Events, Summer Colours, Dessert & The Walnut Gang

I know such a headline needs explanation and as you might already assume, this might take some more words. Dorothée of bushcooks kitchen is hosting the 110th (!) Blog-Event on Zorras blog and came up with a wonderful idea: A virtual culinary threesome! I like teaming up with other bloggers, discussing a menu and ideas, planning together and creating a special 3 course menu with one theme.

I wanted to be part of this, this is only the second Blog-Event I attend, so the subject seriously got to me. It was clear that I’d go for dessert, as I am not much of a cook and after all IT’S DESSERT!!!!! I quickly found a Starter and a Main Course as Isabel & Nata, who I also met along with Dorothée and Zorra at last years Walnut Flavour Pairing Event, were looking for a cherry on top that I gladly deliver!

Special thanks to Isabel who hands-on took over most of the planning and kickstarted my culinary dessert endeavours. I’ve been thinking about experimenting with wine for some time, but was lacking the inspiration. A chat with my go-to wine-guy on the local farmers market reveilled a potential combination and I am very happy with the outcome.

So here goes our awesome-threesome menu “Summer Colours”:

Ajo Blanco with Pistaccios & iced Grapes by lovely Isabel aka Ko(ch)lloquium

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Grilled Sea Bass with Basil-Mayonaise by fantastic Nata aka Pastaciutta

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Gewurztraminer-Cherry Macarons by Christiane aka Schabakery

Jun 19

Strawberry & Dark Chocolate Tarte

I am a summer kid, born in June and being in love with the season is in my DNA. I don’t like it particularly hot, so the beginning of summer is the best time of the year for me. It’s when you can get regional asparagus and strawberries on every corner around where I live and I can’t think of anything better. Strawberries have always been my favourite fruit and I could never ever overeat on them. Technically strawberries are not fruits. But they are high in fibre and contain a lot of antioxidants that presumably help against inflammation & cancer, and nonetheless they are simply delicious! When it comes to strawberry cake I prefer the simple option: sponge, generously topped with strawberries and a touch of glaze. I don’t turn down some fresh whipped cream on top, who could deny that?! But unlike pure strawberries I can’t eat all the same cake all the time. Sometimes I need a little twist, so I came up with the idea of a dark chocolate tarte to accompany my favourite fruits. I especially like the combination of the slightly bitter chocolate with the sweet fruitiness of the berries, a combination to win a spot in my heart! Continue reading »

Jun 7

Care Bear Macarons for my favourite blogger

Don’t get me wrong, I met a lot of bloggers that inspired me in the past year, but my one and only muse is Tobias aka Kuchenbäcker.We met at a local Foodblogger meet-up last summer and I was really blown away by this guy. Not only are guys that can bake rather rare, but also he was the first kind of famous blogger I met in person. Tobi is down-to-earth, vibrant and full of ideas, he is the brightest, most energetic and inspirational person I have ever met. Even when he is stressed, sick or in a bad mood, he still makes the sun shine through the rain what brought me to nickname him Glücksbärchi (That’s what the care bears were called in Germany). If you do not remember this 80ies cartoon series, I’m happy to fresh up your memory: It’s a bunch of cute furry guardian angels that show up to help you out with their happiness and magic whenever you’re facing problems. And that is exactly what Tobias does for me. He is generously giving advice, sharing his experience, open to any “dumb” question I may have and his enthusiasm is truly contagious. I get such a boost in motivation every time we meet and you light up my blog-world. You deserve one big fat thank you Tobi!

For his double-feature birthday bash contest he asked everyone to bake him a cake. But I couldn’t help ignoring the cake part because I am the Macaron-Girl to him. And that’s why I combined the best of us both: Care bears and Macarons in symbiosis. The biggest challenge for me was to take the stage together with my bakes. I take pictures of my food all the time, but hardly ever show my face. Thanks again Tobi for making me take the spotlight, my “About me” page is now updated with a picture. Continue reading »

Mai 13

Fluffy French Pastry

I usaly don’t make promises, but if I do, I keep them, no matter what. That sometimes ends in last minute shopping just minutes to midnight and endless hours in the kitchen to get things right, especially when foolproof recipes fail in the first attempt. But I like to be challenged because it is the only way to push your boundaries and to better your best. There are a few people in my live that seem to have a greater trust in me than I have myself. I have this one colleague, I like to refer to him as “the nag”, who keeps pushing me and seems to have an unlimited belief in my baking skills. He once told another colleague that I make fantastic Macarons even though I never made them before and he didn’t know. But he extrapolated from the given data (all the cakes and stuff that I brought to the office over the year) that I must be capable of making soft French Macarons, to me the Queen of baked goods, naturally. When someone you hardly know believes in you no matter what, you start to believe that the people close to you also might have a point apart from pampering you because they like you and finally, you start to believe in yourself. I’m blessed with a wonderful family and awesome friends who give me honest and mostly good feedback all the time, but still it is this nag who pushes me over the edge and makes me bake even braver. Continue reading »

Apr 26

Yeast bun with rum raisins

It has been quiet here for the last weeks and it is easy to explain why: I lost my baking Mojo! Seriously, I couldn’t be bothered to bake at all! Unbelievable, right? The lack of motivation to write strikes quite regularly on me and over time I found ways to get myself back into a regular schedule quite easily, but I have never had a lack of baking lust ever. Even in stressful times I squeeze in a little baking to relax and release the pressure. But the last few weeks were different, never ever has baking itself put so much pressure on me. I felt guilty, washed out and demotivated at the same time and knew whatever I was going to bake, it wouldn’t meet my standards. So I chose to relax and hope that it’ll all come back to me soon. Last weekend I had promised to bring four cakes to a family birthday party, so no more excuses, I MUST bake ’cause letting someone down is not an option for me. A Black Forest Cherry Cake, 24 Frankfurt Crown Cupcakes, a tray of Apple Streusel and a Strawberry Cake later my Mojo was finally back.

It’s good to know that you can still rely on your skills, no matter if you currently love what you do or not. It might be easier, but sometimes it is just hard work that will pay off in the end. My reward were the smiles on people’s faces and that’s all that matters to me in the end: Making people happy with baked goodies. That’s exactly why I love baking and then it all made sense again. Live has funny ways of teaching you lessons sometimes… Continue reading »

Apr 2

Blueberry and white chocolate Macarons

My new friend & long lost soul-sister Katharina celebrated the 2nd birthday of her Wienerbroed-Blog and invited me to make something for her birthday coffee table. Katharina is one of those few people you meet in your life that you feel instantly connected with. There might be a significant number of parallels in our lives and it feels like I’ve been knowing her forever. Denmark is to her what Ireland is to me. And she has a serious thing for blueberries and also white chocolate. When she asked me to contribute I knew it had to be Macarons with blueberries and chocolate. And the cute little Hoptimist cheering for Denmark sneaked into the picture to grab one of these delicious little things. I made them just the day before the Foodblogger Camp and again posted a Codeword on Instagram and Twitter for free Macarons. It kind of went viral (yay!) and fellow foodbloggers started to yell “Smaland” at me all day. Why I chose the codeword “Smaland”…? Where else can you jump into blueberries?! All of you IKEA-visitors may now understand 🙂

You can also check out the full German post over on Katharina’s blog or read the English recipe here.

Mrz 16

Cai-beer-inha – When Craftbeer kisses summer feelings

We’re on the verge of St. Patrick’s Day and as my heart beats for the Irish, I couldn’t possibly let this day arrive without providing you with a goodie. #GoGreen4PatricksDay!

While on my last trip to Dublin in December a new cool bar opened where I live: The Maltbar offers a large variety of Single Malts as well as Craft Beers, alongside with some fancy cocktails including those (and other) ingredients. The one cocktail that caught my attention was the Caibeerinha and I had to try it, because it sounds like a really weird combination. It’s actually a nice combination of a rather hoppy IPA with a fresh and tangy finish. After sitting in the bar and brainstorming on new recipes for the blog, this idea of a craft beer flavoured cupcake got stuck in my head. So if you’re tired of making the same old Guinness Chocolate Cake over and over again, why not try these little bad ass craft beer cocktail cupcakes for a change? I used Braukunstkeller’s Amarsi IPA, as it is used at Maltbar and with it’s strong hoppy flavour & the bitter citrus aroma it perfectly goes together with lime and brown sugar. If you can’t get hands on this one, go for an IPA that also uses Amarillo and Simcoe hop for the strong flavours. I remember the 8 Degrees Brewing’s Howling Gale Ale to be quite similar but less bitter, so if you want to mild the hoppy bitterness I would give this one a shot.

And as summer kisses craftbeer in this recipe, this cute little bowl 58products, inventors of the famous TASSEN, provided kisses the cake. And the luck of the Irish seemed to be with me as they announced -drummroll please- that I am among the winners of their #kissthecake competition. I am flattered and super happy. I had so much fun playing around with the kissing bowl, the cupcakes and the light. And I must admit this bowl is just cuteness overflow and I am happy that it’ll get some company real soon!

Feb 16

Kanel-Kreppel or Helau!

The official start of the fifth season for us Germans was last thursday at 11:11 o’clock. It is the time of the year half of the German residents dress up and go crazy while the other half is rather annoyed or completely ignores it. Working with someone living in Rhineland or originating from there is borderline impossible until Ash Wednesday. I assume there must be something in the water there, as one of my colleagues who moved there 2 weeks ago changed his attitude towards carnival rather quickly. Whether you call it Karneval, Fasching or Fastnacht, whether they yell Alaaf or Helau, you either love it or hate it. I belong to the latter group and don’t care much about it any more. But there is one thing I absolutely love and could’t do without: Kreppel (or Krapfen or Berliner as the rest of the nation calls them). Kreppel are similar to donuts, small yeast buns that are fried, rolled in sugar and filled with marmelade. My Grandma used to make a ton for us when we visited her to see the carnival parade in town together. I really loved them but this year I wanted to try out something new. While brainstorming what to pair with a Kreppel I asked myself why not go crazy myself and dress up some swedish cinnamon rolls as Kreppels. Sounds weird but the taste is particullarly awesome! Continue reading »

Jan 30

#pestostorm Pesto mit Gin

I’m making 2 exceptions today, as today’s post is in German only and has nothing to do with baking. Sorry 🙂

Ich bin kein Koch-Mensch und das ist auch okay so. Es ist nicht so, dass ich es nicht kann, sondern eher so, dass ich nicht besonders viel Spaß daran habe. Während ich kein Problem damit habe, für Gebäck ewig in der Küche zu stehen, für’s kochen kann ich einfach nicht die gleiche Geduld aufbringen. Aber ich mache heute eine Ausnahme, denn manchmal ist es einfach notwendig über seinen eigenen Schatten zu springen, um eine gute Sache zu unterstützen. Denn nach dem #dishstorm ist vor den #pestostorm, zu dem die Küchenchaotin aufgerufen hat und da muss ich einfach mitmachen!

Warum? Das ist kompliziert… Manchmal passieren Dinge, die einen auf die Palme bringen und die einfach ~~nicht richtig~~ falsch sind, wie hier geschehen. Darauf kann man entweder nichts tun, sich aufregen, zurückschlagen oder eine beliebige Kombination aus allem. Und zurückschlagen kann man auf die harte und die nette Tour. Und in diesem Fall wurde auf eine wirklich charmante Tour zurückgeschlagen. Da haben die großen und die kleinen Foodblogs mitgemacht und es hat mich nicht nur zum lachen gebracht sondern mir auch viele leckere Rezepte & Blogs gezeigt. Und ich will jetzt einfach mit diesem Post ein dickes Däumchen für diese Mega-Aktion und alle Beteiligten zeigen. Ja, es gibt immer solche und solche Blogger/Unternehmen/Agenturen/Einhörner/… aber in dem Fall ist so einiges nicht so prall gelaufen und das muss man auch mal sagen dürfen. Ich kann nur hoffen, dass alle was daraus gelernt haben und in Zukunft auch mal den “Common-sense” im Internet anwenden. Darauf trinke ich und das Pesto auch 🙂

Pesto mit Gin

30 g Basilikum (entspricht etwa einem Bund)
10 g Koriander
20 g Pinienkerne
20 g Walnüsse
2 EL Olivenöl (am besten nicht so intensives im Geschmack)
1 EL Gin (oder mehr/weniger je nach Geschmack)

Das schöne an Pesto ist, dass die Zubereitung sehr einfach ist. Alle Zutaten zusammen pürieren und am Ende mit Gin abschmecken, fertig. Ich habe den feel! Gin benutzt, den ich dank Sandra auf der Kulinart Messe in Frankfurt gekauft habe und der sich zu einem meiner Lieblings-Gins gemausert hat. Es sei gesagt, dass man mit dem Gin vorsichtig sein muss, denn der Alkohol löst ja bekanntlich Aromen und der Geschmack veränder sich mit der Zeit. Ich dachte erst, dass ein Esslöffel Gin viel zu viel sei, aber nachdem das Pesto ein paar Minuten stand war es einfach perfekt.

Jan 25

Apple Streusel Cake

Food is like people, some are born to be models and some are just unphotogenic. I belong to the latter group, it’s hard to get a good picture of me and the same applies to anything with streusels (or crumbles as the Americans say). But Streusels are ubiquitous in German baking, if you ever entered a bakery in Germany you can tell and I want to share a recipe with you. It is not like we Germans put streusel on everything, but on almost everything. There is an overwhelming variety of sweet pastries available in German bakeries, often eaten for breakfast, second breakfast or around coffee time. And I’d guess that at least half of these sweet “Stückchen” (pieces of pastry) come with streusels and different fillings like custard, curd, fruit or you-name-it.

Streusels are Grandma-style and down-to-earth, I guess that’s why everybody loves them. Even when the dough is too dry or compact, the crumbly cover makes up for it. When I was a kid I loved eating raw streusels and I often sneaked back into the kitchen just when the cake came out of the oven to burn my fingers & tongue while ‘stealing’ some steaming hot streusels from the sides of the cake.

My favorite streusel cake comes with a poppy seed filling, but during winter time I prefer apple streusel. Make sure you use apples that are not too juicy so your dough base does not get soaked. If you only have juicy apples at hand, sprinkle some bread crumbs on the dough before placing the apples. Continue reading »