Rumkugeln

It's give a little, take a little, right?

I love the concept of food blogs because you can be sure there is at least one person who has tested and approved the recipes and likes them enough to recommend them to you. Everybody has been given a great, well-tested recipe from a good friend, family member or neighbour he or she swears by and this is a bit like having a gigantic neighbourhood. Sure, everybody lives in certain streets and you cannot be friends with all there are but somehow, a community sticks together. 

Hazelnut Apple Sheet Cake

Sooo, Monday was my one month mensiversary. Yes. That's a word. I looked it up.

 

Anyway, I was just minding my own business not really thinking about it, when I saw that Alyssa from Mom de Cuisine was awarded with a 'Versatile Blogger Award'. “Good for her!”, I thought. It's a great blog she has there with almost daily updates from sweet to savory. So she truly deserves it.

As I went through the list of bloggers she passed the award on to, I noticed something. There was one name I thought I misread. Could that be... MY name I saw there? WHOA! Yes? YES! How was that possible? I feel genuinely honoured, I do. As I said, I have only been a blogger for one month yet feel very passionate about it and hope to one day find my style and voice as one and develop my cooking and baking skills.

It's been a great month and hope for many more to come!

Thank you, Alyssa!

So, coming with this award are certain rules. I did a search about it and saw that there seem to be different ones. As I am so new to blogging, I chose the following:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award.

2. Tell 7 random things about yourself.

3. Pass the award on to 10 bloggers you've recently discovered and you think are fantastic!

Here we go:

Seven random things about me:

1. The only two Disney films that I like are the old Alice in Wonderland and Mary Poppins. I just don't get me to like Disney because I always felt like they ripped off other films and ideas (most of it was based on books and fairy tales to begin with, anyway) and many of the old ones had obvious racist implications. I could do a whole post about this so I'll leave it to that for now.

2. I hate spiders. Alright, that's not very creative. Many people hate spiders. It went so far with me that when I was a child, even the tiniest of those eight-legged monsters made me freeze and stare at it, fearing it would disappear once I manage to get the vacuum cleaner. It got better, though. Last year (pretty much exactly one year ago from today), there was an incident with a HUGE spider sitting right next to my pillow the moment I wanted to go to bed. Let's just say it was the first and last panic attack I've ever had with cold sweat and everything. After that kind of 'shock therapy', I'm a little more relaxed but still could not sleep in a room where I KNOW there is one.

3. I did an internship in London and fell in love with that city. The people, the mentality, the variety, the culture, the vibe. It comes so far that when the desire to get back becomes too strong, I go to that kind of strange tiny shop in a completely different part of the city I live in just to buy me a Crunchie for like 1€. You don't get those here. Oh, and while I'm German, my accent is British when I speak English. Apparently, I sound like a “posh British schoolboy”, so I've been told. Go figure....

4. If I was a girl, my name would be Julia. True story. My mother got the idea of calling me Tobias because of a football (soccer) match my brother had when he was 13. One boy who played in THE OTHER team was called Tobias and his friends where cheering him on yelling “TO-BY! TO-BY!”. She liked that so much that she gave me that name. Bless her heart.

5. I love animals but decided for me that I can never have a pet (anymore). I used to have a cat until she died about 3,5 years ago and it crushed my soul so deeply I still can hardly look at pictures of her. It's better for my own sake.

6. My very most favourite leaf vegetable was arugula... until I developed an allergy from one day to another. If I eat it now, my whole mouth and throat turn sore for a couple of days. Not worth it.

7. About two months ago, I bought a Joan Baez vinyl record. I don't even have a player. I just saw it when I passed a music store that also sells old vinyls and felt like it. I like her, yes, but am not obsessing over her or anything. These facts are supposed to be random and that is one of the most random things I bought, I guess.

About the bloggers...that really is a difficult task for me. I mean, I have only been a blogger for a month and being an active part of the blogging community is very new to me. Many of the blogs I would consider have already received the award, some may not really care. Because of those factors coming together here, I chose to pick 10 blogs I have recently discovered and think are great as opposed to 15 blogs in general. The rules vary and I found these to suit me better.

To be honest, I am a bit overwhelmed and feel like I am not quite up to the task. ;)

So here we go (in no particular order):

http://www.apronandsneakers.com/

http://lemonsandanchovies.wordpress.com/

http://vondelicious.blogspot.com/

http://www.tastewiththeeyes.com/

http://kitchenconfidante.com/

http://kokken69.blogspot.com/

http://zoomyummy.com

http://rumandreason.com/

http://hotpolkadot.com/

http://www.ecurry.com/

I am going to contact all of them as soon as possible although I have never spoken to some of them before. Awkward.

Now, there is still a recipe to post! I actually meant to post something completely different today, but because there is always cake when there is something to celebrate, I decided to bake one right this morning, especially for this occasion!

Autumn is right around the corner. That also means that harvest time is here. Do you want to see a picture of our apple trees? No Tobias, why should we? I knew you do! So here it is:

Packed.

That means that I am going to post quite few apple recipes in near future because that is basically what I'll be baking with. Apples Apples Apples. Good thing I like them.

I am in love with this cake. It has an old timey sentiment to it and not only because both my grandmother and mother used to bake it. I leafed through my grandmother's old folder of recipes she “passed on” to me and tracked down the original. It was in a promotional calendar by “Dr. Oetker” from 1954! For the month of March, strangely. Not really a month I'd associate with apples. Dr. Oetker is a well-established food processing company which also publishes cookbooks and has many other things in its portfolio. Their book “Schulkochbuch” had an impact on German cooking similar to Julia Child's in the US.

Anyway, I changed the recipe quite a bit to give it a more seasonal touch and because I simply adore the combination of apples and cinnamon. I prefer this version to the original. However, I leave it up to you to decide which one you like better.

Hazelnut Apple Sheet Cake

• 1 package vanilla pudding mix (not instant, the kind you need to cook. Can be substituted with 45g or 1.6 oz. starch flour and 1 ts vanilla essence)
• 4 tbsp milk
• 150g (5.3 oz.) butter
• 150g (5.3 oz.) sugar
• 2 eggs
• A pinch of salt
• 250g (8.8 oz.) all-purpose flour
• 9g (0.3 oz. or about 1 1/2 ts) baking powder
• 500g (17.6 oz.) apples, peeled and sliced

My personal changes and additions:

• I only used 150g all-purpose flour and substituted 100g (3.5 oz.) with ground hazelnuts
• 1 1/2 ts of cinnamon for the batter (because apples and cinnamon are HEAVEN)
• 2 handfuls of slightly crushed hazelnuts (I did that in a mortar but a freezer bag or even just cloth and anything heavy works just as well)
• Mixture of about 5 ts of demerara sugar and 1 ts of cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 160°C (320°F)
2. Stir pudding mix with milk.
3. Beat butter until creamy, add sugar, eggs and salt little by little.
4. Mix flour and baking powder (substitute 100g flour with ground hazelnuts and add cinnamon if you want to try my version), add to the batter alternately with pudding mix.
5. Spread half the batter into a greased 24cm (about 9'') spring form pan. Lay out half of the sliced apples.
6. Sprinkle with half of the demerara/cinnamon mix and a handful of slightly crushed hazelnuts (all optional)
7. Spread remaining batter onto apples, lay out remaining apples. Add rest of demerara and hazelnuts (optional again).
8. Bake on centre rack for about 55 minutes (my version took about 60 minutes).

Enjoy!

Oh right. This is what the calendar looks like:

Wow, this post took so long to write I had to push it back a day.

Mexican Chocolate Tart

Sometimes, to create something beautiful, you have to do evil.

There were five of them. I tore off all covers, leaving them bare-naked on the cold wooden surface. The first one was strategically placed right in the centre. I knew what was about to happen. Gazing at its shiny, smooth outer, my mouth could not be detained from smirking a little. Then I ran the knife through it for the first time. Easier than imagined. Chop chop chop it continued. Chop chop chop. Bits and pieces flew everywhere, covering the others that were silently sitting right next to it. Chop Chop Chop. First one done. Four to follow. Let's see if I can do three at once, I thought. The knife went down with three dull thuds each time. What a peculiar rhythm. Still one to go.

As I said. Sometimes, to create something beautiful, you have to do evil.

Chopping chocolate really is not the most delicate activity in the kitchen. In fact, I thought it always creates a scenario reminding of the intro of Dexter. You know, where that whole procedure of preparing breakfast somehow has a murderous touch to it. Coming to the beautiful part, now.

This tart is insanely rich. The filling consists solely of a ganache made of chocolate and cream while the crust has a nice flaky crunch with hardly any sugar giving just the right level of sweetness. I would stick with the official version that I only had a small piece but the picture unfortunately outs me as a big old liar.

Pants on fire.

Depending on what chocolate you use, it can be a bit pricey. However, you know what I did? I did a quick search online looking for reviews of chocolates and found a reliable source that told me how good they actually are. I have found one that was rather low in price, yet high in quality and it still tasted great (I tried it, of course).

As the recipe told me, I sifted a bit of cocoa over the tart which I actually would not do next time as the flavour overpowered the rest quite a bit. I kind of ate a thin layer off of the top first so I could indulge in the rest sans dutch-processed cocoa powder.

It's fairly easy to prepare yet decadent and just too good. I guess I have found myself another monster to munch on. ;)

The hardest part is to really keep it in the fridge for four hours before cutting it!

The magazine I found this in calls it 'Mexican Tarte', although I am not quite sure what is so Mexican about it.

Mexican Chocolate Tart

Adapted from: Frau von Heute, 9^th issue, 25.02.2011: Mexikanische Tarte

• 160g (5.6 oz.) AP Flour
• 100g (3.5 oz.) Butter
• 50g (1.8 oz.) sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1 egg yolk (size M)
• 1 tbsp dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 500g (17.6 oz.) dark milk chocolate (I was not too sure what exactly that was supposed to mean so I used 4 bars of 50% dark chocolate and 1 bar 30% so my ganache was generally rather on the milky side)
• 400ml (13.5 fl. oz.) cream
• 1 pack of vanilla sugar (this is lesser known in the US, I think you could either omit it or replace 1 ts cream with 1 ts vanilla extract)
• Cocoa for dusting the cake (I recommend skipping this)

In addition:

• Dry peas, beans or cherry stones for baking the crust blind.
• Parchment paper for the same purpose.

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (390°F).
2. Combine flour, sugar, salt, egg yolk, cocoa and butter and knead until smooth (I did that with my hands). Put in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
3. Grease a 24cm (about 9'') spring form pan and and lay out dough, forming a crust. Prick it with a fork several times and lay out with parchment paper. Fill with dried peas.
4. Bake for 15 minutes, remove peas and parchment paper and bake for further 10 to 15 minutes.
5. Chop up chocolate and heat up cream in a small pot. Remove from heat. Add the chocolate along with vanilla sugar to the heated cream and stir until smooth. Let it cool off for 30 minutes. (I added the chocolate to the cold cream and heated everything on low heat just enough to let it melt. It worked fine for me and there was hardly any time needed to let it cool down.)
6. Pour mass into crust and put in refrigerator for 4 hours. Dust with cocoa powder.

Forget about those damn calories and indulge!

Indian Sweet Potato Dessert

It's warm outside. Soothingly warm. I have mentioned before that this year's summer did not mean well with us so every single day temperature rises above 20°C is precious. In fact, they appear so precious you kind of want keep them in your pocket so you can take them out again when you know exactly that you have got the time to make the most of it. Writing these words, I just realised how odd that thought is. Imagine people had the ability to save sunny days for later. The result? Clouds and rain all year.

Anyway.

This recipe is a bit on the odd side. It's simple. And apparently, it's Indian. It was the dessert we have had the day we enjoyed last time's recipe and comes from the same source. The original only asked for three ingredients: Milk, sugar, and sweet potatoes. This particular dish was chosen for two reasons: Not only were we actually supposed to work on a project so time for cooking was meant to be short (uhm...), it was also meant to be an experiment.

You can imagine that this concoction can only get as pretty as good ol' mashed potatoes and is maybe a bit one-dimensional flavour-wise. So foresighted, we added about 100g of almonds we caramelized with a bit of sugar. Some of it went directly into the puree, the rest was garnish. Almost pretty, right?

Indian Sweet Potato Dessert

Adapted from here. Serves 4.

• 1 kg (35 oz.) sweet potatoes
• 930 ml (4 cups) milk
• 200g (7 oz.) sugar
• 100g (3.5 oz.) caramelized almond slivers (optional)

1. Peel and slice sweet potatoes.
2. Put in a big pot along with 600ml of milk, let it cook on low heat until potatoes are soft.
3. Remove from heat and puree completely. Add sugar and rest of milk, stir well.
4. Put pot back on heat and let it simmer until consistency is creamy.
5. Fold in caramelized almonds and garnish (optional).
6. Serve warm.

So. How was it? Actually, it was alright and I can see myself preparing it again. It was sweet, creamy and, well, sweet potato-y. But probably only when there are any left-over sweet potatoes. I know it's really, REALLY simple but hey, there is worse.

Caramel Fudge glazed Zucchini-Almond Loaf with Dark Chocolate Chunks and Roasted Almond Topping (aka "The Monster")

Here. it. Comes.

Look at the thing that I have created. C'mon. Take a good look, long and ample. It can kill people. Poor, diabetic people. Seriously. It's basically a cake covered in caramel fudge, covered in roasted almonds, covered in caramelized sugar. It's snotty. It thinks it's better than you. It's dangerous.

It all started out nice and tame with a lovely little semi-HEALTHY loaf cake that even has ZUCCHINI in it. Do you hear me? Zucchini! How can this not be at least half good for you? I thought I was being extra considerate by using only half the amount of oil and replacing it with applesauce, creating something that could even be turned into breakfast muffins.

And then I must have fallen in a trance induced by the captivating fragrance of  roasting ground almonds and something took possession of my body and mind. Not something. Someone. I could swear that on the other side of the planet, Paula Deen was having an out of body experience. She controlled me and MADE ME do this. That must be it. I mean, I have to blame someone else but me, right?

The moment I gained control over myself again – with an inexplicable scent of fried cheesecake still lingering on me - I gazed at what I have done. It just sat there, taunting me with those roasted, sugar coated sliced almonds topping its glistening, buttery, fudgy glaze. “It – it's a MONSTER” were the first words that I managed to stutter. As if that wasn't enough, after cutting it, big chunks of dark chocolate came to light. How did they...?! Well, nevermind, y'all.

I don't have to tell you just how good this cake was, do I?

However, because of this...incident...I can never be sure of my own sanity again (like I ever could...).

Therefore, I have created a badge that, whenever something like this happens again, dares you to:

That's right. Whenever a recipe on this blog transcends into a different sphere of arteries clogging lusciousness, I am going to warn you with this. So look out for future monsters coming!

But now the recipe, y'all! :

Caramel Fudge glazed Zucchini-Almond Loaf with Dark Chocolate Chunks and Roasted Almond Topping (aka "The Monster")

Cake

I apologize for the measurements being in oz. but as the recipe this one is based on was written on an old note in grams, converting it into cups would only end up in an inaccurate mess.

• 12.8 oz. sugar (360g)
• 1 ts vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 4.5 fl. oz. applesauce (130ml)
• 4.5 fl oz. oil (130ml)
• 1 ts cinnamon
• 13.8 oz. AP flour (390g)
• 8.5 oz of finely grated zucchini, slightly squeezed out (about 240g)
• 3.5 oz ground almonds (100g)
• 1/2 ts baking powder
• 3.5 oz. dark chocolate or a bit more to taste, coarsely chopped (100g)
• Oil and breadcrumbs for the pan or if you are as lazy as I am, parchment paper to line it.

1. Preheat oven to 355°F (180°C), prepare a 12'' (30cm) loaf pan/tin by greasing it and lighly covering the surface with breadcrumbs afterwards.
2. In a small pot, carefully roast the ground almonds over medium heat until golden brown and the kitchen smells like heaven, set aside.
3. Whisk together eggs, sugar, oil and applesauce along with cinnamon and vanilla extract.
4. With a hand-mixer, add flour, baking powder and ground almonds.
5. Either with a dough scraper or tablespoon, fold in grated zucchini and dark chocolate.
6. Pour batter in loaf pan/tin and bake on centre rack for about an hour or a stick comes out clean.
7. Put on cooling rack and remove from pan/tin when temperature allows.

Alright, if you stop here, you'll end up with a nice late-summery loaf and loads of discipline. Congratulations. I couldn't.

Sliced Almond Brittle

• 3.5 oz. (100g) sliced almonds
• 3 tbsp sugar (heaping)
• 1 tbsp butter

1. While loaf is baking, put a small pot on high heat. Add almonds and stir until light golden.
2. Add sugar, keep stirring.
3. When the sugar starts to dissolve, add add.
4. Stir for another minute maybe, making sure that it won't become too dark.
5. Spread flatly on baking try lined with parchment paper.

You should do this step before preparing the glaze as you need to be able to touch the brittle when topping the cake.

Caramel Fudge Glaze

• 1 cup (225g) natural brown sugar (demerara/ turbinado, but what's in a name...)
• 3.5 oz. (100g) butter
• 1.7 fl. oz. (50ml) evaporated milk

1. In a small pot or saucepan, stir together all ingredients over medium heat,
2. Bring them to boil, stirring constantly
3. Keep stirring for 3 minutes

Finishing Touches

1. Place loaf on parchment paper
2. Evenly pour glaze on top.
3. With a spoon, spread dripped down glaze onto sides of the loaf until nothing is left.
4. Top loaf with brittle, crumbling it between fingers if needed.

That's it, from mah kitchen to yerrrrs WHO SAID THAT???

Do you have any recipes like that, that make you feel guilty and cry in a corner after having a bite (or two, or three or...). I'd love to hear them!

Earl Grey Infused Cupcakes with Creamcheese-Lemon Frosting

Sad times.

It's probably not the best idea to start a post with these two words, but due to recent events in England I feel obliged to do so.

When I first heard the news about a father shot by the police in Tottenham I was totally absorbed with working on a project report for university, hence not really in "caring mode". For the moment I just filed it under "Sad Things That Happen" and basically left it there for two days, not really caring about what was going on in the world. That is what happens pressed for time.

It took me another couple of days to really realise what was going on and let me just say: It hit me rather hard.

Maybe it was because I lived in London for best part of last autumn.

St. Paul's Cathedral. My very favourite sight in London.

I started to catch up with everything that happened, reading every article I could find from all sources possible and still, I just cannot comprehend what is going on. I feel like there is a gap between a father of four yet alleged drugdealer being shot and the aftermath. One event - as terrible it might have been yet rather 'small' in relation - caused a whole city (and beyond) to riot. 

So, what IS the reason? Who knows, mate.

Racial tension? Maybe. I find it interesting how articles are rather tip-toeing around that issue. Sadly, it's there. Unemployement? Political cuts? Also likely. I honestly still cannot make up my mind and I don't think I am alone with that. It's a sociological, racial and political timebomb fueled by anger, sadness and frustration.

There surely was a reason, and while I don't approve the execution, it cerainly was justified. Any actual cause has vanished because of 'criminal opportunists', though.  All that looting. I hope you ***** enjoy your new XBoxes.

Keeping in mind that not all of London or England is that way, today's Britain-inspired recipe is a cupcake with a sophisticated twist: Earl Grey tea. The texture really is lovely; nice, moist and spongey with the tea rather accentuating than overpowering the flavour.

Earl Grey Infused Cupcakes
Makes 12.

• 200ml cream (6.7 fl. oz)
• 190g sugar (1 cup)
• 260g all-purpose flour (2 cups)
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 3 eggs
• 2 shots of milk
• 4 teabags of Earl Grey tea

1. Preheat your oven to 160°C (320°F). Line muffin pan.
2. In a small pot, bring cream to simmer. Turn off heat immediately and add teabags. Let them steep for ten minutes, squeezing them well afterwards so there is not too much cream coming to waste. Set aside for a moment to let it cool off a little.
3. Pour all ingedients in a medium bowl, adding the tea-infused cream at last. Mix everything together either with a hand mixer or food processor, making sure not to overbeat the batter. It should only take a few seconds.
4. Pour batter into cupcake lines. I sprinkled some with sugar, but found it not to be the best idea as those did not rise evenly,
5. Bake on centre rack for about 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

See that white crust? That was sprinkled sugar.

Creamcheese-Lemon Frosting
Depending on how much frosting you want to put on your cupcakes, you might want to double the recipe.
 

• 120g cream cheese (1/2 cup)
• 120g powdered sugar (2/3 cup)
• 120g butter (1/2 cup), softened
• Zest of one lemon

1. In medium bowl, whisk all ingredients together into a homogeneous mass.
2. Frost completely cooled off cupcakes after your fancy.

This time, I also sprinkled the cupcakes with some blue tainted sugar.



Enjoy! And remember what a beautiful country England is with problems like every other.