Monthly Archives: September 2013

September 29th, 2013

Praline-Quark-Cake

Nugat-Quark-Kuchen

To bake a heart shaped cake for birthday (also called “Birthday-Heart”) is an old family tradition. Which cake is baked on the other hand is highly variable. We already baked Cheesecake-Hearts, Goldknödel-Hearts and or the good old Pound-Cake hearts filled with a layer of jam.

For the 80. Birthday of my Grandmother I volunteered to bake a festively decorated cake and the heart shape was mandatory for me! But what cake should I choose?

At the end I decided to use the Praline-Quark-Cake from Petra. Jutta chose this cake as base of her sons wedding cake and she praised the cake so much that it was clear to me that it would be the perfect cake.

To fill the heart springform completely I multiplied the recipe by 1.5, but reduced the amount of sugar a little bit.

And now I can only repeat what Petra and Jutta already told us: It is a great cake, moist and nutty but at the same time very stable, perfect for fondant covered cakes!

This is for you, dearest Oma. Happy Birthday!

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September 24th, 2013

Federweisser Rolls

Federweißerbrötchen

We like the Federweisser Bread I baked last week very much and so I started directly to think about other recipes. A Breakfast roll was what I was thinking about. And when Nadja encouraged me to think about other recipes, too, I decided to bake rustically looking rolls for sunday morning. Sunday was election day and I always like to go very early to the election office. And so I needed rolls which would proof overnight in the fridge.

After I come home I only had to put the rolls to the preheated oven. They had a great ovenspring due to the combination of yeast from the young wine and Lievito madre. When I pulled them out of the oven, they started to “sing”, with their crust crackling loudly while they cool down. And they hold what they promise: Crisp crust with a light and soft crumb. The perfect breakfast roll for me!

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September 17th, 2013

Federweisser Bread

Federweißer Brot

I can always see what our Neighbour, the wine merchant, sells when I look out from our kitchen window. But I do not have to observe his offerings very closely, because when he got something he knows we would like, he calls when he see us: “Herr and Frau Neighbour, I have something for you!” And so one of first boxes with six flask of this years federweisser was our as soon as it was delivered to him.

When I came home at this day from work I saw this happily fermenting flasks sitting on the kitchen counter. And when I saw them bubbling, an idea popped up in my mind. Before my love could stop me, I had already mixed a poolish out of Federweisser and flour, planning to bake a bread with the yeast of Federweißer as sole rising agent.

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September 14th, 2013

SpeWaBu

Dinkel-Walnuss-BrotAs soon as the temperature drops below 20°C, I feel the urge to bake whole grain breads. And a bread with nuts seems to fit perfectly to the season. I picked whole spelt flour, walnuts and buttermilk – a favourite combination for bread. And while I was thinking about a Name I suddenly hat to think about the story of Robbi, Tobbi and the FlieWaTüüt. The FlieWaTüüt in the book was called so, because it could fly (german: FLIEgen), it could swim on the Water, and drive like a car (the Tüüt was the sound of its horn). And with this story in mind I called the bread SpeWaBu (Spelt, Walnut, Buttermilk).

It is a bread that can convince even people who do not  like spelt or whole grain so much. It stays moist due to a hot soaker and the buttermilk helps to form a soft and surprisingly fluffy crumb. It has a mild aromatic taste which pairs well with cheese or honey.

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September 8th, 2013

Riemchenkuchen 2

RiemchenkuchenMy  birthday last friday was the last real summer day with 32°C. Already one day later the temperature dropped to 20°C and it started to rain heavily. Hello Autumn! And so it was easy to decide for a cake for the birthday get together with the family. I baked the first apple cake of this season, a cake which is called Riemchenkuchen or Rhineland Applecake. It is a  childhood favourite, a yeast dough cake filled with apple sauce.

Since some days I was thinking about using a mixture of yeast dough and short pastry as a cake base. This combined the advantage of both doughs: a fluffy dough that stays fresh for a long time and which is very easy to handle. It is very easy to prepare this yeasted shortcrust pastry. You have to make a shortcrust pastry and yeasted dough and combine both doughs after the yeast dough has risen.

This worked perfectly for this cake. It looked so good that my dad really asked if I bought the cake… No, it is homemade and it taste just great! Continue reading

September 1st, 2013

Noisette Caramel Spread

Noisette-Karamell-CremeThere is a big party going on in the Kochtopf. One big party? Not really, we are talking about weeks of parties! Dear Zorra is celebrating the ninth birthday of her blog. Can you imagine that she is already nine years blogging?

And so the weeks are filled with events and surprises. For the monthly Blogevent she asked us to create recipes which use a hand blender or hand blender with or without accessories like a mini chopper. This time it is an easy task.

During our holidays in Alsace I bought a glass chocolate spread with nuts and crunchy caramel. It was a delicious treat, which I could eat with a spoon without bread. Being back at home I decided to make my own version of this spread.

And already the first try was a success! The Spread taste of roasted hazelnuts and semi sweet chocolate, with finely crushed caramel, which slightly crackle when I eat it. A perfect treat for a birthday breakfast.

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