Bauernkrapfen

No, I did not choke.. that is the word for this delightfully wonderful fried pastry that I ate growing up in Austria.  “Bauernkrapfen” is a rustic version of a doughnut, with less sugar than the American equivalent.  Traditionally, it is brushed with Apricot jam and dusted with powdered sugar, but you can use any jam you wish- strawberry or red currant jam would also be very good choices. I woke up this morning thinking about the Bauernkrapfen, so I called my Mom for the recipe she had from the friend who first introduced us to them.  A “Bauer” is the German word for “farmer” – “Krapfen” is the German word for “doughnut” (usually the jelly filled type without a hole in it).  These are easy to make, though a little time consuming, and my kids enjoyed them too, but would have preferred a different type of jam on them.

Bauernkrapfen (Austrian Farmer’s Doughnut)

Yields: 15-20 recipe translated from German into English – it is an authentic recipe

Ingredients:

• 6 oz milk
• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp sugar
• 3 large egg yolks
• 2 yeast packets
• 3 cups all purpose flour (400 grams)

Additional ingredients:

• Apricot jam (or strawberry or red currant)
• powdered sugar

Instructions:

Pour milk in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat until it is steaming.  Turn off the heat and add the butter and allow it to melt in the milk, stirring a few times.  Allow to cool 5 minutes.  Pour the milk into a large mixing bowl.  Add the sugar to the milk mixture and stir to dissolve.  Allow to cool to lukewarm temperature (100-110)  Add the yeast and egg yolks.  Stir to combine.  Add the flour about a cup of it at a time, stirring to incorporate it to a dough.  Add a little more flour if it is sticking to the bowl, just enough to get it to release (I only had to add another tablespoon of flour, but it may vary depending on the size of the egg yolks you used).  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for at least 1 hour.  Form the dough into 15-20 balls, roll each ball in a little flour and cover with a tea towel and allow to rest 30 minutes.

Stretch each ball a little, similarly as you would pizza dough, a thin layer of dough in the center and a rim slightly thicker on outside.

Heat 3/4 inch- 1 inch of oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  When the oil is hot, carefully add 4-5 of the doughnuts to the oil and fry to a golden brown color on each side (this takes about 30-45 seconds per side).  Remove the doughnuts to a cookie rack to drain Tip:  I place my rack upside down on a cookie sheet that I have lined with paper towels, this allows the excess oil to be pulled away from your doughnut and keeps it from becoming soggy.

Heat the desired jam in a saucepan until it is slightly runny and warm.  Glaze the tops of the doughnuts with the warmed jam using a pastry brush.  Sprinkle a dusting of powdered sugar over the tops of the jam and doughnut.  Best still served warm, but tastes okay at room temperature as well.

Printable Recipe

 

 

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

I remember having rhubarb from time to time as a child, but never made any in my near 20 years of marriage.  My husband in fact, never had any rhubarb that he can remember!  This, I had to correct!  My Mom sent me a recipe for a strawberry rhubarb pie that was easy to make — and I found out also equally delicious!  I used a pre-made pie crust from the grocer’s refrigerated section.  This makes the process for pie making even easier! The original recipe called for 1 1/4 cups sugar.  I reduced it to 1 cup, but next time will only use 3/4 of a cup of sugar.  The only unusual ingredient is Minute Tapioca.  This serves as a thickening agent.

Mom’s Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

2 pie crusts (I used Pillsbury pre-made pie crusts)

Filling:

• 2 cups rhubarb, roughly diced
• 2 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced

Combine following ingredients then combine with the fruit:

• 3/4 to 1 cup sugar (originally 1  1/4c)
• 2 Tbsp minute tapioca
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 1 Tbsp butter (to dot the top of the fruit before topping with second pie crust)

Prepare the pie pan with the first crust.  Combine sugar, tapioca, salt, and cinnamon and mix with the chopped rhubarb and strawberries.  Toss to combine.  Fill the pie with the filling.  Dot the tops with little pieces of butter.  Cut the top crust with slits to vent.  Top the pie and seal the edges.
Bake pie at 400F for 40-45 minutes.  Allow the pie to cool before slicing. (If you cannot wait, it is still good, but may be runny).

Printable Recipe

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!

 

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.

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.

Black Dog Restaurant Ginger Cookies

I am a passionate cookbook collector.  In my 17 years of marriage I must have by now in my possession over 200 cookbooks.  I was for a few months a member of a cookbook club.  I got to buy the cookbooks at a good price and they would send them to me.  One such nugget is the Black Dog Restaurant Cookbook.  In this cookbook there are a few recipes that I have made over the past few years.  These cookies are not hard like Gingersnap cookies.  They have a nice soft chewy texture.  My daughters who are not big fans of ginger are big fans of these cookies and I think they are great for Christmas or any other occasion.  Just hum the tune from Sesame Street: “C is for Cookie”.

Here is a recipe from the book that I adapted. 

Black Dog Restaurant Ginger Cookies

Makes 8 dozen cookies.  I freeze some for later.

• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh ginger
• 1 1/2 cups canola oil
• 3 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup molasses
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp. cinnamon
• 5 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp. ground cloves
• 7 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar in the raw to roll the cookies in before baking

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Blend the ginger with 1/2 cup of the oil.  I use a hand blender.  Process until well minced.
3. In a large mixing bowl, mix 3 cups sugar, molasses and eggs.  Strain the ginger/oil liquid and add the strained ginger infused oil to the sugar mixture.  Add remaining cup of oil to the mixture and mix until smooth.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the salt, cinnamon, baking soda, cloves and flour.  Ad the dry ingredients to the wet mix and blend well.
5. Line your cookie sheets with parchment paper for easier clean up. Scoop the cookie dough with a small ice cream scoop, form into balls (I find if I moisten my hands with a little water the dough does not stick to me.)  Roll in sugar in the raw (regular sugar works fine too- I love the texture of sugar in the raw)
6. Place on prepared cookie sheet and bake for 8-12 minutes, just until the tops crack and cookies are flat.
7. Leave on the cookie sheet a few minutes to firm up before removing them to wire racks to cook completely.  Enjoy!

Printable Recipe

Black Forest Cherry Cake

There are cakes that turn your head when you see them.  I think this one falls into that category.

My mother would make this cake for special occasions.  One such occasion was my leaving from NY to England for a semester of school.  It was the dead of winter and NY  had become paralyzed by a blizzard.  Flights were delayed for hours.  I met up with another friend who was flying to the same place and my parents and one of my aunts met us at the airport as well.  We had quite the party there in the airport eating Black Forest Cherry Cake in the terminal — my parents said that there were quite a few jealous looks.  This recipe is from my mom.  Enjoy.

Black Forest Cherry Cake (Authentic)

Serves 8-10          Verna H.
Crust: (bottom cookie-like crust upon which the cake is built)

• 3/4 cups flour
• 2 Tbps. Cocoa
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• Sift well then add:
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tsp of vanilla
• 1/3 cup butter (or mix of butter and margarine)

Pat mixture into 10-inch “spring form” lined cake pan and poke holes in it with a fork.  Bake for 15 minutes at 400°F.
Sponge Cake (for layers):

• 4 egg yolks (beat until light yellow)  Set the egg whites aside for later
• 2 Tbsp warm water
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp almond flavoring
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

Mix ingredients well

• 4 egg whites (beat until stiff)
• 1/3 cup sugar (beat into mixture gradually)
• Pour the egg white mixture over the egg yolk mixture

Sift following ingredients:

• 2/3 cup flour
• 1/3 cup corn starch
• 2 Tbsp. cocoa
• 1/2 tsp baking powder

Pour over the above mixture and fold under.
Pour batter into a paper lines spring form.  Bake at 375° F for 25-30 minute and let cool.  Slice the cooled cake to make two layers.
Filling and Frosting:
Mix a bit of kirsch or rum flavoring with tart cherry pie filling.  Beat 2 1/2 cups of whipping cream together with 1/2 cup powdered sugar.  Dissolve 1 Tbps. of Knox gelatin in 2 Tbps of water.  Bring to a boil.  Add gelatin to half of the whipping cream for the outer cake frosting.
Spread 1/2 of cherry filling on the bottom crust.
Add a layer of whipped cream on top of the cherry filling.  Place sponge cake layers on top of this and add more filling and whipped cream.  Use the whipped cream mixed with gelatin to frost the cake.  Sprinkle flakes of grated chocolate bar over the frosting.  Place cherries around the outer top for decoration.  Enjoy!

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