Category: Baking

I want to share a dessert recipe today that is very tasty  and nice to prepare ahead if you know you’ll have company over soon. I find it simple and less sweet than a store bought icecream cake, well it is just better!

(First preheat your oven to 360 F. Prepare a round springform by lining the bottom with parchment paper and grease the side of the springform lightly with some butter.)

Now for the base you’ll need:

3 egg whites

1 dash of salt

1/2 cup of white sugar

1 cup of grated Hazelnuts or Almonds

Whip the eggwhites with a handmixer until they are stiff, add sugar and salt, stir some more. Fold the hazelnuts (or almonds) under the eggwhite mixture and then spread it evenly into the springform. Bake for about 20 minutes at 360 F on the bottom rack of the oven. Take out and let cool.

Take the base out of the form and place on a flat tray (I use the one I am serving it on later). Wash the “ring” of the springform and then put it, upside down, around the base/cake again (see picture below).

Now we make the icecream filling:

You’ll need:

6 Eggyolks

6-9 Tbsp of sugar (6 is plenty I find )

Stir eggyolks and sugar with handmixer until nice, bright, yellow and fluffy.

In an other dish whip 4.5 dl. Whipping cream and add

1 package of “Whip it” to  it

5 Skor bars, cut them up into small pieces (keep approx. 1 back for decoration on top)

Add whippingcream and the cut up (4) Skor bars and fold under the eggyolk/sugar mixture and then spread it onto the base. Spread it all nice and flat and sprinkle the other cut up skorbar that you kept back, over it for decoration. Cover with sealwrap and put the torte into the freezer for at least 4 hours. Take out 15 minutes before serving it.

Did I say it’s really good? It is really, really good!

I love Gingerbread very much! It reminds me of my childhood when my mom would bake it, around this time of year, back home in Switzerland. The smell is just incredible and they taste so yummy! I love those soft Lebkuchen with a glass of milk or a nice Cappuccino! Here is the recipe:

Lebkuchen:

500 grams of white flour

30 grams of -Lebkuchengewuerz- (Gingerbread spice mix). You get this at a European Delicatessen store like Alicia’s in London, Ontario

80 grams of white sugar

a dash of salt

100 grams of Molasses

100 grams of Honey

2 Tbsp of hot water in which you disolve>

> 1/2 Tbsp of Bakingsoda

~ 1 1/2 ml of milk

… Some Heavy Cream to brush over the baked Lebkuchen.

Put all the ingredients (except for the milk) into a bowl. If you own a Kitchenaid machine it is easiest! Start the machine and let it mix. Add from the milk slowly as you might not need all of it. The texture of the molasses and honey can change that amount a bit. You want a dough which you can easily take out of the bowl at the end. When the dough is finished cover it and put it into the fridge for at least 30 minutes. You can also make the dough, keep it in the fridge, and process it further the next day!

Preheat the oven to 360 F.

Take the dough (I usually use half of it first and later the second half) and roll it out with a rollingpin on a floured  surface to about 4 mm thick. Use cookie cutters to make your Gingerbread people or  cut out  circles or any other different shapes if you wish!

Bake them on a bakingpaper lined bakingsheet for about 10-12 minutes. Take out of the oven and immediately brush the hot Lebkuchen with the cream (this makes them glossy) and then transfer them to a cookie rack.

Let them cool completely. Now you can decorate them with icing (icingsugar and water mixed). I used about 80 grams of icingsugar and added water slowly as it can’t be runny! I filled it into a small Ziploc bag and pushed it into one corner. Cut Off the tip ot the bag and go to town! 😜 I mean not literally but have fun decorating. 😎Let the icingsugar get dry for about 2 hours before you put them into an airtight container. Enjoy!

As usual, if you have a question or a comment; just drop me a line…

I came across this yummy waffles recipe the other day and I want to share it with you. It says it is for 4 people but I find that very generous (even if you have teenagers)! The left- overs, if you have any, are easy to freeze and handy to put into a toaster later on for a quick breakfast or to use in a dessert! I like them with some fruit or (and) whipped cream! (Almost) anything with whipped cream is good, right?

Here we go:

Waffles

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

2 tbsp sugar

4 large eggs, separated

2 cups milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla or the rind, finely grated, of one lemon

4 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

1. In a bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. In a second bowl, whisk egg yolks, milk, vanilla (or lemon zest) and butter. Form a well in the dry mixture: pour in the liquid mixture. With a wooden spoon, fold together until dry ingredients are just moist.
2. In a small bowl , whisk egg whites until soft peaks form. Gently fold whites into batter until batter is slightly lumpy and a little runny. Pour into waffle iron (which you brushed with a little oil) and bake until golden. Serve warm.
   

   

Today was the perfect day to make some homemade bread! It is stormy outside so spending some time in the kitchen seems a great idea (plus the smell of homemade bread is nice)!

Here is my bread recipe:

1 2/3 cups of water

2 tsp. of salt

2 tsp. of sugar

1/2 cup dark (or light) rye flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

3 1/2 cups of white flour

2 tsp. of dry yeast

With this recipe I always use the bread maker to just make the dough! If you don’t own a bread maker you can also make it by hand of course.

Once the dough is finished I take it out of the pan and knead it thoroughly and form two loafs (or one big one or even some small buns) and place them onto the baking sheet which I have previously lined with baking paper. I cover the loaves with a clean tea towel which I made wet with warm water and wrung out!

This is the time when I fill a Pyrex form, (or another dish that can be placed in the oven) with about 2″ of water. Place that on the top rack in the oven and turn  the oven on to  370F! In about 20-30 minutes the bread is ready to be baked. Cut slits or a pattern onto your risen loafs and place them on the bottom rack. It takes my oven 35 minutes and the breads are baked. A good way to find out is to take one bread out and knock on the bottom. If it sounds “hollow” it is baked through! Take the loafs out and place on rack to cool. If you make buns instead, 20 min. bake time is probably enough.

PS: The water that you placed into the oven when you turned it on, makes a really nice crunchy crust from the steam it creates! Enjoy. If something is unclear email me.