German Baumkuchen

Baumkuchen is a traditional German Christmas cake with different layers, which give it its name ("tree cake"). Even though this is a very simplified version, you do need some time, as you need to bake the layers one after another, so as to give the cake its signature "rings". Nevertheless, you do not need to be the most skilled of bakers - it's pretty easy and foolproof as I omit the process of beating egg whites and I just add the layers while baking instead of assembling the different layers afterwards.

For about 30 pieces you will need:

• 250g (9oz) softened butter
• 250g (9oz) caster sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla sugar
• a pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp orange liqueur
• 100ml (3oz) strong coffee (50 ml plus 50 ml)
• 250g (9oz) flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 200g (7oz) marzipan
• 200g (7oz)dark chocolate
• 200g (7oz) milk chocolate
• some instant coffee powder

1. Preheat the grill of your oven to 210°C.

2. For the batter, whip butter, sugar, vanilla sugar and salt until light and fluffy, at least for 10 minutes.

3. Add the eggs, one after another and keep beating. Add liqueur and 50ml coffee.

4. Fold in flour and baking powder for a smooth batter.

5. For the marzipan mixture, combine marzipan and the rest of the coffee until smooth and spreadable.

6. Grease a 25x20cm baking pan. Spread 2-3 tablespoons of batter in the pan. Grill for 3-4 minutes until golden-brown.

7. Spread 1 tablespoon of marzipan mixture on the cake layer. Add another 2-3 tablespoons of batter and grill again. Proceed until you have used all of your batter and marzipan. Leave to cool on a cake rack.

8. Cut into 30 pieces.

9. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a simmering pan. Dip the pieces in the chocolate and sprinkle with some instant coffee powder if you wish.

Hazelnut Cheesecake

Fall being my favourite season, I have to celebrate its beginning by using all of the wonderful fruits I can now harvest. Unfortunately, the squirrels in our garden seem to be super busy and I am never quick enough to collect more than a handful of hazelnuts or walnuts.

But those are just about enough for this wonderful hazelnut cheesecake - a really comforting cake for rainy fall days!

I do encourage you to freshly roast and grind the hazelnuts yourself- it really makes all the difference and the cake will be so much more delicious!

For a 20 cm/ 8 inch cake you will need:

• 1/3 cup of shortbread or graham cracker crumbs
• 3 tbsp melted butter
• 2 cups cream quark (or full-fat cream cheese)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup hazelnuts plus some for decorating
• 70g dark chocolate
• 1 tsp butter

1. Preheat oven to 160°C (320°F).

2. Line a springform with baking parchment, butter the sides of the pan. For the crust, crush shortbread or graham crackers. Mix crumbs with melted butter and press into the bottom of the pan.

3. Dry-roast the hazelnuts in a pan. Allow to cool. Grind the nuts.

4. For the filling, beat together the cream quark and sugar. Add one egg at a time and continue beating. Add the cocoa powder and hazelnuts.

5. Place an oven-proof bowl of water at the bottom of your oven.

Pour filling into the springform, place above the bowl of water and bake at 160°C for about 30 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave to rest inside for another 15 minutes. The cake will still be somewhat wobbly, but that's exactly what you want it to be like.

6. Once you take the cake out, leave the cake inside the springform to cool and cover it with a big bowl or cloche. This way it will keep wonderfully moist.

7. To decorate the cake, melt the chocolate and 1 teaspoon of butter (in the microwave at low or over a waterbath) and pour over completely cooled cake. If you wish, add some caramel-dipped hazelnuts; they will give the cake a spectacular look, but the cake is just as delicious without them.

(There are numerous instructions online, but I really like Martha Stewart's version)

Birch Wedding Cake

I love wedding cakes! I love the endless options you have for decorating them - the themes, the styles, the shapes - just everything about them! So picking one is a pretty challenging task with these endless options at hand.

As we went for a pretty rustic and casual wedding, the cake had to match that theme and I ended up with this simple birch tree design with soft pink ranunculus and peonies. Nothing too fancy.
I have seen beautiful birch cakes covered in fondant and I love the endless cake decorating options fondant gives you. However, I don't enjoy eating it and I have noticed that most people feel the same way. So I decided to use a white chocolate cream cheese frosting, gave it some texture using a spatula and accentuated these textures with darker frosting using a fine brush.

The venue for the reception was a beautiful, rustic yet elegant barn with a very warm and inviting atmosphere, which needs basically no decorations at all. So we just used some simple white and light pink flowers in different vases, and white candles on slabs of birch wood. Very simple but everything matched - the cake, the decorations, the bridal bouquet...

And here's a picture of the family ;-)

Cotton Candy Cake

This week I made a really cute cake for a very dear friend and I would like to share my design with you. It is very girly and perfect for any girl's birthday, regardless of her age ;)

It is basically a chocolate drip cake with a cloud of pink cotton candy on top, decorated with fondant butterflies and flowers on skewers. Totally simple but effective!
Of course you could cover the cake in buttercream before drizzling on the chocolate, but I am not a fan of overly rich cakes...

Date & Nut Balls

I am trying to eat more healthily (once again...). There is just one major problem: I love sweets and I just can't do without them.

So I was looking for a compromise and after lengthy experimenting I have come up with these Date & Nut Balls. Dark cocoa powder makes them really chocolate-y and they are sweetened by dates with an addition of nuts for extra energy.

They are vegan, raw, gluten-free and there is no sugar or fat added. Actually that doesn't sound satisfying but I promise they taste awesome!

For about 20 balls you will need:

• 150g mixed nuts (I like almonds, peanuts and cashews)
• 100g soft dates
• 10g puffed quinoa
• 1 tbsp dark cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 clementine

1. In a food processor, coarsely grind the nuts. Tip them onto a flat plate.

2. Process the dates and juice of one clementine into a sticky puree. Add the cocoa powder, cinnamon, quinoa and two thirds of the ground nuts and blitz once more to combine.

3. Roll one tablespoon of the mixture between your wet hands to get a dime-sized ball. Roll in the rest of the ground nuts to coat it. Proceed with the rest of the mixture.

Store in an airtight container and refridgerate.

Cinnamon Cake

This cake is the best of both worlds: it tastes like a cinnamon roll, but it is whipped up as quickly as a regular pound cake.

I use a small bundt pan, as there is just the two of us. If you are using a regular pan, just double the recipe below!

For the bundt cake you will need:

• 120g (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
• 250g (1 and 1/4 cup) caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 100g (1/2 cup) vanilla yoghurt (or plain)
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 50ml (1/8 cup) milk
• 200g (1 and 1/2 cup) flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 pinch of salt

For the "filling" you will need:

• 150g (3/4 cup) sugar
• 1-2 tbsp ground cinnamon

For the icing you will need:

• 80g (2/3 cup) confecioner's sugar
• 1 tbsp milk
• 1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon

1. Preheat your oven to 170°C / 330 F. Grease and a bundt pan and lightly dust with flour.

2. In a medium bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, yoghurt, vanilla and milk and give it a good mix.

3. Mix the flour, baking powder and salt, add to the liquid ingredients and combine well.

4. Pour one third of the batter into the prepared bundt pan. Mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle half of it onto the batter. Pour another third of the batter into the form and sprinkle with the rest of the cinnamon sugar. Cover with the last third of the batter. Using the handle of a spoon, carefully swirl it around the batter a couple of times to give it a marbled effect.

5. Bake at 170 °C /330 F for about 35 minutes. Let cool and remove from pan.

6. For the icing, combine all of the ingredients and drizzle onto the cooled off cake.

Yoghurt Waffles

Even though it's still February, we do get an occasional glimps of spring and yoghurt waffles for breakfast make these late-winter / early-spring days perfect. But they are just as great for spontaneous afternoon coffee or tea parties, as you usually have all of the ingredients stocked (or at least I do) and the preparation only takes a couple of minutes.

The plain joghurt gives these waffles a nice refreshing taste and a very silky texture which perfectly goes with fresh fruit, cinnamon-sugar and a nice cup of tea!

For 10 waffles you will need:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• a pinch of salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups plain yoghurt
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 Tcup canola or sunflower oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• oil for greasing

1. Preheat waffle maker.

2. In a big bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

3. In a second bowl or jug, mix the eggs, yoghurt, milk, oil and vanilla extract.

4. Pour the yoghurt mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth but runny.

5. Grease the irons of your waffle maker and pour some of the batter (amount depending on your waffle maker) in the middle. Close and bake until done; ususally 4-5 minutes. 

Beignets

Just in time for Mardi Gras, I'm sharing my recipe for begneits with you. It's a cross between classic New Orleans-style beignets and Franconian Kissle, a deep-fried treat served during carnival and fairs.
Even though it does take some time to prepare them because of the proofing time, they are really simple and anyone can make them.

For about 16 beignets you will need:

• 250g (1 cup) flour
• 1 sachet of dry-yeast
• 60g (1/4cup) sugar
• 30g (2 tbsp) butter, melted
• 100ml (3,4 oz) milk, warm
• 1 egg
• 5 tbsp kirsch
• 3 tbsp icing sugar

1. In a big bowl, combine the dry ingredients and form a little well in the middle.

2. Add the melted butter, warm milk, egg and kirsch into the well. Start combining the wet ingredients with a fork and slowly work in the dry ingredients and knead thoroughly until you have a soft and only slightly sticky dough. Leave to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour.

3. Slightly dust your work surface with flour, knock back the yeast dough and using a rolling pin, roll it to about 5mm (1/5 of an inch) thickness. With a pizza roller, cut it into rectangles of about 3x5 cm (1 inch x 2 inch). Cover with a kitchen towel and allow to rise one last time, for about 45 minutes.

4. In a deep pan, heat 300ml (10 oz) of sunflower oil. (The temperature is right when bubbles start to appeare around the stick end of a wooden spoon when inserted). Fry one small batch of beignets after another, allowing them to fry for about 90 seconds per side. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Generously dust with icing sugar.

Apple-Poppy-Seed-Stollen

Stollen is a traditional German Christmas treat - basically a sweet bread, studded with vast quantities of raisins and candied orange and lemon peel. However, I'm not much of a fan of the last three ingredients, so I really love this recipe for a Stollen filled with apples. I can't recall where I first found this recipe, but I have made some adjustments over the years and now have the perfect recipe to suit my taste. And I'm not the only one who loves this Stollen; so far, everybody has loved it!

For 1 Stollen you will need...

... for the dough:

• 180ml (6 oz) milk
• 2 egg yolks
• 200g (7 oz) butter
• 2 packages of dry yeast
• 500g (17,6 oz) flour
• 100g (3,5oz) sugar
• 1 tbsp each vanilla and orange sugar
• a pinch of salt

... for the filling:

• 1 cooking apple
• 1 lemon
• 3 tbsp pear brandy or Calvados
• 200g (7 oz) marzipan
• 250g (8,8 oz) poppy seed filling*
• 50g (1,7oz) chopped almonds

... to finish:

• 100g (3,5 oz) butter
• 50g (1,7 oz) icing sugar

1. For the dough, gently heat the milk in a pan and the melt butter at a low temperature. Let cool slightly, then add the eggyolks and mix.

2. In a big bowl, combine flour, sugar, vanilla and orange sugar, salt and dry yeast. Add the warm milk mixture and give it a quick mix. Thoroughly knead the dough, cover and let it rest in a warm place for about 1 hour.

3. Peel the apples, remove core and finely dice them. Squeeze out the lemon; together with the pear brandy, pour the juice over the apples and allow to steep for roughly 30 minutes.

4. Dust your work surface with some icing sugar, knead marzipan until smooth and roll out to about 45 x 35 cm.

5. Knead the dough a last time and, on a floured surface, roll out to about the same size as the marzipan. Top with marzipan, then with poppy seed filling. Sprinkle with apples (without the liquid) and almonds.

6. Starting from the shorter side, fold over to the middle. Proceed with the opposite side and roll over twice, starting with one fourth of the rectangle and then folding this over again. Your Stollen will now be somewhat higher on one side, which is typical of a Stollen. You can accentuate this shape by creating a ridge along the loaf with the sides of your hands. Let it rest for 30 minutes. 

7. Bake in a preheated oven at 170°C /340 F for about 50 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool slightly. To finish your Stollen, brush it with melted butter while the loaf is still warm and generously dust with icing sugar.


* You can use store-bought filling, but there is a lovely recipe by Tori Avey for homemade filling.

Mini Christmas Puddings

Being German, the concept of Christmas Pudding used to puzzle me. First of all, the name is misleading for Germans ("pudding" for us means custard). Then, it contains suet and dried fruits. Not very appetising to me, at least back in my days as a student of English. Years later, I have learned to enjoy dried fruits (however, I'm still not using any suet) and I have decided to give Christmas Puddings a try after all.

My recipe is not quite traditional, as I substitute suet by butter and I add some dark cocoa for a bit of extra richness. Despite all of my idiosynracies in this recipe, I do follow tradition and steam my mini Christmas Puddings.

For 12-14 Mini Christmas Puddings you will need:

• 130g (4,6 oz) butter
• 130g (4,6 oz) dark brown sugar
• 130g (4,6 oz) dates
• 130g (4,6 oz) raisins
• 250g (8,8 oz) dried apricots
• 250g (8,8 oz) dried cranberries
• 200ml (6,7 oz) apple juice
• 20ml (1 tbsp) dark rum
• 2 eggs
• 130g (4,6 oz) flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp mixed spice

1. Finely chop the dried fruits and let them steep in apple juice and rum for about 2 hours, until almost all of the liquid has been absorbed.

2. At a low temperature, melt the butter in a small pan, add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Add the soaked fruits and heat until there is no excess liquid.

3. In a big bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cocoa and mixed spice. Add the fruit mixture and combine.

4. Add the eggs and mix to combine thoroughly.

5. Preheat your oven to 170°C /340 F. Fill a big basin with boiling water.

6. Generously grease a muffin tin and lightly dust the moulds. Fill to the brim and tightly cover the muffin tin with a piece of buttered foil (buttered side down, of course), making sure it is waterproof.

7. Place the muffin tin in the water-filled basin and steam at 170°C / 340 F for about 40 minutes. Let your puddings cool a bit before removing them from the tin. Ideally served warm!

Vegan Lebkuchen recipe

I have been experimenting with my recipe for Lebkuchen to make it suitable for vegans. And I have to say I am very happy with the outcome. The Lebkuchen have turned out wonderfully moist and by substituting eggs by marzipan and fig jam their taste stays basically the same.

I did not cover this batch in chocolate as I wanted the Christmassy flavours to be as pure as possible. If you store them in an airtight container, preferably with a slice of apple, they will still keep moist for a couple of weeks.

For about 15 Lebkuchen you will need:

• 200g (7 oz) marzipan
• 2 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp fig jam
• 200g (7 oz) caster sugar
• 300g (10 oz) ground almonds
• 300g (10 oz)ground hazelnuts
• 50g (1,7 oz) candied lemon peel
• 50g (1,7 oz) candied orange peel
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp Lebkuchen spice (can be substituted by pumpkin spice or your favourite blend of Christmassy spices)
• 1 tsp cocoa powder

you will also need:

• about 15 wafer papers

1. Preheat your oven to 160°C / 320F.

2. In a large bowl, beat the marzipan, water, fig jam and the sugar until smooth.

3. Finely chop the candied orange and lemon peel and together with the rest of the ingredients, add to the marzipan-mixture. Carefully fold in with a spatula or wooden spoon until well incorporated.

4. Line a baking sheet with baking paper. Evenly distribute the wafer papers on the sheet. 

5. Prepare a glass filled with warm water. Dip an ice-cream scoop into the warm water and use it to cut off a piece of the sticky batter. Place it onto one wafer base. Proceed with the rest of the batter. If you are going for a smooth and even look, use your wet hands to slightly flatten and smoothen the Lebkuchen. You should still see about 3mm of the wafer base as the batter will rise a bit.

6. Bake for about 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Leave to cool completely.

Nuremberg-style Lebkuchen

With the Christmas season approaching, it's time to start baking. In Germany, especially around the city of Nuremberg, close to my hometown, we have to have Lebkuchen. Lebkuchen is a wonderfully moist mixture of different nuts and fruits, spiced with cinnamon, clove and other Christmassy spices. Traditional recipes use no flour, making Lebkuchen a great gluten-free treat.

I got this recipe from a very dear co-worker and she has been relying on this recipe for years. In Germany we have plenty of store-bought options, but trust me, none of these compare to home-made Lebkuchen! And still, it's a very simple recipe that requires hardly any skills.

You can enjoy your Lebkuchen covered in chocolate - either dark or milk - glazed or plain; just as you like it. Make sure you store them in an airtight container and they will keep for weeks.

For 25-30 Lebkuchen you will need:

• 4 eggs
• 250g (9 oz) caster sugar
• 300g (10 oz) ground almonds
• 300g (10 oz)ground hazelnuts
• 100g (3,5 oz) candied lemon peel
• 100g (3,5 oz) candied orange peel
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp Lebkuchen spice (can be substituted by pumpkin spice or your favourite blend of Christmassy spices)
• 1 tsp cocoa powder
• 4 tsp rum

you will also need:

• about 30 wafer papers
• 400g (14 oz)  couverture chocolate

1. Preheat your oven to 170°C / 338F.

2. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and the sugar until very pale and fluffy.

3. Finely chop the candied orange and lemon peel and together with the rest of the ingredients, add to the egg-mixture. Carefully fold in with a spatula or wooden spoon until well incorporated.

4. Line a baking sheet with baking paper. Evenly distribute the wafer papers on the sheet. 

5. Prepare a glass filled with warm water. Dip an ice-cream scoop into the warm water and use it to cut off a piece of the sticky batter. Place it onto one wafer base. Proceed with the rest of the batter. If you are going for a smooth and even look, use your wet hands to slightly flatten and smoothen the Lebkuchen. You should still see about 3mm of the wafer base as the batter will rise a bit.

6. Bake for about 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Leave to cool completely.

7. Break cocolate and place into a flat bowl. Place over barely simmering water and allow to melt. Using a brush, cover the Lebkuchen in chocolate. Let dry completely.

Earl Grey Tea Cookies

As a declared anglophile I love a good cup of tea, especially English or Irish breakfast tea or of course Earl Grey. By using pulverized Earl Grey Tea, these cookies get a very subtle and elegant flavour, which perfectly matches their brittle, melting texture.

I usually make a pretty small batch of cookies, as there is only the two of us, but you can easily adjust the quantities to match your needs.

Here are some tips for making a perfect shortbread cookie:

1. Always use butter!
Don't ever use margarine, as it will not give you the desired richness. If you must veganize the recipe, consider using coconut oil, but its taste might overpower the subtle Earl Grey flavour.
2. Use cold butter!
Process the butter immediately after taking it out of the fridge, as only chilled butter will you give the desired crumbly texture.
3. Don't over-work your dough!
Work your dough as little as possible to recieve the light texture you want in a shortbread cookie. It's best to use a food processor, but you can just as well use a fork to combine the ingredients or you can gently rub the ingredients between your fingertips until the dough has the texture of wet sand.
4. Chill the dough before rolling out!
To make sure you can re-work and roll out your dough several times, it needs to be chilled so it doesn't get too sticky.
5. Bake at low temperatures!
I like my shortbread pale and evenly coloured without darker edges, so I prefer baking it at 150°C / 300F and maybe leave it in the oven for a few minutes longer.


For about 35 cookies (2cm / 1inch diameter) you will need:

• 1/4 cup (30g) caster sugar
• 2 tbsp loose Earl Grey tea
• 1 cup (130g) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (130g) butter

1. In a food processor, blitz the sugar and tea.

2. Sift the flour, add it to the sugar and give it a quick blitz. Cube the butter and add it to the flour mixture and give it a couple of quick blitzes until you end up with the texture of wet sand you could build a sandcastle with ;-)

3. Tip the crumbs onto a piece of clingfilm, form it into a ball and flatten it with your palms. Wrap in clingfilm and chill it for about 30 minutes.

4. Preheat your oven to 150°C / 320 F.

5. Lightly flour your work-surface, roll out the dough to about 5mm / 0.2 inch and cut out cookies, using any shape of cookie cutter you like. Place onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper and bake for about 10 to 15 minutes. Leave to cool completely. 

These cookies look great in any shape and make for a nice little gift for guests (or hosts, for that matter!).

Chestnut Cake

With November finally here, I have decided it's time to start my Christmas baking. Some might think this is a little untimely, but I just can't wait any longer! I love baking and decorating for Christmas!

This Chestnut Cake looks very wintery with rosemary sprigs as Christmas trees and a thick dusting of icing sugar as snow. Your cake is very likely to crack because of the chestnut flour, but I think this makes the little winter scene even more adorable.

Using chestnut flour not only gives your cake a wonderful nutty flavour, it also makes it suitable for people allergic to gluten. And the fact that it is a very simple recipe makes it the perfect cake for a spontaneous tea party.

You will need:

• 6 eggs
• 250g caster sugar
• 100g melted butter
• 250g chestnut flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 to 2 tbsp rum
• 1 clementine
• some rosemary sprigs and about 3 tbsp icing sugar as decoration

1. In a large bowl, cream together eggs and sugar, beating at least 5 minutes. Add the melted butter and beat some more.

2. Combine chestnut flour, baking powder and cocoa and sift onto egg-mixture. Carefully fold in.

3. Add the rum and juice of one clementine, combine.

4. Generously grease a cake pan (26 cm/ 10 inch). Pour in batter and bake in a preheated oven at 160 °C / 320F for about 40 minutes. Leave to cool for some minutes, remove from pan and let cool completely on a cake rack.

5. Garnish with a few sprigs of rosemary and a generous dusting of icing sugar.

Pumpkin Madeleines

To me a perfect fall day means enjoying a sweet treat, a nice "cuppa" and a good book, snugly wrapped up in a cozy blanket. Like that, no rainstorm can bother me; it might even make reading cozier!

One of my favourite fall treats would have to be these Pumpkin-Madeleines. They are incredibly light and moist and even better: this recipe is foolproof and even quicker to whip up! So you will be enjoying your cozy fall day with a wonderful treat in next to no time!

I like using French madeleine moulds, but you could just as well use a muffin tin and bake your little treats for about 20 minutes and they will be just as delicious.

For about 30 madeleines you will need:

• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup caster sugar
• 1/2 cup melted butter plus 1 tbsp
• a pinch of salt
• 1 heaped tbsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 heaped tsp baking powder
• optional: 3 tbsp caster sugar mixed with 1 tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 160°C / 320F.

2. In a big bowl, mix pumpkin puree, eggs, both kinds of sugar, half a cup of melted butter, salt and spices, using a wooden spoon.

3. Mix flour and baking powder and sift onto pumpkin mix. Using your wooden spoon, incorporate the flour mixture and give it a thorough mix until you have a lump-free, gooey batter.

4. Use the remainder of the melted butter to grease the madeleine moulds. Fill each mould with one tablespoon of batter (make sure the moulds are only filled three quarters as the batter will rise considerably).

5. Bake for about 13 to 15 minutes until the cake springs back when pressed with your thumb.

6. While the madeleines are still warm, dunk them into cinnamon sugar to give them a nice sweet coating.

Giant Blueberry Cinnamon Roll

I know, I know, it has been ages since my last post - I seem to be a really lousy blogger, but that's only because I am an awesome teacher ;)

Anyways, I came up with this nice recipe for a giant blueberry and cinnamon swirl. It's like a huge cinnamon roll with the addition of blueberries, which make the swirl really refreshing and moist.

So for one 25cm (10 inch) swirl you will need:

• 3 cups flour
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 package (about 2 tablespoons) dry yeast 
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the filling you will need:

• 1/4 cup softened butter
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 cup blueberries
• some ground cinnamon

1. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour, salt, yeast and sugar.

2. Add the melted butter, warm water, egg and vanilla extract and knead for about 10 minutes until you end up with a smooth and elastic dough. Let the dough rise for about 45 to 60 minutes or about doubled in size. (My tip for a perfecly risen dough: I like to preheat the oven to 50°C/120F, turn it off again, shape the dough into a ball, place it into a bowl and cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel and then place it in the warm oven - it has worked perfectly every single time!)

3. Once the dough has risen, lightly dust a work surface with flour and roll it out into a rectangle of about 20 cm x 50 cm (8 inch x 20 inch). Spread the softened butter evenly onto the dough, sprinkle with the different kinds of sugar, scatter the blueberries and give it all a generous dash of ground cinnamon. 

4. Starting from the long side of the rectangle, tightly roll up the dough into a long log. Then form a tight swirl with the log of dough.

5. Preheat the oven to 160°C (320F). Generously grease a  25 cm (10 inch) pie dish/springform/cake pan and place the swirl in it. Let it rise for another 45 to 60 minutes.

6. For a nice shine you can brush the swirl with egg-wash or milk. Bake at 160°C (320F) for about 25 - 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Macarons - raspberry and pistachio

After a break that has been way too long I am finally back! Unfortunately I was not really able to find time for baking and blogging in addition to my vocational training. But now I am finally a fully approved teacher and I can enjoy life again! So to treat myself a little I made a big batch of French macarons.

Voilà!

For about 14 raspberry macarons (meringues) you will need:

• 50 g (1.8 oz) peeled almonds
• 75 g (2.6 oz) icing sugar
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 egg white
• 1 pinch of salt
• 20 g (0.7 oz) sugar
• red food colouring

For the filling you will need:

• 100 g (3.6 oz) softened butter
• 50 g (1.8 oz)  raspberries
• 1 tbsp raspberry syrup

1. For the macarons, pulverize the almonds with a blender until you get a very fine powder. Add the icing sugar and pulse some more. Add the baking powder.

2. In a seperate bowl whisk the egg white with the salt until soft peaks form. Then add the sugar and whisk until stiff peaks form. 

(Tip: You need an absolutely fat-free bowl, so you may want to rub the bowl with a halfed lemon before whisking the egg.)

Very carefully fold in the almond mixture, using a wooden spoon. If you wish, add some red food colouring to achieve a nice pink hue.

3. Fill a piping bag with the macaron mixture and pipe 28 dots of 4cm (1.5 inch) in diameter onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper. 

(Tip: To achieve very even dots, draw circles onto the rear side of your baking paper using a pencil).

Gently tap the tray onto the work surface a couple of times to break any bubbles.

Let the macarons rest for about an hour for them to develop a soft skin that will give them their typical shape with the little "foot" or base.

4. Prehat your oven to 150 °C (302 F). Bake the macarons for about 12 to 15 minutes but make sure they do not brown. Allow to cool.

5. For the buttercream filling, beat the softened until it is pale and fluffy. Blend the raspberries with the raspberry syrup and add mixture spoonwise to the butter. Refridgerate for an hour. 

Fill a piping bag with the buttercream and pipe onto macaron, sandwich together with a second one. Proceed like this with the rest of your macarons. Allow to set for about 2 hours.

For the pistachio macarons you can use the the above recipe as well, but need to adjust some ingredients:

For the meringue mixture substitute half of the almonds with finely ground pistachios and add some green food colouring instead of the pink one, if you like. 

To make the buttercream, use (store-bought) pistachio butter or a pistachio spread instead of the raspberries and syrup.

Braided sweet yeast bread

This is a recipe for a traditional German "Hefezopf", a braided sweet yeast bread, similar to a challah. It is traditionally made for Easter but tastes wonderfully all year round. What I love about it is how versatile it is: you can it eat plain or spread with some jam, you can use it as a base for french toast or bread-and-butter-pudding! Lovely!

For a medium-sized loaf you will need:

• 600g (21 oz) flour
• 1 pinch of salt
• 100g (3.5 oz) sugar
• 1 egg
• 75ml (2.5 fl oz) sunflower oil
• 275ml (9 fl oz) tepid water
• 1 package active-dry yeast
• 1 tbsp each of grated lemon and orange zest
• 1 egg yolk mixed with 1 tbsp of milk
• some nut brittle, sliced almonds, sesame etc. to sprinkle

1. Sift the flour into a big bowl, add salt and sugar and mix. In a second bowl, whisk the eggs with the oil and the warm water. Add the dry yeast and zest to the liquid ingredients and give it a whisk. Pour the liquid ingredients into the bowl of flour and knead with your hands until a smooth dough has formed. Make sure you do not add any extra flour! The dough should be slightly sticky so it will turn out fluffy and moist! Cover the bowl with damp clean cloth and let rise for about 45 minutes until doubled in size.

2. Punch down the dough, divide into three equally sized balls. On a flourd board, roll out the balls into three long snakes of about 1 inch in diameter. Pinch the ends of the three snakes together firmly and braid. Form nice endings by slightly pushing them beneath the loaf. Again cover with damp cloth and let rise for another 45 minutes.

3. Preheat your oven to 160°C/320 F. Line a baking tray with baking parchment and place the loaf on top. Brush with the egg yolk-milk-mix and sprinkle with topping of your liking. Bake for about 30 minutes.

Nussstriezel - sweet bread with a nut-filling

This is another German, or more precisely Bavarian, all-time favourite, similar to the Jewish challah. Nussstriezel is something that my grandma would make on weekends when I was a child and I have always loved it! So this is a pretty old recipe but I am convinced that those old family recipes are worth preserving and this is my contribution to helping those bakes and recipes survive.

You can choose your own combination of nuts or just go for one sort of nuts for the filling - that's up to you. But you should have about 250g (9 oz.) of nuts, no matter which ones you prefer. You can also make the Striezel more rustic by using only chopped nuts or slightly more elegant by using finely ground nuts.

And no worries: It's a lot easier to prepare a Nussstriezel than the pronunciation (for non-natives) suggests ;-)

With a normal-sized loaf tin you get aroung 20 slices of cake.


For the yeast dough you will need:

• 125ml (4 oz.) warm milk
• 375g (13 oz.) all-purpose flour
• 1 package of dry yeast
• 60g (2 oz.) sugar
• 75g (2.6 oz.) softened butter
• 1 egg
• a pinch of salt

For the nut-filling you will need:

• 100g (3.5 oz.) ground hazelnuts
• 30g (1 oz.) chopped pistachios
• 70g (2.5 oz.) chopped almonds
• 50g (2) ground walnuts
• 125ml (4 oz.) cream
• 1 egg
• 100g (3.5 oz.) sugar
• some cinnamon powder
• 1 tbsp orange zest

Additionally to brush the cake:

• 1 tbsp milk
• 1 egg yolk

1. For the dough, mix the flour, dry yeast and sugar in a large bowl. Add the lukewarm milk, butter, egg and salt and knead until you get a smooth dough. Cover the bowl with a wet and warm kitchen towel and leave to raise for about 45 minutes, until doubled in size.

2. For the nut-filling, combine all the ingredients in a small bowl. Line the loaf tin with baking parchment.

3. Preheat your oven to 180°C (356F).
Knead the dough thoroughly and on a floured surface, roll it out into a rectangle of about 35 x 45 cm (13 x 17 inches) in size. Spread the nut-filling evenly on the dough and roll it up, starting from the longer side of the rectangle. Cut in half lengthwise and twist the two strands around each other, similar to braiding. Place into the loaf tin and leave to raise for another 15 to 20 minutes.
Beat the egg and milk and brush the Nussstriezel generously. Bake for about 35 minutes.

Dominoes

I know, I'm a bit late with this post of a traditional German Christmas treat... But work is keeping me pretty busy.
Anyways, I think these dominoes - a lebkuchen base, with quince jelly and orange-scented marzipan on top, dipped in chocolate - are a wonderful little treat any time during winter.
Dominoes - Dominosteine in German - aren't particularly hard to make; they do take some time, though. But there is no doubt they are worth the effort!

For 35-40 dominoes you will need:

For the lebkuchen-base:

• 130g (4.6 oz.) runny honey
• 30g (1 oz.) sugar
• 40g (1.4 oz.) butter
• 100g (3.5 oz.) milk chocolate
• 150g (5.3 oz.) all-purpose flour
• 2 heaped tsp. gingerbread spice (cinnamon, cloves, ginger, allspice, nutmeg)
• 1 tsp. ground tonka bean
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• a pinch of salt
• 1 egg 

For the filling:

• 200g (7 oz.) thick-cut quince jelly
• 200g (7 oz.) marzipan
• zest of one organic orange
• 1 tbsp.orange flower water
• 1-2 tbsp. icing suhar
• 200g (7 oz.) dark (couverture) chocolate

1. Preheat your oven to 160°C /320 F. Line a baking tray with baking parchment. Place a 20x20cm / 8x8 inch baking frame on the baking parchment. 
For the base, place honey, sugar and butter into a pan and bring to the boil. Let cool slightly. Chop the chocolate and add to the warm honey mixture and melt while stirring. Sift flour, baking powder, spices and salt into a large mixing bowl. Add the warm honey mixture and the egg and stir until you get a homogenous but gooey batter. Fill the batter into he baking frame and bake at 160°C / 320 F for about 25-30 minutes.

The base will feel very tough right after baking and cooling, which is normal. The base will become nice and soft after a day and have a perfect lebkuchen texture.

2. Knead the marzipan, adding the orange zest, orange flower water and the sifting sugar until smooth and no longer very sticky. Roll out to match the size of your baking frame and set aside.
After cooling, spread the quince jelly onto the lebkuchen base (you might want to gently heat the jelly to make it spreadable). Place the marzipan layer on top and refrigerate for about 30 minutes to help the layers stick together.

3. Cut your dominoes plate into cubes of about 3/4 inch x 3/4 inch.
Gently melt the chocolate over a hot-water bath. Dip each dominoe into the chocolate and let them set on a cooling rack or on a parchment-lined baking tray. Decorate with edible gold dust if you like.