christine ferbers gugelhupf

i wanted to post this one for over half a year. it was june when i went to the alsace to interview the world famous christine ferber. it was a rainy sunday - just the perfect wheater to visit her in her wonderful little bakery and stand at the stove for 2 hours to stir some jam and talk about the world and all it's beautiful things in it.
christine is a baker (and also a cook and a icecream-queen) you wont find anywhere else in the world. there is not one pre-made product in her bakery. the chocolate glaze, the marzipan, the fruit, the veggies, the tarts and pies and all the adorable little cakes she bakes from tuesday to sunday make you believe you just ended up in a fairy tale. more about that later, as i still got some pics of the jam-queen herself in the bakery from last summer...


before i went to see her, i had to bake one of her signature-cakes: the gugelhupf. a recipe that was given to her by her father. actually, he didnt tell her how to do it. he just told her to take some butter, flour, eggs and raisins and bake a gugelhupf out of it. christine herself almost fell into despair as she baked loads of these gugelhupfs, but never ended up with one as soft and buttery as her father's. finally - after some years of practice and alot of patience she handed mer her recipe - which i proudly share with you. it takes a heck of a time to make it. the dough needs a lot of rest - but dont even think about skipping a minute of it. it's what makes this gugelhupf so airy and soft. really, just the best gugelhupf in the whole wide world!

RECIPE

makes a gugelhupf (kugelhupf) of about 1kg

100 g and 300 g flour
60 g icing sugar
200 ml cold milk (full fat)
180 g soft butter
25 g fresh yeast
one small egg (about 40 g)
10 g salt
100 g raisins
1,5 cl kirsch
1,5 cl water
50 g almonds (whole)

15 g icing sugar, for dusing
the best jam you have in your house

ready to go into the oven

soak the raisins in a bowl in the water and the kirsch.
sift 100g of the flour into a bowl and mix with the yeast and the milk. cover with a kitchen towell and let rest at room temperature (about 22 c°) for about 15 minutes.

sift 300g of flour onto the working surface and form a hollow. scatter salt and sugar at the boarder of the hollow. pour yeast/milk/flour mixture and the egg into the hollow. working slowly from the out- to the inside, knead into a dough and knead for about 5 minutes. it will become lighter in colour in time and is finished as soon as it doesnt stick to your fingers any more. add the soft butter in cubes and knead well. you will end up with a very silky and shiny dough.
then drain the raisins and add to the dough. form a ball, put in a bowl and cover with a towell. let rest at room temperature (22 c°) for 1,5 hours. when the dough has doubled in volume, knead it one more time (just a little...), then cover again and let rest for 20 minutes.

dive the almonds into very hot water for about 1 minute.

butter the gugelhupf / kugelhopf-tin generously with butter and put an almond into each of the rills on the bottom. form dough into a ball and put in the tin, cover and let rest for about 1,5 hours until it doubles in size.

heat oven to 200 °C, reduce to 180 c° before you put the cake into the oven. bake for about 45-55 minutes. then take out of the oven, take gugelhupf out of the tin and let cool on a cooling rack. dust with icing sugar before serving. cut into slices and spread with some homemade jam.


christine ferber sells not only her world-famous gugelhupf, but also the traditional gugelhupf-tin (that's actually made of clay) at her wonderful little shop in the alsace. christine ferber, 18 rue des trois epis, 68230 niedermorschwihr -FR

crunchy apple-veggie salad

are ya stuffed, too? - i probably gained my full bodywheight last night ... oh - all these sauces, meat, fish, chips... i can literally feel the christmas cookies on my hips.
so it's time for something quick and healthy. not that the cabbage will give my stomach a rest - but hey: here is my quick but delicious veggie salad. i couldnt resist to put some bacon into the salad. you can leave it out, if you like. but if i was you - i wouldnt. too healthy isnt any fun, is it? (plus: it's christmas day after all!)


RECIPE

4 tablespoons of white balsamicovineggar
1 teaspoon mustard
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons of sour cream
5-6 tablespoons of sunflower oil
bunch of parsley, chopped
2 apples, cored and cut in small slices
200g carrots, peeled
250g white cabbage, finely diced
4-5 rashers of streaky bacon, finely diced
walnuts and onion sprouts

mix the balsamico and mustard for the sauce, season with salt and pepper, then add the sour cream and (while whisking) the oil. add chopped parsley to the sauce.
finely grate the carrots directly into the sauce, add diced cabbage & apples. mix and let rest for 10 minutes.
fry the bacon in a pan, let cool a bit, then add to the salad with the walnuts and onion sprouts.

the daring bakers strike again - yule log

thank god to the daring bakers! what a lazy blogger i have been in the last few weeks. not that i have fallen out of love with the world wide web of foodbloggin' - it's just been a heck of a time with loads of non-blog related stuff to do. and then.. food pics just dont look that cute when you shoot them at night (anybody like black soup?).
but thanks to the daring bakers i had to turn my oven on: this month's competition was a yule log. the yule log is also known as bûche de noël, a genoise filled with buttercream and rolled up to form a log shaped cake. decorated with heaps of buttercream and some marzipan or meringue mushrooms. i came across some yule logs this month in food magazines, this one from UK delicious magazine won my heart instanstly. mostly because i suspect my adorable friend angela has baked this one (and because it's made with nutella...). look how cute & delicious it looks!!!

copyright delicious magazine

i do believe in a decent cake that looks like a cake, but baking tree-logs i guess is just a step further from baking gingerbread cookie houses, isnt it? - at the end of the day it's the taste that counts. this one tastes just wonderful!
you will have to excuse the look of my yule log. it's still in the process of being finished... the mushrooms wont make it into this world until tomorrow, before i serve the yule log. and the frosting needs a chilly night on my balcony to be perfectly firm and set and ready to be served.

enjoy and be merry everyone!



RECIPE

Yule Log (Bûche de Noël)

Plain Genoise:

3 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
pinch of salt
3/4cup of sugar
1/2cup cake flour - spoon flour into dry-measure cup and level off
1/4 cup cornstarch

One 10 x 15 inch jelly-roll pan that has been buttered and lined with parchment paper and then buttered again

1.Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.

2.Half-fill a medium saucepan with water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat so the water is simmering.

3.Whisk the eggs, egg yolks, salt and sugar together in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer. Place over the pan of simmering water and whisk gently until the mixture is just lukewarm, about 100 degrees if you have a thermometer (or test with your finger - it should be warm to the touch).

4.Attach the bowl to the mixer and, with the whisk attachment, whip on medium-high speed until the egg mixture is cooled (touch the outside of the bowl to tell) and tripled in volume. The egg foam will be thick and will form a slowly dissolving ribbon falling back onto the bowl of whipped eggs when the whisk is lifted.

5.While the eggs are whipping, stir together the flour and cornstarch.

6.Sift one-third of the flour mixture over the beaten eggs. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the flour mixture, making sure to scrape all the way to the bottom of the bowl on every pass through the batter to prevent the flour mixture from accumulating there and making lumps. Repeat with another third of the flour mixture and finally with the remainder.

7.Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

8.Bake the genoise for about 10 to 12 minutes. Make sure the cake doesn’t overbake and become too dry or it will not roll properly.

9.While the cake is baking, begin making the buttercream.

10.Once the cake is done (a tester will come out clean and if you press the cake lightly it will spring back), remove it from the oven and let it cool on a rack.

Coffee Buttercream:

4 large egg whites
1 cup granulated sugar
24 tablespoons (3 sticks or 1-1/2 cups) unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
2 tablespoons rum or brandy
some extra dark chocolate powder, for reserved buttercream (frosting)

1.Whisk the egg whites and sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer. Set the bowl over simmering water and whisk gently until the sugar is dissolved and the egg whites are hot.

2.Attach the bowl to the mixer and whip with the whisk on medium speed until cooled. Switch to the paddle and beat in the softened butter and continue beating until the buttercream is smooth. Dissolve the instant coffee in the liquor and beat into the buttercream.

Filling and frosting the log:

1.Run a sharp knife around the edges of the genoise to loosen it from the pan.

2.Turn the genoise layer over (unmolding it from the sheet pan onto a flat surface) and peel away the paper.

3.Carefully invert your genoise onto a fresh piece of parchment paper.

4.Spread with half the coffee buttercream (or whatever filling you’re using).

5.Use the parchment paper to help you roll the cake into a tight cylinder.

6.Transfer back to the baking sheet and refrigerate for several hours.

7.Unwrap the cake. Trim the ends on the diagonal, starting the cuts about 2 inches away from each end.

8.Position the larger cut piece on each log about 2/3 across the top.

9.Cover the log with the reserved buttercream, making sure to curve around the protruding stump.

10.Streak the buttercream with a fork or decorating comb to resemble bark.

11.Transfer the log to a platter and decorate with your mushrooms and whatever other decorations you’ve chosen.

PS: here is a link how to make marzipan mushrooms

cordon bleu with apple filling

i have told you about my favourite meat dish before. with those first chilly winternights and hunger for two, i thought it was about time to cook a decent cordon bleu. this time it's a new twist to an old classic: i am filling the classic cordon bleu with some cooked sour apples that make it digest just a dash easier and taste just wonderful with the cheese and the tender meat. a salad is all you need with this. ... and a hunger for two! - enjoy!



RECIPE
CORDON BLEU

4 steaks (veal or beef, about 100g - tell the butcher to prepare them for cordon bleu!)
8 slices of ham
4 slices of gruyere
salt & freshly ground pepper
1 sour apple, cut in fine cubes
a dash of cinnamon
flour
2 eggs, whisked
loads of fine breadcrumbs (put your stale bread in a mixer!)
butter and olive oil, to fry

cook the applecubes in a skillet in some butter. season with a little cinnamon. let cool.
wrap the cheese in the ham - make a neat little parcel. put into prepared steaks and press the edges well, so the meat sticks together (i also use wooden sticks to make sure it closes well). season generously with salt and pepper.
coat steaks with the flour, then the whisked eggs and cover very well with the breadcrumbs.

heat oil and a piece of butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. fry cordons bleus on each side for about 5-6 minutes until golden and the cheese has melted inside. serve immediately on a warm plate.

spinach spätzli

spätzli is actually spätzle, if you are german. depending on size, spätzli can also be knöpfli (small buttons). and if you have no idea what i am talking about: spätzli is a wonderful swiss dish (plus: also a word you could use for your sweetheart - it ends with -i like all cute words in swiss german) made with fresh eggs, flour, milk, a dash of nutmeg and some spinach. its a quick and easy meal to make. you could serve it with meat - i am happy to serve it just with a salad on the side as i like to think of it as a main dish that doesnt need much else to make starving bellies happy. i am using spinach here - you could use herbs or a dash of curry or safron or even some pumpkin purree to season the spätzli. whatever your heart desires. speaking of it: nothing beats freshly made spätzli. but i must admit: there is not much else out there in the world that tastes as good as some leftover spätzli, fried in a little butter until golden with some cheese on top. - just delightful!

RECIPE

600gr cooked & finely pureed spinach
400gr flour
2 teaspoon salt
some freshly grated nutmeg
4 tablespoon semolina
4 eggs
2 dl water

ca. 100 g cheese, such as gruyere

put flour, salt, nutmeg and semolina in a bowl and build a hollow in the centre. mix eggs with the water and put in the hollow. using a wodden spoon and working slowly mix a dough and work until the dough is shiny and some bubbles emerge. mix in the spinach and mix well. cover with some clingfilm and let rest for about 30 minutes.

preheat the oven to 200 c°
boil some salted water in a big pot.
to make the spätzli you can use your potato ricer or a spaetzle maker (simply put the dough into ricer / spatzle maker - press directly into water - cook - and you are done). in case of an emergency, use your colander as a spaetzle maker. let spaetzle cook until they rise to the surface, then drain.
put in a large baking dish, sprinkle the cheese on top and bake in the oven for about 10 minutes until cheese has melted and turned a dash golden. - serve asap.

i will be back!

hello all. so sorry for not updating in such a long time. i am cooking up storms elsewhere at the moment but promise to be back very soon! we need to do the whole christmas-cookie-rave and smear chocolate all over the place, dont we? i will be back - big promise!