daring bakers and the perfect party cake

today is daring baker's day! this months cake was a recipe by the wonderful dorie greenspan - so that was a promise and a guarantee at the same time. i dont need to say much, do i? - perfect cake. you will find the recipe (and a wonderful pic of the cake) on this months host marvens blog.



this cake is quite something to write home about. you can fill it with jam, fresh fruit, add vanilla instead of lemon (like in the original recipe - i had to do that since i used all my lemons for a guacamole that just wouldnt taste right so i turned it into a lemon-guacamole, if there is such a thing at all). it somehow remembers me to the Dean and Deluca all occasion cake, that i wish to have for my birthday one day in my life.

tete de moine - sandwich

you may have realized by now that i eat everything.... except one: food that comes from the staff restaurant at work. i used to eat there every day. not because the food was delicious or anything like that - no, i felt i had to join my work buddies, give them support, when they served the worst... erm... world famous "pojarski-skewer" (imagine dry meat balls on a stick!) with brown sauce or the "homemade lasagne" that tasted like cardboard. i no longer do the teamwork-thing, at least not when it comes to eating in our cafeteria. instead i bring my little lunchbox along - some fruit - bread - a little chocolate... you know, bits and pieces of really yummy stuff.
here is my latest office-food invention: a tete de moine sandwich.


tete de moine is a wonderful and very recent cheese so you dont need much to get some flavour into your sandwich. you will find more information about it right here. if you live in the states you might find this cheese at stores such as dean and deluca or balduccis.
the combination of cheese and fruit such as apple or pear is a classic and i couldnt resist and also put some walnuts onto the sandwich.


and if i'd get crazy and if i wouldnt have to eat this in between interviews, reading books, typing away on my computer and looking fabulous while doing it, i would splatter this sandwich with loads of runny honey. have a go - i am sure you will love it, too!

RECIPE

bread, such as baguette
4-5 tete de moine cheese rosettes
1/4 apple, in slices
1 tablespoon of mascarpone
2-3 walnuts
some freshly ground pepper
some chive

cut the bread in halves, spread with the mascarpone, garnish with the chive, cheese, apple, walnuts and season with freshly ground pepper.

last minute easter deco

the bunnies are just around the corner... and just in case your easter-table isn't set, yet - here is an idea. i was working with the very talented decorator tatjana glemser last week and she came up with this very simple but adorable little project.


cut some paper doilies into a strip and place into a glass. then trace the line of the doily with a water-soluble white pen. place some moss into the glass, fill with a quail's egg, a tiny boxtree branch and a blown out egg. decorate with some tiny branches, a feather that's graced with some satin- and laceyband. - easterdeco done!

truffes brioche

if you would ask me what i really, really couldnt live without i would tell you it was a truffes brioche. of course i wouldnt wanne live without my friends, my miu miu's, my work, my books, my home and all the other things that fill your heart and soul.
but there is nothing as comforting, as good and sweet as a truffes brioche. sprüngli in zürich bake a mean one - when my best friend was in hospital and very sick we ate one a day. i am still convinced it was the truffes brioche that healed him in the end.
i decided it was about time i came up with my own recipe. a truffes brioche cant be too difficult to bake. here we go with a sweet little bread - perfect for your easter brunch (or lunch, or dinner or a midnight snack...). dont you think?



RECIPE

500g flour
1 teaspoon salt
20g fresh yeast
50g sugar
125g butter, soft
4 eggs, lightly beaten
12 truffes (or pieces of chocolate)

egg glaze:
1 egg
2 tablespoons of milk

sift flour and salt into bowl of a food mixer attached with the dough hook, rub in the yeast, mix in sugar. add eggs & start kneading. cut soft butter in small pieces and add one after the other while the mixer is running. knead for about 10 minutes until dough is very soft and silky.
then shape into a ball and put in an oiled bowl, cover with a towel and leave to rise for about 1 hour until it has doubled in size.

turn out the dough onto a floured surface, cutt off about 150g of dough and divide the rest into 12 equal pieces. shape each piece into a bun and then flatten it out, placing the truffe into the centre. fold the edges over the chocolate, pinching them together to seal. press buns, seam side down, into 12 lightly oiled individual brioche tins (or simply use muffin tin to bake).

take the reserved dough and divide it into 12 small pieces. shape each into a ball. make a small indentation in the top of each bun, brush with a little egg glaze and press small ball of dough into each one. cover the tins with a towel and leave to rise for about 30 minutes until doubled in size, then glaze.

heat oven to 190 c° , bake brioches for 20 minutes until the buns are risen and sound hollow when tapped underneath, let cool for a bit, then remove from the tins. let cool on a wire rack or serve when still warm.

centre piece of the month march

this months centre piece of the month is a tiny one. i dont even know if it counts as a centre piece if you follow the definition of the word:

Centerpiece \Cen"ter*piece`\, Centrepiece \Cen"tre*piece`\, n.
 An ornament to be placed in the center, as of a table,
 ceiling, atc.; a central article or figure.

certainly not an ornament, but simply the leftovers of a bunch of flowers put into a little pot and decorated with some moss. perfect if you only got a few (almost dying...) flowers. add a little tag with a name on it and your centre-piece or place card is done. put on a plate or into some invy and your table is set.


check out sandys blog, she is the lovely host of CPOM.