Scoring points

Being married for a little more than a year, I'm trying to do my best and score some good-wifey- points from time to time. Sometimes it's easy to do something nice for my better half (particularly if it happens to fit in with my own plans), sometimes I actually make myself do something I wouldn't have done otherwise. After all, one shouldn't start to slacken just yet!

What's been surprisingly difficult though, is to make his favourite desserts. Bit embarrassing, isn't it? And I'm not talking about several ill-fated attempts to recreate his mom's best cakes (before you ask, my versions were perfectly edible but unfortunately not half as good as the originals). No, his criterion for a great dessert is quite simple yet I'm still struggling to master it: Whatever you do, it must have chocolate - and loads of it!

Thus, I discovered over the course of the last months that whilst I like chocolate as much as the next person, I'm just as enamoured with vanilla, and come to think of it, I really prefer fruity desserts over anything else. Who knew that it would take just one year of marriage to finally figure that one out.

For our first wedding anniversary (the first of the two) I really wanted to get it right. I borrowed a lovely chocolate dessert cookbook from the library with mouthwatering pictures in it and let him choose a recipe - with only very little guidance in getting to the right chapter, of course. His choice was an American classic: Mississippi Mud Pie!

To my great surprise, this recipe isn't quite as chocolatey as it looks so don't hesitate to up the chocolate/cocoa content. And it's rather nice with vanilla-poached pears, if I might say so myself - after all, marriage is all about compromise!



Mississippi Mud Pie

The ingredients

your favourite shortcrust pastry, enough to thinly line a 20cm-spingform pan

1oog butter
50g dark chocolate, chopped
2-3 tbsp cocoa sifted
1 tsp instant espresso powder
2 small eggs
115g caster sugar
1 tbsp golden syrup
1 tbsp sour cream
1 tbsp vanilla extract (I substituted vanilla sugar for part of the sugar instead)

for serving: chocolate curls and pears poached in vanilla-bean-syrup (optional)

1
Butter the tart pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Line it with the shortcrust pastry, making a small rim around it. Chill the crust while preparing the filling.

2
Melt the butter, stir in the chocolate until combined. Stir in cocoa and instant espresso. Set aside

3
Beat eggs, sugar, and salt until thick and creamy. Add vanilla (if using), sour cream, and golden syrup. Stir in chocolate-butter-mixture.

4
Pour the filling into the tart shell and fan-bake at 150 degrees Celsius for roughly 25 minutes (check after 20 minutes). It will be done when the filling puffs up and forms a crust. Upon cooling, the filling will sink a little and may crack. On the inside, the filling will be firm but sticky.

The source
Adapted from "Chocolate" by Patricia Lousada

The hint
This pie is quite rich so serve in small doses. We ate it over the course of 3-4 days - texture and taste didn't suffer over time. Once the tart shell starts to soften, slicing will be easier, too.

Buttermilk Cake with White Chocolate and Dried Apricots

Here comes another quick treat with the potential to brighten up a rainy weekend (unfortunately a regular occurrence during winter in Sydney). Basically it's the lucky result after trying to make the best use of a couple of leftovers: A few weeks ago, I had lots of buttermilk after this kitchen project, lots of white chocolate after this daunting affair, plus the weak resolve not to eat too heavy a cake this weekend...


After a quick online research, I used Orangette's version of a buttermilk cake to start out with. The major change was cutting down on the sugar and using more flour and buttermilk at the expense of the butter. Of course I knew that with all my tinkering, the white chocolate would still make for ample richness.

I'm not very experienced in baking with white chocolate and didn't know what to expect. However, this cake exceeded all expectations and proved to be really moreish for everyone who took part in devouring it. The biggest surprise were the white chocolate bits that had touched the pan during baking: They turned into caramelized, crispy, brown bits that were the best part of the cake!

Buttermilk Cake with White Chocolate and Dried Apricots

The ingredients

70g unsalted butter, at room temperature
125g granulated sugar
pinch of salt
1 vanilla sugar
3 large eggs
200g unbleached all-purpose flour
½ sachet baking powder (about 1 tsp)
125ml buttermilk
150g dried apricots, chopped
Lots of white chocolate, cut into chunks (at least 150g)

1
Briefly rehydrate apricots in a splash of boiling water. Meanwhile, cream butter with sugar, vanilla sugar, and salt.

2
Add eggs one by one, mixing well in between.

3
On low speed, mix in flour and baking powder. Slowly add buttermilk - the exact amount might vary according to the size of your eggs. The texture of the batter should neither be liquid nor too stiff (I hope that makes sense...).

4
Drain apricots and fold in. Fold in half of the white chocolate. Scrape batter into prepared baking tin, 24 cm in diameter). Sprinkle remaining chocolate on top.

5
Fan-bake at 150 degrees Celsius until golden on top and a wooden skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean (30-40 minutes).

The source
Loosely based on Orangette's Buttermilk Cake

The hint
I've also made this cake with fresh or tinned fruit instead of the apricots and white chocolate. Whitout chocolate, this cake is wonderfully light and fluffy - and finally counts as diet food which is not a bad thing in this particular case. However, this version is best eaten on the day it is made. Otherwise you could restore moistness by brushing it with a little syrup.

Ideas with Quark

I guess it's time to see what I do with all the quark I've been making recently... The following isn't so much a recipe but rather an idea that might lead you to think up your own instant dessert. During one of the previous weekends, the urge to have a little sweet bite after dinner was positively unbearable, and I remembered having some chocolate shortbread dough and raspberries in the freezer plus newly made quark in the fridge. Dessert was only a matter of minutes.

I lined my muffin pan with small sheets of baking paper and the dough and (after a brief stint in the fridge) baked it at 175 degrees Celsius in a preheated oven (not fan-forced). Baking time varies according to size. However, once the pastry looses its shine, it's partially cooked so I then gave it another 5 minutes. Of course, these little tartelettes benefit from blind-baking but I simply poked them with a fork to deflate. Almost as pretty..;-)

Whilst the tartelette cases cooled down, I selected a few nice big raspberries to thaw on a paper towel. The others went onto the stove and got cooked with sugar and a splash of white wine to release their juices. One teaspoon of cornstarch, dissolved in some white wine for thickening. And one tablespoon of cointreau to accentuate the fruity taste.

The raspberries filling went into the tartelette cases first, then the quark filling on top. It's not quite stiff enough to allow for proper piping so you might want to add some gelatin. I ended up with the Leaning Tower of Pisa but who cares anyway.
This filling actually benefits from sitting in the fridge for a day to allow the flavours to mellow. When filled the tartelettes will hold up nicely for a couple of hours but we were too greedy to wait very long..;-)

Maybe you want to give these little tartelettes a try during the next weekend? I imagine the quark filling will pair well with any kind of berry or poached fruit combined with plain, chocolate, or a nutty shortbread base.

PS: Due to a lucky coincidence in topic, I just realized that I'm able to participate with my tartelettes in this month's "Waiter, there's something in my... Berried Treasure!" hosted by Cooksister. Well, quark in my case..;-) If you happen to make something berry-related, there's still time to take part in this event!

Chocolate Shortbread Tartelettes with Quark and Raspberry Filling

The ingredients

100g quark
100g fat-reduced cream cheese
1 tbsp fat-reduced cream
1 tbsp cointreau
1 tbsp vanilla sugar
More sugar according to taste

Mix everything together and sweeten to taste. It will be thick but not stiff.

(You see I tried to make a slightly healthy-version that luckily tasted just as delicious as its fatty cousin. However, if you're not trying to shed a few grams, don't hold yourself back!)

200g frozen raspberries
splash of white wine
sugar to taste
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp cointreau

The yield

This filling is enough for four muffin-pan-sized tartelettes.

The source

My own invention

Daring Bakers do Opera Cake...

...even if it doesn't look like one... Finally, I've been able to participate once again in one of the Daring Bakers' Challenges - and what a challenge! This time, it wasn't nothing less than the classic opera cake that we had to try our hands on. Usually I would shy away from butter cream laden desserts, however, when I saw this challenge I knew instantly who to feed it to. This month, my now-husband was finishing the four-year trial called PhD and I had planned on baking cake for his research lab to eat after the public thesis defence. This super rich recipe seemed to be exactly the thing if you want to feed loads of people (but to be sure I made a red wine dark chocolate cake as well - these engineers can eat a lot).

I started with the joconde two days before - after all, I couldn't risk running late and keeping him awake while trying to finish it. The recipe worked like a charm and now I know which one to choose if I ever try again to make a Swiss roll (my one and only attempt resulted in a totally broken sponge base). The only tricky part was dividing the batter evenly as I didn't have two baking sheets. If trying again, I would probably try to get this unbelievable elastic joconde even thinner for three layers.
To moisten, I used a cointreau-flavoured syrup following the Daring Bakers' recipe.

For the filling I wanted to make a Swiss meringue butter cream, simply because I don't own a sugar thermometer and this variation seemed to be the easiest of butter creams. Luckily, again with a little cointreau as flavouring, it also turned out to be the tastiest butter cream I've ever had (and I normally don't like any of them). This recipe was easy to follow and easy to scale down to 20 per cent which all went on the first layer.

Although I would never want to eat white chocolate on its own, I love white chocolate mousse and the one from the Daring Bakers' recipe was no exception. I doubled the original amounts and used it all to cover the whole cake. As my filling to cake ratio was a bit off the mark, I decided to only pipe some of the white chocolate glaze on top instead of covering the cake or it would have been too sweet for me (besides, my glaze turned out rather stiff anyway).

Only much later (and despite reading the recipe several times) it dawned on me why my concoction wasn't looking like an opera cake at all - I had forgotten to cut the joconde properly to make a smaller cake with three layers! Too bad but I know that I wouldn't have been able to cut dainty, slim slices anyway. While cutting away, T was being questioned by his reviewers and although I was sure that he would pass the whole thing splendidly (which he did), I was the nervous one of us both (so nervous in fact that I couldn't get a decent photo). Well, better this way than the other way round...

Anyway, everyone loved this opera cake despite its homely appearance. Here you can see what it should have been looking like. Check out the recipe at the host's and the two co-hosts' blogs as well as the results of all the Daring Bakers members! This month's DB edition is dedicated to Barbara of Winos and Foodies and her event The Taste of Yellow in order to promote Lance Armstrong's LiveSTRONG foundation - that's why we changed from the traditional coffee-dark-chocolate opera to this light-coloured version!

A Heart for my Valentine... or two

Celebrating Valentine's Day is not considered a German tradition. In recent years, it seems to have caught on a bit but you probably won't see many of the last-minute, rose-buying, desperate-feeling boyfriends storming into a flower shop. Whilst I understand that many men think it ridiculous to buy completely overpriced stuff just because it's the 14th of February, I still think it's never too late to have a bit more romance in your life!

When I saw Zorra's announcement of A Heart for Your Valentine , I knew that I had to participate. With my boyfriend coming from the Black Forest Area, I also knew instantly what to make for him. The only problem, I didn't have any kirsch which is more or less the crucial ingredient for a proper Black Forest Cake. However, love is all about ignoring little imperfections, right..;-)

With only a cookie cutter in heart-shape, this black forest cake comes in very small portions but it's entirely up to you how many you'll eat...

Zorra is posting the round-up continuously in two parts, so check-out all the wonderful heart-shaped creations!


Black Forest Cake

The ingredients

6 eggs, separated
pinch of salt
175g caster sugar
90g butter
140g dark chocolate, in pieces
150g flour
1 tsp baking powder (optional)
vanilla (optional)

For assembly:
canned cherries (I like to use the juice, too, slightly thickened with cornstarch, and a hint of cinnamon)
whipped cream, sweetened to taste with vanilla sugar

optional:
kirsch for dousing the cake
chocolate shavings

1
Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius (no fan-bake).

2
Melt the butter. Once the butter isn't bubbling anymore, add chocolate. Stir until chocolate is melted and evenly combined. Let cool until lukewarm but still liquid.

3
Using a heatproof bowl resting on a hot water bath, beat egg yolks and sugar until pale, creamy and voluminous. This will take a couple of minutes.

4
Using another bowl and clean beaters, beat egg whites with salt until soft peaks form.

5
Sift the flower and baking powder (if using) onto the foamy egg yolks. Pour the chocolate-butter mixture on top. Do not mix at this stage.

6
Add one third of the meringue and stir in to lighten the batter. Lightly fold in the remaining meringue.

7
Pour into a baking pan (26 cm in diametre or a baking sheet) that's buttered only at the bottom. To be safe, use baking paper, too. Bake immediately. A round cake takes roughly 35 minutes, a sheet cake a bit shorter. The cake is done when the top feels springy. Don't overbake or the cake will dry out.

8
Once cooled, cut out little hearts and assemble or fill one large cake with cherries and cream.

The source
GU: "Die grosse Schule des Backens"

The hint
Some recipes specify that you can also add kirsch to the cream. If you want to really taste the kirsch that way, you'll have to add a lot and I recommend stabilizing the cream with gelatin. Many, many years ago, I added too much kirsch, the cream wouldn't become stiff, I kept beating and ended up with kirsch-flavoured butter...

SHF#38: Fool-proof Chocolate Pudding

It might not come as a great surprise when I say that I haven't been posting much lately - or cooking for that matter (the "quick, I'm hungry" kind of cooking doesn't count here). However, I didn't want to miss out on this month's Sugar High Friday hosted by Zorra of 1x umruehren. Alas, due to work commitments, there was no way I could possibly make the sticky date pudding that I had already started dreaming of... It's one of the real Aussie desserts and to be found on many a restaurant menu in Sydney. I've had it only once so far and since then, always wanted to recreate it myself. This is what it would look like but it will have to wait until next year.

However, what does one do when coming home from a long day at work and craving for some comfort and food or comfort food so to speak? You skip dinner, of course, it's past 11pm after all, and rather go straight for dessert instead. In my opinion, there's not much a warm, smooth pudding couldn't fix - even if it actually is a custard, technically speaking.
This really fool-proof recipe fits perfectly into Zorra's theme "The proof is in the pudding" or "The proof of the pudding is in the eating", as the original version of the saying goes.

As I've mentioned before, I quite like the ready-to-use custard mixes you can get in Germany and always make sure to take some with me when visiting my family. However, in order to qualify for SHF#38, this one would have to be made from scratch. It's not quite as fast as opening a sachet but it's dead easy nonetheless. And in case I haven't said it yet, it's truly delicious!

Warm Chocolate Pudding (or Custard)

The ingredients

1/2 l whole milk
40g cornstarch
50g sugar
40g cocoa, dutch-processed
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
1 egg yolk (optional)
1 tbsp dark rum (optional)

The yield
2 big servings or 3 smaller ones

1
Pour 6 tablespoons of the milk (I like to use more) into a mixing bowl. Bring the remainder of the milk to a boil.

2
Add cornstarch, sugar, salt, vanilla bean paste, and cocoa to the reserved milk. Mix thoroughly with a balloon whisk until smooth.

3
Once the milk has reached boiling point, take it off the heat and pour in the cocoa mixture. Keep stirring while doing this.

4
Let the pudding come to a boil once more and let it cook for a minute, stirring all the time. The pudding will thicken quickly.

5
While still hot, whisk in add egg yolk and rum. You need to keep whisking until you are ready to pour the pudding into serving dishes or a skin will form on top.

The source
Adapted from Hedwig Maria Stuber: Ich helf Dir kochen

The hint
This recipe states a lot of cocoa. Unless you're fond of a bittersweet, dark chocolate taste, either decrease the amount of cocoa to 20-30g or add more sugar (can be done at the last step). I've added more sugar but afterwards thought that the original amount is enough.

If you like a lighter texture, fold in a stiffly beaten egg white.

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!

Enjoying German Specialties

After processing all the pictures I've taken while traveling through Germany, I came to realize that I didn't photograph that many meals at all... Anyway, here are a few food related memories. A little bit late, I know - having just arrived in Australia again, I went to Western Australia for work. I was already looking forward to paying another visit to my favourite Australian grocery store as I did last time. However, my only day in Perth turned out to be a Sunday. All I could do was staring through the shop window at the huge bags filled with millet flour, pearl barley, and other hard-to-get foods. Of course, it should be possible to get the same stuff here in Sydney - however, they'll cost me an arm and a leg, I'm sure...

Where was I? You see, no matter how much I've enjoyed the stay in my home country, as soon as I had set my food on Australian earth, the daily life just sucked me in again.

One of the first things I did at home was baking a real German Cheese Cake (pictured above). Made with real quark instead of cream cheese or ricotta, it has a slightly tarter taste and a much lighter texture than American cheese cake. Eating it on a sunny terrace made it taste even better...

After having eaten my way through this and this, I attended the next feast, the wedding of a dear friend.

Another opportunity to indulge in Bavarian doughnuts (a very local food, this version from another part of Bavaria looks slightly different from mine), layer cakes, and God know what else. I'd rather not list all the cakes I've tried and I haven't even said a word about the savoury dishes...

At my parents' place, I used the occasion to watch once again how to make a real Bavarian pork roast. For traditionalists, this is the only way to celebrate a proper Sunday lunch. Whilst I'm not against having something else for lunch, I really enjoy it once in a while. So far, I didn't dare to try my hands on it. Provided I'm still able to decipher my handwritten notes, I'll dare cooking it some time soon. Hopefully, this time I'll be able to take a nicer picture - this one was taken just before shoveling in...


Furthermore, I made some pralines to give away as a birthday present. The cutest ones were these pistachio marzipan hearts - the recipe will follow soon. For some reason I thought using couverture would save me the tedious tempering process. First, I didn't want to go through all this trouble. Secondly, I don't have a candy thermometer. However, this was a misconception and the chocolate coating lost its shine after three or four days. However, they still tasted pretty good; even though I usually don't like marzipan. But who wouldn't love anything heart-shaped?

Rescue Mission: Choc Bread Pudding

When I was planning what to make for a dinner party a couple of days ago, the failed mocha panettone turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The party was sort of an impromptu occasion due to a friend's leaving Australia the next day. While wanting to make something special, I couldn't spend all day in the kitchen on a week night. So I needed quick and easy recipes that still provided an aah&ooh factor. Looking at the big brown loaf of panettone on the dining table, I remembered having seen a recipe for chocolate bread pudding at Anna's Morsels&Musings - this way I would be able to get rid of the bread in the most delicious way!

Luckily, all my dinner guests agreed that this reasoning had been right: The chocolate bread pudding was very chocolatey and moist, but not soggy. The lightly whipped cream and the warm berry sauce gave the dessert a little lightness (not calorie wise, though). The only changes I made to the recipe were substituting dark rum for the Pedro Ximenez Sherry (though I'd love to try that one!) and adding some more milk, another egg, and some cocoa as I was suspecting that I used more bread than Anna. Not to forget the half-hearted try to get rid of some calories by using a mix of milk, evaporated milk, and cream instead of cream only - well, I admittedly had to empty some open jars...
The next day, suprisingly, the leftovers served cold alongside vanilla yogurt and some berry sauce tasted even better.

If you're looking for a fuss-free main course, this parmesan-crusted chicken will fit the bill perfectly. All it requires is a quick brush with a mustard mixture (I was pretty generous with the mustard but it was still not overly noticable - next time, I'd use even more), coating it in grated parmesan and up it goes for a good 15 minutes into the preheated oven. The chicken was very juicy and flavourful with some nice crisp from the cheese. Serve it with baked potatoes and you'll be able to enjoy the evening while the oven does most of the job.

Mocha Panettone...

...with dark chocolate and pine nuts. Sounds good, doesn't it? Unfortunately, taste wise, the result was nothing short of a disappointment. There had been a little voice inside my head, asking if it really was such a good idea to use instant coffee as the main flavouring. However, the recipe said so - the accompanying picture was appealing enough - and I love these sweet yeast breads.

After the first slice it was already obvious that I didn't want to eat the whole loaf on its own. The coffee flavour was terrible, the texture was rather dry - and the chunks of dark chocolate definitely couldn't make up for that. But I didn't want to throw away the whole thing either. After all, besides the instant coffee, lots of good ingredients had been used to make this rather bland bread. So I had to think of something else to do with it...stay tuned!

Note: So far, it was the first and only recipe from the Bread Machine Kitchen Handbook that wasn't a success. Assuming that no one will want to try this particular recipe, I won't bother posting it.

Chocolate Crumble Cake by Mum

In Germany things like baking powder or vanilla sugar are sold in little sachets. Pretty convenient for the lazy baker who doesn’t want to bother with measuring. But the best part is the recipes on the back. My mom used to collect them (and I do it, too, sometimes). She has quite a stack of them; all bundled up and secured with rubber band. Some are 15 years old – or even older. Looking through them, you can stumble upon real treasures. We’ve got our family vanilla ice cream recipe from one of them (something I hope to make and blog about pretty soon).

Another one is a cake that never failed to impress – the combination of pound cake, ricotta filling, and most importantly the chocolate crumble topping is uncommon enough to spark interest at once. The original recipe didn’t have the filling but a spread of red currant jam instead. That was quite good but my mum came up with the idea of a quark filling that was even better. It pretty much sums up her approach to cooking and baking: nothing fancy-schmancy – just down-to-earth and simply good. Happy Mother’s Day, mum!

Chocolate Crumble Cake with Ricotta Filling

Pound Cake Base
75g butter
75g caster sugar
1 tbsp vanilla sugar (heaped)
1 egg
150g all-purpose flour
50g cornstarch
1 tsp baking powder
2-4 tbsp milk

Beat butter until soft, add both types of sugar. Beat until pale and fluffy, the sugar should be dissolved. Add the egg and mix well. Add the dry ingredients and as much milk as needed (the dough should be rather on the stiff side). Spread into a prepared springform pan creating a little rim if desired).

Ricotta Filling
2 egg yolks
100g caster sugar
1 tbsp vanilla sugar, heaped
500g Ricotta (should be rather sour, do not use the ricotta for baked cheesecake)
2 egg whites

Beat the egg whites until stiff. In another bowl, beat the egg yolks and the sugar until pale and fluffy and the sugar is dissolved. Add ricotta and mix well. Gently fold in egg whites. Spread ricotta filling on top of vanilla dough.

Chocolate Crumble Topping
150g flour
30g cocoa
100g sugar
1 tbsp vanilla sugar, heaped
100g butter, cold, diced

Mix with your fingers until coarse crumbles form. Do not over mix (otherwise the butter will melt and mixture will get too soft to form proper crumbles). Sprinkle atop ricotta filling.

Fan-bake cake at 150 degrees Celsius (otherwise 170 degrees Celsius in a preheated oven) for about half an hour. If the ricotta filling is still wobbly, bake for another five minutes. Let cool down thoroughly before unmolding. Otherwise the cake might crack.

The source
My mum and a very old vanilla sugar sachet

The hint
If you can track it down, use European-style quark or curd for the filling – that’s what the original recipe calls for.

If using a mini-loaf pan, you’ll have leftover ricotta filling which can be baked separately as little soufflé. The leftover crumble can be frozen.

Plum Cake Heresy

When it comes to food, most people have a certain conception of how things have to be. It's like any other kind of dogma you could easily start a fight about: Do you pour some olive oil in the water while cooking pasta or don't you? What's the right way to cut an onion? Should there be a law for or against rinsing meat? Some of your culinary beliefs might never get questioned at all, others will get shattered after the first contact with a truly inaugurated foodie.

However, I would have never imagined that my idea of the perfect plum cake could ever change. All people ate it that way, right? There simply is no other way, right? To my utter disbelief, my boyfriend wasn't quite convinced of the superior nature of my plum cake. In fact in his opinion, the one he always ate at his parents' place was exactly how a plum cake should be. Now my curiosity was sparked. Although being pressed hard, the only thing he stated was: It's a brown dough. Patiently asking my way through all sorts of possibilities - was it soft, was it crispy - we settled on some kind of shortcrust pastry. Alas, he couldn't tell me where the brown colour came from. So I decided to do some online recipe research and after a while came up with a recipe for Chocolate Plum Galette found on Food & Wine. I wasn't sure if using cocoa really would produce the right kind of "brown" but I had to try and he likes all things chocolate anyway.

I slightly increased the amount of cocoa for a really rich chocolate taste but lacking fresh rosemary as well as an organic orange I omitted both. Truth be told, this rosemary seemed to stray away from my idea of a plum cake just a bit too much... Maybe one day I'll try this rather unusual combination but this time I paired the plums with the trusted duo of rum and cinnamon. Apart from the fact that the carefully shaped rim of this free form tart collapsed while pre-baking, everything went well.

I freely admit that the beautiful combination of plums and chocolate caused me to reconsider my once firmly grounded beliefs. But of course, it was not in the least as my boyfriend had remembered his mom's plum tarts.

PS: Meanwhile, I've inquired about the mysterious plum cake and got the recipe. I'm looking forward to giving it a whirl very soon.

SLW Challenge: Who Inspires You?

Who inspires you? That's a question I seldom think about consciously. No matter that there are ever so many people to set an example or to turn to for advice in difficult situations. When Lara - the administrator of my food photography group on flickr - asked this very question as the monthly food photography challenge, it took me almost all of March to decide about it. In terms of food photography, I don't know anyone personally who is into that. Mostly all I can do is staring at other people's mouthwatering pictures and pondering what'dahell they did to make it look so good. Add to this a bit of reading around the internet and Lara's helpful hints on her food photography blog StillLifeWith and that's basically all I know about it.

Hence, it may not be unexpected that I frequently reach my limits. I had finally figured out whose pictures I admire the most but then, the trouble started. I absolutely adore the macro shots of Nicky from Delicious Days like this one - but I don't have a macro lens. Second, I absolutely adore the well-arranged shots of Bea from La Tartine Gourmande like that one - but I'm lacking all those nice little plates/bowls/cutlery/place mats you would need to recreate such a shot. Let me tell you my heart is aching whenever I come near any homewear store... Another one of my favourites is Melissa from Traveler's Lunchbox. Usually, she, too, does most of her shots with elaborate settings like that one. However, her picture of a flourless chocolate cake didn't use too many different things (except one very beautiful cake fork as you can see here) so I tried to reproduce it. And oh boy, did I fail... While managing to reproduce the cake (except that I didn't have ground almonds so I had to chop them myself which resulted in a less smooth batter and a less smoothly cut slice) - I wasn't able to reproduce the picture with the original soft lighting. Very disappointing! I also tried once to reproduce a very nice bread picture of MattBites but I couldn't figure out the proper lighting on that one either. It hadn't looked particularly difficult but it was particularly difficult. In the end, after many a trial and error, I managed to take a picture that I really liked but it didn't have much to do with the original. You see, I'm still wondering how on earth they do it...

SHF#28: Sweet Seduction

They may not look like it – but those mugs are well travelled. They’ve found their first home in a shared house back in Germany, got separated and after one and a half year were finally reunited in Australia. Hey, and they’re not even chipped, right?

Those mugs may not look elegant – in fact, they’re handmade by myself. They were part of the first Christmas present for my boyfriend after discovering that he did not own a single piece of crockery let alone cookware. Of course, while living in a shared house this wasn’t really necessary. But to me, at least having my own coffee cup would have been utterly necessary to feel at home. Knowing that in three months time he would leave Germany in order to move to Australia, I thought I had better paint my name on… So off he went taking the cup with my name with him and leaving me (and the other cup) behind. Ok, that does sound too pathetic. We knew already that I would come and join him later. However, we didn’t know that it would really take that long. Since then, the two mugs are quietly sharing the shelf with each other (and a couple of other mugs, too). We’re not quite sure yet where we will live in the next couple of years but I’ll make sure that those mugs come along.

While thinking hard about what to make for Sugar High Friday No. 28 "Sweet Seduction" - hosted by Jasmine of Cardamom Addict - my good old mugs gave me the well-needed inspiration to make something that could be spooned out of them. My boyfriend strongly voted for something chocolatey - and there you go!

Valentine’s Day Chocolate Pudding (or Mousse or whatever you’d like to call it)

The ingredients

300ml milk
1 teaspoon instant espresso (I forgot it in the end)
50g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
50g caster sugar
1 small egg
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract or vanilla sugar
Pinch of salt
1 heaped tablespoon of cornstarch (for dipping consistency, otherwise use 2 tablespoons)
1 heaped tablespoon of cocoa
1 tablespoon Rum (I forgot this one, too…)

100ml cream, whipped (20% fat works well in here)
1 teaspoon of cocoa
1 sachet vanilla sugar
1 teaspoon caster sugar

To serve: Blackberries and chocolate-drizzled sugar cookies for dipping

Yield: rather 3 than 2 servings (or 4 if you're not too greedy)

1
Using a wire whisk, mix milk, cacao, cornstarch, and salt (the instant espresso should go in here as well). While stirring continually, let it come to a boil (all the lumps should vanish by now). When the mixture is noticeably thickened, set aside.

2
In a metal bowl, mix caster sugar and egg. Prop the bowl on top of the pot with the milk mixture (providing they have suitable sizes) and beat until pale and fluffy. Take the bowl off the pot and continue beating for 1-2 minutes.

3
Put the chocolate pieces into the milk mixture and stir until melted and thoroughly combined (at this stage, the rum should be stirred in, too) and let cool down.

4
Meanwhile, beat cream with cocoa, sugar and vanilla sugar until stiff.

5
Fold egg and sugar mixture and cream into the chocolate-milk mixture. Spoon into mugs and pop into the fridge until ready to serve.

The source

My own blend of several recipes found on Food&Wine

The hint

I have to admit that I was not patient enough to let everything cool down properly. This and the fact that I had only used one tablespoon of cornstarch led to a somewhat viscous texture. If you prefer it a bit more solid, I’ll recommend to follow the instructions and to wait patiently… However, the resulting pudding-mousse was not only rich and chocolatey but also very silky!

In case you want to know what we had as main course:

Roasted chicken drumsticks (marinated in honey, soy sauce, paprika, and chili flakes) with a salad of fried asparagus, diced tomato and croutons. I’m pretty sure it’s not a recommended match to have the Sparkling Shiraz of Bimbadgen Estate (Hunter Valley, Australia) with both courses – but Valentine’s Day was a perfect occasion to finally open this lovely bottle!

Almost a Pound Cake

At age twelve, when my mother started to teach me how to bake, my first attempt was a pound cake. Well, sort of a pound cake as it did not contain a full pound of each ingredient. It is said this type of cake is to be the easiest one of all. I strongly disagree with that.

Apart from the fact that there are quite a few steps involved where you can screw things up, there are so many different techniques and ingredients: using whole eggs/egg yolks/beaten egg whites, using margarine/butter/melted butter/oil, using caster sugar/powdered sugar, and using flour/starch/flour-starch-mix. You know what I mean? Even if you follow the same recipe with the same amounts of every ingredient once you start swapping ingredients as well as techniques you will end up with slightly different results. Ok, I’m not totally desperate. Apart from one completely under baked cake all my attempts so far were perfectly edible and got usually wolfed down in no time.

However, there is something that nags on my baker’s conscience: I have never been able to produce a cake with long strands of dough which give the cake a certain fluffiness while still being very moist. No matter how I might beat, whisk, or cream – I never came close to my ideal. Sounds a bit exaggerated? Maybe, but this legendary cake really does exist. One of my oldest friends, Martina, used to make a red wine cake just this way. Of course, I asked her for the recipe and she walked me through each step. However, while being tasty it still wasn’t like hers. It still isn’t.

That’s the reason why I’m always on the lookout for new recipes. You’ll never know when you’ve got a winner… This time, I found at Fool for Food as well as What’s for Lunch, Honey? recipes containing no baking powder at all. I never tried that, always felt too scared. But this time, taking up Meeta’s challenge ;-) I thought I’d give it a go. Meeta’s version was a bit too rich so I opted for Claudia’s version which was more suited for two eaters. Originally, this recipe comes from the highly-decorated chef Lea Linster of Luxembourg. That said, I was still a bit sceptical. However, much to my surprise, it really worked.

You have to use equal ingredients, 230g of each: butter, sugar, eggs, and flour (hence almost a pound cake). You let them come to room temperature - I placed my ingredients on the kitchen table 1,5 hours before starting which was alright. Mix the ingredients in the above stated order. Make sure that every egg is fully incorporated before adding another one and that the mixture is not over mixed once the flour is added. A pinch of salt is all you need for flavour but adding some vanilla or lemon zest won’t hurt (I used vanilla sugar, substituted some flour with cocoa, and added some chopped dark chocolate). The resulting batter was so smooth that it resembled butter cream. Could be eaten straight from the mixing bowl...

Fan-bake the batter at 150 degrees Celsius for 50 to 60 minutes (my cake took its time: 70 minutes). Despite my doubts, the cake was rising beautifully. You see, there is no need to use baking powder any more! However, I’m still missing those wonderful long, flaky strands in my crumb…

The ingredients

230g butter (at room temperature)
230g sugar (at room temperature)
pinch of salt (at room temperature)
230g eggs (usually 4, at room temperature)
230g flour (at room temperature)

optional: vanilla sugar, lemon zest, cocoa, chopped chocolate...

1
Beat butter until pale and fluffy, add sugar, salt, and vanilla sugar. Beat thoroughly (sugar won't be fully dissolved yet).

2
Add one egg at a time, making sure that each is fully incorporated.

3
Add flour and mix until properly combined but no longer. For the sake of completeness: Lea Linster lets her batter sit for 45 minutes at room temperature before baking but I don't have a clue why you should do so and skipped this step.

4
Bake at 180 degrees Celsius (150 when fan-bake) 50-60 minutes (original recipe states only 45 minutes - use a skewer inserted in the middle to test doneness).

The source

Fool for Food respectively Lea Linster.

SHF#27: Chocolate by Brand

I’ve eagerly awaited this month’s Sugar High Friday hosted by David Lebovitz, patissier and chocolatier in Paris: His theme is Chocolate by Brand. Great – who doesn’t like chocolate? But on the other hand, it really made me think: What on earth should I make? There are thousands of chocolate-laden recipes out there. And what type of chocolate should I use since it was of such paramount importance?

I have to say that so far, I have never used any sophisticated chocolate brand. It was during my first contact with the blog world that I learned about Scharffen Berger, Valhrona, and all those other fancy brands. Of course, none of my local supermarkets had any of those in stock. So what’s there to choose from? Nestle (I like their classic dark one but I wanted to try something different), Cadbury (which I can’t stand at all), and Lindt (I like their pralines a lot but I’m not a big fan of their bars).

Apart from those, I found a brand from New Zealand that was completely unknown to me. Unfortunately, there is no reason why you should know Whittakers – at least that was my first thought after tasting a piece. I didn’t want to spoil the whole experience so I decided not to use it. (What am I going to do with that 250g-bar sitting in my fridge?) Luckily, on my way home I had also picked up a few bars of my favourite German chocolate brand, Ritter Sport.

While thinking back and forth, I had also managed to settle on a certain recipe: flourless chocolate cake. I had never before made such a cake – so it was about time. And I reckoned that with such a pure recipe – only chocolate, sugar, butter, and a tiny bit of flour – the character of the chocolate would really shine. Originally, I wanted to try Clotilde’s version on Chocolate&Zucchini. However, due to my on-going not-so-strict diet, I decided to make the waistline-friendly version of Petra of Chili&Ciabatta. I strictly sticked to the recipe but baked the cake in muffin tins. Without any experience, I shouldn’t have done it… In such tiny baking pans over baking can happen pretty quickly. One minute too long in the oven and the gooey centre is getting solid. To my great relief, the cakes were not completely dry – so all was not lost. They were nice and chocolaty but due to my mistake didn't quite live up to their reputation. Next time, I’m going to try Clotilde’s version and maybe I’ll be able to track down those fancy chocolate brands!

Baking Christmas Cookies – Part II

This year, I did do my share of baking for the upcoming holiday season: That's the second batch of my Christmas Cookies. I made the Chocolate Taler after my boyfriend had given me a not-so-subtle hint that he wouldn't mind an all-chocolate cookie... I haven't tried the recipe before and was very pleased with the result: chocolatey but not overly sweet, substantial but not too heavy for happily devouring one after another. Straight from the oven, they are pretty crunchy but get chewy after a few days. The original recipe didn't call for the dunking in rich chocolate ganache but we did not regret this little tweaking.

The other recipe for coconut macaroons is from Molly of Orangette. After reading this delicious description, I knew I had to try it. Alas, I didn't follow the recipe to the letter and the macaroons turned out to be not-so-great. I reckon I'm the one to blame that they were a bit dry - I made them bite-sized, much smaller than Molly did. However, I want to ask her about the details to figure out what exactly I have done wrong. After all, they're not entirely bad...


Chocolate Taler


The ingredients

125 g butter, cold, diced
150 g sugar
100 g ground almonds
250 g mix of flour and 3 tablespoons cocoa
5-10 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon baking powder

Chocolate glaze

1
Mix dry ingredients on top of your work surface. Rub in butter and start kneading. Use as many tablespoons of milk as necessary for the dough to come together.

2
Form dough into four strands of equal thickness. Try to do this as quickly as possible so the butter doesn't start melting. Furthermore, try not to roll the dough strands to much as this will cause the strands to fall apart. Chill the dough at least 30 minutes.
Note: I once read that freezing the dough would enable you to cut off neat little discs. Let me tell you, this doesn't work.

3
Cut off slices about three millimetres in thickness and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 200 degrees Celsius for approximately ten minutes.
Note: If you bake the cookies at a lower temperature, they will get cracks. I baked the first batch at 150 degrees Celsius (fan bake) and the second batch as requested. The second batch looked much nicer.

4
Let cool and dunk in chocolate glaze. I used a chocolate ganache - it tastes wonderful but it doesn't get very firm. Here in Australia, I prefer to store them in the fridge (but let them get room temperature before serving).

The source
Vohenstrausser Kochbuch - an classic old-style cookbook from my homeland, the Upper Palatinate in Bavaria, Germany


Coconut Macaroons


It's best to follow Molly's instructions! Just one hint: She mentions that her recipe for chocolate ganache is much more than you need for dunking the macaroons. I used this ganache for dunking the macaroons, the Chocolate Taler, and for glazing the "Ischler Toertchen". It was just the right amount for all three batches and it tastes way better than any store-bought chocolate glaze!

Baking Christmas Cookies – Part I

With Christmas Eve coming up in less than a week, it was about time for me to start baking Christmas cookies. And I have to admit, it was the desperate attempt to get some sort of Christmas feeling, at last. I don’t insist on having a white Christmas – coming from an area in Northern Bavaria where you can’t bet on that – but having Christmas in summer is really another story. Additionally, you can’t get hold of any real pine tree in this climate zone so forget about having a proper Christmas tree. So far, I couldn’t get myself accustomed to the idea of putting presents underneath a plastic tree. Therefore, there won’t be any Christmas tree for me this year. To make matters even worse, I won’t see any members of my family as they will of course celebrate their Christmas back home in Germany.

After numerating this sad litany, I decided to cheer myself up a bit before getting another fit of severe self-pity. And what’s better than doing some baking? Unfortunately, it can’t get any of my beloved ones closer to me but there is some consolation in the fact that they will be eating just the same cookies.

“Vanillekipferl” (Vanilla Crescents)

This recipe is a real classic. Its sweet vanilla scent is absolutely irresistible and the crunchy-crumbly feeling when biting into one of those – words can’t describe this… Another big advantage of this recipe is its versatility. The dough is pretty similar to the one of “Ischler Toertchen” (tartlets of Ischl, a town in Austria), another favourite cookie of mine. So I divided the dough into two halves and was able to make both types of cookies. This also saves you a considerable amount of time as intensive cookie baking can soon turn into some sort of kitchen slavery.

The ingredients

300 g flour
125 g sugar
1 sachet vanilla sugar (about a heaped tablespoon)
150 g ground almonds
250 g butter, cold, diced
3 egg yolks

Icing sugar, mixed with vanilla sugar

1
Sift flour onto your work surface, mix with sugar, vanilla sugar, and almonds.

2
Rub butter into the mixture, mix in egg yolks. Trying to work as fast as possible, knead until there are no butter lumps left. Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes (or put it into the freezer if you are in a hurry).

3
Form dough into two thin rolls (At this stage, you can save half of the dough for another purpose.). Try to get even strands but don’t roll the dough too long as it will fall apart. Cut dough strands into small pieces and form each into a small crescent. The middle part should be thicker than the ends.

4
Place crescents on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Make sure not to put them too close to each other as they will rise during the baking process. Fan bake at 150 degrees Celsius until light golden, approximately for ten to twelve minutes.

5
While still hot turn the crescents in a mixture of icing sugar and vanilla sugar until evenly coated. Handle with care, at this stage they can break easily.

The source

Hedwig Maria Stuber: Ich helf Dir kochen

“Ischler Toertchen” (Tartlets from Ischl)

As said before, you can easily use the dough from the vanilla crescents to save some time. However, the nutty almond flavour won’t be very strong because store-bought almond flour is usually made of peeled almonds. The original recipe calls for unpeeled almonds to be ground and that makes quite a difference.

The ingredients

140 g butter
140 g flour
70 g sugar
70 g unpeeled, ground almonds
Pinch of salt

Apricot jam
Chocolate glaze
Flaked almonds or peeled almond halves

1
Rub butter into mixture of dry ingredients. Working as fast as possible, knead until dough gets a smooth and even consistency. Chill for at least half an hour.

2
Roll out the dough using as little extra flour as possible. Cut out cookies using a flower shaped cookie cutter (I didn't have one so I used a heart-shaped one). Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and fan bake at 150 degrees Celsius until light golden.

3
Let cool and sandwich together with apricot jam. To get a spreadable apricot jam, heat the jam with a little water, stirring constantly. You can strain the jam to get rid of fruit pieces but this is optional.

4
Spread chocolate glaze on top of the sandwiched cookies and decorate with almonds halves or flaked almonds.

The hints

If you can’t get store-bought almond flour made of unpeeled almonds and don’t own a food processor, you could substitute half of the almonds with ground hazelnuts.

This is the Christmas version of “Ischler Toertchen”. The original calls for a chocolate butter cream to sandwich in between.

In case you want more cookies and fewer calories when eating one: Forget the sandwiching and just glaze single ones with chocolate.

And, of course, if you opt for the original recipe, you could turn this dough into vanilla crescents as well.

Creating my own chocolate tart – an experiment

Every now and then, I provide cakes for informal birthday parties in my boyfriend’s office. On the one hand, it gives me a reason for baking which is always a good thing. On the other hand, the guys are always pretty pleased with the results and give me some more money than necessary for the ingredients. I would not call it an income but it’s nice to get shown some appreciation in a measurable way.

To cater for a crowd of hungry engineers, I usually make a small round cake and a baking tray. The small one always has to be a chocolate cake – all guys are just the same when it comes to sweet things. A chocolate sponge filled and frosted with chocolate ganache and raspberry jam proved to be a real crowd pleaser. However, having already made the whole lot once this week, I decided to try something different. Additionally, the order came on short notice and I didn’t feel like going to the supermarket twice a day. Therefore, a quick look into the fridge: I always have a little supply of chocolate so the key ingredient was not a problem. However, there was almost no cream left and only a little cream cheese. Instead, a big tub of low-fat sour cream sat on the shelf. I’m not extremely fond of American cheese cake but don’t they throw sour cream into it? How would this pair with chocolate? Too sour or just a nice counterpart to cut down the sweetness? Partly out of curiosity and partly out of mere necessity, I decided to give it a shot.

Fortunately, I had some leftover shortcrust pastry in the freezer which just has to thaw. In the meantime, I start with the filling by melting 150g of chocolate. I add cream, cream cheese, and sour cream – and the stuff tastes far too acidic. What to do? After all, I don’t want to disappoint the guys. Frantically, I stir in four tablespoons of cocoa – still not chocolatey enough. Okay, more chocolate has to be melted. It’s getting better but still not sweet enough. Some icing sugar is stirred in, followed by some rum essence to lift it up a bit. And step by step, I start to feel like having created something really good! To balance the taste a little bit, I add a small egg yolk and notice that I really like it by now. However, I'm still a bit insecure. Would it get firm enough for slicing? Would it match the pastry base? Would the engineers like it?

I pour the filling into the tart shell. The smooth and shiny surface of my experimental tart looks already good to me but I want to dress it up with some walnut caramel. Those dark golden bits have a stunning look and add a much welcomed crunch.

The next day, the engineers clean their plates even faster than usual.

The ingredients

Pastry base

A fully baked tart shell, 20 centimeters in diameter.
(I used a recipe from the bible for German down to earth food - Hedwig Maria Stuber: Ich helf Dir kochen)

Chocolate filling

250 g dark chocolate
300g sour cream, light
1 ½ tablespoons cream cheese
4 tablespoons thickened cream
4 tablespoons cocoa
4 tablespoons icing sugar
½ bottle of rum essence
1 egg yolk

Topping

A handful of walnut halves, chopped
4 tablespoons sugar

1
Break chocolate into pieces; melt over a bowl with hot water. Thoroughly stir cream cheese into the warm chocolate using a wire whisk.

2
Add cream and sour cream; add cocoa and icing sugar, stirring vigorously.

3
Add half of the bottle of rum essence, maybe ten drops. You could use real rum but I reckon the mixture would get too runny. Stir in egg yolk.

4
When the mixture has cooled completely, pour into tart shell and pop into the fridge until firm (or overnight).

5
For the walnut caramel, melt sugar over medium heat until golden brown. Remove from heat and stir in walnut pieces. Spread the sticky mixture on parchment paper using a knife. When cool to the touch and firm, chop into crumbles. Decorate the firm chocolate filling with walnut caramel. Chill the tart until serving.

The source

My very own creation

Fiery Chocolate Truffles – SHF 25

It must be about nine or ten months ago that I got to know the world of food blogs. When a friend told me about some of her favourite blogs, I started reading – and haven’t been able to stop ever since. Gorgeous pictures, wonderful recipes, a touching style of writing – and miraculously, everybody seemed to know each other. There was some sort of secret community between all those food lovers out there and they even gathered in certain events with weird names like IMBB or SHF. It took me a little while to figure out what “Is my blog burning?” or “Sugar High Friday” really meant. And after some more time I also figured out that you actually don’t need a formal invitation to join in. Although SHF is founded by Jennifer, The Domestic Goddess herself, there is no deity of the silver spoon you have to beg for permission – all you have to do is to cook or bake according to the chosen topic and blog about it. What a relief, I’m allowed to play with all the other kids in the sandpit!

After eventually getting serious with my blogging ambitions this November, I eagerly awaited the first opportunity to take part in SHF – sweet tooth that I am. Having already thought about making homemade pralines again, it came as a nice surprise that Johanna from The Passionate Cook had chosen the topic “chocolate truffles”. Thus, my official entry into the food blogger community will be a baptism in molten chocolate!

Since the mouth-watering movie “Chocolat” I always wanted to try cayenne pepper or chilli in chocolate. Having only the latter in my cupboard, the decision was easy. I also had some kirsch leftover – imported by myself from the Black Forest to make a real Black Forest birthday cake. This seemed to be a worthy occasion to use it all up. I decided not to add any more spices because I wanted to know the pure taste of the main ingredients. However, I tried two different types of chocolate. While having enjoyed both varieties, the dark chocolate works better in this recipe: The chilli gets tamed by the more intense chocolate flavour which would otherwise overwhelm the kirsch. In any case, I liked the sizzling hot sensation on my tongue – those are really fiery chocolate truffles.


Fiery Chocolate Truffles

The ingredients

100g milk chocolate
100g dark chocolate
4 tablespoons thickened cream, heaped
5-6 tablespoons kirsch
½ teaspoon chilli flakes
Cacao, icing sugar, chocolate streusel topping

Makes about 30 truffles

1
Using separate bowls break each sort of chocolate into small pieces. Pour 2-3 tablespoons of kirsch in each bowl.

2
Pour the cream in a little pot, add the chilli flakes and let simmer for a couple of minutes. Strain the cream and divide it evenly between the two chocolate mixtures.

3
Place the bowls over a pot with hot water to melt and combine the ingredients, stirring thoroughly. When the chocolate is melted, let cool down, place glad wrap on top and pop it in the fridge over night until very firm.

4
Place your chosen toppings on three plates, sifting cacao and icing sugar. Use a teaspoon to scoop portions of the truffles compound. The rounder you get it in this stage the less you will have to form it later. Press with your fingers into a ball-like shape. If the mixture gets too sticky, put it into the freezer for a couple of minutes to firm up again. It also helps to wash your hands with very cold water before starting and in between.

5
Roll the truffles in your chosen coating. If you’re not happy with their shape yet: Place them in the freezer, after an estimated 20 minutes you’ll be able to roll them between your palms to flatten bumps. However, do it as quickly as possible or it will get messy again!


The source
A blend of several recipes found on www.chefkoch.de


The hint
Especially in summer, keep the truffles in the fridge but make sure to let them regain room temperature before eating.