Streuselkuchen (German crumb cake)

It was my late great aunt Jenny’s 100th birthday yesterday (10-11-12, and suddenly it was 100 years later), and in her honor and to remember her I baked one of her most famous cakes (famous across generations in our family) – the streuselkuchen. 

No one could make this cake like my great aunt. It is involved, you have to have patience, nurture it, and it richly rewards you. Just like my great aunt was, one of the best cooks and bakers and gardeners I’ve ever known. Aunt Jenny, this is for you!


Streuselkuchen (German Crumb Cake)
this is a 1/4 of the original recipe, but the original recipe makes a whole large 8x13 inch cookie sheet. This fills the bottom of a small spring form; if using a 10 inch spring form, double recipe.
Special equipment: standmixer with dough hook (can also be kneaded manually), 7 inch spring form
Base layer:

• 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour
• 2 TB warm milk
• 1 ts fast rising yeast
• 1 ts + 3 ts sugar (20 g altogether)  (divided: 1 ts for the yeast + milk, 3 ts for the dough)
• 1 TB bakers milk powder (optional, but helps the yeast to rise)
• 2.5 TB (20 g) unsalted sweet cream butter, room temperature
• 1/2 egg (reserve other half for the crumbs)
• pinch of salt

Mix the yeast, 1 ts of sugar and the lukewarm milk in a small bowl, and wait until yeast starts to get bubbly (ca. 15min).
In the bowl of a standmixer with the dough hook attachment, add the flour, 3 ts sugar and the bakers milk powder, and mix all three ingredients. Make a well in the flour, and pour the milk yeast mixture in it. Turn on the standmixer, and on slow mix the dry ingredients with the yeast mixture (do not yet add: butter, egg or salt since it interferes with the yeast). Once the yeast is well incorporated and distributed in the flour mix, add the butter, 1/2 egg and salt. Knead the dough on medium speed until it comes together as a ball (it will be crumbly for quite a while, ca. 10 min). If it does not come together after 15min of kneading, add 1 TB of warm milk.  Once the dough forms a ball around the hook, continue kneading for another 15min on medium speed.

Now, remove dough from bowl of standmixer, and place in a metal, glass or ceramic bowl, and let rise for ca. 30min at a warm place. Time to make the crumbs!
Streusel (crumbs):

• 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour
• 60 g sugar
• 60 g unsalted sweet cream butter, room temperature
• 1/2 egg (reserve other half for the crumbs)
• 1/2 ts bitter almond extract
• 1 pouch Dr. Oetker Vanille sugar (or 1/2 ts liquid vanilla extract)
• pinch of salt

In the bowl of a standmixer with the dough hook attachment, add the flour, sugar, and the butter, cut into small cubes. Start the mixer on low speed, until the flour/sugar and the butter start to incorporate. Add all the other ingredients, and let the mixer run for about 10-15 minutes until uniform-sized crumbs are form. At the beginning, the butter will be large lumps, and the flour has only tiny crumbs, but over time the butter distributes over the flour more evenly, all crumbs are about equal in size. When it doubt, just let it run a little longer. Patience!
Stop the mixer, when the crumbs are at equal size.

Preheat the oven to 50-80F (warm). Spray a spring form with baking spray, and distribute the base dough into the pan.

Take a fork, and gently poke the dough all over the pan. Once done, brush lightly with some warm milk.

Now, distribute all the streusel on the cake evenly.


Place in the oven at 50F for about 45min for the yeast-based base layer to rise to about 0.5-1 inch thickness. After that, remove cake from oven, and preheat to 425F, and bake the cake for ca. 20-25min.
Before serving, sprinkle wit granulated sugar.

Vegan Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta Alfredo

It is not just the primetime week for carved pumpkins, but also the time to get fresh and inexpensive butternut squash. A few days ago I had made a big pot of roasted butternut squash soup, but after 3 helpings I was kind of tired of more leftovers. So, I reinvented the rest into a brandnew meal: a vegan butternut squash alfredo sauce. It is so tasty even none-vegans will be delighted. Savory, rich, creamy with a slight hint of sweetness with maple syrup and the aroma of sage.

Note: Instead of the 1 1/2 cups of butternut squash soup you can also use simply roasted butternut squash.

Vegan Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta Alfredo

(Makes 2 larger servings)

Alfredo sauce:

• Base:
• 1 1/2 cup roasted butternut squash soup (or fresh roasted butternut squash)
• 3/4 cup hot water
• 1/3 cup soaked cashew nuts
• 1 TB nutritional yeast
• 1 1/2 TB mellow white miso, sodium reduced

• Rest of Alfredo sauce:
• 1 ts olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, quartered and thinly sliced using a mandoline
• 2 cloves garlic, microplaned
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 teaspoon fresh sage, thinly sliced
• 1/3 ts of grated nutmeg
• 1/2 TB maple syrup
• Several dashes fresh black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Pasta:

• 4 oz penne pasta, cooked al dente
• for garnish: fresh sage, pepitas or sunflower seeds, dried thyme

Pour all the ingredients for the sauce base into a food processor (best: Vitamix for extra smooth texture) and puree. In a pan, heat the olive oil, add the onions and saute until slightly brown. Add the garlic, and saute for about another 1 min. Add the white wine, and reduce for ca. 1 min. Now add the base butternut squash base cream, and gently stir in. Add the sage, nutmeg, and maple syrup, and simmer on medium-low for a few minutes until slightly reduced. Add salt and paper to taste.

Add in the cooked pasta, and stir until the pasta is coated, and heat through for about 1 min. Serve with fresh sage, roasted squash seeds (caramelized!) and some dry thyme. Enjoy!

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

It is the time of soups again, and the time for ripe, inexpensive winter squash. Butternut squash is one of my favorite squash variety to make soup with (kuri the other). I have a handful of different recipes, one with coconut milk, another with a dash of cinnamon, or with sweet potato, but this basic recipe is still my most favorite: roasted squash with carrots, celery and a hot pepper for some spice kick. I left on the skin when I added the roasted squash to the soup, and it thickened the soup beautifully.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

• 1/2 TB olive oil
• 1 shallot, peeled and diced
• 1 hot red chili, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, microplaned
• 1 small butternut squash (ca 1-1 1/2 pounds), cut in half
• 2 small carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 stalks of celery, wiped clean and diced
• 3-4 cups vegetable broth
• Salt and pepper
• optional: orange peel of 1/2 orange
• crème fraiche, to serve

Preheat the oven to 375F. Half the butternut squash, and scoop out the seeds (preserve and clean or compost). Sprinkle with some salt and pepper, place on a baking sheet, and roast for ca. 30 min at 375F. 
In a large pot, heat 1/2 TB of olive oil. Once hot, add the diced shallot and the chopped red chili, stir and cook until softened (ca. 2-3 min). Add the diced carrots, the celery and the garlic and continue to cook for another 3-5 minute. Cut the soft and baked butternut squash into 2 inch pieces and add to the pot (if it is an organic squash you can leave on the squash skin; it will thicken the soup. If it is not organic, only use the flesh). Add the broth, and cook the soup for about 20 min until all vegetables are softened. Season with salt and pepper and fresh orange peel (optional). Using an immersion blender, and purée the hot soup. Serve with creme fraiche, or in my case with goat cheese crumbles, walnuts and cranberries.

Home-grown radicchio

Every year I do a certain amount of ‘experimental gardening’, i.e. trying to grow something that I have never grown before, sometimes with the surprise factor of how these plants really grown and mature, seeing the entire process. There have been eggplants, soy beans, broccoli and this year I picked up a small container of radicchio plants at the farmers market in late spring. I planted the little seedlings in a pot and for most of the summer they grew into lettuce like green leaves, so I wrote it off as a failed experiment. Only by September did the plants develop dense little centers in dark red that resemble the radicchio I know from the store. This one (below) is the first one that makes it into my almost completely home-grown lunch salad with some concord grapes grown on the back of my garage.

Small marbled bundt cake

What better to do on a rainy, cold October evening than to warm and sweeten it up with a small marbled bundt cake!

Small marbled bundt cake (for small, 6 cup bundt cake pan)

• 10 T. (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 c. sugar (135 grams)
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 free-range organic eggs
• 1 2/3 c. (185 grams) all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 ts baking soda
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 c. cocoa powder 

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cream butter, sugar and salt together for several minutes until light and fluffy (best in a standmixer). Add vanilla extract and one egg at a time. Mix well, and add in second egg.

Sift flour with baking powder and baking soda. Add flour in two parts, alternating with half of the buttermilk each time. Divide batter equally into two bowls.Sift cocoa over the batter in one bowl and mix well. Add 1 tablespoon of milk to cocoa batter to thin.

Spray the bundt form with a baking spray. Place half of the “white” batter in the form or pan. Add all of the dark/chocolate batter on top and distributed around the form with a spatula. Finish with the remaining white batter. Place a spatula vertically in the batter and draw it around the form once to swirl. Smooth the top.

Place the cake in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out cleanly. Remove from oven, cool slightly and then turn out on a cake rack to cool further.

Home-made chocolate glaze:

• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 TB unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup confectioners sugar
• 2 tablespoons warm milk
• 1 ts rum extract
• 1 ts vanilla

Pour the chocolate chips in a glass bowl or a ceramic bowl, and set it over a pot with boiling water on the stove (the bowl should not touch the water). Stir continuously until the chocolate chips start to melt. Add in the butter, and melt it with the chocolate chips. Once it is all a creamy, lump-free consistency, add in the milk, the rum and vanilla extract. Once incorporated, take the bowl off the pot, and continue to stir while adding in the confectioners sugar. Keep stirring. Brush the cake with the chocolate glaze. The glaze will thicken when cooled, and it is great to have a 1/4 of an inch thick glaze on the cake. (Leftover chocolate glaze is great on graham crackers… )
Let cool and dry for about 4-5h before serving. The cake actually tastes better with time; at the beginning it is dry and light and slightly crumbly, and after a week it becomes moist with an intense nutty flavor. It should be stored cool and airtight. 

 

Short rib chili

These days, the temperatures are slowly dropping, the nights get colder, the plants, out for the summer on the patio, have moved back to their winter location inside the house, and there are more and more evenings that call for hearty food: soup, stews and chilis. This is one of my favorite chilis that I have made several times since I first saw the recipe on one of Giada’s cooking shows, and I cannot believe I have not written it up and blogged about. This chili is not your everyday beans-beef-tomato chili but it is elegant, authentic Mexican and deeply rich in flavor with the addition of espresso powder and the base braising liquid made of a hefty amount of dried chiles. I also add a bit of cacao powder so that the chili has an even more pronounced mole character. As said, it impresses everyone. I had a friend over this weekend and served it for lunch, I typically eat about a cup, and he polished off the rest, peeking in my direction during his second helping “Do you still want some, or can I have the rest?”  Smirk.

This is my healthified version with extra bell pepper and broccoli.

Short Rib Chili (based on a recipe by Giada di Laurentiis)

• 1.5 pound meaty short ribs, with bone (basically one package, can be 2 larger short ribs, or 4 smaller ones), cut into individual ribs
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 8 dried New Mexico chiles, stemmed, seeded and cut into 1 inch pieces with scissors (*often found at cheap price at Walmart)
• 2 large dried ancho chiles, stemmed, seeded and cut into 1 inch pieces with scissors (*often found at cheap price at Walmart)
• 1/2 TB clarified butter or olive oil
• 6 large cloves garlic, peeled and microplanned
• 1 large red onion, peeled, and chopped
• 1 TM freshly ground cumin
• 1 TB dried Mexican oregano
• 1 cup beef broth (preferably organic)
• 2 TM brown sugar
• 1/4 cup organic maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon instant espresso coffee
• 1 TB cacao powder
• One 15 to 16-ounce can low sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 1/2 cup of frozen sweet corn (Trader Joes has a variety that is picked a the peak of the harvest, and very sweet)
• Adobo sauce, from can of chipotle chiles, optional
• Chopped green onions
• Garnishes, such as sour cream and green onions and shredded cheese.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Arrange the short ribs on plate, pat dry with paper towel and sprinkle with some salt and pepper. 

Bring the New Mexico chiles, ancho chiles and 1 1/2 cups water to a simmer in a medium saucepan over high heat. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the chiles are just tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a blender (best: Vitamix!!!). Cool the mix in an ice bath for 15 min. Holding the top on firmly with a dish towel, blend until the chile puree is smooth. (Note, wait until it is colder or it will explode because of the steam).

Heat the ghee/oil in a large flat cast iron pot (best a dutch oven with a firmly closing lid) over medium-high heat. Add the short ribs and brown on all sides, 4 minutes per side, and transfer the short ribs to plate (I typically can do the ribs in one batch, if they don’t fit, make in 2 batches). 

Add the garlic and red onions to the drippings in the pot. Saute until the onions soften, about 5 minutes. Mix in the cumin and oregano.  Use the broth to deglaze the pan since the onions and garlic will stick to the pan bottom. Now, add the chile puree from the blender, the rest of the broth, brown sugar, maple syrup, espresso powder and cacao; stir to blend. Return the short ribs  and stir to coat. Bring to a simmer. Cover and place the pot in the oven. Braise until the ribs are very tender, minimum 2 hours 30 minutes (see picture above).

Remove pot from oven, and move the ribs to a plate. Spoon off and discard any fat that has risen to the surface. At this point, you can cool the chili mix and the meat, and prepare the rest once the meat is cold and easier to handle. The next step is to cut the rib meat into small 1/2 or 1/4 inch size cubes. To do so, carefully cut the membrane off each piece of meat (try to cut away only the membrane and not any meat). Discard the membranes and all bones. Cut the meat into small (scant 1/2-inch) cubes. Return the meat to the sauce in the pot. Mix in the black beans and the corn. Season the chili with about 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. If desired, add the adobo sauce by teaspoonfuls to increase the spiciness. Transfer the chili to a large bowl. Serve with green onions, sour cream and shredded cheddar and crusty baguette.

Common Ground Fair, Maine

This weekend the annual Common Ground Fair takes place in Unity, ME, a three day event with thousands of visitors and hundreds of exhibitors. “A big hippie fest” as my friend A. would say. I see it more as a big, big farmers market and craft fair (although there are animals exhibits). Starting at the Rose Gate entrance sets the tone for the CGF, a generous scent of Sweet Annie fills the air, people buy organic vegetables, dried flowers, local raw honey, sample greek yogurt ice cream, local goat cheeses and bread, pet alpacas and angora bunnies, and take pictures of anything that they can’t take home (like me). The kids have their own fun, a little summer sled hill, and I saw for the first time how an entire ginger root plant looks like. All in all, good fun.

 

 

 

 

 

Indian summer

It’s has been quite busy around here, but not too busy to not take a few photos of the beautiful Indian summer we had lately (although, the weather man reports, today is the last one of them for the week). Indian summer has such a calm in the air and ferocious warm colors that I start to warm up to it, and avoid thinking of the follow-up season… I leave you with the photos. 

 

 

Russian Chocolate, Date and Walnut Torte

These are the days of world wide culinary social networks and recipes and…. google translate. Which means with some fantasy (and baking wisdom) I can make a Russian cake which had me at “hello”. Or is it a Bulgarian recipe? As Russian grad student said it is not Russian, more likely Bulgarian, cyrillic and all. With some fingers crossed it came out just fine. The raw dough tasted marvelous, the torte even better: light, fluffy, rich, not too sweet and one would not suspect dates I think.

Russian Chocolate, Date and Walnut Torte

a 10 inch non-stick springform pan.

• 2 cups medjol dates
• 1 1/2 cup strong hot coffee
• 10 TB butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• decorate with powdered sugar
  

Preheat oven to 370F. Spray or butter a 10 inch springform, and set aside.

Prepare 1.5 cups hot, strong coffee (best in a French press with ca 3 TB of fresh ground espresso). De-pit the dates, and cut them into small dice. Place them in a large coffee cup and cover with the hot coffee. Soak for 5 minutes.
Now, mix the flour with the baking soda, salt and cocoa and set aside.
In a standmixer, beat the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add one egg at a time, and incorporate well. Add vanilla.
Turn speed to low, and slowly add the flour mixture to the cake batter. Mix well. With a large spoon, retrieve the dates from the hot coffee, and add to the cake batter (add a bit of coffee at a time). You should only have about a 1/2 cup of coffee let in the pot after the figs are removed. Incorporate well.
Pour the mixture into the prepared form and sprinkle top with chocolate chips.
Bake for 35-45 minutes or until ready by checking with a stick if you spend dry then the cake is ready. Cool before removing from the form.