February

Snow man and woman in Clissold Park but it looks like this was the first and last of Winter. Come on spring!

Winter snow

Three weeks ago we were hit by a cold snap that brought the first snow for this year. I have almost forgotten how much I like the different appearance of the seasons. When the city is covered with a blanket of white fluffy snow like icing sugar on a cake it suddenly gets very quiet. It makes everything more beautiful too. This year I have been reminded by my new colleague from New Zealand that I should not take it for granted. This first snow this year was her first snow ever. So I will remember the fascination from when we were kids. Going out to build a snowman, go sledging and throwing snowballs at each other. The laughter, the ice cold and blue frozen hands, damp socks, runny noses, the sound when you walk on it and the taste of snow.

These photos were taken in Niagara Falls, Canada and it is such a magical place in Winter when the moisture in the air freezes over on the lamp posts and trees to create fantastical shapes.

Apple frangipane tartlets

I have made a frangipane tart before but much earlier in the season when I could get fresh plums. This time I used apples and made small individual tartlets. I also tried different ways to decorate.
I also include a recipe for the shortcrust pastry I used this time. It's light and crumbly and not overly sweet. Shortcrust is always 2:1 flour to butter ratio and some water, just enough to activate the gluten and bind the dough. My other tips are to be gentle with the mixture so you don't overwork the butter as the dough will be too greasy and won't bind the water. And resting time is key. Leave the dough for half an hour and make a cup of tea. If you're pressed for time just leave out this step and blind bake store bought sweet pastry or shortcrust. Another brilliant tip I picked up recently in Heston Blumenthal's new TV show 'Heston at Home' is to use coins instead of baking beans for blind baking. As they are metal they store heat much better and the pastry is being baked more evenly. But now on to the recipe. This recipe makes 8-10 tartlets.

APPLE FRANGIPANE TARTLETS

for the pastry base
300g plain flour
150g butter
50g icing sugar
Pinch of salt
3-4 Tbs ice cold water

for the filling
150g ground almond
150g butter
150g caster sugar
1 tbsp vanilla sugar
pinch of salt
50g flour
2 eggs
4-6 tbsp amaretto
3-5 apples

To make the shortcrust place the flour, salt and sifted icing sugar in a large bowl. Cut the butter in small cubes (should be room temperature), add to the bowl and cover with the flour. incorporate by using your fingertips and rubbing lightly until you get to fine crumb stage. Incorporate a table spoon of the cold water at a time to see how much the flour can absorb. Add more if needed. Mix well until it leaves the sides of the bowl clean but be careful not to overwork it. Cover with foil and rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 175°C. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until 2mm thick. Line the baking tins and place in the freezer for a couple of minutes. This will prevent shrinkage later. Cover with baking paper and coins and blind bake for about 7-10 minutes.
Remove the coins and baking paper and let cool a bit while preparing the frangipane mixture. With a hand mixer beat the butter until pale and fluffy. Add the sugar, salt, ground almond and flour until well combined. Add the eggs one at a time and the amaretto. Spread the frangipane on the pastry shells. Cut the apples in slices and arrange on the mixture. Bake for about 12-15 minutes or until done and slightly golden. When cold dust with icing sugar.

Colour lovers: moss & candy floss

Moss green is a hazy gray-green shade, close to an earth tone and evokes memories of the forest. Psychologically it has a calming effect on us. The complementary colour is a vibrant magenta or hot pink, bold and intense in character, and it injects a sense of fun and drama to this palette. Balanced with two neutrals, beige and brown, magenta sits confidently next to vibrant lime green, a great colour combination in itself but use both sparingly as they can be tricky to use in large doses together. Check out the palette at colourlovers

January

A very lonely Christmas tree and my motto for this year.

Huevos Rancheros with poached eggs

Time for a savoury dish again. It suddenly got very cold here over the weekend so out come the chilies to warm us up. First time I heard about Huevos Rancheros was on Jamie Oliver's TV show 'JAMIE'S AMERICA'. His version of this classic Mexican dish called for the eggs to be poached in the tomato chili sauce rather than top the sauce with a fried egg and this is what we incorporated in to our version as well. This recipe is great for breakfast or when you have brunch with friends as you can prepare the sauce in advance (or even make a lot and freeze some) and then just heat it up and poach your eggs. I am not a big fan of runny egg yolk so mine are usually well done but just cook them for a shorter time if you like them wobbly and runny.

HUEVOS RANCHEROS

2 shallots
1 red onion
1 red pepper
2-3 garlic cloves
1 red chili (hot)
1 bunch of coriander
2 cans of tinned tomatoes
good dash of balsamic vinegar
pinch of sugar
1 tbsp smoked paprika powder
salt and pepper
4 free range eggs
lime

Chop the shallots, onion, red pepper, garlic, chili and coriander stalks. Heat oil in a pan and sweat the onions and pepper. Add the garlic, chili and coriander stalks. Sweat some more, then add the content of the tomato tins, vinegar, sugar, salt and other spices. Simmer for about 15 minutes so the excess moisture can evaporate and the sauce thickens. Now make a little space for the eggs in the sauce so they can be enclosed, drop the eggs in and simmer some more to poach the eggs. Sprinkle with chopped coriander and squeeze some fresh lime on top. Serve with warm tortilla bread and sour cream.
¡Buen apetito!

Toasted pine nuts, olive oil and caramel ice cream

Since I have the ice cream maker I have experimented a lot with different flavours and most of those experiments have been successful (please don't ask for the pea ice cream I made as that really didn't work out well and won't make it on the blog anytime soon...). As with chocolate I love to throw in a pinch of salt as it seems to bring out the flavours even better. Same goes for ice cream. And salted caramel is a classic by now, made even better by adding some salted peanuts if you ask me. For this ice cream though I used pine nuts that I toasted in olive oil and later added a salted caramel to the ice cream so you have ripples going through it.

TOASTED PINE NUTS, OLIVE OIL AND CARAMEL ICE CREAM

300ml double cream
200ml milk
50g pine nuts
3 tbsp olive oil
4-5 tbsp sugar

For the caramel sauce
75g light brown sugar
50g salted butter
3tbsp double cream

For the toffee sauce heat all the ingredients in a pan and stir gently with a wooden spatula. When they are all blended to a sauce take off the heat and let cool down. In another pan heat the olive oil and toast the pine nuts. Take off the heat and let cool. Mix the sugar, milk and cream. Add the olive oil and chill the mixture in the fridge. Place in the ice cream maker for about 10-15 minutes or according to instructions for your machine. Spoon through the caramel sauce to create the ripples and it's ready to serve.

New Year's donuts

Donuts are a traditional New Year's Eve and Carnival treat in Germany and this year I thought I could revive this tradition though mine are bite size mini ones.
I have been catching up with season 3 of Masterchef Australia. I know, I know, a little late, but better late than never, right? Anyway, it reminded me of last year's season when they showed how to make classic donuts in a masterclass. So this is where I got the basic recipe and technique from that I then slightly altered for my needs.
I tossed the still warm donuts in vanilla and lavender sugar. Both can be made in advance to infuse the sugar and I keep it ready to be used in my pantry. Just mix up some lavender and caster sugar and keep in a jar. Sometimes the lavender itself can be a bit overpowering so just sift he sugar to remove the lavender flowers and just work with the fragrant sugar. To make the vanilla sugar scrape out the seeds of some vanilla beans and mix with the sugar. Keep in a jar with the pods. Alternatively use plain caster sugar, it's still delicious!

NEW YEARS'S DONUTS

350ml milk
80g unsalted butter
60g caster sugar
4 eggs
500g plain flour
pinch of salt
8g dry yeast
vegetable oil to deep fry
vanilla or lavender sugar

Warm up the milk to body temperature. Add the butter and sugar and dissolve in the milk. Add one egg at a time and whisk. Now mix the dry ingredients: flour, salt and yeast. Pour in the warm milk mix and combine all the ingredients. Cover with a cloth or cling film and leave to prove for about an hour in a warm place.
Heat the oil in a pot until it reaches 165°C. Spoon little portions in the hot oil and leave for about 4-5 minutes or until golden and cooked through. While still warm roll in and cover with the flavoured sugar and leave to cool or eat while they are still warm.

Happy holidays

Merry Christmas and a great start in 2012 to everyone out there, wherever you are!

Chocolate Christmas cake

Last weekend we went to a Christmas-do with friends and I wanted to create a fun chocolate cake that also looks festive so it was time to get the gold dust out. Just brush it on the before you place the Maltesers on the cake as you will need to apply some pressure and they would otherwise move around in the soft butter cream. Maltesers are great for this as they look like little Christmas baubles and their malty taste goes nicely with the spices and the rum but even chocolate covered hazelnuts or such could work well.

SPICED CHOCOLATE CAKE

4 eggs
200g sugar
200g butter (room temperature)
pinch of salt
200g self-raising flour
100g cocoa powder
3 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tbsp all spice
pinch of cinnamon
4 tbsp rum
4 tbsp milk
4 packs of Maltesers
edible gold powder

For the butter cream:
200g butter
100g icing sugar
300g chocolate custard/pudding (follow packet instructions)
pinch of cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 200°C and butter your baking tin. Separate the eggs and whisk the whites with a pinch of salt until it forms stiff peaks. In another bowl mix the egg yolks and sugar until pale and fluffy (with a hand-held mixer for about 5 min) and add the butter. Sift the flour, cocoa and baking powder and add to the mixture. When the dough gets too thick add the rum and milk. Now gently fold in the stiff egg whites. Bake for around 30-40 minutes in a 20cm/8 inch baking tin. Rotate the tin after half the baking time so it will bake evenly. If it gets too dark on the top cover it up with baking paper for the last 15 minutes. Let cool and cut into 3 layers. Place the sponge layers in the fridge for about 10-15 minutes before you assemble the cake. Cook the custard/pudding according to packet instructions and leave to cool. Cream the butter until pale and fluffy, add the sifted icing sugar, mix some more, then add the cold custard/pudding and cinnamon powder. Spread an even amount of the icing between the layers, stack the cake and apply a thin layer on the the outside. Place in the fridge to chill before you apply the rest of the icing layer. Brush the malt balls with the gold dust and place on the the top and sides of the cake.

December

Juicy sweet clementines and my friend the nutcracker. Here comes Christmas!

Chocolate Lebkuchen ice cream

Now the Christmas season has officially started for me. The fairy lights are dusted off and draped around the mantle piece and a freshly baked batch of cookies welcome the festive season in my house. And my first Christmas party. The first of many a drinks and feasts, crackers and toasts and get togethers with friend and family.
In shops Christmas started in October already with the arrival of Christmas pudding, mince pies, gingerbread, mulled wine and Lebkuchen. If you are not familiar with Lebkuchen I should explain that they are one of the classic German Christmas cookies. They can take on different shapes (round or rectangular are classic but there are now stars, pretzels or heart shaped ones too) but they are made with honey and lots of spices, candied fruit, almonds and nuts and are sometimes covered with chocolate. They were invented by Medieval monks in Franconia, Germany in the 13th century.
I have never been tempted to make them myself as they are so easily available and usually nice and rather focused on cookie recipes that are maybe more rare as they are a regional speciality or just not as commonly known.
So my twist with Lebkuchen this year is to make it into an ice cream. Not dissimilar to a chocolate chip cookie ice cream just with the Christmassy flavours of Lebkuchen instead. You get the idea. The base is a rich chocolate ice cream with a hint of cinnamon.

CHOCOLATE LEBKUCHEN ICE CREAM

300ml double cream
200ml milk
4-5 tbsp cocoa powder
3-5 tbsp sugar
pinch of cinnamon
2-4 Lebkuchen

In a pot heat the double cream, milk, sugar, cinnamon and cocoa powder. If you use unsweetened cocoa powder add more sugar according to taste. Take it off the heat when it starts to boil and leave to cool. Crumble the Lebkuchen in to the mixture but discard the oblate on the bottom (unleavened communion wafer) if yours have any and the amount of crumbs depends on how big or small your Lebkuchen are. If they are small use one or two more. Chill the mixture in the fridge. Place in the ice cream maker for about 10-15 minutes or according to instructions for your machine. Serve with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.