Grilled Lamb Fillets served with Garlic/Olive Oil, Steamed Broccoli and Potato Gratin

The year 2012 is coming to an end and a new year 2013 is just around the corner.  To welcome the new year, I prepared this simple dish for my family.  It is quick to prepare and tastes delicious!

Ingredients (serves 4 persons):

12 lamb fillets

6 cloves of garlic, to be peeled and cut into fine cubes

olive oil (sufficient to cover the cubed garlic)

Method:

Mix cubed garlic and olive oil in a small bowl.  Leave aside.

Grill the lamb fillets without seasoning.  If panfried is preferred, heat a little olive oil in a pan.  Add lamb fillets and fry over medium heat until all sides are slightly brown.  It is important not to overcook or else the meat will be hard.  Once browned, remove to a baking tray.  Leave tray in a preheated fan oven (120° C) for about 10 minutes.

To serve, season with salt & ground black pepper and spoon the garlic/olive oil mixture over it. Serve with steamed broccoli and potato gratin.

Potato Gratin

Ingredients:

750 g waxy potatoes (festkochende Kartoffeln)

200 g fresh cream

salt and ground pepper

a little butter for the casserole dish

Method:

Peel potatoes and place them in a bowl of water.  By using a vegetable slicer, slice the potatoes thinly.  Arrange them in a buttered medium-sized casserole dish.  Season with salt & pepper and pour a little cream over each layer.  Continue until all potatoes are used up.  Add some cubes of butter on top and bake in a preheated fan oven at 180° C for about one hour.

Bon Appetit!

Linsensuppe (Lentils Soup) served with Turkey Sausages

Linsensuppe is a traditional german main dish and normally pork belly is added to the soup.  Since pork is prohibited in our home, I serve it with turkey sausages.  This healthy and delicious recipe was handed down to me by my mother-in-law.

Ingredients (serves 4 persons):
250 g lentils (Tellerlinsen)
2 medium-size carrots, to be washed, peeled and cut into cubes
1 small celery root, to be washed, peeled and cut into cubes
1 leek, to be washed and cut into cubes
3 big potatoes, to be peeled and cut into cubes
1 clove garlic, to be peeled and crushed
1 litre water
beef stock cube (for 1 litre liquid)
salt and pepper to taste
4 turkey sausages
some chopped parsley

Method:
In a medium-size pot, add lentils, carrots, celery, potatoes, leek, crushed garlic and water.  Bring to boil.  Reduce heat and cover.  Let it simmer for about 45 minutes.  More water may be added if necessary.

Add beef stock cube and check seasonings.  Add turkey sausages and a little chopped parsley to soup and bring to a light boil.

Serve sprinkled with some chopped parsley.

Bon Appetit!

Spaghetti served with Salmon Cream Sauce

We have some balance of fresh salmon fillets in the fridge and to use them up, I prepared this simple and quick dish.  The following recipe serves 4 persons.

Ingredients:
300 g spaghetti, to be cooked according to packet instructions
400 g fresh salmon fillets
1 medium-sized onion, to be cut into fine cubes
2 carrots, to be washed, peeled and cut into thin strips
1 leek, to be washed and cut into thin strips
1 small piece of celery root, to be washed, peeled and cut into thin strips
60 g butter
1 tbsp flour
400 g fresh cream
2 tsp instant stock granules
salt and ground white pepper to taste
fresh dill leaves

Method:
Season salmon fillets with salt & pepper and steam for about 8 minutes.  Leave aside to cool down and then, cut into cubes.

Heat butter in a pot and add cubed onions.  Then, add carrot, leek and celery strips.  Stir-fry for about 5 minutes and then, add in flour.  Stir well before adding in the fresh cream and instant stock granules.  Bring to a light boil.  If the sauce is too thick to your liking, just add a little milk to thin it out.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add in dill leaves by cutting them with a scissor into pot.  Lastly, add in cubed salmon.  Bring to a light boil before serving with spaghetti.

Bon Appetit!

Steamed Salmon served with Bechamel Sauce & Butter Rice

Since I managed to get fresh salmon this morning,  I prepared this simple dish for dinner.  The Bechamel Sauce, Vegetable Strips and Buttered Rice really complement the salmon!  Following recipe serves 4 persons.

Ingredients:

4 salmon fillets

2 carrots, to be washed, peeled and cut into fine strips

1 leek, to be washed and cut into fine strips

1 small celery root, to be washed, peeled and cut into fine strips

salt and ground white pepper to taste

Method:

Season salmon fillets with salt and pepper.  I am using an electric steamer.  Arrange salmon fillets in a buttered perforated tray.  Add the vegetable strips in a normal tray and season with salt & pepper.

Place the vegetable strips tray on the first rack from bottom and the perforated tray on the second rack.  Steam for about 8 minutes.  Remove from steamer and serve salmon fillets with vegetable strips.  Pour Bechamel Sauce over salmon and serve with Buttered Rice.

Bechamel Sauce

Ingredients:

80 g butter

1 small onion, to be cut into small cubes

1 tbsp (not heaped) flour

1/2 tsp instant vegetable stock granules

200 fresh cream

salt and ground white pepper to taste

Method:

Heat butter in a saucepan and add cubed onions.  Stir-fry until translucent.  Then, add flour and stir well. Add cream and stir thoroughly.  Then, add stock and season with salt & pepper to taste.

Buttered Rice

Ingredients:

1 medium-sized onion, to be cut into cubes

90 g butter

3 cups (250 ml cup) rice, to be washed and drain into a sieve

3 cups hot chicken stock

salt to taste

Method:

Heat butter in a pot and add cubed onions.  Stir-fry until translucent.  Add rice and mix thoroughly. Then, add chicken stock and salt to taste.  Bring to boil.  Once the stock has evaporated, stir well and put the lid on.  Reduce heat to minimum and cook until rice is done!

Bon Appetit!

Lachs-Wirsing Lasagne

This Salmon-Savoy Cabbage Lasagna is simple to prepare and is a wonderful change to the Beef Lasagna.  I strongly recommend to make your own Bechamel sauce instead of using an instant sauce.  The self-made Bechamel sauce will bring out the delicious flavour!

Ingredients (serves 3 - 4 persons):
650 g Savoy cabbage (Wirsing)
salt and ground white pepper to taste
1 big onion, to be cut into fine cubes
750 g salmon fillet
50 g butter
50 g flour
½ litre milk
200 g cream
2 tsp vegetable stock granules
1-2 tbsp lemon juice
12 lasagne pieces
50-75 g grated cheese (Gouda or Emmentaler)

Method:
Clean, wash, quarter and shred cabbage.  Blanch shredded cabbage in salted boiling water for about 2 minutes.  Drain in a colander and set aside.

Wash and dry salmon and cut into big pieces to fit into a rectangle pyrex dish.  Season with salt and pepper.

Heat butter in a saucepan and add cubed onion.  Stir fry until transparent and then add flour and mix well.  Add in milk, cream and stock granules.  Stir well and bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice.

Butter the pyrex baking dish.  Spread some sauce on the bottom of baking dish and arrange a layer of lasagne.  Spread sauce on top and add half of cabbage mixture and spread evenly.  Add another layer of lasagne and sauce on top.  Then, place the salmon pieces.  Add another layer of lasagne, spread sauce and the rest of cabbage.  Finally, add on the last layer of lasagne and spread the rest of sauce on top.  Sprinkle with grated cheese.

Bake in a preheated oven (Fan: 160º C/Conventional: 175º C/Gas: 2) for about 40-45 minutes.

Bon Appetit!

Beef & Seafood Noodle Platter

After eating festive food over the past few days, my appetite is "tingling" for our local asian food fare.  Luckily enough, I have all the ingredients which I needed in the fridge and cellar.  The following recipe serves 4 persons and I served spaghetti noodle instead of the dried egg noodles.

Ingredients:
250 g spaghetti, to be cooked according to packet instructions

200 g lean beef, to be thinly sliced
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp cooking wine or sherry (optional)

200 g fresh or frozen prawns
2 medium-sized fresh or frozen cuttlefish

4 black mushrooms, to be soaked in warm water & sliced
6 leaves of nappa cabbage, to be washed, dried and cut into broad strips
a bunch of spring onions, to be washed and cut into 5 cm lengths
6 slices of fresh ginger root

400 ml vegetable or beef stock
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
dash of pepper

1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp water

5 tbsp cooking oil

Method:
Marinate beef slices with soy sauce, starch and cooking wine for about 20 minutes.  In a jug, combine stock, soy sauce, sugar, salt and pepper well.  Add cooked spaghetti onto a serving platter.

Heat wok and add 3 tbsp oil.  Stir-fry the meat until the colour changes.  Remove to a plate.  Stir-fry the prawns and cuttlefish for a while.  Remove to a plate.

Add 2 tbsp oil to wok and stir-fry spring onions and ginger until fragrant.  Then, add in the mushrooms and nappa cabbage.  Stir-fry lightly.  Add stock mixture and bring to a boil.  Stir cornstarch & water in a small bowl and add to wok to thicken the gravy.  Add the meat, prawns and cuttlefish.  Bring to a boil and season to taste.  Pour over the noodles and serve.

Bon Appetit!

Roast Duck served with Apple-Red Cabbage and Potato Dumplings

Specially for Christmas Eve's dinner, I prepared a typical Bavarian dish:  Ente mit Apfelrotkohl und Kartoffelknödeln.  As a filling for the duck, I prepared a bread/apple/raisins filling for a change and it tasted delicious.

Ingredients (serves 3 - 4 persons):
1 duck (about 2,5 kg)
salt and pepper to taste

Filling:
4 bread buns, to be cut into 1 cm cubes
3 apples (unpeeled), to be quartered and cut into 1 cm cubes
4 shallots, to be finely chopped
2 tbsp raisins
2 eggs
400 g bottle duck fond
salt and pepper to taste
ghee or Butterschmalz

Method:
Clean and wash duck thoroughly.  Then, pat duck dry with kitchen paper.  Remove any visible hairs and season duck both inside the cavity and outside skin with salt and pepper to taste.  Leave aside.

Heat 3 tbsp ghee in a pan and roast cubed bread buns until golden brown.  Then, sprinkle with a little water and put on the lid.  Leave to cool down completely.

Heat 2 tbsp ghee in a small pan and stir-fry chopped shallots until translucent.  Leave aside.

In a large bowl, add in roasted cubed buns, shallots, apples, raisins and eggs.  Combine mixture thoroughly and season to taste.  Stuff duck with filling and secure opening with toothpicks.  By using a kitchen string and starting from the top, plait the string in between the toothpicks and secure tightly after each toothpick.  Make a knot at the end and cut string.  Tie both legs together.

Preheat oven (conventional - no fan) to 190° C.  Place duck onto a rack and place a deep baking tray underneath to catch the drippings (1st rack from bottom).  Pour about 200 ml water into the baking tray. Roast duck for about one hour or until the fat oozes out.  One needs to poke the duck's legs to enable the fat to ooze out easily.  This procedure needs to be repeated regularly.

Once the fat is starting to ooze out, reduce oven heat to 170° C and roast duck for a further one and a half hours, making sure to poke the legs to let the fat ooze out.

Then, increase the temperature to 190° to 200° C and roast duck for a further 30 minutes.  Mix 100 ml water with 1 tbsp salt.  Brush duck with this salt water mixture often in order that the duck skin becomes crispy.  Once duck is ready, remove from oven and cut into serving portions.


Apfelrotkohl (Apple/Red Cabbage)

Ingredients:
1 red cabbage (about 1 kg)
1 apple, to be peeled, quartered and cut into small chunks
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
200 ml red currant juice
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp ghee or Butterschmalz

Method:
Clean, wash, quarter red cabbage and cut into strips.  Heat ghee in a medium pot and add in red cabbage strips.  Stir-fry for about 5 to 10 minutes.  Then, add red currant juice, red wine vinegar, salt and sugar.  Mix thoroughly and simmer with lid on for about 30 minutes.

Add apple chunks to pot and further simmer with lid on for another 30 minutes.  Check seasoning. Warm up just before serving.


Kartofelknödeln (Potato Dumplings)

Ingredients (yields 12 dumplings):
2 kg floury potatoes
200 ml milk
1 - 2 tbsp cornflour
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp salt or to taste

Method:
One and a half kg potatoes to be peeled and grated.  Add lemon juice immediately to grated potato and mix well in order that it does not change colour.  Place a small quantity into a linen dishcloth and wring the cloth to press out the juice into a bowl.  Do not throw the juice away as we need to gather the potato starch.  Add potato starch to the potato and mix well.

500 g potatoes to be peeled & quartered.  Then, cook in salt water for about 20 minutes or until cooked. Drain water away and mash potatoes or pass them through a potato presser.

Bring milk to a light boil and add to the potatoes.  Then, add cornflour, salt and the raw potatoes. Mix thoroughly.  Form mixture into 12 dumplings and leave aside.

Boil enough water in a big pot and add salt.  Then, add in dumplings one by one and reduce to medium heat.  Simmer dumplings for about 25 minutes.  Once ready, remove dumplings by using a perforated ladle and place in a serving bowl.

Bon Appetit!

Schoko-Schneeflöckchen

Another simple cookie to round up my christmas cookies selection.  It is easy and quick to prepare! Furthermore, it tastes good!

Ingredients:
100 g sugar
200 g cold butter
300 g flour
1 egg

200 g milk chocolate couverture

Method:
Mix sugar, butter, flour and egg together to form a dough.  Form dough into a ball and store in the fridge for about one hour.

Roll out dough to 2 mm thickness and cut out snowflake shapes.  Place them on a baking tray which is lined with baking paper and bake in a preheated oven at 220ºC (Fan: 170ºC) for about 9-10 minutes.  Leave aside to cool down.

Melt couverture in a bowl over a water bath.  Half dip cookies and place them on a baking tray which is lined with pergament paper.  Leave to set overnight.  Then, store in a lined airtight container (place paper in between each layer).

Happy Baking!

Florentiner

Florentiner is also a traditional german cookie.  Honey is used in most recipes but in this recipe, I used Glukose-syrup or Bonbon-syrup.  There are various ways of making Florentiner either by using a metal ring on a baking tray or a Florentiner mould form out of silicon.  I am using the latter because I find it easier and faster!

Ingredients:
600 g sugar
400 g butter
300 g fresh cream
150 g glucose syrup (Glukosesirup – it can be bought at any cake ingredients shop or online)
600 g thinly sliced, peeled almonds (gehobelte Mandeln)
70 g candied orange peel (Orangeat)
70 g candied lemon peel (Zitronat)

400 g bitter chocolate couverture (Zartbitter-Kuvertüre or Schokoglasur)
glaced red cherries, halved

2 Florentiner silicon moulds, buttered once only before use

Method:
Preheat oven to 160º C.  Bring butter, cream, syrup and sugar in a large pot to boil and keep stirring for 2 – 3 minutes. Add in sliced almonds and candied peels. Mix well and let it boil shortly before removing the pot from stove.

Spoon one tablespoon into each mould and spread evenly. Place a halved cherry in the middle and bake in oven for 25 – 30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let it cool down before removing the Florentiner from the silicon moulds.  Leave them to cool on pergament paper.

Melt couverture in a bowl over a water bath.  Dip the bottoms of the Florentiner in the couverture and place them on a fresh sheet of pergament paper.  Leave overnight at room temperature or until the couverture are set before storing them in a cake tin which is layered with pergament paper.

Happy Baking!

Berner Haselnuss-Leckerli

Normally, honey is used in making Leckerli cookies.  But this recipe only uses sugar and the taste is equally good!

Ingredients (yields 80 pieces):
300 g gound hazelnuts
200 g ground almonds
50 g candied orange peel, to be finely chopped
50 g candied lemon peel, to be finely chopped
300 g sugar
3 egg whites
2 tbsp rum

10 tbsp sugar powder
1-2 tbsp lemon juice

Method:
Knead ground hazelnuts, ground almonds, both peels, sugar, egg whites and rum to a pliable dough. Form dough into a ball and pack it with cling film.  Store in the fridge for about 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 200º C (fan oven: 180º C).  Roll out dough between two cling films to a thickness of 7 mm.  Remove top film carefully and cut dough with a zig-zag knife into 2x4 cm rectangles or use a square cutter.  Place squares on a baking tray which is lined with baking paper.  Bake in oven for 6-8 minutes.

For the glace:  Mix sugar powder and lemon juice together to a smooth mixture.  Pour into a small piping bag and pipe out little grids on the surfaces of the hot biscuits.  Leave to cool before storing in airtight containers.

Happy Baking!

Rosa Herzen

These Pink Hearts are our son's favourite cookies!  Just in case, you do not want to prepare the glaze using the fruit juice, you can add water and red colouring to the icing sugar.

Ingredients:
100 g sugar
200 g cold butter
300 g flour
1 egg

Glaze Ingredients:
250 g icing sugar
1/8 litre cherry or beetroot juice

Method:
Mix sugar, butter, flour and egg together to form a dough.  Form dough into a ball and store in the fridge for about one hour.

Roll out dough to 2 mm thickness and cut out heart shapes.  Place them on a baking tray which is lined with baking paper and bake in a preheated oven at 220ºC (Fan: 170ºC) for about 9-10 minutes.  Leave aside to cool down.

For the glaze:  In a pot, bring cherry or beetroot juice (if using beetroot juice, don't worry about the sour taste!  The sourness is gone once the juice becomes concentrated!) to a boil until concentrated i.e. to 3 or 4 tbsp.  Then, add concentrated juice to icing sugar and mix well.

Brush glaze on top of cookies and leave overnight to dry. Store in a lined airtight container (place paper in between each layer).

Happy Baking!

Mandelhäufchen

These Crunchy Almonds are so easy to prepare and taste really good!  One of the ingredients, Läuterzucker, is a sugar solution where sugar and water are cooked together - see recipe below. The good thing is that this sugar solution does not have any expiry date at all!

Ingredients:
800 g almond slivers (Mandelstifte)
2 tbsp Läuterzucker
360 g milk chocolate couverture (Vollmilchkuvertüre)

Method:
Mix almond slivers and Läuterzucker well and place them on a baking tray. Roast in a preheated oven at 200º C for about 10 minutes or until golden brown, stirring frequently. Cool down mixture, still stirring frequently in order that the almond slivers are not sticking together.

Melt chocolate couverture in a bowl over a water bath. Remove bowl from water bath and let it cool down a little. Add in the roasted almond slivers and mix well.  Make small heaps using two tablespoons on a baking tray which is lined with pergament paper.  Leave to stand until they are hardened.  Store between layers of pergament paper in a cake tin.


Läuterzucker Ingredients:
1 kg sugar
1 litre water
1/2 tsp citric acid (Zitronensäure)

Method:
In a pot, add sugar and water.  Then, add citric acid and simmer for about 15 - 20 minutes.  Pour the hot mixture through a coffee filter into a measuring jug.  Then, add water to reach the 1 litre mark.  Mix well and pour into a bottle with a twist cap. Without refrigeration, this solution will keep for ages!

Happy Baking!

Zimtwaffeln (Thin Cinnamon Wafers)

Another traditional german cookie which I will bake every year without fail.  The batter is easy to prepare but the baking using the wafer maker is a bit time-consuming. Nevertheless, it is worth the effort because the taste is awesome and the texture is crispy!

Ingredients:
4 eggs
300 g sugar
300 g soft butter
500 g flour
2 tsp cinnamon powder
¼ l fresh milk
A pinch of salt

ghee (Butterschmalz) for the wafer maker (Zimtwaffeleisen)

Method:
Whisk the eggs and sugar till white and creamy. Add in the butter and mix well. Sift in flour and cinnamon powder. Mix well again. Then, add in salt and milk until a soft dough mixture is reached.

Heat up the wafer maker. 

Place 1 – 2 tbsp of dough mixture on it and spread evenly. Close the lid and bake for 2 – 3 minutes or until light brown.

Remove from wafer maker and quickly cut the edges accordingly before it starts to get hard and crispy. 

Let them cool on a cake gitter before storing them in an air-tight tin.

Happy Baking!

Bethmänchen

Another traditional german cookie which I will bake every Christmas.  Its main ingredients consist of marzipan with almond, ground almond, icing sugar and egg. To complete the look, 3 almond halves are pressed onto the circumference of each cookie before brushing with egg yolk.

Ingredients (yields about 15-20 pieces):
300 g marzipan (Marzipanrohmasse)
1 egg
100 g icing sugar (Puderzucker)
4 tbsp flour
100 grounded almonds

50 g halved, peeled almonds
1 egg yolk

Method:
Knead marzipan, egg, sugar powder, flour and grounded almonds together to form a pliable dough. Form dough into small balls and place on baking tray.  Position 3 almond halves onto the circumference of each cookie and brush with egg yolk.

Bake in a preheated oven 180 - 200º C (Fan: 160 - 170º C) until slightly golden brown.  Store between layers of pergament paper in a cake tin.

Happy Baking!

Lebkuchen

This is another traditional german christmas cookie which is quite similar to gingerbread.  This recipe has been passed down to me by my hubby's ex-colleague's mum who is a good baker herself and I will bake this cookie every christmas without fail!  It is advisable to bake this cookie weeks before Christmas in order that the flavours are infused.

Ingredients (yields about 60 pieces):
350 g sugar
250 g ground hazelnuts
250 g sultanas, to be finely chopped
100 g candied lemon peel (Zitronat), to be finely chopped
100 g candied orange peel (Orangeat), to be finely chopped
5 eggs
a shot of Cognac
125 g melted butter
4 tbsp flour
ca. 125 g breadcrumbs (Semmelbrössel)
80 g or 2 packets (à 40g) ground cinnamon (gemahlene Zimt von “Ostmann”)
7,5 g or ½ packet ground clove (gemahlene Nelken von „Ostmann“)
7,5 g or ½ packet potash (Pottasche von “Ostmann“)
1 packet wafer (Oblaten) Ø 50 mm

Glace: 250 g icing sugar (Puderzucker) + 3 - 4 tbsp water (depending to your taste)

Method:
Sift all spices together with flour into a bowl.  Whisk melted butter, eggs and sugar until creamy. Add in all other ingredients except the glace ingredients and mix well. Place about 1 tbsp of mixture on a wafer and spread evenly forming a slight bulge in the middle.  Note:  One can buy a Lebkuchen plastic portioner in any german supermarket or order online from Küchle or Amazon.de.

Bake in a preheated oven 180º (fan oven) on 2nd rack from bottom for about 10 minutes.  Leave to cool on baking sheets.

Prepare glace ingredients and lightly glace the Lebkuchen evenly.  Leave to dry at room temperature. Store Lebkuchen between layers of pergament paper in a cake tin.

Happy Baking!

Zimtsterne

Zimtsterne or Cinnamon Stars is a traditional german cookie which I will bake every Christmas.  The main ingredients consist of cinnamon powder, ground almond and egg whites.  It is very important to leave the cookies overnight at room temperature before baking.  Bear in mind that these cookies only need to be dried in the oven instead of baked!

Ingredients (yields about 70 pieces):
500 g ground almonds
5 egg whites
450 g icing sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon cherry liquor (Kirschwasser)

Method:
Whisk egg whites with a cake machine until white and fluffy. Add in the sifted icing sugar and mix well. Remove about 1 cup (250 ml capacity) of the egg/sugar mixture (egg white glace) and leave it aside. Add in the ground almonds, ground cinnamon and cherry liquor. Knead well and wrap the dough in a cling film. Store in the fridge for about one hour.  One can prepare the dough a day before.

Powder a kneading board with icing sugar. Roll the dough to about 1 cm thick and cut the dough with a star biscuit form. Place them on a baking tray which is lined with a baking paper. 

Brush the top of the dough with the sugar glace mixture and leave them overnight at room temperature. Please note that this has to be done or else, if one bakes the cookies straight away, it will go out of shape.

Preheat the oven to160º C (Fan 130º) and bake the cookies for 7 – 8 minutes. Please do not overbake the cookies cos the top should be snow white and the inside should be soft. It is important to stick to the baking time recommended.

Store the cookies between pergament paper layers in a biscuit container.

Happy Baking!

Coco-Macaroons

Another traditional german cookie which I will bake every year.  If you have left-over egg whites and do not know how to get rid of them, this recipe is just right for you!  It is simple to prepare and tastes delicious!

Ingredients:

250 dessicated coconut (Kokosraspel)

5 egg whites

250 g sugar powder

400 g marzipan (Marzipan-Rohmasse)

grated rind from half a lemon

2 tbsp rum

½ cup sugar

100 g chocolate coating (Schokoladen-Fettglasur)

Method:

Rub the dessicated coconut between both palms over a baking tray and dry mixture in an open oven at 100º C for about 20 minutes.

Whish the egg whites until stiff.  Add in marzipan and half of the sugar powder and mix well.  Add in the dried dessicated coconut, balance of powder sugar, lemon rind and rum and mix well.

Preheat oven to 160º C (Fan:  130º C).  Spoon mixture into a piping bag with a plain nozzle and squirt little balls the size of a walnut on a baking tray.  If you have problems in using the piping bag, just take a tablespoon measure of dough and form it into a ball.  Sprinkle sugar over them.

Bake on the second rack from bottom for about 15 – 20 minutes.  The inside should be soft and the outside should have a light brown crust.  Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Melt chocolate coating in a water bath.  Dip 1/3 of cookie into coating mixture and place on a tray lined with pergament paper.  Leave to dry before storage.

Happy Baking!

Vanilllekipferl

Christmas is approaching and I have started with baking our Christmas cookies!  To start things rolling, I have started to bake Vanillekipferl, small crescent-shaped cookies which mainly consist of ground hazelnuts and almonds.  They are flavoured with vanilla and have a fine sugar dusting finish.   

Ingredients for about 80 Kipferl:

50 g ground almonds

50 g ground hazelnuts

300 g flour

100 g sugar

a pinch of salt

200 cold butter

2 egg yolks

2 small packets vanilla sugar (Vanillin-Zucker)

½ cup fine sugar

Method:

Sift the flour on a kneading board, add in ground almonds, ground hazelnuts, sugar, salt, butter and egg yolks.  Knead dough until pliable.  Wrap the dough with a cling film and leave it in the fridge for about 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 190ºC (Fan 170º).  Take a bit of dough and roll it with your hands to form the shape of long pencils.  Cut the dough into 5 cm lengths and form each length into a small moon by bending both ends inward.

Bake the Vanillekipferl in the centre of oven for 10-12 Minutes.

Mix the vanilla sugar with the fine sugar thoroughly.  Once the Kipferls are ready and still warm, coat them very carefully in the sugar mixture.  Leave to cool down completely.  Store the Kipferl in between layers of pergament paper in a biscuit container in order that they do not break into two.

Happy Baking!