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Wiener Apfel Strudel – Apple Strudel Vienna

Apple strudel

The home country of the very famous cake “Apple Strudel” is Austria and it was in fact territory of Germany as well, way back when this territory was ruled by the Emperor. The Strudel dough must be so thin that it is possible to see a love letter on the other side. If you cannot do this, it is better if you buy the frozen strudel dough which needs to be filled and baked. My grandmother who came from the German part of Rumania used to make this delicious cake. We would eat it with vanilla sauce… ahhh… how delightful it was! Good luck with the recipe and let me know when you were successful.
 
Ingredients
Dough:
250g flour, 1 pinch salt, 1 egg, 20g butter or margarine, some luke warm water
Filling:
1,5 kg apples
80 g bread crumbs
125 g sugar
65 g raisins
65 g chopped almonds
1 sachet vanilla sugar, cinnamon

Typical german baking board out of wood

40 butter
1/8 l sweet cream
baking board or a firm surface to prepare and make the dough (see picture)
 

 

 

Apple strudel baking tips

How you’ll make it
On a baking board add flour, make  a pit in the middle, add butter and salt and as much water you need, to make an elastic and smooth dough which can be kneaded. Cover it with a warm bowl and let it stand for 20 minutes.
Prepare the filling:
Peel apples, remove the core and cut it in fine slices
– Scald raisins and mix apples with breadcrumbs, sugar, almonds, cinnamon and raisins
– Put flour on the baking board and roll the dough and carefully stretch it to all sides until the dough is regularly smooth.
– Apply the cream on the dough and spread the filling all over the dough
– Roll it
– Grease a baking tray (or use parchment paper) and put the strudel on it
– Bake it for 60-70 minutes on 210-220 degrees C (see conversion page forF)
– While it is baking brush melted butter over the strudel
Enjoy it with whipped cream, vanilla sauce or vanilla icecream, and a cup of coffee. I prefer it warm!

Tips
Use a kitchen cloth when rolling the dough.
Put the strudel into a fireproof pan instead of a baking tray; sometimes the thin layer cracks and apple juice is dripping.
The less grease the dough has, the more thinner it can be made.
Wrap the strudel in aluminium foil, but not completely, have surface uncovered Tips

Original Dresdner Stollen

This recipe is for my friends in Australia who love German food (and my blog :-)) because they are heading into the winter season now. While we in California are getting longer and hotter days, theirs are getting shorter. One famous recipe is the “Dresdner Stollen”. And do you know what it is the symbol for? It should symbolize the baby in the craddle, wrapped in linen. Sachsen is the part of Germany where the Stollen was created. The making of the Stollen needs more attention than a regular dough done with yeast. You need to use all ingredients as listed, don’t change any. Important seems the fact that you won’t using the ingredients directlu out of the fridge. The ingredients need to be kept in room temperatur, and some bring them the evening before they bake, into a warm room. Don’t forget it is a winter recipe and in Europe many rooms of a home used to be cold back in the past.

Ingredients
1kg flour
100 g yeast (fresh or dry;  dried yeast contains 7 g yeast crumbs which equal 25 g fresh yeast; I found dry yeast here: http://www.germandeli.com/droeheye4.html and here http://www.breadworld.com/products.aspx
1/2 l milk
200 g sugar
450 g butter
peel of a lemon (organic)
1/2 tsp level kardamon and 1/2 level tsp mace (I found a Stollen spice which contains all important spices, see picture)

10 g salt
500 g raisins (organic, no sulphur)
150 g currants
150 g chopped candied orange peel (orangeat) and candied lemon peel (zitronat); if you can find a mix of both that would be the best
150 g chopped sweet almonds
30 g chopped bitter almond
100 g butter
100g coarse sugar
2 sachets vanilla sugar
125 g powdered sugar

How to make it
– Put flour into a baking bowl and make a pit in the middle; add the crumbled yeast with 2 tbsp sugar and some milk into the pit; with some flour whisk it to a “pre-dough”, cover it with a kitchen cloth and keep it at a warm place for 40-50 minutes
– Mix flour and pre-dough with remaining milk and sugar, warm butter, lemon peel, spices and salt and whisk it really good until the dough peels away from the inside bowl wall
– Boil water and scald raisins and dry them with a kitchen cloth or paper
– Add raisins, currants, candied orange and lemon peel and almonds to the dough – knead them into the dough and form a ball out of it; cover it again and let it rest for 30-40 minutes, dough needs to rise
– Again knead the dough very good, and let it rise for another 30-40 minutes, then form it into a Stollen
– Preheat oven to 190-200 degrees C (375-400 F)
– grease a baking tray with butter and put the Stollen onto it, let it bake for 70-90 minutes until the surface is golden brown; if you see that it gets brown to early cover it with aluminium foil or greased parchment paper
– When the Stollen is done, brush butter onto the surface
 and sprinkle first with coarse sugar than with a mix of vanilla sugar and powdered sugar – Voila!

Creamy Chocolate Gateau – Schokoladencreme-Torte

It’s chocolate cake time! Ladies and gents, this is a special gateau but it is not that difficult to make. They recommend to use Mondamin which is a popular extra corn starch for baking cakes and sweet dishes in Germany. I have never seen it in US supermarkets, neither on Amazon, but I found it at an Ebay store “A taste of Germany”; they sell German products only on Ebay. Happy Baking!

Ingredients
Bisquit
4 eggs
4 tbsp water
200 g sugar
1 sachet vanilla sugar
100 g flour
100 g mondamin – extra fine corn starch for cakes, I found it on Ebay, see here:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Mondamin-Speisestaerke-Corn-Starch-German-Imported-CAKE-/270497814429
2 tsp baking powder
salt
Filling:
200 g butter
200 g sugar
30 g mondamin 3 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp coffee powder (instant)
1/4 l milk
How to make it
– Whisk 4 egg white with water until firm and add slowly sugar and vanilla sugar
– Carefully mix in the egg yolks, flour, mondamin and a hint of salt
– Grease a spring form with butter (26cm) and fill in the dough
– Bake it for 30-35 minutes on 175 degrees C (350 F)
– when done take it out of form and let it cool off
– cut the cake in half

For the Filling:
– Mix mondamin and cocoa powder, boil it with the milk until thick, and let it cool off
– Whisk Butter, sugar and instant coffee until foamy
– Mix in the cocoacream spoon after spoon
– With a wide spoon fill the cream onto the bisquit cake (see picture, wrap the whole cake in cream), and with a spoon decorate the top

Well, that’s a cake which will make you popular!

Chickenbreast Malakow

I was searching quite a bit to find some historical background for this name because I asked myself who was Malakow or Malakoff (in German) and what stands behind this name?
This is what I found: Malakow, Jean J. Péllisier (1794-1864) was a French marshall who got the title of a duke from Napoleon after the battle of Malakow (Krim) in 1855.
Afterwards the name was adopted by the cooks of the French cuisine, and it was added to special recipes as the “Malachow Cake”. I found this recipe in the booklet “Slim with eggs”, and thought this is something different than only eggs or chicken. It is a combination of both. You can make it for lunch or dinner or for a brunch. But try it out and let me know…

Ingredients
4 small to medium size chicken breasts
some vegetable broth (to boil the meat)
1 onion
70 g butter
40 g flour
1/8 l white wine
1/2 l vegetable broth
1 tbsp tomato paste
salt, pepper
4 eggs

How to make it
– Boil the chicken breast in enough broth so that they are covered all the time
– Cut onion in small pieces and fry them in the butter until they are transparent
– Add the flour and fry it too until you have a light yellow paste; fill up with vegetable broth and add tomato concentrate
– Let it cook for about 15 minutes on low heat; add white wine, salt and pepper
– Reheat the chicken breasts in the sauce (gravy) and put them on a special serving plate, pour some of the sauce over the meat
– Make fried eggs in a separate pan and place them over the chicken breasts

There is more sauce left over, and you would serve in a separate bowl. Tastes yummy with white or brown rice and a green salad.

Celery-Apple Salad

The celery root is an interesting vegetable and is being used a lot in the German kitchen. We add it to the broths and you can make salads and little burgers out of it. It has an interesting taste, like nuts but better. The celery root can be combined with apples, walnuts, or lettuce. I add it to the regular green salad with carrots. Why don’t you try it out? I am sure you will like it…
Ingredients
1 medium sized celery root (also called celeriac)
1 large apple or 2 smallwer ones, red and not too sweet
1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
1 tbsp fresh chopped dill
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup fresh made or real mayonnaise
100ml  apple vinegar
50 g walnuts (chopped)
salt, black pepper

How to make it
– Peel apple, cut out core and cut is in 1/4 inch (or thinner) slices
– Peel the celery root and grate it with a grater OR boil it for 3 minutes in salt water, then filter it
– Mix mayonnaise, sour cream apple vinegar, dill, parsley, salt and black pepper (in  a large salad bowl)
– Add grates celery to the dressing and mix it gently – let it soak for 20-30 minutes
– Add apple slices and the walnuts; decorate with 1-2 whole walnuts and parsley

Tip
Drip some lemon juice of the apples and they won’t become brown

Creamy Potato Soup with Cucumbers

Do you know that you can use cucumbers in a soup? Yes, you can. Potatoes and cucumbers are in fact a classy combination plus dill, an herb which perfectly fits cucumbers. This soup is so yummy and healthy, you can buy the ingredients anywhere, which makes is really easy. I just made the soup today for dinner. Took me 20 minutes, and it was delicious. Enjoy your home made German potato soup!

Ingredients
1 medium sized or 2 small cucumbers
6 medium sized potatoes – 1 1/2 pounds, peeled, cut into 1/2 inch dices and boiled
3 cups cold water
1,5 tsp salt
ground black pepper, hint nutmeg
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk
1 medium size onion (cut in small pieces)
1 tbsp chopped fresh dill (or dried dill)

How to make it
– With a small, sharp knife peel the cucumber and slice it lengthwise intp halves. Scoop out the seeds by running the tip of a teaspoon down the center of each half. Cut it into 1/4 inch dices and set aside
– In  a big pot bring the potatoes and the water to a boil (high heat). Reduce heat to moderate, add salt and pepper, cook uncovered until potatoes are soft and can easily mashed against the sides of the pot.
– With a potato masher mash the potatoes in the cooking water, don’t throw it away. You can also put them into a sieve which is set over a bowl,  and with a large spoon  force the potatoes through the sieve; or use a mixer or a food mill but not a blender.
– Add some butter in another pot (or use same one and keep mashed potatoes in a bowl) until foamy, then add onions and fry them until transparent (not brown)
Add potatoe puree to the onions, mix in the cream, and cucumbers
– Let the soup simmer for about 5 minutes in low heat (high heat will cause the milk to burn on the bottom of the pot)
– The soup is done when the cucumbers are tender but not too soft, they should be still a bit firm.
– Add the dill and serve it hot.

Guten Appetit.

Creamy Peach Cake

Germany is well known for its cakes (Kuchen) and Tarts (Torte). And the German ladies are also well known for their fabulous home made cakes which are the best. It is a tradition to meet Sunday afternoon for coffee and cake – Kaffe und Kuchen – either with family or friends, either at home or in a Cafe – it is always enjoyable because there will be cake served. You must know that all stores in Germany are closed on Sundays, and now guess, which stores are open? Cafes and bakeries (aside gas stations of course). Every village has its bakery and Sunday afternoon it is extra open for the traditional coffe ceremony. Enjoy the Creamy Peach  Cake and let me know how it tasted…

Ingredients
200 g soft unsalted butter (or margarine)
150 g sugar
1 egg
peel of 1 (organic, all natural) lemon
1 tbsp rum (or rum flavor)
300 g flour
50 g starch flour
50 g ground almonds
1/2 tsp cinnamon
salt, butter to grease the baking form

For the filling
2 cans peaches (preferably unsugared)
50 g sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
50 g ground almonds
For the Frosting
2 egg white
2 tbsp cold water
100 g sugar
half vanilla bean
2 egg yolk
2 tbsp hot water
40 g flour and 40 g starch
1/2 tsp baking powder
powdered sugar

How you make it
– Mix butter, sugar, egg, lemon peel and rum in a bowl and whisk it until foamy
– Add flour and starch, almonds, cinnamon and a bit salt
– Knead the dough until it is smooth
– Keep it covered in the fridge for 1 hour
– Now grease with butter a 24cm diameter spring form and fill in the dough. Make an 1 inch high edge all around.
– Bake it in the preheated oven by 200 degrees or 390 F for about 20 minutes in the middle.
– Put peach halves into a sieve and allow the juice to drip off. Place them on the cake, one after the other
– Mix sugar with cinnamon and together with almonds sprinkle it over the peaches
– Whisk egg white with water firmly; add slowly vanilla and sugar
– In another bowl whisk egg yolk with hot water until creamy – then mix it with the egg white.
– Mix flour, starch and baking powder and fold in the egg mix.
– Paste it onto the peaches
– Bake cake for another 15 minutes on same temperature
– when done get the cake out of the form and sprinkle it with powdered sugar

Voila – the cake is ready to be served.

Raspberry Cream Dessert

I found this recipe in an old cooking booklett with the title “Slim with eggs” (Schlank mit Ei).
The booklett is featuring a lot of recipes with eggs, and one might think, that’s pretty boring, but no, they are very interesting! I decided to take them up for the blog because they are unique and so German! Let’s start with something sweet. A creamy dessert which is delicious but also colorful. There is a German saying ” the eyes are eating too”. Let’s make the red dessert!

Ingredients (for 4 portions)
4 eggs (organic)
4 tbsp sugar
1-2 tbsp raspberry juice (pure and organic)
almonds, thin slices

How to make it– Separate the eggs (divide yolk from egg white)
– Put yolks and half of the sugar into a bowl and whisk the mix until foamy
– Add raspberry juice and whisk it again
– Whisk egg white until it is very firm (so you can cut it) and mix in the remaining sugar
– Mix caraefully the firm eggwhite to the red egg mix
– Fill it in cocktail or dessert glasses and decorate it with sliced almonds

Tip
Instead of raspberry juice try an exotic juice or any fruit juice.
Add a bit of vanilla sugar or vanilla extract for a nice vanilla taste.

Spaetzle – Southern Germany Noodles

I am sure you have heard about the popular pasta of the South, to be precise from Swabia: Spaetzle. They are a Must for a Sunday lunch or an event. Served with Rindsbraten or Gulasch, Rouladen or any meat that comes with a gravy, it’s the best side dish I know..
But do you know what the word means? It literally means “little sparrows”. Spaetzle are originally from where I grew up, the Baden-Württemberg area of Germany. Some call Spaetzle little dumplings, but I prefer to refer to them as noodles. Spaetzle and salad is considered to be a whole meal – yes. I like them with cheese, vegetable or with lentils. There are many variations possible.
If you really want to be an authentic German cook you make the Spaetzle without a Spaetzle maker. My mother never used a colander, she used a “Spaetzle Schaber” (the metall board) as shown in the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zquGPPIoR-g&feature=related
picture from: http://www.europeancuisines.com/images/plain_spaetzli.jpg
Ingredients for 4 cups
3 cups flour (wheat, all purpose)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
4 eggs
1 cup milk

How to make it (with a colander)
– Mix the flour, half od the salt and the nutmeg
– Add eggs, mix them in with a fork
– Pour in milk, stiring constantly with a large spoon until dough is smooth
– Bring water to a boil in a big pot, add remaining salt
– Set a large colander with large holes ove rthe pot and with a spoon press the dough, a few tablespoons at a time, through the colander directly into thr boiling water.
– Stir the Spaetzle gently to prevent them sticking together
– Boil them briskly for 5-8 minutes
– Drain them through a sieve

That’s all, easy to do, even kids can do it.