A little Tart and another Anniversary

What do you do when you realize that you have never ever celebrated the anniversaries of your own relationship? After all, this is about being with the One And Only, right? There should be something to celebrate, right? Well, I am growing older, ahem, and I tend to forget a little bit here and there. Haven't I said that before..;-) Luckily, my boyfriend is no different in that respect. Not that he keeps forgetting things (big difference between us as he likes to point out) but when it comes to anniversaries he's just your average bloke who doesn't care much about these things. However, when approaching our - gasp - fourth anniversary, I decided that things finally had to take a turn for the better.

So off we went to Sydney's Observatory Hill that overlooks the harbour including Harbour Bridge, lots of boats, lots of lights, and other things necessary for some romantic atmosphere. After eating our way through crispy chicken pieces, Greek salad, foccacia, brie cheese, and hummous, there was almost no room left for dessert. However, who could say no to a creamy coffee chocolate ganache in an almond hazelnut crust? We certainly didn't!

To make the pastry cases I only had to defrost some leftover shortcrust pastry. For the filling, I had been keen for a while to try these tempting little tarts. However, after fully baking my tart shells, I didn't dare baking them again with the filling inside. I figured that halving the dairy components and not using any eggs might give me a creamy consistency that's still sufficiently stiff. With just a little cream and milk, I only used a quarter of the original amount of coffee. This way, the coffee flavour was nice but already very subtle on the second day. Next time, I might go back to only halving the amount of coffee.

These Vietnamese coffee chocolate tarts made for a fabulous ending of our anniversary picnic and will always remind me not to ever forget it again...

PS: I didn't want to prove this particular point any more but I have to add something I ... forgot ...: This tart is my entry for WTSIM#11 "Waiter, there's something in my...topless tart!" hosted by Cooksister!

Happy Birthday!

Have you ever forgotten your own birthday? Whilst this has happened to me with other people's special days - luckily not too often - so far I was at least able to remember mine. However, it almost happened to this dear blog. Just by chance, I asked myself yesterday when its first anniversary would be. I quickly checked here and - oh my gosh - only one more day to go!

After one year, it's almost hard to believe that there was a life without food blogging. Not that I create something blog-worthy everyday - but all this thinking about food, making food, and photographing food turned out to be much more than a mere hobby. For some people, it might not look like a creative outburst having to wait for dinner whilst I'm busy taking pictures from all angles. However, it gives me an unexpected sense of inner satisfaction when one of my creations not only tastes good but also photographs well. And the best part? Lots of nice people, completely unknown to me, stop by, have a look around and sometimes even drop me a line. This thrill I get when I read new comments, still hasn't worn off. Whenever I'm feeling moody, all I have to do is looking at my stats and smiling at the idea that someone from the Maldives or Ghana or some other very remote place payed my little blog a visit... Nora, I'll always feel indebted to you for introducing me to this new world!

But back to the birthday - there has to be a cake, right? Being only one day ahead of time, I couldn't possibly make a layer cake, try my hands on macarons or do any other fancy stuff. However, I still wanted to do something I'd never made before. One idea popped up in my head that had been lurking somewhere for quite some time: financiers. They're quick to make but still have something mysterious about them. At least for me because in German cookbooks you would never see a cake that doesn't contain any egg yolks, almost no flour (let alone baking powder) but lots of butter, sugar, and almond flour instead. I was a little bit suspicious how such a cake should rise and brown nicely. However, I decided to go with a recipe I had found at Feeding my Enthusiasms - it's originally from David Lebovitz so I figured you can't go wrong with that.

And all my worries proved absolutely unnecessary. After very little work, these tiny cakes began to fill the kitchen with their almond perfume - and they looked so cute with their golden brown tops peeking out of the paper garments. They even made my boyfriend utter an appreciating "hmmmm"...

Exploring Pappa Al Pomodoro

Okay, this one won't be loved for its looks. It's used to be seen as just some leftovers - thrown together into a pot and forgotten on the stove. Stale bread soaked in tomatoes. Peasants' food.

I've always wondered if there's something worth knowing about Pappa Al Pomodoro. After all, it's still around, and not only in Tuscany. So, when leafing through "Jamie's Italy", I always went back to the page with this tomato and bread stew. No matter how many other (more) beautiful dishes were pictured in this lovely book, it was time to finally find out about Pappa Al Pomodoro.

And I'm pleased to say that Jamie didn't promise too much: The oven-roasted tomatoes provided sweetness and concentrated flavour, the bread made for a smooth and silky texture, and the garlic gave it that little extra kick. Instead of the usual basil, flat-leaf parsley had to stand in and did a pretty good job.

For this recipe it's crucial to use good bread, in my case it was the "Heart of Wheat" Bread by Rose Levy Beranbaum. I left the crust on in order to retain some texture - otherwise this stew could easily turn into baby food. I had to add a little more liquid, it was still not quite as soupy as Jamie's version but never mind. Jamie stresses the importance of using good olive oil for this dish. Whilst I'm not using anything fancy or overly expensive, mine has a nice fruity smell to it that certainly contributed to the overall flavour.

It might not have the looks but this dish has a lot going for it.

Pappa Al Pomodoro

The ingredients

500g ripe tomatoes, preferably cherry tomatoes (cut into pieces if using bigger ones)
3 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
1 bunch of flat-leaf parsley, stalks and leaves chopped (or use basil instead)
2 cans of whole peeled tomatoes (400g each)
500g of stale bread, crust on, torn into pieces
salt and freshly ground pepper
olive oil

1
In a roasting tray, toss tomatoes with some olive oil, the slices of one clove of garlic and a quarter of the herb leaves. Season with salt and pepper and prick tomatoes all over. Roast in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius (or 150 degrees fan-baked) for 20 minutes.
Note: I covered the herbs and the garlic with the tomatoes to keep them moist during the bake.

2
In a big pot, saute the parsley stalks and the remaining garlic in some olive oil until soft but not coloured. Add the canned tomatoes. Fill both cans with water and add it, too. Let simmer for 15 minutes, stirring every now and then.

3
Tear the bread into bite-sized pieces and add to the pot. Mix and season to taste. Add the remaining parsley leaves (reserving a little for garnish) and let stand on very low heat for up to ten minutes.

4
Remove the roasted tomato mixture from the oven and add to the pot, scraping everything off the tray. Stir thoroughly and add some more water if necessary (depending on how soupy you like it).

5
Check the seasoning, stir in some olive oil (Jamie suggests 6-7 tablespoons but this seemed too much for me) and serve sprinkled with herbs.

The source
Adapted from Jamie Oliver: "Jamie's Italy"

Cheese Cake, German style, and more Bread

This years World Day of Bread on 16th October has been a complete success. Zorra of Kochtopf the creator of this blog event had to be really busy: check out her round-up of 184 entries with more than 200 bread recipes from 28 different countries!

And it looks like that this streak of bad bread baking luck has finally left me. Since then, I've been able to make the crusty bread rolls pictured above which was quite a miracle in itself. I started off with a recipe by Peter Reinhart and realized mid-way through that I didn't have certain ingredient. So I switched to a Rose Levy Beranbaum recipe - all the way ignoring the difference between dry active yeast (that's what I have at home) and instant yeast (that's what these guys are using). Luckily, I noticed it early enough and could adjust fermenting and rising times accordingly...

For the ones who were interested in a traditional German-style cheese cake, I've finally managed to inquire about the recipe (after baking I had simply forgot to jot it down). Over the years, I've tried many a recipe for this kind of cake which is one of the most popular in Germany. I've also gotten very good results using a few tablespoons of semolina as a stabilizer but the following recipe is the favourite of my family.

Usually, the recipe calls for rum-soaked raisins which also act as a stabilizer. However, this time we had run out of them - but I'm not fond of raisins anyway. That means, most of the time, two cakes have to be baked to make everyone happy..;-)

Shortcrust Pastry
The ingredients

150g butter, softened
100g sugar
pinch of salt
1 egg
1 sachet vanilla sugar (equals a heaped tablespoon)
1-2 tbsp rum
250g all-purpose flour
1/2 sachet baking powder (equals 7.5g)

1
Cream butter with both types of sugar and the salt until pale and fluffy.

2
Incorporate the egg and the rum, mixing thoroughly.

3
Add flour and baking powder mixing on low speed until it all comes together.

4
Take the dough out of the mixing bowl and briefly knead together. Shape into a ball, cover with foil and chill in the fridge until ready to use (at least 30 minutes).

The hint
This dough will be softer than shortcrust pastry that is made by cutting the butter into the flour. However, it should not be sticky. Don't add anymore flour otherwise you'll end up with concrete and not with a tender crust.


The filling
The ingredients

(suitable for a springform 28 centimetres in diameter)

60g butter, softened
200g sugar
2 sachets vanilla sugar
pinch of salt
4 eggs, separated
1 kg quark (can be substituted with ricotta)
50g all-purpose flour
1/2 sachet baking poweder (7.5g)

If using a springform of 26 centimetres, only change the following amounts:

50g butter
150g sugar
3 eggs, separated
1 sachet vanilla sugar
750g quark

(the amounts for flour and baking powder stay the same)

1
In a dry, fat-free bowl, beat the egg whites with the salt until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

2
In another big bowl, cream butter with both types of sugar.

3
Mix in egg yolks until thoroughly incorporated.

4
Mix in quark. To make sure that everything is evenly distributed, use a spatula to scrape down sides and bottom.

5
Scrape egg whites on top of quark mixture, sift flour and baking powder atop. Gently fold everything together.

6
Butter your preferred springform pan and line it with the shortcrust pastry. I usually don't roll it but rather tear off pieces and press them into the tin. I make the rim by rolling pastry into little rolls and pressing them onto the sides of the tin.

7
Pour in the filling and fan-bake at 150 degrees Celsius for up to an hour or until well-set. The crust should be golden-brown and the filling should be speckled with brownish dots.

The hint
After turning off the oven, let the cake rest in there for at least another hour. That way, the quark filling won't collapse as much.

Crusty Bread Rolls

Maybe it's just me. After my latest attempts at bread making, I should have known to pay attention where attention is due. But no, I did not read the recipe carefully enough and I did not convert the measurements properly. In hindsight, I did just about everything wrong that you can do wrong. However, I was lucky enough not to ruin it this time. Okay, the following is an account of how-not-to-bake.

I started off with Peter Reinhart's Kaiser Rolls. In his book "The Bread Baker's Apprentice", they make a very shiny appearance and simply looked so inviting that I instantly knew which bread rolls to make this weekend. I started on a Saturday night with the pate fermentee. Unfortunately, the book doesn't state the ingredients in grams. Not wanting to convert the whole thing I quickly decided to simply use the included baker's percentage. You can simply read 100 per cent as 100 g of flour and go further from there, right? Well, it's not quite as easy. Just after stirring the pate together, I realized that the baker's percentage tells you about the relation between the ingredients in the entire recipe and not just the pate fermentee.


Pate Fermentee or Biga or whatever

200g bread flour
130g water
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp dry active yeast

Dough

All of the above
230g bread flour
water
salt
1 tsp dry active yeast


Luckily, this time the stars were aligned properly,