Chocolate Cake

I do not bake often.  I much rather cook!  With baking you have to be exact and I like to improvise in my cooking. I add a little of this a little of that.  Well, I had a friend request I make her a cake for her husband’s Birthday.  I said I would.  Then I went on the hunt for that perfect chocolate cake recipe.  The chocolate cake that got a lot of high ratings on the internet was that published by Ina Garten.  Only the cake called for 8 inch cake rounds and all I had was 9 inch.  I proceeded to follow the recipe.  Only instead of using 1 cup of hot brewed coffee I used the room temp coffee that I had brewed earlier in the day.  I used the 9 inch cake rounds that I had and baked them… but they fell. That is right the center of the cake collapsed during baking.  It rose around the outside perimeter, but there was a definite valley in the center of my cakes.  But we tasted the cake and it was delicious!  The hint of coffee was good.  I was about to abandon ship on this recipe.  But it was good… so I went in search of the 8 inch cake tins.  I hit up 6 stores before I finally found disposable foil ones in the right size at Walmart.  Armed with this, and the information that the HOT liquid makes all the difference I tried again.. and my second attempt was much better! But it also was full of issues.  I do not bake.. I do not bake.. I do not bake…

About 15 minutes into baking time my blower on the oven stops blowing, which only means one thing: the oven has come to a cool enough temperature that the blower is not blowing!!! WHAT!!!?? I had the oven all preheated and now my second attempt is in the oven? and the blower stops blowing?  Sure enough.  My oven is most decidedly OFF!  This is not good!  I removed the cakes, got the oven back up to baking temperature and baked them again.  Keeping my fingers crossed!  They came out beautifully, but it was the stress I could have lived without.

A few reviews of the frosting were negative, but I had a Vanilla Frosting that I have used before that came out with good success, so I decided to use that.  My friend was thrilled! For the frosting recipe I used please go to my Choir Cake.

You can find the original recipe at this link.  Thank you Ina for a winning recipe of Chocolate Cake.  I may make it again.. once I get over the shock of this past baking experience.  And my dear readers can learn from my mistakes – do use HOT coffee!!! or your cake will look like this:

As a side note:  I have not been as active on my blog in recent months.  I have taken on home schooling my high school student and have found less time to cook creatively.  I have been still cooking, but many recipes I have already posted here.  Next year I am home schooling two of my three kids, so I imagine I will have even less time to blog.  Home schooling is going pretty well overall, other than it is even harder to get the kids up in the morning.  I never saw myself to be a home school mom, but I have found a great support group and do not feel alone in this endeavor.  My son has also started to play baseball. While he is brand new to the sport, it is quite fun to see him learn a sport I have no knowledge about.  My husband and I joke that we don’t have the sports gene.  We don’t watch it on TV.  I used to ride horses, and occasionally play volleyball, but I was not into sports by any means!

 

Herbed Oatmeal Pan Bread

I used a recipe in the Pillsbury The Complete Book of Baking Cookbook that was published in 1993.  It is a wonderful edition filled with wonderful recipes.  You may be able to find a used copy at popular book sellers.  It reminds me of an oatmeal bread that my Aunt made when I was living with her.  This one has a nice herb topping. It takes some time to make, but is well worth the effort I think.

Herbed Oatmeal Pan Bread

Serves 16

adapted from Pillsbury The Complete Book of Baking p 458

Ingredients:

• 2 cups boiling water
• 1 cup rolled oats (Old Fashioned)
• 3 Tbsp butter
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 packets active dry yeast (but I used only one and they turned out fine)
• 1 egg
• 1 3/4-2 1/2 cups additional flour, as needed

Herb Topping:

• 2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp dried basil leaves
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano leaves
• 3 Tbsp melted butter

Instructions:

Combine the boiling water with the rolled oats in a large bowl and stir.  Allow to cool to 110-120.

In your stand mixer combine the 1 1/2 cups of flour, sugar, salt and yeast.  Use your paddle attachment to stir the ingredients to combine on low for just a few seconds.  Add the cooled rolled oat mixture and the egg.  On low speed, mix the ingredients until combined and then increase the speed to medium and mix for 3 more minutes.

Add the remaining flour a little at a time and stir together with a spatula until it forms a stiff dough.

Flour a surface and knead the dough for another 5 minutes adding in another 1/2 cup of flour or until the dough is no longer sticky.  Let the dough rest on your kneading surface and tent it with a bowl.

Spray your 9″x13″x2″ baking dish with a cooking spray.  Spread the rested dough into the pan spreading it out evenly. Cut the dough with a sharp knife making diagonal cuts about 1 1/2 inches apart to form the bread.  Spray plastic wrap with cooking spray and cover the dish.  Then cover with a towel.  Allow to rise for 45 minutes in a warm place (I love to use the top of my fridge).

Heat your oven to 375F.  Uncover the dish, Cut along your score lines again.  Combine the dry ingredients for the herb topping.Brush the tops of the bread with melted butter and bake at 375F for 15 minutes.  Remove the bread.  Brush the tops again and sprinkle evenly with the Parmesan Cheese and Herb mixture.  Bake another 10-15 minutes.

Printable Recipe

 

Corn Bread Pudding

Okay, this is the world’s easiest recipe to make!  It is our favorite adaptation of corn bread.  It goes really well with Chili… which is my next post.

Every year I “enter” a chili cook off.  Okay, mostly it is good fellowship with great friends that we have known for 15+ years now.  This year my girls want to bring a chili to enter – so we will be bringing 2!   How fun it is to see my girls take an interest in cooking as well.

Back to the corn bread pudding.  It is easy as pie.. actually easier than pie! Unless of course you buy your pies…

Corn Bread Pudding

adapted from a Betty Crocker Cookbook (a friend’s cookbook, so I don’t know the year or edition sorry)

Serves 8

1 box Jiffy corn bread mix

1 stick butter, melted

1 (15 oz) can corn kernels, drained

1 (15 oz) can creamed corn

1 cup sour cream

2 eggs

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Melt the butter in a microwave for 1 minute  (cover the dish or it may splatter).

In a  mixing bowl, combine the jiffy corn bread mix, eggs, sour cream, corn kernels, and creamed corn and mix.  Add the melted butter and mix.  Pour into a square 8 inch baking dish.

Bake for 45-60 minutes, or until it is set.  Serve with Chili.

Printable Recipe

 

Sausage Gravy

Wake up sleepy head!  Biscuits and Gravy will get them up and out of bed!

I found this recipe on my all time favorite site (allrecipes).  The recipe was posted by Bob Evans.  It is a restaurant chain on the East Coast that serves incredible breakfasts. I tweaked the recipe here and there.

Biscuits and Gravy

adapted from Bob Evans recipe on allrecipes.com

Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 1 lb sausage
• 2 Tbsp butter (optional)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk
• salt and black pepper to taste

additional ingredients:

• 8 prepared biscuits
• 8 fried eggs

Instructions:

Bake biscuits (I used the Bisquick Mix and used the recipe on the box).

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and cook the sausage, crumbling the sausage as you cook it until it is no longer pink.  Move the sausage to the side of the pan and tilt the pan to let the drippings flow to the other side.  Add the flour and about 1/2 tsp of salt to the drippings (oh this is BAD!  But I feel a tingle! I should really not be eating this, but oh it is sooo good for you –oops tasty!)  Stir the flour into the drippings and combine until there is no raw flour left.  I actually added 2 Tbsp of butter to the drippings so the flour was not clumpy.  Heat the milk up in the microwave.  I find it combines better adding a warm liquid.  Slowly add the milk to the flour mixture and whisk it into the pan.  Add the sausage back in.  Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.  Bring the gravy to a boil and allow to thicken.  If it becomes too thick you can thin it out with additional milk.

To serve, split a biscuit in half  Top with a fried egg and ladle sausage over the egg, replace the top of the biscuit and ladle more gravy over the dish.  Soon you will have all sorts of creatures (children) crawling out of the woodwork to eat breakfast (big ones too).

Printable Recipe

Easy Banana Bread

My friend and mentor Mom, Carol is a fantastic cook.  Here is an easy recipe for Banana bread that uses ready made biscuit mix to make it.  It does not use any oil either, which is nice.  Bake it a loaf pan.

Carol’s Easy Banana Bread

Serves 12

3 cups Bisquick Mix

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

3 (very) ripe bananas, mashed

3/4 cup chopped pecans (or other nuts)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375F.  Spray the loaf pan with cooking spray (or coat with butter).  Mix all the ingredients together.  Pour into a loaf pan and bake at 375F for 45-60 minutes or until the cake tests done, when you insert a toothpick (mine usually is done around 45 minutes).  For an extra twist you can sprinkle about 3/4 cup chocolate chips on the loaf when you pull it out of the oven, wait a few minutes for the chocolate chips to melt and spread them.  Allow the loaf to cool and slice into 12 slices.  Yummy for breakfast or anytime.

Printable Recipe

Birthday Cake

My Mom and Dad are out from NJ for a two week visit.  My Mom’s 71st Birthday was during her visit and we wanted to celebrate her birthday right with a homemade cake. My daughters decorated it with a theme they found in the book “Hello Cupcake” using Oreo cookie crumbs and candies they made a garden theme for her.  She was thrilled!

I found this great recipe on the site of fellow blogger smitten kitchen.  It is listed under her recipes and category of celebration cakes (best birthday cake).  It is a wonderfully easy cake to make and is not super sweet like so many out there.  It is much better than the box mix cakes.  I like to cook more than bake, but I must say this is a recipe I will make again.  I was not a fan of the sour cream chocolate frosting, but I used cool whip and freshly sliced strawberries as a filling and it went really well with the cake!  Next time I will add another layer of cool whip and strawberries between another layer and frost it with cool whip. Also, I did not have cake flour and used the unbleached all-purpose flour instead and it turned out beautifully!  My girls decorated it with a theme they found in the cookbook Hello Cupcake.

Yellow Birthday Cake

adapted from Smitten Kitchen

4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups buttermilk (475 ml), well-shaken

Instructions:

Cut out two rounds of parchment paper the same size as your cake pan.  Butter the bottom of your cake pan and place a parchment paper round on the bottom each pan.  Butter the parchment paper and the sides of the cake pans.

Preheat the ovens to 350F.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium sized bowl.  Cream the butter and sugar with your electric mixer at medium speed until the butter mixture is pale and fluffy and add vanilla.  Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well and scraping down the batter with a spatula to combine properly.  Add the buttermilk and mix into the batter.  The batter will look curdled, but don’t worry- this will turn out great!!! Gradually add the flour mixture in smaller batches (3-4).  Mixing just until combined.

Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans and smooth the top with a spatula.  Tap the cake pans on the counter several times to remove any bubbles from the batter.

Bake at 350F for about 35-40 minutes until the cake tests done when you insert a toothpick or skewer (it should come out clean and not have clumps of batter on the skewer or toothpick).  Cool the cake  in their pans for about 10 minutes before removing them.  Gently run a butter knife along the edge of the pan to loosen any cake that is stuck to the side of the pan before removing it.  Allow to cool completely before frosting.

If you are making a layer cake use a serrated knife to cut the top of the cake to make it level.  I filled mine with cool whip and sliced strawberries and frosted it with homemade chocolate frosting.  This cake pairs especially well with strawberries!  It would be great in cupcakes topped with strawberries and cool whip too.  Just reduce the cooking time for the cupcakes to around 15-20 minutes.

I will certainly be making this cake again!  It is really good.

Printable Recipe

Peach Shortcakes

I recently was leafing through one of my many cooking magazines that litters my bookcase.  Since peaches are at their peak, I wanted to make a quick dessert with them.  In the July/August 2008 issue of Cook’s Illustrated I found a recipe for Peach Shortcakes (page 23).  I did change the whipped cream to cool whip because I had it on hand and would not have to fuss with making my own whipped cream.  Since my children were eating it I also changed the peach schnapps to orange juice as they recommended.  My one complaint with the recipe was that the biscuits burned in the 15 minutes at 474 F.  I would either reduce the heat to 425 or cook it for less time.

Peach Shortcakes

adapted from Cook’s Illustrated July/Aug 2008 p 23

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs ripe peaches (6 peaches) peeled, pitted and cut into slices
• 6 Tbsp sugar
• 2 Tbsp orange juice

Biscuits:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 Tbsp sugar (I would increase that next time)
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled some
• 1 Tbsp sugar for sprinkling the shortcakes just before baking (or use sugar in the raw for added texture)

• Cool whip, (for topping) defrosted

Instructions:

Toss 3/4 of your sliced peaches with 4 Tbsp of the sugar.  Toss the remaining peaches with 2 Tbsp of peaches and 2 Tbsp of orange juice (or peach schnapps if you want to go that route).  Microwave the smaller portion of the peaches with the orange juice in a microwave safe bowl for about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes on high.  Use a potato masher to mash the peaches and combine them with the larger amount of peaches.  Allow to sit at least 30 minutes – or overnight.

Biscuits: Preheat oven to 425 (not 475 like originally instructed) with the rack in the middle position of your oven.  Line a cookie sheet with either parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet (Sil-pat).  Combine the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.  Whisk together.  In a smaller bowl, combine the buttermilk and egg and whisk to combine.  Add the melted, and somewhat cooled butter and combine with the whisk.  Add the liquids to the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until they are combined.  Spray a 1/3 cup measure with cooking spray so the dough will not stick.  Scoop 6 -1/3 cup size biscuits on the prepared cookie sheet.  Form them into biscuits with your hands, but do not press down.  Bake for about 15 minutes (watching carefully) until they are golden brown.  Remove to a cooling rack for at least 15 minutes.

To serve: Slice the biscuit in half lengthwise.  Top with a spoon full of defrosted cool whip.  Top with sliced peaches and juices.  Top with the biscuit top and dollop with more cool whip.  Enjoy!

NOTES: I think next time I will make the biscuits with the Bisquick Mix and follow the directions for making the biscuits.  I think they have better flavor.  The kids loved the cool whip instead of homemade whipped cream.  If you have whipping cream in the can, I am sure that will work as well.

Lemon Yogurt Cake

I love cookbooks.  I have more cookbooks than is legal in the State of California.  Shhh please don’t tell!  I first discovered Ina Garten by watching the Food Network on TV.  Her show is “The Barefoot Contessa”.  After watching her on tv and trying some of her recipes, I purchased several of her cookbooks (okay, I admit I have all four!)  In one of them was a recipe for Lemon Yogurt Cake.  This sounded a lot like the lemon loaf that is sold at the local (large chain) coffee shop.  I made a few changes to the recipe.  Since I like a strong lemon taste in the frosting, I added lemon zest to the glaze.  I also increased the powdered sugar in the glaze so it is thicker.  I had to bake it 10 minutes longer than the recipe called for as it was not done after 50 minutes.  Every oven is different though, so your loaf if you try this recipe may be done at the 50 minute mark.  Use a large skewer to test the cake in several places, if the skewer is wet, bake it longer and re-test.  I also changed the yogurt from plain to Vanilla and omitted the vanilla in the cake the second time I made it.  It was good either way.

Okay, confession time:  The first time I made it – I didn’t check if the loaf was done, so as I removed it to cool on the rack the whole loaf fell completely apart.  Splitting in the middle, and the center oozing onto the rack. I had to carefully wrestle the hot loaf back into the pan, because there was NO WAY I was going to throw it away.  I returned it to the oven to baked it more.  After 10 more minutes in the oven I checked it and discovered it was no more cooked than before!  What?  Yes, that is right I had turned off the oven, so I turned on the oven and baked the poor loaf 10-15 minutes and then I glazed it.  It was great!  I took pictures of the second loaf that I made and glazed.. don’t do what I did okay?  Test your cake when you pull it out of the oven to see if it is ready!!  Shortcuts are not short!  Here is the link to Ina Garten’s Book.

What makes this cake unusual from other cakes I have made is that you bake the loaf and then slowly pour a syrup into it for flavor and then after it has cooled, glaze it.  It makes for a moist and flavorful cake that will quickly become a family favorite.

Lemon Yogurt Cake

Serves 12

adapted from Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa at Home Copyright 2006 page 168)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 cup whole-milk plain or vanilla yogurt
• 1  cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tsp grated lemon zest (1-2 lemons)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, (omit if you use vanilla yogurt)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

Syrup:

• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon
• 1/3 cup sugar

GLAZE:

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• zest of one lemon
• 2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 350F.

Grease a glass 4.5×8.5×2″ pan (meatloaf pan size) with butter.  Cut a piece of parchment paper for the bottom of the pan and line the bottom of the pan with it.  Butter the parchment paper.  This will aid in removing the baked loaf from the pan.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl.

In a separate bowl, use a whisk to combine the yogurt, sugar, eggs, lemon zest and vanilla (if you are not using a vanilla yogurt).  Stir in the dry ingredients until well blended.  Add the vegetable oil and stir until well incorporated.  Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake at 350F for 50-60 minutes.  Test the cake, and bake longer if necessary. (Mine took 60 minutes, but test at 50 minutes).

Meanwhile combine the lemon juice and sugar for the syrup in a small saucepan.  Whisk over medium heat until combined and turn off heat.

After you remove the cake from the oven, allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing the cake from the pan to a wire rack over a sheet pan.  Slowly pour the syrup onto the top of the loaf, pausing from time to time to allow the cake to absorb the syrup.  Pour more after it is absorbed until the syrup is gone.  There may be some on the cookie sheet below the rack.

For the glaze, combine the lemon juice, lemon zest and powdered sugar and stir to combine.  After the loaf has cooled completely, pour the glaze over the loaf.  Slice into 12 slices.  Enjoy!

TIPS:  To remove lemon zest (grated lemon peel) invest in a good microplane and you will have quick work of removing the zest.

Printable Recipe

 

Take two

Apple strudel take two.. that’s right. I made a few errors in forming my apple strudel and wanted to see if I could do it right.. I did.  I made changes to the strudel dough to make a larger quantity making it easier to work with.  I used Rick Rogers’ recipe as a guide and made a 1 1/2 recipe for the dough.  This pulls out to a much larger surface, but is still workable and not too big to handle.

Becky’s Strudel Dough

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2/3 cups water
• 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 3/4 tsp apple cider vinegar

Preparation:

Place the flour and salt in the bottom of the mixing bowl of your Kitchen Aid mixer (if you have one: you could also mix by hand).  Use the paddle attachment to mix the ingredients at this point.  Combine the liquids in a glass measuring cup.  Slowly add the liquids to the flour and salt with the mixer on low.  You may need to add more water – I actually added a little flour as it was sticking to the bottom of the bowl a bit (not very much though less than 1 Tablespoon).  Scrape the dough into a ball and  switch to the dough hook attachment.  Continue kneading the dough at medium low to make a soft ball.

Transfer the dough to a un-floured pastry board.  Knead by hand and occasionally pick it up and slam it down hard on your board from time to time, this will get the gluten activated and make the dough pliable.  Remember you will be stretching it into a very thin layer of dough, much like a filo dough.  Pour about 1/2 teaspoon of vegetable oil into the palm of your hand and gently rub the top of the dough with the oil.  Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest for at least 30 minutes even better 1 1/2 hours or more!

Wash your hands (wear a t-shirt) and wash your forearms all the way to your elbows and take off any jewelry or watches that could snag and damage the dough as you pull it.

Use a table, kitchen island or card table for the next step.  Cover your work space with a clean table cloth (if the table cloth has a pattern it is actually an aid you should be able to see the pattern of the cloth through the dough and you can see where the dough still needs stretching)  and sprinkle it with flour and rub the flour around to cover the work space. This time I did not roll the dough out with a rolling pin.  I picked the dough up and stretched it a bit much like you would a pizza dough, rotating it to stretch it in a circle. Once it was too big to handle I placed it on the floured surface and proceeded as I did the day before.

I found that pulling the dough was easiest when using the back of my hand to pull and stretch the dough.  My hands would be toward the center of the dough and my arms had dough draped over them — I pulled from the center going out, walking around the kitchen island to work on different parts of the dough.  In the end I had an almost 2 foot by 3 1/2 foot dough pulled – I imagine it could have and should have been pulled out more, but it was my first time and this was my first strudel. The edges will be thicker than the inside and that part gets cut away..  kitchen shears make this process very easy.  Once the edges are trimmed away it is ready to be filled.  Choose your filling.  This time I am making apple strudel, so I will use apples, rum soaked raisins, tossed with cinnamon sugar, but other fillings can also be used.

For filling see previous post to complete the strudel.  Even though I made the amounts larger for the dough the filling stays the same.

Here are the pictures of my “Take Two”.  As you can see the dough still had holes, but less of them and the strudel was prettier in the end.   I served it with the same vanilla sauce as in the previous entry.

I will keep the changes I made to the strudel dough.  It worked out nicely.

Apfelstrudel – Apple Strudel

The Austrian part of me has been wanting to make Apple Strudel for some time now.  My husband, who is of German heritage, returned from a recent business trip to Munich just before Christmas.  He raved about the Apfelstrudel (German for Apple Strudel) that he enjoyed there.  He was in San Diego on a speaking engagement and I wanted to surprise him upon his return home with homemade Apfelstrudel.  One of the reasons this was a secret mission was that if it failed miserably he would not be disappointed.

When I was in college, I was invited to a friends house to make Apple strudel from scratch.  She and I pulled the dough into a flaky layer that you could read through.  I walked away feeling intimidated by the task.  I have several German and Austrian cookbooks that address how to make an apple strudel, but it scared me.  I finally found a book that spelled it out beautifully.  The book was written by Rick Rodgers, who has authored or co-authored about 20 books and is a culinary instructor.  Armed with his “hand holding” I finally got up the gumption to make one. The book I used is Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafes of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.  The book is out of print now, but you can still find copies through Amazon.  I do highly recommend this book.

I knew two things going in:  The dough had to be thin and my first attempt would not be perfect.  I was right, but it sure was yummy no matter.  I did succeed in pulling the dough into a thin flaky crust, but I also succeeded in putting a lot of holes in it.  I baked the poor strudel too long in the end and it started to caramelize more than I wanted, but it was still yummy.  Not burnt, but just a few minutes past that golden I was going for.  Don’t let the intimidation of the task stop you like it did me for so many years!  It is so worth the process and really not THAT difficult.  Use a good quality unbleached flour.  I love King Arthur’s unbleached all purpose flour and buy it exclusively now for all my baking.  You do need room to pull the dough and preferably a space you can walk around.  I used my island in the kitchen, but a table, even a card table, will be large enough.  I was surprised to find vinegar in the list of ingredients for the strudel dough, but it is such a small amount you do not taste it at all.  I am sure it serves some purpose…I love that this version uses a Kitchen Aid mixer to make it.  Many strudel recipes are made by hand. This made it more fool proof for me.

Strudel Dough

Makes 1 strudel that serves 5-6

Adapted from Rick Rogers Kaffeehaus pages 78-79

Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 cups unbleached all purpose flour (King Arthur’s brand is wonderful)
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 7 Tbsp water, plus more if needed
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil, plus additional for coating the dough
• 1/2 tsp cider vinegar (I used Apple cider vinegar)

Preparation:

Place the flour and salt in the bottom of the mixing bowl of your Kitchen Aid mixer (if you have one: you could also mix by hand).  Use the paddle attachment to mix the ingredients at this point.  Combine the liquids in a glass measuring cup.  Slowly add the liquids to the flour and salt with the mixer on low.  You may need to add more water – I actually added a little flour as it was sticking to the bottom of the bowl a bit (not very much though less than 1 Tablespoon).  Scrape the dough into a ball and  switch to the dough hook attachment.  Continue kneading the dough at medium low to make a soft ball.

Transfer the dough to a un-floured pastry board.  Knead by hand and occasionally pick it up and slam it down hard on your board from time to time, this will get the gluten activated and make the dough pliable.  Remember you will be stretching it into a very thin layer of dough, much like a filo dough.  Pour about 1/2 teaspoon of vegetable oil into the palm of your hand and gently rub the top of the dough with the oil.  Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest for at least 30 minutes even better 1 1/2 hours or more!  I think mine rested for 3 or even 4 hours while I picked up kids from school, carted them to the doctor, returned home with dinner, ate dinner, made phone calls, helped with homework… Yes, it was still okay.. I was tired, but the dough was fine!

Use a table, kitchen island or card table for the next step.  Cover your work space with a clean table cloth (if the table cloth has a pattern it is actually an aid you should be able to see the pattern of the cloth through the dough and you can see where the dough still needs stretching)  and sprinkle it with flour and rub the flour around to cover the work space.  Roll the dough out with a well floured rolling pin (sprinkle with flour between as well, or the dough will begin to stick to the rolling pin- don’t ask me how I know.. I just do!).  Roll it out as thinly as you can and then the fun begins.

Wash your hands (wear a t-shirt) and wash your forearms all the way to your elbows.  You will be using these surfaces to stretch it out as well.. thank goodness for the invention of gravity, that helps in this process as well!   Take off any jewelry or watches that could snag and damage the dough as you pull it. I found that pulling the dough was easiest when using the back of my hand to pull and stretch the dough.  My hands would be toward the center of the dough and my arms had dough draped over them — I pulled from the center going out, walking around the kitchen island to work on different parts of the dough.  In the end I had an almost 2 foot by 3 1/2 foot dough pulled – I imagine it could have and should have been pulled out more, but it was my first time and this was my first strudel. The edges will be thicker than the inside and that part gets cut away.. I used a knife, in hind sight I should have used my kitchen shears that are used only for food — NEXT time!  (My husband likes the sound of that I am sure).  Once the edges are trimmed away it is ready to be filled.  Choose your filling.  This time I am making apple strudel, so I will use apples, but other fillings can also be used.

Printable Recipe

Apple Strudel Filling:

Makes 1 strudel that serves 5-6

adapted from Rick Rogers Kaffeehaus page 80

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp raisins
• 2 Tbsp golden rum
• 1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon (I increased the amount from the original)
• 1 stick butter, melted (divided use)
• 1 1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs
• prepared strudel dough
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts- I like pecans better)
• 2 lbs tart cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4″ slices (I used 4 Granny Smith apples)
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice (to toss the apples in to prevent them from browning)

Preparation:

Mix the raisins with the rum and allow them to soak up the rum. I did this before pulling the dough to give it time to absorb all the goodness. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in another bowl and set aside.

In a small pan, heat 3 Tbsp of the butter and add the bread crumbs to the pan.  Toast the bread crumbs in the butter over medium high heat for 3 or 4 minutes or until they are nice and golden brown.  Spread the bread crumbs out on a large plate to allow them to cool completely.

Preheat the oven to 400F.  Line a large baking sheet with either parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

Melt the remaining 5 Tbsp of butter in a small dish.  I used the microwave for this it took about 45 seconds on high, but watch it carefully.  Use a soft pastry brush (a bristle one may be too rough- use a feather one if you have one.. I don’t have one I used my hands after the butter had cooled some.  Remember to reserve some butter to brush the top of the strudel just before baking.  Sprinkle the dough  with the toasted bread crumbs.  Spread the nuts in a 6 inch strip along the long side of the strip, but stop about 3 inches from the short ends of the dough. (I actually made an error here and spread the apples across the whole strudel rather than having one 6 inch strip and then rolling it but NEXT time I will get that right!) You will use the ends to fold over the filling before rolling the strudel up.

Toss the sliced apples in the lemon juice to prevent browning and combine with the raisins.  Add the sugar and cinnamon and mix to combine.  Spread the apple mixture over nuts.  Fold the short end of the pastry dough (the 3 inches) I found the table cloth to be an aid in this next part- using it for leverage to roll the strudel.  I used the end with the holes as the inside of the strudel, as you roll it it adds layers (if you did it correctly) and those imperfections will be hidden.

Lift the strudel onto your prepared baking sheet.  If you did it correctly the strudel will probably not break. (I did it wrong, so mine did, but it won’t next time! I will read the recipe 4 times instead of 2 times next time! Learn from my mistake will you? lol)  Brush the top of the strudel with the remaining 2 Tbsp of butter, leaving any solids in the bowl.

Bake in the preheated 400 F oven for about 30 minutes.  When it is golden brown remove the strudel from the oven.  I should have removed mine at about 25 minutes it got a little browner than I wanted and the juices that escaped actually caramelized more than desired.  Allow to cool at least 30 minutes before slicing with a serrated knife.  Serve with whipped cream or the vanilla sauce – more like a vanilla custard (Recipe follows).

Printable Recipe

Vanilla Sauce

adapted from Rick Rodgers Kaffeehaus page 18

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp cornstarch
• 2 1/2 cup milk, divided use
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract (the increased the amount I used after tasting it)

Preparation:

Pour 1/2 cup milk in a Pyrex measuring cup. Sprinkle the cornstarch over the milk and whisk it.  Add the egg yolks and sugar and whisk well to combine.

In a small sauce pan, bring remaining 2 cups of milk to a simmer over low heat.  Slowly pour the egg and sugar mixture into the simmering milk whisking constantly. Continue to cook, stirring frequently with the whisk, over low heat just until the mixture comes to a boil.  At this point whisk in the vanilla extract.  Pour the custard through a fine sieve into your serving dish.  Serve warm (If you make this sauce ahead of time, reheat it in a glass bowl over hot water over the burner.)  Pour the vanilla sauce over a slice of apple strudel.  Enjoy.

Printable Recipe

This first attempt though it was not perfect, still had my husband who usually has good table manners licking the plate after he finished the strudel.  I think it must have turned out well enough!  My children loved it as well.  They especially liked the vanilla sauce that was with it.  Yes, it was time consuming to make, but I think it will only get better as I practice making strudel, so my family can look forward  to my making Apfelstrudel again soon.

My strudel dough had holes in it, but it still worked (and I spread the filling across the whole dough, and not along the long edge like instructed-this is your opportunity to learn from my mistakes.)

Strudel before baking – it had some tears, but it was still a beautiful thing:

Here is the baked strudel.  You will see that the juices caramelized almost to the point of burning, but the dough itself was golden brown.  I should have removed it at 25 minutes rather than going  to 30.  Do watch carefully towards the end.