can be substituted with strongly brewed espresso)
4 tablespoon Dulce de leche
half a tonka bean, grated

In a large bowl, beat the mascarpone with the Dulce de leche and the Kalua until completely combined. Add the cream little by little, beating continuously until the filling is light and airy. Add the grated tonka bean at the end. Cover the first cake layer evenly and place the second cake layer on top, pressing gently. Let rest into the refridgerator for at least two hours. Unmould, cut and serve.

Weihnachtsplätzchen 2010 - Orangen-Pistazien-Honig-Shortbread und Sonnentaler

2011-01-03T19:31:00.001+01:00

Einige Jahre hatte ich meine 'festen' Weihnachtsplätzchen. Vanillegipferl wie von meiner Mutter mußten es sein, und 'Biberle', kleine Lebkuchenrollen mit Mazipanfüllung, die ich irgendwann einmal im Studium entdeckte. Irgendwann konnte ich die aber nicht mehr sehen, also mußten neue Plätzchen her. Die Versuche im letzten Jahr waren nicht schlecht, aber auch nicht Begeisterung wecken. Deshalb wurden diese Jahr wieder Zeitungen gewälzt und Blogs durchgesehen, am Ende wurden es wieder zwei Rezepte die ich abgewandelt bzw nachgebacken habe. Das Shortbread ist eine Idee von mir, da ich dieses Jahr von Orangen besessen war/bin. Dazu wollte ich noch etwas weihnachtliches Aroma (also der Honig) und die Pistazien sollten dazu einen gute Ergänzung sein was am Ende doch gelungen ist.

Fazit für dieses Jahr: Das Shortbread werde ich wahrscheinlich noch einmal machen, denn der Geruch und Geschmack waren einfach umwerfend - selbst Robert, der sonst kein Shortbread mag, konnte es nicht abwarten ein Stück zu probieren. Die Sonnentaler machen viel Arbeit und sind damit durchgefallen ;) die Füllung ist aber genial, die werde ich sicherlich auch noch für andere Sachen verwenden, der Rest z.B. ist auf meinem Stollen als Marmelade und in einer Buttercremetorte als Füllung gelandet ...

Sonnentaler (vorn), Orangen-Pistazien-Honig-Shortbread

Orangen-Pistazien-Honig-Shortbread
ergibt ca. 30 Stück

240 g Butter
75 g Puderzucker
1 1/2 TL Orangensaft
1 1/2 TL geriebene Orangenschale
1/2 TL Vanilleextrakt
250 g Mehl
1/2 TL Salz
3 EL Pistazien, fein gehackt
3 EL Honig (flüssiger), erwärmt

Die Butter mit dem Zucker schaumig schlagen, Vanilleextrakt, Saft und Orangenschale dazugeben. In einer anderen Schüssel Mehl, Salz und Pistazien mischen. Zur Buttermischung geben und gut durchrühren bis ein klebriger Teig entstanden ist.

Für die Eckenform kleine Tarteletteformen (bei mir waren es 4 Stück mit je 12 cm Durchmesser) mit Frischhaltefolie auslegen und den Teig gleichmäßig in der Form verteilen, mit der Folie bedecken und andrücken. Für mindestens 3 Stunden in den Kühlschrank stellen (der rohe Teig hält sich aber auch länger, maximal 3 Tage). Herausnehmen, die Teigrohlinge auswickeln, in Dreieicke schneiden und auf einem mit Backpapier ausgelegtem Blech auslegen. Achtung, der Teig wird schnell wieder weich und fängt an zu kleben! Mit einer Gabel einstechen. Im vorgeheizten Backofen bei 150°C (Heißluft 130°C) 25 Minuten backen. Den Honig in einer Schale erwärmen, so dass er dünnflüssig ist. Das Shortbread damit einpinseln und noch einmal für drei Minuten in den Ofen schieben.

Sonnentaler
für ca. 30 Stück

Dieses Rezept ist aus der Zeitung 'Lust auf Genuss' etwas abgewandelt nachgebacken. Eine Zeitung der ich nach meiner 'Lecker'-Sucht verfallen bin. Die gibt es an jeder Supermarktkasse aller größeren Märkte - für mich schlimmer als für die Kinder die Süßigkeitenauswahl. Ich muss einfach immer zugreifen. Jedes Heft ist einem Thema gewidmet, mein im Freundeskreis schon berühmtes Focaccia stammt aus der 'Brot-Ausgabe' dieser Zeitung. Im Weihnachtsheft fanden sich zahlreiche Rezepte, wobei mir eins besonders ins Auge fiel, eine edle Variante von Linzer Plätzchen wenn man will.

für den Teig:

200 g Mehl
75 g Puderzucker
1 Prise Salz
125 g Butter (kalt und in kleine Würfel geschnitten)
abgeriebene Schale einer halben Orange
ein Eigelb
Orangensaft oder Contreau

Mehl, Puderzucker, Orangenschale und Salz mischen. Die kalte Butter dazugeben und mit den Händen gut vermengen, so dass ein streuselartiger Teig entsteht (mit einer Küchenmaschine geht es etwas schneller). Das Eigelb dazugeben und ca 1 TL Contreau oder Saft, so dass beim weiteren Kneten ein fester Teig entsteht, eventuell braucht der Teig noch mehr Flüssigkeit - aber Vorsicht, bei zuwenig Flüssigkeit wird der Teig hinterher brüchig, bei zuviel klebt er ... Den Teig in Folie wickeln und für ca eine Stunde in den Kühlschrank legen.
Auf einer bemehlten Arbeitsfläche dünn ausrollen und 'Blumen' und diesselbe Form mit Loch in der Mitte ausstechen - ich hatte vorgesorgt und im Tortissimo in Dresden zwei passende Formen gekauft. Im vorgeheizten Backofen bei 180°C 10 Minuten backen. Abkühlen lassen.

zum Zusammensetzen und Dekorieren:

100 g weiße Schokolade
2 EL Palmin
Kokosraspeln

Die Schokolade im Wasserbad schmelzen und mit dem Palmin eine etwas flüssigere Konsistenz herstellen. Die Vorderseite des 'Lochteils' bestreichen und in die Kokosraspeln drücken, anschlieeßnd mit Hilfe der Schokolade mit dem zweiten Pläztchenteil zusammenkleben und fest werden lassen.

für die Füllung:

zwei Blatt weiße Gelatine
250 ml Orangensaft
Saft einer halben Zitrone
Mark einer halben Vanilleschote
eine Zimtstange
zwei Stück Sternanis
5 Kardamomkapseln
5 Nelken
ein Pimentkorn
50 g Gelierzucker (3:1)

Orangen- und Zitronensaft mit den Gewürzen in einen Topf geben und aufkochen lassen. Auf 150 ml einkochen lassen. Die Gelatine in kaltem Wasser einweichen. Die Gewürze entfernen und Gelierzucker unterrühren. Drei Minuten sprudelnd kochen, die Gelatine ausdrücken und auflösen. Abkühlen lassen bis das Ganze zu gelieren beginnt. Dann in die Plätzchen füllen. Der Rest (falls einer übrig bleibt) macht sich hervorragend als Marmelade ...

Daring Bakers December Challenge: Stollen wreath

2010-12-27T19:40:00.001+01:00

The 2010 December Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Penny of Sweet Sadie’s Baking. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ to make Stollen. She adapted a friend’s family recipe and combined it with information from friends, techniques from Peter Reinhart’s book.........and Martha Stewart’s demonstration.

Stollen is a traditioal German christmas recipe. So I should be very happy to finally have the possibility to make something from my own cuisine, especially I am located in the middle of this pastry comes from. The town where I live now (and went to school) is just 30 km away from Dresden where the center of the Stollen tradition is located. Outside my home village (8 km away) was the famous 'Zeithainer Lustlager' where Augustus II the Strong had the giant 1.7 ton-Stollen in 1730 - read more at the 'Dresdner Stollen festival' section here.

There is just one twist: I hate Stollen. I remember clearly every time in my childhood we were making it. I had to get up at six in the morning and stand in the kitchen for hours, wearing a headscarf and kneading tons of dough in big washing bowls, sinking into it as far as my elbows. We usually made around 10 to 12 large ones which were baked at the lokal bakery in our village. The best thing was covering them with butter and sugar because I would get the rests of melted butter and sugar which were spilled around. I rarely ate a piece afterward because I don't like candied oranges or lemons and most of all raisins. So I though about making a Quark or poppy seed version (last year I made one with chocolate and almonds - the recipe is in German). Someone in the forum later mentionde dried fruits, so I changed my mind and tried my own version with dried cranberries (instead of raisins) and dried strawberries (instead of zests) soaked in Contreau (instead of rum). Finally I changed the almonds with macadamias and added a marzipan filling.

My mother-in-law who watched the baking procedure while knitting in the kitchen immediately fell in love with the smells evaporating from the oven and could't wait until the wreath was cooled for a taste. She asked me for the recipe afterwards. My brother on the other side, who is a real Stollen fan first refused to taste my version. After tasting a slice he stated that it wasn't bad but didn't deserved the name Stollen. "It is a nice yeast-dough bread and you can have butter or jam on it for breakfast, but don't call it Stollen." he said. I liked my creation (especially the untraditional shape) - maybe the Stollen and I will become friends at last ;)

Stollen WreathMakes one large wreath or two traditional shaped Stollen loaves. Serves 10-12 people

60ml lukewarm water
2 packages (14 grams) active dry yeast
240 ml milk
140 grams unsalted butter (can use salted butter)
770 grams all-purpose flour plus extra for dusting
115 grams sugar
¾ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon/6 grams cinnamon
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
Grated zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract or orange extract (I used juice)
135 grams dried strawberries, cut into small cubes
170 grams dried cranberries
3 tablespoons/45ml Contreau
100 grams flaked almonds (used honey-roasted macadamias)
150 g marzipan/almond paste for filling
melted unsalted butter for coating the wreath
Confectioners’/powdered sugar for dusting wreath

In a small bowl, soak the cranberries and strawberries in the Contreau (best overnight) and set aside.

Pour 60 ml warm water into a small bowl, sprinkle with yeast and let stand 5 minutes. Stir to dissolve yeast completely. In a small saucepan, combine milk and 1butter over medium - low heat until butter is melted. Let stand until lukewarm, about 5 minutes. Lightly beat eggs in a small bowl and add lemon/orange juice and vanilla extracts.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon. Then stir in (or mix on low speed with the paddle attachment) the yeast/water mixture, eggs and the lukewarm milk/butter mixture. This should take about 2 minutes. It should be a soft, but not sticky ball. When the dough comes together, cover the bowl with either plastic or a tea cloth and let rest for 10 minutes. Add in the soaked fruits and almonds/macadamias and mix with your hands or on low speed to incorporate.

Sprinkle flour on the counter, transfer the dough to the counter, and begin kneading (or mixing with the dough hook) to distribute the fruit evenly, adding additional flour if needed. The dough should be soft and satiny, tacky but not sticky. Knead for approximately 8 minutes (6 minutes by machine). The full six minutes of kneading is needed to distribute the dried fruit and other ingredients and to make the dough have a reasonable bread-dough consistency. You can tell when the dough is kneaded enough – a few raisins will start to fall off the dough onto the counter because at the beginning of the kneading process the dough is very sticky and the raisins will be held into the dough but when the dough is done it is tacky which isn't enough to bind the outside raisins onto the dough ball.
Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling around to coat it with the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Put it in the fridge overnight. The dough becomes very firm in the fridge (since the butter goes firm) but it does rise slowly… the raw dough can be kept in the refrigerator up to a week and then baked on the day you want.

Note: I used my brad machine for making the dough. I added the ingredients while the machine was kneading and added the fruits and nuts during the last kneading process during the 'making dough' programm, started it again and let it work until the dough had the right consistency. After that, I transferred it into my largest bowl where it rested in the refridgerator for two days. I baked it on christmas morning (24th).

Shaping the dough and baking the wreath

Let the dough rest for 2 hours after taking out of the fridge in order to warm slightly. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Punch dough down, roll into a rectangle about 16 x 24 inches (40 x 61 cms) and ¼ inch (6 mm) thick. Roll the marzipan into small cylinders about 1 cm thick and place onto your dough rectangle in 3 rows with same space between.

Starting with a long side, roll up the dough tightly, forming a long, thin cylinder.Transfer the cylinder roll to the sheet pan. Join the ends together, trying to overlap the layers to make the seam stronger and pinch with your fingers to make it stick, forming a large circle. You can form it around a bowl to keep the shape. Using kitchen scissors, make cuts along outside of circle, in 2-inch (5 cm) intervals, cutting 2/3 of the way through the dough. Twist each segment outward, forming a wreath shape. Mist the dough with spray oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Proof for approximately 2 hours at room temperature, or until about 1½ times its original size.
Preheat oven to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4 with the oven rack on the middle shelf. Bake the stollen for 20 minutes, then rotate the pan 180 degrees for even baking and continue to bake for 20 to 30 minutes. The bread will bake to a dark mahogany color, should register 190°F/88°C in the center of the loaf, and should sound hollow when thumped on the bottom.Transfer to a cooling rack and brush the top with melted butter while still hot. Immediately tap a layer of powdered sugar over the top through a sieve or sifter.Wait for 1 minute, then tap another layer over the first.The bread should be coated generously with the powdered sugar.
Let cool at least an hour before serving. Coat the stollen in butter and icing sugar three times, since this many coatings helps keeps the stollen fresh. When completely cool, store in a plastic bag. Or leave it out uncovered overnight to dry out slightly, German style.

If you are crazy enough, you can keep the Stollen in a dry and cool place until Easter. This is the time when it will taste the best (it you believe my parents).

Daring Cooks December Challenge: Poaching Eggs - Oeufs en Meurette

2010-12-14T09:44:00.001+01:00

Jenn and Jill have challenged The Daring Cooks to learn to perfect the technique of poaching an egg. They chose Eggs Benedict recipe from Alton Brown, Oeufs en Meurette from Cooking with Wine by Anne Willan, and Homemade Sundried Tomato & Pine Nut Seitan Sausages (poached) courtesy of Trudy of Veggie num num.

Well, I though poaching eggs wouldn't be that difficult - but I was wrong. I did some trys with water and never managed to get a uniform egg. Everything was splattered in the pan. Luckily the ones poached in wine got just right. I chose the Oefs en Meurette (not the eggs Benedict) because I love the French cuisine (it's a Burgundian dish), but it confirmed all my prejudices about the French kitchen. It tastes exquisit but you need lots of time, lots of different kitchen equipment (at least three different pans) and patience because it's difficult. I got a satisfying result a the end although I didn't follow the recipe literally. Thanks to Jenn and Jill for that nice dish I will surely cook again!

Oeufs en Meurette
makes four portions (I halved it)

8 eggs (size is your choice)
1 bottle red wine (750ml/25 fl. oz.)
2 cups (400ml/16 fl. oz.) chicken stock
1 onion, sliced
1 carrot, sliced
1 celery stalk, sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
Bouquet garni (thyme, parsley, bay leaf) *
½ tsp. (2 ½ ml/3g) black peppercorns
2 Tbl. (30 ml/30g) butter
¼ lb. (115g) mushrooms, sliced
¼ lb (115g) bacon, diced
16 pearl onions, peeled (200g/7oz.)
vegetable oil for frying
8 slices of baguette, ¼" (6mm) thick
2 Tbl. (30 ml/30g) butter, room temp.
2 Tbl. (30 ml/20g) flour
salt and pepper

* Since the sauce will reduce for a while, it's ok if you don't have the fresh herbs - there will be time for flavor to come out of dried ones (for ex. fresh bay leaf may be hard to find). Alternatively, if you don't have a way to tie them, you could just add the whole sprigs/bay leaves to the sauce and then just make sure to remove them when the sauce is done reducing.

Heat wine and stock together in a large pan and poach eggs a couple at a time for 3-4 min. Yolks should be firming but still a little soft. Set them aside.Add the veggies, herbs, and peppercorns to the poaching liquid and let the sauce simmer until reduced to half volume. This will become the meurette sauce.

In a separate large skillet, melt 1 tbs. (15ml/15g) of the butter on medium-high heat and sauté the mushrooms until soft and then set aside. Add in another 1 tbs. (15ml/15g) butter and the bacon, frying until browned, then set aside on a paper towel. Turn down the heat to medium, add in the pearl onions and sauté until softened and browned. Then drain off the fat and add the bacon and mushrooms back to the pan and set aside off the heat for the moment. In a medium skillet, heat a few tbs. of oil and then fry the baguette slices until browned on each side. Add more oil as needed. Set the fried bread (croûtes) on a paper towel and then place on a baking sheet in an oven that is set to 200F/95C/gas mark 1/4 or whatever your lowest setting is to keep them warm.

Blend 2 Tbl. (30ml/30g) butter and flour together to form a paste of sorts that will be used as the thickener for the sauce. Whisk this into the reduction sauce until the sauce starts to thicken. Strain the sauce over the skillet of mushrooms, bacon and onions, and return the skillet to heat, bringing to a boil. Season with salt & pepper to taste, then set aside again.Reheat the eggs by placing them in hot water for a quick minute. To serve, plate a poached egg on top of a croûte, and then ladle some of the mushrooms/bacon/onions and sauce on top.

My notes: I did't used more than two pans - one medium one for poaching and reducing the sauce and one frying pan for the rest. First I started making the croûtes which I placed in the oven. Afterwards I fried the bacon, removed it, then fried mushrooms and onions together, put them together with the bacon in a casserole and placed it in the oven too. Than I used the same pan for making the roux (butter and flour-mixture) without cleaning the pan before - this kept all the flavours. I added the reduced wine to the roux (not otherwise) which helped to prevent lumps in the sauce.

National Cupcake BackAthon: Gingerbread cupcakes with eggnog buttercream filling and cinnamon meringue

2010-12-06T20:21:00.001+01:00

I confess this some kind of elaborate, but I wanted more this time. First of all I wanted to make a good impression - because this is my post for the 'National Cupcake BackAthon' held by Baking the law. She invited me to take part and (of course) I couldn't say no. The topic is 'Gluttony at the christmas market' which gave me a lot of ideas. So second, I wanted to design a special cupcake, one I never made before, with filling and topping - and which was supposed to taste and look good. I adore this certain foodblog by Chockylit which is all about cupcakes. I love her cupcakes creations and wanted to create such a lovely and special cupcake as hers use to be. I hope I have done a good job in trying/doing so.

Gingerbread cupcakes with eggnog buttercream filling and cinnamon meringue
makes about 12 cupcakes

Gingerbread cupcakes:

100 g dark chocolate, minimum 61% cocoa
115 g butter
125 g sugar, granulated
100 g dark molasses (sugar beet molasses; 'Zuckerrübensirup')
4 eggs
100 g flour
15 g cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoon gingerbread spice mix ('Lebkuchengewürz')
1/2 teaspoon ginger, grounded
pinch of salt

In a waterbath, melt butter and chocolate and stir until combined. Let the mixurte cool for about ten minutes. Meanwhile mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl combine sugar and molasses, then add the chocolate-butter-mixture and whip (with a handheld mixer) until you get a caramel-like consistency. After that, beat in each egg separately. At the end add the dry ingredients and stir until (just) combined. Preahet your oven to 180°C, fill the dough into cupcake forms and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes. Let them cool on a rack.
Preparing for the filling: Press a small round cookie cutter in the middle of the cupcake and move it a little bit back and forth. Pull it out and gently remove the cone, then cut the top of it so that you have a small disc - it'll be your 'lid' after you put in the filling. You can enlarge/deepen the filling hole by using the back of a small sharp knife. Feed the crumbs to someone impatient and hungry (eg your boyfriend).

Eggnog buttercream filling:

200 g essential buttercream
2 tablespoon egg liqueur
1/2 teaspoon orange zest

Let the buttercream get room temparature (or use your microwave oven for that). Add the orange zest and egg liquer and beat until combined and creamy. Fill your cupcakes and put your 'lid' on top.

Cinnamon meringue:

two egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
40 g white sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, grounded

twelve candied almonds

Combine sugar and cinnamon. Whisk your egg whites until foamy, then add cream of tartar. When soft peaks form, add sugar-cinnamon-mixture. Whisk until stiff and glossy. Fill into piping bag with a round tip and cover the tops of your cupcakes with it. Top/decorate each cupcake with a candied almond. Use a flame torch or the top heat/grill of your oven to brown the meringue - just be careful not to burn it (I set my oven to the lowest grill function and the rack on the bottom rack and watched ...).

Bruschetta mit geräucherter Entenbrust und Erbsensprossen

2010-11-30T20:07:00.000+01:00

Ich liebe die Metro. Wenn ich mal die Gelegenheit habe, dort einkaufen zu gehen, dann reicht die Zeit meistens gar nicht, all die schönen Dinge zu bestaunen, die es dort gibt. Meistens kaufe ich irgendetwas 'exotisches' aus der Obst- und Gemüseabteilung oder dem imposanten Kühlraum mit dem Fleisch. Bei meinem letzten Beutezug musste ich bei Erbsensprossen und geräucherter Entenbrust zugreifen. Schön, nun lag es in meinem Kühlschrank, aber was damit machen? Am Ende landete es wieder in der Kategorie 'Resteverwertung', nicht sehr glorreich aber trotzdem ein leckerer Abendsnack.

Bruschetta mit geräucherter Entenbrust und Erbsensprossen
für zwei Personen

eine geräucherte Entenbrust, fein gewürfelt
eine Handvoll Erbsensprossen, fein gehackt
acht Cocktailtomaten
eine halbe gelbe Paprikaschote, fein gewürfelt
zehn Scheiben Ciabatta oder 3 normales Brot
eine Knoblauchzehe
ein EL Olivenöl (für das Dressing)
ein halber EL guter Balsamicoessig
Salz und Pfeffer

Das Brot mit etwas Öl besprenkeln und im Ofen knusprig rösten. Die Tomaten achteln, dabei den Saft und das Innere mit in die Schüssel geben. Entenbrust, Erbsensprossen, Paprika, Olivenöl und Essig dazugeben, mit Salz und Pfeffer würzen und ordentlich vermischen. Die Knoblauchzehe häuten und die Brotscheiben damit abreiben. Die Entenbrust-Gemüsemischung gleichmäßig auf den Scheiben verteilen.

Daring Bakers November challenge: Crostata filled with persimmon mousse and raspberry jam

2010-11-27T19:40:00.002+01:00

The 2010 November Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Simona of briciole. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers' to make pasta frolla for a crostata. She used her own experience as a source, as well as information from Pellegrino Artusi's Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well.

Crostata (tart) is an Italian dessert. The base of a crostata is pasta frolla(or pastafrolla), sweet short crust pastry (or sweet tart dough) made of flour, sugar, butter and eggs. Pasta frollais versatile: it provides the base to make crostata with fruit preserves, pastry cream, fresh fruit,ricotta, and other ingredients, and, by itself, it makes very nice cookies.

Tarte should be a piece of cake for me, made them a dozen times, you can find them all here. I wasn't so fond of the idea of a whole sweet jam filling*, so I rather preferred blind baking and adding a filling afterwards. There are masses of possibilities for filling, I once for example made an apple cinnamon ice cream filling and topped it with marzipan. But I was looking for something new. I remembered a dessert recipe from one of my friends I liked very much. It's an apple mousse which is topped with a chocolate mousse or elderberry sauce. Apple seemed a little bit to plain so wanted something more fancy. Because I never used persimmons before I decided to gor for a persimmon-raspberry combination. The result was really smooth and tasty but took a lot of time (which involved a lot of waiting but was worth it).

* In Austria such a tarte with jam filling and dough stripes on top for decoration is called 'Linzer Torte'.

Crostata filled with persimmon mousse and raspberry jam

Pasta frolla

1/2 c. minus 1 tablespoon [105 ml, 100 g, 3 ½ oz] superfine sugar or a scant 3/4 cup [180ml, 90g, 3 oz] of powdered sugar
1 and 3/4 cup [420 ml, 235 g, 8 1/4 oz.] unbleached all-purpose flour
a pinch of salt
1 stick [8 tablespoons / 4 oz. / 115 g] cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
grated zest of half a lemon (you could also use vanilla sugar as an option)
1 large egg and 1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten in a small bowl

Whisk together sugar, flour and salt in a bowl. Rub or cut the butter into the flour until the mixture has the consistency of coarse crumbs. You can do this in the bowl or on your work surface, using your fingertips or an implement of choice. Make a well in the center of the mounded flour and butter mixture and pour the beaten eggs into it (reserve about a teaspoon of the egg mixture for glazing purposes later on - place in the refrigerator, covered, until ready to use). Add the lemon zest to your flour/butter/egg mixture. Use a fork to incorporate the liquid into the solid ingredients, and then use your fingertips. Knead lightly just until the dough comes together into a ball.Shape the dough into a flat disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Place the dough in the refrigerator and chill for at least two hours. You can refrigerate the dough overnight.

Baking your crostata: Preheat the oven to 350ºF [180ºC/gas mark 4]. Roll out a batch of the pasta frollaand cover the base of the tart pan.a piece of parchment paper or aluminum foil large enough to cover the bottom of the crust and extend out a bit over the edges of the pan. You can use pie weights or dry beans to blind bake. Place whatever weight you're using directly on the parchment paper or aluminum foil in an even layer. Place theshell in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the weights and parchment paper and continue baking the crostata shell until the border is light golden, about 5 minutes (watch carefully to avoid over-baking, which results in a hard shell). In the absence of weight, the crust may rise in the middle: if that occurs, gently push it back down with the back of a spoon. Remove from the oven and let the crostata shell cool completely before proceeding. If you use a tart pan with removable bottom, release the base from the fluted tart ring, then slide the cooled shell on a serving plate for filling. (Note: If you've used a cake pan or pie plate, use a bit of care in taking the shell out of the baking vessel.)

Persimmon mousse & raspberry topping

3 ripe persimmons
1 tablespoon maracuja sirup
250 ml heavy cream
10 g of sugar
2 egg yolks
1 egg white
5 sheets of gelatine
about 200g raspberry jam (without seeds) for the topping

Peel the persimmons and puree them until smooth, blend with the maracuja sirup. Soak the gelatine sheets in cold water until soft, then squeeze the excess water. Beat the egg white and yolks with the sugar in a bowl until creamy (the eggs should have room temperature). Warm the gelatine until dissolved and mix it with the egg-sugar-mixture. Fold in the pureed persimmons. Beat the cream until stiff peaks appear, and fold it into the mixture too. Fill the mousse into your pasta frolla and let ist cool into the refridgerator for at least 4 hours (or better overnight) til the mousse does have a solid consistency. For the topping, warm the jam into a bowl until fluid - don't boil or warm it to much, otherwise you'll melt the mousse. Spread on top into an even layer. Let the tarte rest another hour.

Jamie Oliver: Jamie does

2010-11-21T23:30:00.003+01:00

Actually I wanted to write that with this book I get the feeling to be fed up with my favourite chef. But as I was briefly skipping through the pages again, the enthusiasm grabbed me again. Especially the French and Morrocan section made my senses tingle - could almoust smell all the spices and feel the heat... The Swedish section was disappointing though, I think there are a lot better recipes typical for Sweden which do not contain fish. Therefore I recommend this one: Kitchen of Light: The New Scandinavian Cooking ;).

All in all entertaining stories, great pictures and layout as always - maybe one of the best layouts so far. At the end stays just this tiny feeling of assembly-line work because Mr. Oliver is tossing out books in a row ... I'm missing the real passion in his newest books so to say (got the feeling it got lost on the way).

Kürbissuppe mit schwarzen Bohnen

2010-11-19T23:26:00.002+01:00

Herbstzeit ist Kürbiszeit. So lagen erst kürzlich mehrere Butternut-Kürbisse in meiner Küche versammelt. Also was damit anfangen? Da kam mir unser alljährliches Abgrillen gerade recht, fand es doch am Abend vor Halloween statt. Was passt dazu besser als eine Kürbissuppe? Außerdem musste ich ungefähr 8-10 Portionen planen, damit war schon ein Kürbis verarbeitet. Ich wollte einen etwas exotischen Geschmack, und die leckere Kürbis-Orangen-Suppe, die ich schon einmal gekocht hatte fand ich nicht rustikal genug. Die Suppe mit Kokos und Garnelen war mir auch zu ausgefallen, also musste ein neues Rezept her. Im Kühlschrank hatte ich noch ein angefangenes Glas Tikka Masala-Paste, warum die nicht gleich verwenden. Für den etwas nussigeren Geschmack und die Sämigkeit sollten noch ein paar schwarze Bohnen mit hinein, da der Butternut-Kürbis doch wässriger als der Hokkaido-Kürbis ist. Insgesamt fand ich das Ergebnis gelungen, nur leider fand die Soljanka mehr Absatz. Warum wohl ;) ? Zur Suppe passt ganz ausgezeichnet Foccaccia mit Kürbiskernen, wer nicht so viel Zeit zum Backen hat kann auch fertiges Naan-Brot aus dem Supermarkt versuchen.

Kürbissuppe mit schwarzen Bohnen
für 8 Portionen

ein kleiner Butternuss-Kürbis, geschält, entkernt und in große Würfel geschnitten
zwei Dosen schwarze Bohnen, abgetropft
zwei Zwiebeln, grob gewürfelt
750 ml Wasser
eine Dose ganze Tomaten
80 g Tikka Masala Paste (zB von Patak)
ein Eßlöffel Öl
50 g Zartbitter-Schokolade, grob geraspelt
Tabasco-Sauce, Salz & Pfeffer zum Abschmecken

Die Paste im heißen Öl kurz anbraten bis sich die Aromen entfalten. Dann Hitze reduzieren und die Zwiebeln dazugeben und ca 3 Minuten dünsten, dann den Kürbis hinzugeben und ebenfalls kurz anbraten. Wasser und Tomaten unterrühren, salzen und das Ganze ca 15 Minuten kochen, der Kürbis sollte weich sein. Die Hälfte der Bohnen dazugeben und mit dem Pürierstab glatt pürieren, evt. Wasser nachgeben. Die restlichen Bohnen und die Schokolade einrühren und nochmal kurz kochen lassen. Mit Salz, Pfeffer und Tabasco-Sauce abschmecken.

Daring Cooks November Challenge: Sweet Potato and Gruyère Soufflé

2010-11-14T23:19:00.001+01:00

Dave and Linda from Monkeyshines in the Kitchen chose Soufflés as our November 2010 Daring Cooks' Challenge! Dave and Linda provided many of their own delicious recipes plus a sinfully decadent chocolate soufflé recipe adapted from Gordon Ramsay's recipe found at the BBC Good Food website.

I'd made soufflé once and not to mention it was a disaster (the whole open-the-door-and falling-together thing). To prevent further ones, I decided for a savoury recipe which wouldn't rise that much anyway. I spotted some really nice sweet potatoes at the supermarket and remembered I hadn't cooked something with them a long time - and I love sweet potatoes by the way (especially baked in the oven with some mozarella on top...). Luckily I found a recipe I could make a soufflé with them, and it was awesome. According to my boyfriend "einfach geil" what means 'simply wicked' ...

Sweet Potato and Gruyère Soufflé (from Epicurious)

1/2 cup/50 g freshly grated Parmesan
1 cup/ 210 g finely chopped onion (about 3 medium-sized)
1 large garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons/ 30 g unsalted butter
2 tablespoons/15 g all-purpose flour
1 cup/236 ml milk
1 cup / 100 g coarsely grated Gruyère (about 3 ounces)
2 cups /675 g mashed cooked sweet potatoes (about 2 big potatoes)
4 large eggs, separated

Butter a 1 1/2-quart soufflé dish and dust it with 1/4 cup of the Parmesan. In a large heavy saucepan cook the onion and the garlic with salt and pepper to taste in the butter over moderately low heat, stirring, until the onion is softened, stir in the flour, and cook the roux, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the milk in a stream, whisking, and simmer the mixture, whisking, until it is thickened. Remove the pan from the heat, whisk in the Gruyère, whisking until the cheese is melted, and whisk in the sweet potatoes and the egg yolks, 1 at a time. In a bowl with an electric mixer beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they just hold stiff peaks, whisk one fourth of them into the sweet potato mixture to lighten it, and fold in the remaining whites gently but thoroughly. Pour the mixture into the prepared soufflé dish, sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan over it, and bake the soufflé in the middle of a preheated 375°F. oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until it is puffed and golden. Serve the soufflé immediately.

Notes: I don't have a soufflé dish, so I used two creme brulee moulds and a small casserole. We ate it as a main dish, but seved in the brulee moulds it would also be a nice accompaniment for meat (maybe even for a christmas dinner). Because I used smaller dishes it took only 35 minutes.

Daring Bakers Oktober Challenge: Banana Crunch Doughnuts (filled with blueberry jam) and a family recipe

2010-10-27T22:13:00.002+02:00

The October 2010 Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Lori of Butter Me Up. Lori chose to challenge DBers to make doughnuts. She used several sources for her recipes including Alton Brown, Nancy Silverton, Kate Neumann and Epicurious.

At my region this kind of deep-fried stuff is called "Pfannkuchen" or "Berliner" (called after our capital of course). In carnival it's a kind of tradition to fill some of them with musturd - so if you're not lucky you'll find a very "special" one. During the last years you can also buy ones filled with egg nogg or chocolate but I prefer the traditional version with cherry or strawberry jam, covered with granulated sugar. Some use sugar glaze, but that's not how I like them. In my family we have a special recipe for "Quarkbällchen" what are small balls with a dough containing raisins and quark. I'll give you the recipe here, but I haven't made them in a while, so I unfortunately have no pictures what they are supposed to look like.

I have made doughnuts before, especially because I adore the ones from Dunkin Donuts and wanted to recreate them. Unfortunately it's a 3 hours drive to Berlin which is the next place I can get the original ... My maple sirup version (yeast dough) was not bad but far from the taste I expected. So I decided this time to go for dough without yeast. Some time ago I found I recipe by Tartelette, one of my favourite blogs which was using bananas. I saved it amoung my 'I have to bake/cook this' list but never came to the point actually doing it - until now. As I wanted to make a filled and 'normal' version I decided for blueberry jam filling - you have to know that my favourite doughnut at Dunkin Donuts is the blueberry crunch doughnut ...

Banana doughnuts with blueberry jam filling

(a slightly modified version of the ones from Tartelette)

dough:

3 to 3 1/2 cups (440gr) all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons (12gr) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (2gr) baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup honey
2 small bananas, mashed
1/4 cup (55gr) sour cream
canola oil for frying

glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons milk

dried bananas, crushed, for decoration
blueberry jam for filling

Sift together the dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom, cinnamon and salt. Beat together the eggs and honey for one minute until light and airy. Add the bananas and sour cream and beat until well incorporated. Add the dry ingredients (little by little). The dough will be soft. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
On a well floured board or countertop, roll the dough to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut rounds either with a 3-inch doughnut cutter or use a 3-inch cookie cutter and a 1-inch small cutter to make the holes in the middle. Reroll the scraps as you go. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes if it starts getting tough as you reroll and cut, to relax the gluten.
In a large cast iron skilet, heat enough oil (2 inches deep or so) to 325F and fry the doughnuts 3 to 4 at a time, 1 to 2 minutes on each side, turning them once. Do not over crowd your skillet or it will drop the temperature of the oil and you will end up with soggy doughnuts. Drain on a baking sheet lined with paper towels.

For the filling: Put the jam into a piping bag with a long slim nozzle. Put it into the doughnut and press gently for filling it.
In a medium bowl, sift the powdered sugar. Add the milk and whisk until smooth. Dip the doughnuts into the glaze and crushed banas and let drip on a wire rack set over a piece of parchment paper.

Now as promised the recipe for the "Quarkbällchen"

200 g quark
250 g all purpose flour
100 g granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon butter, softened
6 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
grated zest of half a lemon
a handful raisins (optional)
canola oil for frying
granlated sugar for coating

Mix the flour with the baking powder and set aside. Then beat the quark with the sugar until combined and add the eggs one at a time. Add the butter and milk and stir in the dry ingredients. You should get a sticky dough. At last add the raisins (if using). Using a teaspoon form little balls of dough, be careful and don't make them to big ... Fry as described aboveYou can prick the balls with a toothpick; whten it comes out clear, they are done. Drain on paper towels and roll in granulated sugar when still warm.

Daring Bakers August Challenge: Ice Cream Petit Fours with Brown Butter Pound Cake

2010-08-27T20:44:00.004+02:00

The August 2010 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Elissa of 17 and Baking. For the first time, The Daring Bakers partnered with Sugar High Fridays for a co-event and Elissa was the gracious hostess of both. Using the theme of beurre noisette, or browned butter, Elissa chose to challenge Daring Bakers to make a pound cake to be used in either a Baked Alasa or in Ice Cream Petit Fours. The sources for Elissa's challenge were Gourmet magazine and David Lebovitz's "The Perfect Scoop".

My ice cream machine-buy was no bad idea wasn't it? In this month's challenge I could use it again. The original recipe for the ice cream was vanilla flavour but I decided for cheesecake after tasting some crumbs of this delicious butter pound cake. Unfortunately my boyfriend didn't share my opinion - he doesn't like cheesecake at all and disliked the flavour combination at the first taste. I thought otherwise - I fell in love with it - cannot understand that there are really people who do NOT like cheesecake, the best cake ever ... I decided to go with white chocolate with some coconut shreds in it. The taste was all right, but of course the cake was shining through (should have thought about that before), the petit fours were great anyway (I'm going to post pictures of the ready ones later because I have to head to my mother-in-law...).

Ice Cream Petit Fours (*Butterfinger* style)

Brown Butter Pound Cake

19 tablespoons (9.5 oz) (275g) unsalted (sweet) butter
2 cups (200g) sifted cake flour (not self-rising; sift before measuring) (See "Note" section for cake flour substitution)
1 teaspoon (5g) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (3g) salt
1/2 cup (110g) packed light brown sugar
1/3 (75g) cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 325°F/160°C and put a rack in the center. Butter and flour a 9"x9" (23cmx23cm) square pan.Place the butter in a 10" (25cm) skillet over medium heat. Brown the butter until the milk solids are a dark chocolate brown and the butter smells nutty. (Don't take your eyes off the butter in case it burns.) Pour into a shallow bowl and chill in the freezer until just congealed, 15-30 minutes.Whisk together cake flour, baking powder, and salt.Beat the brown butter, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar in an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well, and then the vanilla extract.

Stir in the flour mixture at low speed until just combined.Scrape the batter into the greased and floured 9"x9" (23cmx23cm) square pan. Smooth the top with a rubber spatula and rap the pan on the counter. Bake until golden brown on top and when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool in the pan 10 minutes. Run a knife along the edge and invert right-side-up onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Cheesecake Ice Cream
adapted from David Lebovitz's "The Perfect Scoop", makes about 750 ml

400 g cream cheese
70 g sour cream
130 g sugar
pinch of salt
zest and juice of one big lemon
50 graham crackers, crushed
60 ml milk
60 ml heavy cream

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and chill in the refridgerator. Freeze in your ice cream machine according to the instructions. Note: I wanted the cracker crumbs smal and soft so I stirred them in with all the other ingredients - if you like otherwise, add them later.

White chocolate glaze

250 ml heavy cream
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla or coconut syrup
250 g fine-quality white chocolate flavoured with coconut, melted

Stir the heavy cream and syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and add the dark chocolate. Let sit 30 seconds, then stir to completely melt the chocolate. Let cool until tepid before glazing the petit fours.

Assembly

Line a 9"x9" (23cmx23cm) pan with plastic wrap, so that no sides of the pan are exposed and so there is some extra plastic wrap hanging off the sides. Spread 1 ¾ to 2 cups (450ml to 500ml) ice cream into the pan. Cover with more plastic wrap and freeze several hours.

Once the brown butter pound cake has completely cooled, level the top with a cake leveler or a serrated knife. Then split the cake in half horizontally to form two thin layers.Unwrap the frozen ice cream. Flip out onto one of the layers of cake and top with the second layer of cake. Wrap well in plastic wrap and return to the freezer overnight.

Make the chocolate glaze (see above.)While the glaze cools, trim ¾" (2cm) off each side of the ice cream cake to leave a perfectly square 7.5" (19cm) ice cream cake. Cut the cake into twenty five petit fours, each 1.5"x1.5" (4cmx4cm).Glaze the petit fours one at a time: place a petit four on a fork and spoon chocolate glaze over it. Place the petit fours on a parchment-lined baking sheet and return to the freezer for one hour.

Pflaumen-Apfel-Cobbler

2010-08-18T22:56:00.002+02:00

Was macht man wenn man einen Korb Pflaumen erstanden hat und einen die Gelüste nach frischen Früchten nach kurzer Zeit verlassen? Kuchen? Pflaumenknödel nach Omas Spezialrezept? Das gab es doch erst letzte Woche bei Mutti .... Nein, gegen die Pflaumenknödel nach Familienrezept ist wirklich nichts einzuwenden. Meine Oma stammt aus dem ehemaligen Sudetenland und hat viele böhmische Rezepte mit in die Familienküche gebracht, so dass wir manchmal nicht nur sächsisch, sondern auch böhmisch gekocht haben. Jedes Jahr zur Hochsaison der Pflaumenzeit lädt meine Mutter zu Pflaumenknödeln ein, und die ganze Familie versammelt sich um einen Tisch. Die Vorbereitungen dazu laufen bereits Tage vorher und die Mengen die meine Mutter dabei produziert grenzen an die Produktion einer mittelgroßen Fabrik - meistens schaffen wir nur die Hälfe von dem, was in den beiden großen Töpfen gedämpft wurde, und einige Exemplare landen zum Glück in der Gefriertruhe, wo man sie bei Gelegenheit wieder hervorzaubern kann. Serviert werden die Knödel mit einer Pflaumentunke, zerlassener Butter und Zimt und Zucker. Ich liebe diese Geschmackskombination. An die zerlassene Butter konnte ich mich zwar nie so richtig gewöhnen, aber von Tunke mit Zucker und Zimt bekam ich nie genug. Die ganze Prozedur der Herstellung ist mir aber zu aufwändig nur für zwei Personen, ganz zu schweigen von den Dingen, die bei der Herstellung alle schief gehen können. Den Geschmack wollte ich aber wieder in einem Gericht erleben, nur was sollte ich machen?

Außerdem waren da auch noch diese Äpfel die dringend weg müssen. Moment, Äpfel, da war doch was - genau, Apfel-Crumble. Funktioniert das auch mit Pflaumen? Kurze Recherche ... ja, diese ganzen traditionellen englischen Crumble funktionieren mit fast jeder Fruchtkombination; und als Cobbler kann man sie sogar zum Hauptgang servieren.

Pflaumen-Apfel-Cobbler
für 2 große (Hauptgang) oder 5-6 kleine Portionen (Dessert)

500 g Pflaumen, entsteint und halbiert
zwei bis drei säuerliche feste Äpfel, geschält und in Spalten geschnitten
reichlich Zimt-Zucker-Mischung (ca 50 g)
185 g Mehl
1 TL Backpulver
60 g Zucker
125 g Butter
1 Ei
125 ml Milch
Vanillesoße oder -eis zum Servieren

Den Ofen auf 180°C vorheizen. Pflaumen und Apfelspalten in eine große Auflaufform geben und mit der Zimt-Zucker-Mischung bestreuen (je nachdem wie süß man es mag). Für 20 Minuten in den Ofen schieben. Inzwischen Mehl, Zucker und Backpulver gut mischen und die Butter mit den Fingern unterarbeiten bis eine streuselartige Masse entstanden ist. Milch und Ei mischen und in die Streuselmasse einarbeiten.

Die Form aus dem Ofen nehmen und die Obstmischung mit einem Löffel nochmal vermischen, so dass der Saft, der sich am Boden gesammelt hat, gleichmäßig überall verteilt ist (Vorsicht, heiß!). Den Teig auf dem Obst verteilen und für 30-40 Minuten zurück in den Ofen stellen. Mit Vanillesoße oder Eis noch warm servieren.

Daring Cooks August Challenge: Pierogi

2010-08-14T20:59:00.003+02:00

The August 2010 Daring Cooks Challenge was hosted by LizG of Bits n'Bites and Anula of Anula's Kitchen. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make pierogi from scratch and an optional challenge to provide one filling that best represents their locale.

Pierogi are still one of my most vivid memory about my 5months-exchange-stay in Poland. At that time I was still going to discover my passion for cooking and making things from scratch. Usually I bought frozen stuff from the supermarket, and my favourite were pierogi. I guess I ate all kinds you can find there - sweet and savoury ones, filled with strawberries or meat or potatoes ... The sweet ones were topped with vanilla flavoured curd queese, and the savoury ones were served in an onion soup topped with sour cream. Every time I come back to Poland for a visit, I am taking a bag of them with me. One day I was even lucky enough to get a bunch of home-made pierogi from a Polish friend (staying in Germany for an exchange)- her grandma made them and it was nearly a sacrifice for her to give them to me. So sorry girls, I am not going to mess with the traditional Polish recipe in honor of my melancholic memories of the most delicious Polish food I can remember. I'm keeping with the original.

Russian Style Pierogi (Anula's family recipe)
Makes around 30 dumplings

Dough

2 to 2 1/2 cups (300 to 375 g) all-purpose (plain) flour
1 large egg
1 teaspoon (5 ml) salt
About 1 cup (250 ml) lukewarm water

Filling

3 big potatoes, cooked & mashed (1 1/2 cup instant or leftover mashed potatoes is fine too)
1 cup (225 g) cottage cheese, drained 1 onion, diced & sauteed in butter until clear
3 slices of streaky bacon, diced and fried till crispy
1 egg yolk (from medium egg)
1 tablespoon (15 g) butter, melted
1/4 (1.25 ml) teaspoon salt
pinch of pepper to taste

Combine all the ingredients for the filling (it's best to use one's hands to do that) put into the bowl, cover and set aside in the fridge until you have to use it.

Place 2 cups flour in a large bowl or on a work surface and make a well in the center. Break the egg into it, add the salt and a little lukewarm at a time (in my situation 1/2 cup was enough). Bring the dough together, kneading well and adding more flour or water as necessary. Cover the dough with a bowl or towel. You're aiming for soft dough. Let it rest 20 minutes.

On a floured work surface, roll the dough out thinly (1/8" or about 3 millimeters) cut with a 2-inch (5 cm) round or glass. Spoon a portion (teaspoon will be the best) of the filling into the middle of each circle. Fold dough in half and pinch edges together. Gather scraps, re-roll and fill. Repeat with remaining dough. Bring a large, low saucepan of salted water to boil. Drop in the pierogi, not too many, only single layer in the pan! Return to the boil and reduce heat.

When the pierogi rise to the surface, continue to simmer a few minutes more ( usually about 5 minutes). Remove one dumpling with a slotted spoon and taste if ready. When satisfied, remove remaining pierogi from the water. Serve immediately preferably with crème fraiche or fry. Cold pierogi can be fried. Boiled Russian pierogi can be easily frozen and boiled taken out straight from the freezer.

I fired mine in butter with some spring onions and topped them with a spoonful of creme fraiche.

Schweinshaxen-Risotto mit Backpflaumen und Champignons

2010-08-08T20:23:00.002+02:00

Normalerweise steht deutsche Hausmannskost sehr selten auf meinem Speiseplan. Ab und zu mag ich es dennoch deftig und esse mal eine Scheibe Blutwurst auf's Brot oder es gibt Grützwurst mit Sauerkraut und Kartoffeln - aber das ist eher die Ausnahme. Eisbein habe ich noch nie gegessen, und auch die Schweinshaxe wollte ich nie auf meinem Teller haben - solche deutschen Spezialitäten gab es nie bei mir zu Hause und waren wegen des Fettanteils und der umständigen Zubereitung nie ein Wunschgericht. In meinem Kopf entstanden bei 'Eisbein' oder 'Schweinshaxe' immer Klischeebilder von dicken Leuten mit fetttriefenden Fleischbatzen im Mund vor meinem inneren Auge - nein danke!

Letztens ging ich allerdings in meinem Supermarkt am Kühlregal vorbei und entdeckte fertig zubereitete und abgepackte Schweinshaxen, die optisch gar nicht mal so schlecht aussahen. In diesem Moment bekam ich wahnsinnig Appetit auf Fleisch, zumal es ja schon fertig zubereitet war und ich keine Lust auf großartige Bratexperimente hatte. Also landete das gute Stück im Wagen, genauso wie eine Packung appetitliche braune Champignons aus der Gemüseabteilung. Zu diesem Zeitpunkt hatte ich - wie meistens - noch keine konkrete Vorstellung was ich damit machen wollte. Zu Hause schaute ich mit meine Ausbeute an und war ein bisschen ratlos - Kartoffeln waren keine da, also was dazu essen? Es gab da so ein Rezept in meinem Risottobuch mit Schweinefleisch ... also warum nicht auch ein Risotto mit Haxe? Ich kramte noch ein paar Backpflaumen aus meinen Vorräten hervor, deren überraschend guten Geschmack ich erst entdeckt hatte und in Kombination mit Kaninchen (in diesem Rezept) schon als ausgezeichnet im Hinterkopf vermerkt hatte. Ich kannte einige Schweinefilet-mit-Dörrobst-Kreationen, warum also keine Backplaumen ... Das Ergebnis war eine geschmacklich gut kombinierte Variante eines 'Deutschen-Hausmannskost-Risottos' und ich würde es beim nächsten 'Haxen-Hunger' auch wieder machen.

Schweinshaxen-Risotto mit Backpflaumen und Champignons
für 2-3 Portionen

eine fertig zubreitete abgepackte Schweinshaxe
eine große Handvoll Backpflaumen, gewürfelt
300 g Risotto-Reis
400 ml Gemüsefond
400 ml Wasser
400 g braune Champignons, halbiert
eine Zwiebel, fein gehackt
4 EL Butter
ein Glas Rotwein
Thymian
Salz und Pfeffer

Zuerst die halbierten Pilze in einer Pfanne in etwas Butter heiß braten bis sie gar sind, dabei mit ordentlich Thymian würzen. Bei der Haxe das Fleisch vom Knochen lösen und in mundgerechte Stücke zerpflücken, eventuell die fettigen Teile entfernen. Das Gelee in der Packung nicht wegwerfen! Zusammen mit dem Wasser und der Gemüsefond in einen großes Litermaß oder einen Topf geben und erhitzen. Die Zwiebel in 2 EL der Butter glasig dünsten, die Hitze erhöhen und den Risottoreis dazugeben und erhitzen. Mit Rotwein ablöschen, dabei ordentlich umrühren. Wenn der Reis den Wein komplett aufgenommen hat, die erste Kelle heißen Fond dazugeben, dabei immer weiter rühren. Die erste Viertelportion des Fleisches dazugeben. Wie bei Risotto üblich weiter Fond dazugießen und rühren, bis die Flüssigkeit aufgenommen ist, jedesmal Fleisch mit zufügen, danach die Pflaumen in zwei Portionen. Nach ca 18 Minuten sollte der Fond aufgebraucht und der Reis seine gewünschte Konsistenz haben. Die restliche Butter und die Pilze unterrühren, mit Salz und Pfeffer würzen und noch 2 Minuten mit geschlossenem Deckel ziehen lassen.

Sweet (Ice Cream)Dreams

2010-08-01T20:23:00.003+02:00

Durch meine kleine Foodblog-Besessenheit war ich irgendwann auf das Blog von David Lebovitz gestossen, besser gesagt zuerst auf das Rezept seiner Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream - ein Traum in Eis für Karamellliebhaber wie mich. Also war der Plan, irgendwann eine Eismaschine anzuschaffen - wohin dann in unserer kleinen Küche damit, war mir aber unklar, also blieb die Planung an diesem Punkt stehen. Bis letzten Monat, als ich (wieder einmal genötigt durch meine monatlich Daring Bakers Challenge) plötzlich eine Eiscreme-Torte herstellen musste. Ok, da war die Sache natürlich 'gegessen', die Maschine musste her. Ich wollte gerne eine mit Kompressor, denn auf 24h lang Kühlbehälter im Gefrierschrank langern hatte ich keine Lust, noch dazu wo ich nie Platz habe ;) Nach kurzer Suche fanden wir auch eine passende Eismaschine von Unold, die es gerade bei amazon im Angebot gab. Das passende Buch dazu war auch schnell gefunden und gleich mitgeordert - 'The perfect scoop' - natürlich von oben genanntem Eiscreme-Gott.

Noch an dem Tag wo unsere neue Erungenschaft eintraf, wurde mit der Produktion begonnen - zwei Rezepte (und die entscheidenede Challenge mit der Eiscreme-Torte) gibt es hier. Das einzige Problem sind die Unmengen an Eigelb die man für die Eisherstellung braucht. Da ich aber bald Unmengen an Meringue-Buttercreme herstellen werde, geht es am Ende dann doch wieder auf. Dazu später mehr.

Daring Bakers July Challenge: Swiss Swirl Ice Cream Cake

2010-07-27T23:31:00.005+02:00

The July 2010 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Sunita of Sunita's world - life and food. Sunita challenged everyone to make an ice-cream filled Swiss roll that's then used to make a bombe with hot fudge. Her recipe is based on an ice cream cake recipe from Taste of Home.

Well ... I am feeling a little bit sick today. After licking a dozen spoons (can't help myself) covered with sugar and cream-containing mixtures I am not excited any more about the ice cream cake forming into my freezer. If you ask me now, no more ice cream for me ... Just a few days earlier, I was jumping for joy because my ordered ice machine had arrived. Yes, I ordered an ice machine - not only for the challenge, I had been playing with this thougt for a while, and this month's challenge was the last straw (like the crepe pan - thanks again ;). Of course I had to have the suitable book too - I guess if you have been (food)blogging and reading for a while, you know David Lebovitz. I read this name for the first time as someone mentioned making one of his ice cream recipes, particularly this salted butter caramel ice cream. Not to mention this site has been among my favourites ever since. Of course I ordered The perfect scoop too. I gained two pounds just from looking at the recipes in this book, but nevermind. Luckily I prepared two different ice creams bearing the challenge in mind. Not the caramel one which should be eaten just pure ... I chose a salty caramel sauce instead of the hot fudge. It turned out to be very fluid so maybe I'll keep with the original recipe next time.

Yesterday I recognised it was already the 26th and I had to finish and post the challenge today. The cake is still freezing and not ready to serve - and I couldn't eat a piece to be honest. I am going to taste and make pictures during my next craving for chocolate and sweet stuff, I promise. (Note from the 28th of July: My never-tired-of-sweet-stuff boyfriend completed the task for me, he managed to eat a whole piece of this calorie bomb. During cutting, serving and photographing the cake I had some serious tilting- and melting-promblems but I got at least one good shot displayed beneath.)

Swiss Roll Ice Cream Cake
(inspired by the recipe of the same name from the Taste of Home website)

Swiss rolls

6 medium sized eggs
225 grams caster sugar + extra for rolling
45 grams all purpose (plain) flour
40 gram natural unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted together
30 ml boiling water
a little oil for brushing the pans

Filling

500 mls whipping cream
1 vanilla pod, cut into small pieces of about ½ cm (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
70 grams caster sugar

Preheat the oven at 200 °C approximately. Brush the baking pans (11 inches by 9 inches) with a little oil and line with greaseproof baking paper. If you have just one pan, bake one cake and then let the pan cool completely before using it for the next cake. In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs and sugar and beat till very thick; when the beaters are lifted, it should leave a trail on the surface for at least 10 seconds. Add the flour mixture, in three batches and fold in gently with a spatula. Fold in the water. Divide the mixture among the two baking pans and spread it out evenly, into the corners of the pans. Place a pan in the center of the pre-heated oven and bake for about 10-12 minutes or till the center is springy to the touch.

Spread a kitchen towel on the counter and sprinkle a little caster sugar over it. Turn the cake on to the towel and peel away the baking paper. Trim any crisp edges. Starting from one of the shorter sides, start to make a roll with the towel going inside. Cool the wrapped roll on a rack, seam side down. Repeat the same for the next cake as well.

Grind together the vanilla pieces and sugar in a food processer till nicely mixed together. If you are using vanilla extract, just grind the sugar on its own and then add the sugar and extract to the cream. In a large bowl, add the cream and vanilla-sugar mixture and beat till very thick. Divide the cream mixture between the completely cooled cakes. Open the rolls and spread the cream mixture, making sure it does not go right to the edges (a border of ½ an inch should be fine). Roll the cakes up again, this time without the towel. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge till needed, seam side down.

Milk Chocolate Ice Cream (left), Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream (right)

Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream

adapted from The perfect scoop by David Lebovitz

400 g (one can) sweetened condensed milk
250 ml strongly brewed coffee
one tablespoon instant espresso powder
35 ml (3 tablespoons) milk
35 ml (3 tablespoons) cream
a pinch of ground coffee

Whisk everything together and freeze into the ice cream maker according to the manufacturers instructions.

Milk Chocolate Ice Cream with Cocoa nibs (2nd layer)

adapted from The perfect scoop by David Lebovitz

115 g milk chocolate (in my case: Sarotti dunkle Volmilch mit Kakaosplittern)
190 ml cream
200 ml milk
75 g sugar
pinch of salt
2 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon Sherry

Heat the cream and melt the chocolate into it. Mix sugar, salt and milk in a pan. Whisk the egg yolks together in a bowl, pour the milk into the eggs and transfer back into the pan. Heat slowly, stirring the whole time - do not cook. The mixture should become thicker and coat the back of your spoon. Pour it through a mesh strainer into the chocolate-cream-mixture and add the sherry. Chill the ready mixture and freeze into the ice cream machine according to the given instructions.

Salty Butter Caramel Sauce

adapted from The perfect scoop by David Lebovitz

40 g butter
70 g sugar
100 ml cream
one teaspoon coarse salt

Melt the butter in a pan and mix with the sugar. Let the mixture cook until the sugar is dark golden and starts to smoke. Add the cream (be careful) and the salt, stirring the whole time. If you have lumps, stir over low heat until they are dissolved.

Assembly: Cut the Swiss rolls into 20 equal slices (approximately 2 cms each). Cover the bottom and sides of the bowl in which you are going to set the dessert with cling film/plastic wrap. Arrange two slices at the bottom of the pan, with their seam sides facing each other. Arrange the Swiss roll slices up the bowl, with the seam sides facing away from the bottom, to cover the sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and freeze till the slices are firm (at least 30 minutes). Soften the coffee ice cream. Take the bowl out of the freezer, remove the cling film cover and add the ice cream on top of the cake slices. Spread it out to cover the bottom and sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and freeze till firm (at least 1 hour) Add the fudge sauce over the vanilla coffee ice cream, cover and freeze till firm. (at least an hour) Soften the chocolate ice cream and spread it over the fudge sauce. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 4-5 hours till completely set. Remove the plastic cover, and place the serving plate on top of the bowl. Turn it upside down and remove the bowl and the plastic lining. If the bowl does not come away easily, wipe the outsides of the bowl with a kitchen towel dampened with hot water. The bowl will come away easily. Keep the cake out of the freezer for at least 10 minutes before slicing, depending on how hot your region is. Slice with a sharp knife, dipped in hot water.

Daring Cooks July Challenge: Nut butters

2010-07-16T21:15:00.002+02:00

The July 2010 Daring Cooks' Challenge was hosted by Margie of More Please and Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make their own nut butter from scratch, and use the nut butter in a recipe. Their sources include Better with Nut Butter by Cooking Light Magazine, Asian Noodles by Nina Simonds, and Food Network online.

This month I missed the Cooks challege because I was hiking in the Norwegian woods. We came back at the 14th, I had to go to work the next day and do a 24h duty, so there was no time left for cooking and presenting. A few deays later I catched up on the challenge. I don't wanted to miss the great idea of a dich with a creamy sauce just made out of nuts. I had some cashews, 'asian-style' vegetables in the freezer and some Mie noodles left, so I made a tasty leftovers dish. I guess I am going to make an ice cream with the rest of my butter, so thanks to Margie and Natashya for this challenge!

Turkey with Mie noodles in cashew (nut butter) sauce (recipe below)

Making Nut Butters

The process for making various types of nut butters is essentially the same. Pour nuts into bowl of food processor. Grind the nuts in the processor until they form a paste or butter. The nuts first turn into powdery or grainy bits, then start to clump and pull away from the side of the bowl, and finally form a paste or butter. The total time required depends on the fat and moisture content of the nuts; grinding time will vary from roughly 1 to 4 minutes (assuming a starting volume of 1 to 2 cups [240 to 480 ml] nuts). Processing times are depending on the type of nut used.

You may add oil as desired during grinding to make the nut butter smoother and creamier or to facilitate grinding. Add oil in small increments, by the teaspoon for oily nuts like cashews or by the tablespoon for dryer/harder nuts like almonds. You may use the corresponding nut oil or a neutral vegetable oil like canola.The inclusion of salt in the nut butters is optional and to taste. If you make nut butters from salted nuts, peanuts or cashews for example, you will not need additional salt. We recommend making unsalted nut butters for use in the challenge recipes (and other savory recipes) since the recipes call for salt or salty ingredients. You can then adjust the salt to taste. If you are making nut butter for use as a spread, you should add salt according to your preference.

Roasting the nuts before making nut butters is optional according to your preference. To roast nuts in the oven, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C/Gas Mark 4). Spread nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet or roasting pan. Bake for approximately 10 minutes or until nuts are fragrant and a shade darker in color. Allow nuts to cool before grinding. Roasted nuts will make butter with darker color than raw nuts. It's helpful to keep in mind that the yield of nut butter is about half the original volume of nuts. If you start with 1 cup nuts, you'll get about ½ cup nut butter. The consistency of nut butters varies from thin & soft (almost pourable) to very thick and hard depending on the fat content of the nut. Homemade nut butters will probably not be as smooth as commercial products. Homemade nut butters are more perishable than commercial products and should be stored in the refrigerator. The nut butters harden & thicken somewhat upon chilling. To use nut butters in sauces as a substitute for heavy cream, first make a nut cream. Whisk the nut butter with about twice the volume of water, adding more water until you reach your desired consistency. For example, start with ¼ cup (60 ml) nut butter with ½ cup (120 ml) water; add more water as needed.

Cashew Nut Butter

200 g cashew nuts
about 4 tablespoons of sesame oil

Process the ingredients as described above.

Turkey with Mie noodles in cashew (nut butter) sauce

400 g turkey filet
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoon dark soy sauce
one teaspoon brown sugar
one teaspoon water
one teaspoon rice vinegar
150 g mixed vegetables (carrots, peas, sprouts - or ready mixed 'asian style' from the freezer)
200 g Mie noodles
40 g Cashew nut butter
100 ml chicken stock
1 teaspoon red curry paste
salt and pepper

Mix sesame oil, soy sauce, brown sugar, water and vinegar together. Marinate turkey filet in mixture at least for an hour at room temperature. Cook Mie noodles according to instructions on package. In a pan, heat oil and fry the curry paste until it starts smelling. Raise heat and add noodles and vegetables and stir until evenly covererd with paste and light brown. Add the nut butter and gradually the chicken stock until you have a sauce with a consistency you like. Season with salt and pepper. In a second pan, fry the filets from both sides until done and cut in stripes. Serve on top of the noodles.

Inas *Butterfinger* Space

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