Showing posts with label sweets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sweets. Show all posts

Wednesday 22 April 2015

Schneckennudeln with Nut Filling

As you might remember from my post on my Mum's Crusty Potato Bread I was on Easter break in Germany. I was enjoying cooking and baking with my Mum and re-creating some traditional German dishes. There are dishes I remember having as a child, which sometimes also my grandma made for Sunday lunch and some I've just never made myself... and any recipe I find on the internet wouldn't be the same as my Mum or may grandma used to do it.

One of these is Kohlrouladen (that's Cabbage Rolls in English), with a vegetarian filling, though ... But okay, maybe that was the main traditional dish we made. It was my Easter wish, as sometimes food memories just don't want to leave my head anymore until I've had that dish. The recipe for the Cabbage Rolls still needs some tweaking so I have something different for you first!


Last week my Mum and I made the original version of Schneckennudeln, which I told you about when I made my version with Orange, Almond and Raisin Filling. Traditionally Schneckennudeln are filled with either a nut filling or a poppy seed filling, as you will see when you look for Schneckennudeln on Google.

Since probably the nut filling is the most popular - and since that's the one my Mum wanted to do ;-) -  I am posting this one today.



Nut Filling for Schneckennudeln

Time for making the filling: 10-15 minutes

filling for Schneckennudel dough made of 500 g flour
200 g hazelnuts, ground
60 g honey
1 tbsp carob powder (you can substitute cocoa)
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1 pinch salt
150 g raisins, soaked in water and drained
about ⅓ cup orange juice
optional
½ cup cashew cream for brushing (use a bit more cashew nuts
(1:7) than when making cashew milk (1:10))

  • Grind the hazelnuts if you haven't bought them ground and drain the raisins. You can reserve the water from the raisins and use it if you haven't got any oranges or orange juice.
  • Place all ingredients except for the orange juice in a bowl and mix well. Then add as much orange juice as needed to turn the mixture into a sticky paste.
  • Use for filling your Schneckennudeln. You can find the recipe for the dough here.
  • If you want, brush the Schneckennudeln with cashew cream after letting them rise the last time before baking. That way they will be a bit more moist even though the filling is not as moist as a jam filling.



Wednesday 15 April 2015

Coconut Balls

I am sharing an easy recipe with you today since - at least here in Germany - the sun is shining and it is amazingly warm! So, if by any chance you have some of the same luck, then maybe you won't fancy being in the kitchen for ages ... Even though that's a very nice way to spend an evening! ... But you wouldn't have expected to hear anything else from me I guess ;)

These coconut balls are an easy to make dessert or snack. They are sweet and any visitors we ever had who've tried them have always loved them. My Mum found the recipe a long time ago and since then the recipe has become a staple in hers and my kitchen.

You can make them ahead and keep them in the fridge or put into a jar and give away as a present.




Coconut Balls

Inspired by this recipe for Kokoskugeln by georgia.

Time: 10 minutes preparation, min. 1 hour cooling, 15-20 minutes forming


150 g desiccated coconut
80 g honey, preferrably acacia honey*
2 tbsp cashew milk/cream/coconut milk
about 50 g desiccated coconut for decoration

  • Finely grind the 150 g of desiccated coconut in a blender or food processor until it has an almost flour-like consistency. Don't over-blend, as at some point the mixture will start to get too oily when the coconut begins to release its oils.
  • Pour into a large mixing bowl. Add the honey and the cashew milk (or whatever you choose to use). With a spoon mix very well until you have a uniform mixture. Place into the fridge for at least an hour.
  • Have some storage box at hand. Pour your coconut for decorating into a soup plate. If you think it is too coarse give it a short (!) blend as well. Then, using your hands, form the coconut mixture into bite-sized balls. If the mixture is hard use a spoon to break it up and if it still is too hard wait 10 minutes.
  • Drop the balls in the soup plate with the coconut and every once in a while, when some balls have accumulated, give the plate a good shake so the coconut balls get coated in desiccated coconut. You might need to roll them again by hand if the coconut doesn't stick on right away.
  • Store in a box in the fridge.

*Acacia honey: acacia honey is the honey that has the least own, characteristic taste. Other honey can be used, but the more neutral it tastes, the better it is to bring out the coconut flavour. I'm sure some of the honey blends you get in the stores are also fairly neutral. Just give it a try!



Sunday 5 April 2015

Ines' Hot Chocolate

Hot Chocolate! This is after my breakfast what I definitely make the most!





As a kid I used to love cold chocolate. Ordinary one. The one where you stir kaba powder into cold milk.
I remember I sometimes took it to school. Besides, on Sundays we used to have typical German Abendbrot for dinner. That means you have sliced bread or different kinds of rolls (pretzel rolls, poppy-seed rolls, ...) and you put butter, cheese and cut sausage (such as ham or salami) and possible pickled cucumbers on them. With that my Dad and I used to share a big jug of cold kaba. The jug was brown stoneware and we used to have two special glasses we always used. We perfected that over time by mixing the drink with a handheld milk frother and later a stick blender. No that's not over the top ... ;)
Well, at some point, when my Mum introduced more healthy eating store-bought kaba powder was banned - I'm not blaming you Mum, that's just a statement ;)

These days I usually make hot chocolate, but my love for that drink hasn't ceased a bit. Maybe my degree of love for hot chocolate is slightly worrying, but since it makes me happy and doesn't have any largely unhealthy ingredients in it I guess the positive happiness effect weighs up for any overconsumption.
The only issue is that I need my Vitamix blender for this ... which is really loud. My housemates always joke about it, but I hope they forgive me for the daily noise ;)

With a high-speed blender you will get a completely smooth liquid in any case. Otherwise I suggest trying different methods as to what works best with what you have.

The recipe can be adapted in terms of spices and sweetness to your liking.


Ines' Hot Chocolate

(my Mum makes a different version)


1 cup
11 g cashew nuts
17 g dates
2 tsp cocoa
1/4 tsp honey
270 g water (boiling)
one of the following
1/4 tsp maca powder
1/2 smidgen vanilla powder
1/4 smidgen cookie spice/gingerbread spice
1 smidgen cinnamon

  • If you don't have a high speed blender.
    • Soak the nuts in water for a few hours before using, since then your blender will be able to break them up more easily. Drain before use because you want hot water in your hot chocolate. You could also use bought nut milk or milk and heat it up before using. In a high speed blender you don't need to bother with soaking anything.
    • Cut up the dates and soak them as well. Only add water until just covered. Use that water, because it will add lots of sweetness.

  • Do not use a blender that is totally closed (airtight) because mixing hot water in it will probably cause a problem due to pressure. Check if your blender is able to blend hot liquid and only do this if you are sure that you won't get soaked in boiling water because your blender is leaking.

  • The hot chocolate will be much more smooth if a good blender is used, but we also used to make it when we didn't have a high speed blender. So it definitely does work, only tastes a bit different.
  • Put all ingredients in your blender and blend until very, very smooth.

Nut Varieties

You could also use hazelnuts or almonds instead of cashew nuts. If using hazelnuts you might need a bit more sweetener, since they do not have a naturally sweet taste compared to cashew nuts and almonds. Their taste matches the cocoa very well, though!

Cold Chocolate

If you do have a high speed blender you can also make cold chocolate by using half ice cubes and half very cold water instead of the boiling water.

  • In that case you can add a 5 cm piece of frozen banana to give it a hit of banana taste.

Coconut Cold Chocolate

When you have fresh coconut water and flesh at hand (or maybe one of these packages of coconut water) then add half the water (usually one coconut has enough water for two cups) to the cold water part in the cold chocolate and add some small pieces of coconut meat to the blender as well.
This is really, really good as well!

If you have left over coconut water freeze it in an ice cube tray and do not keep it in the fridge. It goes bad really fast without you noticing until you end up feeling like maybe you shouldn't have used that anymore. 

Wednesday 18 March 2015

Apfelmus

Hi there!
In case you were wondering where I've been over the last weeks - the "evil flu" got to me at the beginning of last week. So I was in bed for two days with a horrible headache and had several versions of colds for the rest of the week. I hope this doesn't sound familiar to you!!!

So I haven't been doing much.

Well, this is not true. Since I've been at home at lot, I've taken lots of photographs of what I've made. Only I've succumbed to sleep in the evening instead of writing. I hope you're forgiving me ;-)

So, to get back on track: Right now I've got a Schneckennudel dough rising next to the heating and . . .  *insert-the-sound-of-some-drums-here* . . . an apple filling waiting for tomorrow morning in the fridge.




I know I told my friends I'd make an original German nut filling the next time, but I was so tempted by the apples today. I'm sorry! The nut filling is still to come!

The apple filling is an Apfelmus or apple puree, just like you would use it for pancakes, Schupfnudeln or Kartoffelpuffer. Am I confusing you there?

"Apfelmus" is the German word for apple puree. "Apfel" means "apple" and "Mus" means "puree".

I don't know what you'd have apple puree with here in England, but where I come from it is common to have with the above mentioned dishes.
Pancakes I'm sure you all know one way or another.
Schupfnudeln are longish shaped potato dumplings which have pointed ends. They are cooked and then usually pan-fried and served with honey-braised Sauerkraut or with Apfelmus.
Kartoffelpuffer are, as Wikipedia tells me, called potato pancakes in English. Maybe you could compare them to hash browns. I have to admit that I've never liked them, but maybe I haven't found the right recipe yet.

In any case apple puree is versatile and you can use it, like I am planning to, as a filling or simply as jam or to have with anything you fancy!



Apfelmus

inspired by Ella Woodward's Apple Puree from her new book (Woodward, E. (2015). Deliciously Ella: Awesome ingredients, incredible food that you and your body will love. Hodder & Stoughton, p.19)

for 1 small jar / 1 Schneckennudel filling
2 apples
1/4 tsp cinnamon
water


  • Core the apples and roughly cut them up. Place the pieces in a small pot and add a bit of water, so that the bottom of the pot is covered.
  • Bring to a boil and cook the apples uncovered for 30-40 minutes. Add more water as necessary. In the end there shouldn't be a "soup" left, but the apples should not have burnt.
  • Having added the cinnamon, pour the apples into a blender or use a stick blender. Blend until very smooth.
Keep in the fridge.

You can adjust the seasoning to your liking. Vanilla or cardamom might be interesting options! If you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them!


Wednesday 18 February 2015

Schneckkennudeln with Orange, Almond & Raisin Filling

Hey there to all of you!
As I wrote on Monday the Anti-Gloom-Orange Jam had a "greater purpose" ;-)
...yesterday morning it found its final destination in some Schneckennudeln.



Schneckennudeln are the German version of cinnamon rolls and usually, if bought at a bakery, bigger and available with different fillings. Most common are probably poppy seed or nut fillings and often Schneckennudeln are coated with sugar icing. They could be filled with anything and still be a Schneckennudel, though, as the name means "Snail"-"Fried-Dumpling". Snail, because of the shape and "Nudel" is a special term for yeast-dough, that is formed into rolls, which are then either fried or baked, so that one side is crispy and all other sides are steamed.
I hope this doesn't sound too weird ;-) At some point I'll try making some Dampfnudel as well, but since you need a nonstick-pan with a well-closing lid (preferably glass so it's see-through) I cannot do that right now. In fact it was my special Christmas wish last year when I was at home and we had salty Dampfnudeln with pea-soup on Christmas day. And that was very, very nice!

So, back to the weird German cinnamon rolls!

These take a bit of effort to make, but they are totally worth it I think and you do not have to be a magician to make them. With a bit of practice you will get better and better at doing this!



Time: it will take about 45 minutes to make the dough the evening before and another 30 minutes to assemble the rolls in the morning plus 1 hour rising and baking.

dough (make ahead the night before)
500 g flour (I used whole wheat)
5 g dried yeast
OR 10 g fresh yeast
65 g honey
250 ml cashew milk (blend 25 g cashews & 225 g water)
1 1/2 eggs (I used self-made egg replacer, see below)
½ tsp salt
70 g butter
filling
orange jam
100 g raisins
40 g almonds, slivered or chopped


  • Dissolve yeast with one tsp honey in half of the cashew milk. Put flour in a bowl and make a dent in the middle. Pour mixture into the dent and stir in a bit of flour from the edges until the mixture reaches a creamy consistency; cover by gently nudging a bit of flour from the edges over the mixture. Put a lid, cling film or a plate on top of the bowl so that any draught is kept out. Put the bowl in a warm (!) place and let rise for about 15-20 minutes until you see that the flour over the mixture has cracks.
  • Put butter and the remaining milk in a casserole or small pot and melt very gently over as low heat as possible. Add honey, and egg to the bowl. Put salt around the rim of the bowl (not directly on the yeast mixture, since salt tends to kill the yeast). Pour the warm butter and milk mixture around the rim of the bowl as well (since it is warm it is better to avoid direct contact with the yeast, as too high heat can also kill yeast cells).
  • Knead all ingredients (easier with some kind of food processor or anything that can knead heavy dough) until a smooth dough forms (about 5-7 minutes with a machine, so I guess about 10 minutes by hand). Then take the dough and fold edges to the middle, rotating the dough when doing so, until the bottom side of the dough is completely smooth. Then, that side facing up, place the dough back into the bowl and cover with a lid (as before). Place the bowl in a warm place and let rise over night.

  • In the morning, line a baking tray with baking foil or baking paper (not greaseproof paper!). On a nonstick baking mat or on a very well floured surface roll out the dough into a rectangle of about 5 mm thickness. Make sure all the corners are well defined and not too rounded.
  • Spread the orange jam evenly over the rectangle (up to all edges). Sprinkle raisins and almonds on top.
  • Now, from the long side of the rectangle roll up the dough. If you have a mat, it might help to lift the mat up at times. If you use a mat roll the roll onto a cutting board for slicing. If you have it on your counter then also try to get it onto a board or use a knife that won't damage your counters.
  • Slice the roll into rounds of about 2 cm width. Use a knife that you would use for cutting tomatoes (not with an even edge, but with lots of small ripples (does anyone know the name of that?) or a very sharp one).
  • One by one, tucking the end of the roll under it, place each Schneckennudel on the baking tray. Let them rise on the tray in a warm, draught-free place for 20-25 minutes and then bake at 200 °C for 25-30 minutes until slightly browned.

  • Let cool on a rack or freeze immediately (that way the moisture stays trapped in them and they'll be fresher when thawed). For thawing, thaw them in a plastic bag for 4-5 hours. If possible you can warm them up on a toaster or in the oven, but they are great either way!

Monday 16 February 2015

Anti-Gloom Orange Jam

I hope you've all had a lovely weekend! For my part I am happy that for the past few days it has been relatively warm (even if it has been raining and is now).
I almost look like a normal person today and not like someone who just put on the warmest things she could find. But I don't want to jinx the weather so I'd better shut up ...

Last week my best friend told me she was going to try every single recipe I posted here at some point sooner or later so that really is a motivation to put on as many amazing things as possible =) Thank you so much for that!!! =)

For this Monday I've got something fast for you, which is not a main course, but a nice thing to make, which looks like sun and spring and that I hope will blow away any gloomy mood you might be in, because it's Monday and probably raining again or cold or whatever thing you don't like!



This is a kind of jam and even though it's orange jam I wouldn't consider it being traditional English marmalade, but it still has a slightly bitter taste. So maybe that's due to it being orange or maybe to the fact that I didn't segment the oranges and left the skins on the pieces.

If you know me then probably you know that I can never be bothered to peel anything that can also be eaten with the peel on - which, at least if it is organic, I think is healthier anyway.

The jam being slightly bitter, as I mentioned, is not a bad thing, though! Maybe I should have kept that quiet to not put you off from trying this, but I wouldn't want to give you a black box and then have someone complaining about it ;-)

It doesn't require a largely complex process, you I suggest you just give it a try!

You only need two ingredients:


2oranges
4dates

I think 4 tsp of raisins would work instead of the dates, in case you don't have those. I haven't tried that yet, though.

Peel the oranges. Wash them beforehand with hot water and also wash your hands if the oranges were not organic to get rid of the chemicals the peel is usually treated with.
Half them and take the white bits out of the middle (anything you wouldn't eat). Cut the oranges up and blend them until smooth. Pour the mixture in a small saucepan.
Cut up dates in small pieces and add them to the saucepan.
Then, heat gently until the mixture is simmering. Simmer with the lid off or half-on for 10-20 minutes, until the orange has thickened up slightly.

The consistency you'll want to go for depends on what you want to use the jam for. If you are planning to use it as a filling for something baked, like I am, then 10 minutes will be fine and if you want to eat it straight away on bread then I'd recommend up to 20 minutes. In any case, don't walk away and make sure to check the mixture isn't burning every few minutes.

When thickened up pour back into the blender and blend again. Even though dates on their own are usually quite hard to blend up this shouldn't be a problem now anymore for any blender, since the dates will have become soft by cooking.

If not sweet enough you can add some more honey.

Pour the jam into a jar and keep in the fridge, as, since there is no sugar in it, it doesn't have anything to preserve it in it. Therefore it will keep for only a week or so, which is why I always only make as much as I think I'll eat in a week.

And for all of those who are probably just reading this, I hope that the cheerful colour of the photograph gave you something positive!

Did you notice the fancy border around the recipe? ;-) I'm learning!


Monday 9 February 2015

Coconutty Raisin Granola or Flapjacks

Today I've got housemate-approved recipe for you. Since they specifically asked if this was going to be on the blog I'm sure that you all will enjoy it as well!

In fact I had left it to cool on the counter when I left in the morning and when I came back the first thing I heard was that I was lucky there was still something left. Which is .... well, on the one hand I'd be happy to have some left for me, of course, but it is also so nice to hear that it seems to have turned out alright!!!

As you've probably seen from the title this is a granola or flapjack recipe. You can make anything you like out of it.
Personally I like to break this into chunks which I can one-by-one nibble while having hot chocolate and talking on the phone or watching some of my favourite German TV crime stories. And it's so much faster and easier to make than any cookies which you'd have to form or use a cookie cutter for. Even though I have to admit that cookie cutting is really fun for me. But sometimes ... okay, maybe rather often, I just don't feel like I have time for relaxed cookie cutting, but just need to keep up the supply of baked goodies to brighten up cold winter days. Maybe you can identify with that ;-)






In any case this is what you'll need:



about 20*30 cm baking tray
100 grolled oats
60 graisins
50 gsunflower seeds
50 gwhole wheat flour
40 gdesiccated coconut
1/2 tspcinnamon
1 pinchsalt
4 tbspliquid honey
4 tbspcoconut oil, soft
ORsunflower oil
ORolive oil
ORmelted butter
3 tbspwater

  • Line a baking tray with baking foil or baking paper.
  • Mix all dry ingredients. That is oats, raisins, sunflower seeds, flour, coconut, cinnamon and salt.
  • Add honey, your oil of choice or butter (I have not yet tried butter, but I think it should work with butter!) and water.
  • Mix very well with a spoon or with your hands.
  • Pour mixture onto the tray and spread out so that the mixture has a thickness of about 1 cm and is tightly packed.
  • Bake at 150°C for about 25 minutes until slightly browned. Let the granola cool on the tray until completely cool. Don't remove any earlier, as then you will end up with crumbs. When completely cool the mixture will have firmed up slightly (it won't be as sticky as a granola bar from a shop, though!).
  • My preferred method is to break it up into large chunks and to store these in a cookie tin. You can break them into any size you want.

  • If you want to cut them, cut them while hot, but otherwise don't move until cooled. The third option is to place them in cookie-ish shapes on the tray in the first place.

Feel free to double the batch so that you actually get to eat some of it! ;-)

Let me know if you tried it!