Marzipan-Stollen (with Milk Roux and Preferment)

I really, really, really love making Stollen. I have many fond memories of doing it with my mother following an old recipe from my grandmother, soaking the raisins and proofing the dough, rolling out the marzipan for the centre and brushing it with butter when it was done. It was a sure sign that Christmas was on the way- Stollen is to be made weeks before, at least three to four, but for us it was usually early or mid-November when we started to give it optimal time to age. Even though there's over a month to the holidays, the fact that there's a stollen in the pantry wrapped up and ready meant the promise of Christmas right around the corner.

The unbaked Stollen, ready to go.

There are many recipes for Stollen, and none are right or wrong- though for my family, the ultimate stollen has got to be a buttery yeast dough full of raisins, currants, citrus peel and almonds, and the marzipan core is a must. I plan to make another batch closer to Christmas with a baking powder-egg-quark dough that's nothing like what we usually have, but there's got to be something traditional there, too- it's Christmas, after all.

Powdered up and ready to lie in wait until Christmas...

While this isn't my Oma's recipe, I think this is an improvement- more butter and less sugar in the dough, with copious amounts of fruit and nuts and lots of different spices. There's a roux in the dough to keep it soft and moist until Christmas, and of course plenty of my beloved marzipan. It's crusted thickly in two types of sugar along with the butter, and is less breadlike and more dense than what we usually have. I think it helps that we didn't use a high-gluten flour this year, instead opting for type 550/all purpose flour, and didn't overdo it with the resting times. I've seen a lot of bread-like stollen recipes, but it just doesn't seem right to me- but hey, to each their own. Stollen is a very personal business.

After baking, I always pick out the burnt nuts and fruits that get totally carbonized on top (it seems you can't avoid that) before brushing on the butter and powdering it up. Next, the loaves get wrapped in baking parchment and aluminium foil and placed in the cabinet above the range for a nice, long time. I'm always a little nervous letting them sit, although I know they've got to- then again, I've heard of fruitcakes that sit for a full year (or more) before consumption. 

And after a long wait... fantastic stollen that's moist and soft but not too much so, crusted in vanillaey sugar and complete with a marzipan centre.

Marzipan-Stollen
Adapted from Hefe und Mehr

For the Fruit and Nuts:
225 g. Mixed yellow, green and dark raisins/sultanas
75 g. Currants
100 g. Slivered/chopped almonds
70 ml. Dark spiced rum
Boiling water, to cover

Mix all and cover with just enough hot water to almost top off the fruits. Leave overnight in the refrigerator to absorb.

(NOTE: I forgot to presoak my fruits overnight, so mine only got about 3-4 hours in the rum mixture... if you want a strong rum flavour, though, go for the full 12-14 hour soak, or add a few drops of rum extracts to the fruits to boost the flavour as a quick fix. I also went a little overboard with the sultanas- but that's a matter of personal taste. The amount given is already very generous.)

For the Roux:
30 g. All purpose/type 550 flour
150 g. Milk

In a small saucepan, cook on medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until 65℃- or until it forms an almost translucent, pudding-like paste. Place in a cool bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let cool to room temperature before using.

For the Preferment:
100 g. All purpose/type 550 flour
100 g. Milk, cold
35 g. Fresh yeast

Mix all and let rise until doubled.

Final Dough:
400 g. All purpose/type 550 flour
5 g. Salt
0.5 g. Each mace, nutmeg, cinnamon and cardamom (approximate with the amount on the tip of a knife!)
Half a vanilla bean, scraped
75 g. Sugar, plus one or two sachets vanilla sugar (optional)
Zest of half a lemon (optional)
250 g. Butter
50 g. Candied citron, diced
50 g. Candied orange peel, diced
150-200 g. Marzipan

Cream butter and sugar (including vanilla sugar, lemon zest and scraped-out vanilla seeds, if using). Sift together flour, spices and salt, and add to the butter mixture, along with the roux and preferment. Knead until homogeneous, keeping the dough cool. 

Let rest covered for 30 minutes. In the mean time, shape the marzipan into two long rods.

Drain the fruits and nuts and mix with the diced peels. Knead into the dough until just incorporated, and divide into two parts. Let rest covered and preheat the oven to 200℃.

Flatten each piece of dough into an oblong oval. In the centre, form a dent and place in the marzipan roll, folding the dough over it. Bake right away for 40 minutes, covering with foil if browning too quickly.

To Finish:
50 g. Melted butter
80 g. Superfine sugar
100 g. Powder sugar

Brush with melted butter and coat thickly in sugar. Dust all over with powder sugar once cool (after a few hours, or the next morning) and roll up in aluminium foil. Store in a cool, dark, dry place for at least a week before eating.

Mincemeat Fruit Mix

This is entirely my improvisation on what I thought ought to be in a mincemeat mix, and what I happened to have in the cupboard that looked like it could use a bit of livening up with rum and spices. Some citron and orange peel from Easter, various half-finished containers of raisins, some currants... the dates and cherries are new, though. I like the honey-like stickiness that date bits add to things, and I love the tartness of dried cherries (I got lucky and found unsweetened ones) in contrast to the raisins. 

The whole thing is doused in a mixture of alcohol remnants from the bottom of several mini-bottles, with the traditional rum, some brandy (it seemed right) and Grand Marnier for some extra orangey flavour. The spices are also all wild guesses on what goes into a mincemeat- I used a lot of allspice and cloves since that seems to be characteristic of mincemeat to me, but it's all a matter of preference. There's plenty of brown sugar to create a thick layer of alcohol-spice-goo and moisten everything, some lemon juice for acidity, and a bit of hazelnut oil in the place of suet just to coat all the components and add a little complexity of flavour. Later on when using the mincemeat, some extra butter or flavoured oil for further enrichment would be a good idea- I use butter-cooked apples in my mince pies, so I didn't use much fat here. The apple variant is included at the bottom, and is in my opinion better for filling pies as it tempers the intensity of the dried fruit while adding moisture.

Every once in a while I open up the container just to smell how fantastic this mincemeat is, and every time it's better than the last. It gets me excited for the prospects of my first-ever attempt at Christmas baking derived from the Anglosphere, which is kind of necessitated by the fact that I love mincemeat but the local bakery makes it the traditional non-vegetarian suet-enriched way.

I messed up the first time around with too many spices and too much alcohol- I ended up soaking half the mix in hot water to soak out some of the seasonings, then returned them to the rest of the mix to make a milder, better-balanced mincemeat. I've already changed the ingredients accordingly, but keep in mind that taking things out is a lot harder than putting them in- when in doubt, leave it out, and you can always readjust the seasonings before using later.

Mincemeat Fruit Mix
100 g. Currants
120 g. Dried tart cherries, preferably unsweetened
220 g. Yellow and/or green sultanas
220 g. Dark raisins
125 g. Candied orange peel, diced
90 g. Candied citron peel, diced
100 g. Chopped pitted dates
150 g. Brown sugar
1/4 Tsp. Nutmeg
1/4 Tsp. Cardamom
1/2 Tsp. Cinnamon
1/2 Tsp. Ginger
1/2 Tsp. Allspice
1/4 Tsp. Cloves
1 TBSP Vanilla extract
2 TBSP Hazelnut oil
1/2 C. Rum, brandy and Grand Marnier- about 1/2 rum and 1/4  each of the others
1 Tsp. Lemon zest
Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Mix all well and leave to marinate in a sealed container in the refrigerator for at least a month, preferably more. 

Variant with Cooked Apples

Half of above fruit mix
About 2 tart cooking apples- peeled, cored and grated
2 TBSP Sugar, preferably cane or light brown
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
2 TBSP Butter

Heat butter in a medium saucepan or skillet and add sugar. Add apples, and cook on medium heat until all the liquids have been released. Add lemon juice and keep cooking until most of the liquid is evaporated and the apples are soft.

Mix with the mincemeat.

Homemade Mascarpone

Mascarpone cheese is one of those "luxurious" things that I don't use frequently, mostly because it's both expensive and hard to get in good quality. Most of the ones in the supermarket taste distinctly unfresh, something that's impossible to disguise if you plan to use it raw in a dessert. It's also a bit of a waste, since it's so easy to make at home... there's really no reason not to.

The homemade version is a completely different species from the storebought variety. It's intensely creamy-tasting (as one would imagine, being almost entirely just cream) and rich, velvety and smooth. It's got a bit of tang, but other than that, is very mild in taste and accommodating to many applications both sweet and savoury. 

It only requires that you have non-ultra high temperature processed (UHT) whipping cream (I've tried it with UHT cream and it didn't go so well, though it might have been another factor confounding that result. If I had more time and money, I'd experiment more, but for now just take my word for it and use non-UHT) and a lemon. A candy thermometer (or any kind of good baking thermometer), a small pot, a strainer and a cheesecloth are all the equipment. It takes only around 15 minutes of active time, and a few hours of waiting, and you've got fantastic mascarpone.

Depending on how long you strain it for, you could end up with slightly more or less product. Thicker mascarpone is better if you want to make a cheesecake or something else firm, but if it's destined for something like a sauce or a trifle, only 4 to 6 hours of straining time is needed.

I made this batch to use in a torte, along with some of my new favourite homemade quark. Hopefully soon there'll be a sale on organic whipping cream so I can finally try making tiramisu...

Homemade Mascarpone
From Two Tarts

500 ml. Whipping cream, 35% (not UHT!)
1 TBSP Fresh lemon juice

Heat cream gently to 190℉ in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, while stirring constantly. Whisk in lemon juice and cook at 190℉ for 5 minutes, or until thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Let cool for 30 minutes, then strain into a colander or strainer lined with several layers of cheesecloth. Leave the whole unit in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, or up to overnight, to strain.

Remove the mascarpone and store in a tight container for up to 10 days.

Ginger-Walnut-Date Granola

I'm not a granola person... at all. I love oats, and I love muesli, and those crunchy bars with the oats and nuts... but granola itself has always disappointed me in the past. It's too sweet, too bland, with not nearly enough of the mix ins, and usually too expensive. Still, the idea of sweet, crunchy clusters of flavoured oats with dried fruit and nuts is a very welcome one, so I figured that a homemade granola might be better. And indeed, it was.

This granola was probably the first that I've ever really, really liked. It's sweet and crunchy, but not too oily or sweet. The spices and vanilla make it almost cookie-like, but not too rich. And the combination of walnuts, dates and ginger is just right- the dates add some fruity sweetness and chewiness, the ginger is both sweet and zingy, and the nuts are toasty and crunchy in a perfectly complementary way. Walnuts and dates are well-known to go well together, but they make a wonderful menage-a-trois with ginger as well.

It's very satisfying to make granola- and easy. All you need to to is mix your dry ingredients- I added some oat flour to help cement my clusters together- and pour on the wet ones, mix the whole affair up well, and spread it on a baking pan. Once it smells ready, you just let it set, add the fruits, and break up your nice oaty chunks. This recipe is a little unusual in its inclusion of egg whites, but since I've always got a few left over from some custard or pudding, and it adds a little protein, I don't mind. You can just as easily leave them out, but they do help to make the granola clustery. The golden syrup is easy enough to find if there's a British products section in your local supermarket, but can also be substituted with agave nectar or, probably, corn syrup. I like golden syrup because it isn't too sweet, and has a unique raw-sugar flavour. It's definitely worth looking for.

Because of the sweet dates and crystallized ginger, no further sweetness is needed, so this granola is best eaten with plain yogourt or milk. It retains its crunchy character for well over a week, but shouldn't be kept out indefinitely (I froze half of my batch for later) and needs to be in an airtight container all the while. It also can be eaten all on its own as a snack.

And thus, I dream of the possibilities for many more granola variants over a bowlful...

Ginger-Walnut-Date Granola
Adapted from Food in Jars, by Marisa McClellan

3 1/2 C. (300 g.) Old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 C. (40 g.) Oat flour (or 1/2 C. rolled oats ground finely in a food processor)
1 Tsp. Ground ginger
1 Tsp. Cinnamon (optional)
1 Tsp. Vanilla extract
1 TBSP Flaxseed meal (optional)
1/4 Tsp. Salt
1/4 C. (60 ml) Neutral oil, e.g. sunflower or canola
1/2 C. (120 ml) Golden syrup, or agave nectar
2 Egg whites, stirred until frothy
1 C. (140 g.) Crystallized ginger, diced
100 g. Pitted dates, diced
1 C. (130 g.) walnut pieces

Preheat oven to 160℃.

Mix salt, spices, flaxseed (if using), walnuts, oats and flour. Add oil, vanilla and syrup and mix until well-coated, then add egg whites. 

Spread evenly on a baking sheet and bake for 30-40 minutes, mixing well every 10 minutes.

Sprinkle ginger and date pieces onto the granola and mix in quickly while still warm, then leave to set in a dry place overnight.

Break up the cooled, dried granola into little clusters. Keep in an airtight container for up to a week, or freeze for several months.

Apple Yeast Pancakes (with Vanilla-Rum Sauce)

These are exceptionally good, simple pancakes. You only need a single egg, some yeast, milk and flour, plus a little sugar and oil and some cooking apples. Apart from those pantry (and fruit bowl) staples, nothing special is needed. That makes them a reliable option for a good late-autumn breakfast when you haven't gone grocery shopping quite yet.

I added some spices and walnuts, which went very well with the apples, but can be easily skipped. The mild yeast flavour of the batter and the apples are a good match. While I've got other, richer recipes for yeast pancakes, these can be fallen back upon when a single egg is all I've got. 

The vanilla sauce I made with rum was from the previous day (and my second-last egg) and when warmed, tasted extremely good with these pancakes in particular. Other good companions include sour cream, maple syrup (of course) and apple butter. Serve them hot and enjoy them in plenty- this recipe makes a lot. Halve it if you don't want to eat a dozen or aren't feeding a small army. I've got some in the freezer for the days when I don't have time to make pancakes, along with waffles and my new favourite homemade granola... it's good to be prepared.

Apple Yeast Pancakes
Adapted from Moje Wypieki
Makes a really, really large amount of pancakes

750-800 g. Flour (I used half type 550 and half bread flour)
1.5 L Milk, 3.8% is best
2-3 TBSP Brown sugar
42 g. Fresh yeast, or 3 Tsp. Active dry yeast
1 Tsp. Cinnamon
1/2 Tsp. Nutmeg
2 Tsp. Vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
1 TBSP Nut oil, or melted butter
1 Egg
5 Cooking apples, thinly sliced (with a mandoline is best)
2/3 C. Walnut pieces (optional)

Oil or butter, to fry
Syrup, vanilla sauce or cinnamon-sugar, to serve

Mix flour, salt and spices. In the middle, form a well.

Heat one cup of the milk until warm and dissolve the yeast and sugar. Add to the centre of the flour and let sit, covered, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the rest of the milk, vanilla, oil, and egg and mix well to combine.

Let rise covered for 1 1/2 hours.

Prepare a cup of hot water and two large spoons. Heat a nonstick skillet or cast iron pan with a bit of butter or oil. Use the spoons to scoop balls of dough onto the pan and use a spatula to press a few slices of apple into each (along with walnut pieces, if using). Cook for about a minute on each side and keep warm in a low-temperature oven until ready to serve.

Rum-Vanilla Sauce
400 ml. Milk, 3.8%
1/2 TBSP Cornstarch
1 Egg yolk
2 TBSP sugar, plus 1/2 TBSP vanilla sugar 
2 TBSP Dark rum
1 Tsp. Vanilla extract

Heat milk over medium heat until steaming in a small saucepan. In another bowl, combine cornstarch, sugar, and yolk with a whisk. 

Once milk is hot, use half a cup to temper the yolk mixture by whisking it in very quickly, until well-mixed. Pour into the pan with the rest of the milk and cook, while whisking, until it bubbles.

Remove from heat and whisk in rum and vanilla. Keep warm until serving.

Yeast Strudel with Cheese-Strawberry Filling and Streusel

We had our first proper snow of the year this weekend, and the water has finally frozen over on the pond, which is a sign that winter is finally settling in after a relatively warm November. Right now it still all seems lovely, the powder-sugar look of the snow and the promise of Christmas (and winter break!) around the corner, but soon enough I'm sure I'll be fed up with it. After all, I hate the cold. Hate it. 

Anyways, I stay indoors as much as physically possible in the months from October to March, preferably in the nice, warm kitchen. I wanted to bake something nice with a slightly summery taste, but all the butteriness and warmth that winter demands. So I made a simple strudel with a filling of Polish fresh cheese (tvarog), lemon zest, and a thickened mixture of frozen berries picked in the summertime, sugar and lemon juice. The whole thing was topped with a very crumbly streusel and though it kind of exploded in the oven (too much filling; I've corrected for that in the ingredients list) it still tasted fantastic, with the flavour of the warmer months from the berries and the lemon zest to brighten things up. The cheese filling is very good, but would have been even better if I'd used a cheese with greater fat content- try to look for something creamy. The streusel gives some extra textural appeal.

The fruit filling can be highly variable, with fresh fruit being a wonderful substitution if available, and I'll be trying it with other berries in the future, rhubarb as well. I really like the dough- it's very soft and tender, and has just enough structure to hold up all the filling. This is the kind of cake you can even eat for breakfast reasonably, since it's got all your food groups. 

Until Christmas baking proper begins (all I've got thus far is Stollen) I eat my strudel and think of the long winter ahead.

You can't see it, but there's  a thin layer of snow on the deck.

Yeast Strudel with Cheese-Strawberry Filling and Streusel
Adapted from Moje Wypieki

For the Dough:
1 1/2 C. Bread flour
1/4 C. Buttermilk or kefir, warmed slightly
1 Large egg
2 TBSP Sugar, or vanilla sugar
Pinch of salt
30 g. Oil, or melted butter
1 Tsp. Vanilla extract
1 1/2 Tsp. Active dry yeast, or 20 g. Fresh yeast

Mix yeast and buttermilk/ kefir. Add sugar, vanilla and egg. Mix in flour and salt and knead until a cohesive dough forms (you might need more liquid). Add oil and knead until elastic. Let rise in a greased, covered bowl about 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled. Punch down and roll into a 25 x 35 cm rectangle.

For the Cheese Filling:
200 g. Twarog/farmer's cheese
1 Yolk, white reserved
1/4 C. Sugar
1 Tsp. Vanilla extract
Zest of one lemon
25 g. Butter, softened
3 TBSP 18% Sour cream, or 14% plus 1 Tsp. butter (if your cheese is lower-fat; if it's at least 10%, skip this step!)

Mix all together well. Use food processor for a smoother texture, or simply a spoon to keep the curds intact. If the mixture seems too liquid, add a small spoonful of cornstarch.

For the Fruit Filling:
200-300 g. Strawberries, from frozen, thawed
1 TBSP Cornstarch
1 TBSP Sugar
Juice of half a lemon

Mix lemon juice, cornstarch, and sugar. In a small pot, cook the strawberries until the juices run on medium-low heat. Add the cornstarch mixture and stir constantly until thickened. Let cool.

(For fresh strawberries, simply tossing them in the other ingredients ought to be enough)

To assemble, brush the dough rectangle with the reserved egg white, whisked until foamy, in a thin layer all over. In the lower half of the rectangle, spread the cheese filling evenly, but leave about 2 cm around the perimeters empty. Top with the fruit filling and fold the other dough flap over it, pressing down on the clean edges to seal them and tucking them under the roll. Transfer to a sheet lined with baking parchment and let rise covered for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 190℃.

For the Streusel:
100 g. Flour
50 g. Sugar
1 Sachet vanilla sugar, or 1 TBSP homemade
60 g. Butter, melted

Crumble all together by hand or with a pastry cutter, or with two forks in a small bowl.

Before baking, brush the strudel with what's left of the egg white (if there isn't any, or you want a brighter coloured loaf, use a whole beaten egg with a tablespoon of milk). Use a very sharp knife to make a long cut lengthwise along the top of the strudel and sprinkle on the streusel.

Bake for 30 minutes and let cool before cutting. Powder with sugar if desired.

Man'oushe- Lebanese Flatbread with Za'atar

There's this great grocery store that sells stuff from pretty much every place in the near East- including a fantastic variety of fresh breads, such as man'oushe (as it is known in Lebanon, though it is known by other names elsewhere). There's plenty of topping options, but my favourite is the za'atar and olive oil breads (and the miniature ones with cheese and olives... but that's another experiment waiting to happen). I bought a big bag of za'atar in hopes of making my own version, but previous attempts had all been slightly disastrous (read: tooth-chippingly dry and hard). At last, I decided to try again with a new formula that contained such surprising bread ingredients as cake flour and a whole tablespoon of sugar, and finally found success.

 I made some with za'atar and olive oil, and some with a vegetable spread that I thought might go well. I also took care not to overbake them, pulling them out of the oven as soon as they were golden to prevent another bread-frisbee. They came out fantastic, maybe not as good as the professionals make them, but the freshness of home-baked bread is unrivalled. And if they were so good on my first try- I'll be practicing this recipe a lot more often. They're soft and tender and can be topped with vegetables and cheese to make a sort of pizza, as I ate mine. Maybe I'll make some with cheese and olives next time...

Man'oushe with Za'atar
From Rose Water & Orange Blossoms

2 1/2 C. AP flour
1 C. Cake flour
2 Tsp. Salt
1 1/4 C. Water, lukewarm
1 Tsp. Dry yeast, or 15 g. Fresh yeast
1 TBSP Sugar
1 TBSP Oil
1/2 C. Za'atar
1/2 C. Olive oil

Mix the za'atar and olive oil and set aside.

Mix flours and salt. Dissolve yeast and sugar in 1/4 C. of the water and leave for 15 minutes.

Add the yeast mixture and oil to the flour mixture and add the water slowly until a dough forms- you can do this in a food processor, a mixer or by hand. Knead, pulse or mix on medium high until a smooth, elastic dough forms.

Let rise in a covered, lightly oiled bowl for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Divide dough into four pieces and form balls. Let rest on a lightly floured surface, covered, for 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 220℃, with a heavy baking tray or baking stone inside. 

Roll out the balls of dough into circles with a floured rolling pin. Rotate as you go to keep it evenly round, until the circle is about 1 cm thick.

Spread about 1 TBSP of the za'atar-oil mixture onto the round with the back of the spoon. Repeat with the other three Use a peel or other thin, sturdy tray to transfer the breads onto the hot baking tray or stone in the oven, and bake for 7-10 minutes.

Nusskuchen/ Hazelnut Cake

I've had a bag of hazelnut meal, already bought on clearance, in my freezer for months now. I remembered it after seeing this recipe for a nut cake, realizing rapidly that freezing an article doesn't put it in a state of permanent suspension, and I didn't want to waste those nuts by letting them go rancid. So, I combined the desire to use that ingredient with my wish to test the cute new Moomin cake pan I got from my mother...

...And made a simple, soft, buttery nut cake. It's deliciously moist, especially if you use part oil as well as the butter, and the flavour of the rum extract is highly complimentary to its nuttiness. You can use real rum if you want, a tablespoonful or two. The texture is very fine, and best illustrated with the fluffy appearance of a forkful:

Tender on the inside and slightly crispy on the outside. Mmmm.

The cake on its own is quite sweet, so the nougat garnish may be excessive. in fact, a dark chocolate or complete absence of garnish might be even better. But, surprise surprise, I had half a packet of nougat that I needed to finish! I also wanted to outline the Moomin design a bit, but unfortunately I tried to pipe the nougat when it was already too cool, and the lines came out messy. Still delicious, though.

This is the ideal kind of cake to have with a cup of coffee (or milk, or milky coffee), and will stay soft for days. It's likely to work well with other kinds of nut, too. My mother really liked it, and she usually isn't a sweets person, so I count this recipe as a keeper. Sometimes the simple recipes are the best.

Nusskuchen/ Hazelnut Cake
Adapted from chefkoch.de

180 g. Butter (I used 80 g. Hazelnut oil and 100 g. butter)
200 g. Sugar 
1 Sachet vanilla sugar, or 1 TBSP homemade
200 g. Ground hazelnuts
120 g. Flour, cake or all-purpose
Pinch of salt
5 Eggs
2 1/4 Tsp. Baking powder
A few drops of rum extract (optional)

To decorate (optional)
-1-2 TBSP powder sugar
- about 100 g. Nussnougat, chocolate, etc.
-Whole roasted hazelnuts

Preheat oven to 180℃. Grease a large loaf pan, or a 21cm. springform. Sprinkle the inside with vanilla sugar, or dust with flour.

Beat butter and sugars until fluffy- add oil and/or rum extract as well, if using. Add the eggs one by one and beat in until well-incorporated.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk into the egg mixture until well-incorporated.

Mix in the hazelnuts until just incorporated. Pour the mixture into the pan and bake for 50-60 minutes, checking after 30 minutes with a fork or baking thermometer every 10 minutes.

Let cool about 20 minutes before unmolding.

If desired, sprinkle with powder sugar, or melt the nougat/chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water and spread/pipe on. Use whole or slivered nuts for an additional touch.

Buttermilchbrot (With Caraway Seeds)

Since my quark-making adventure, I had about half a litre of good-quality buttermilk left over, as well as a nugget of fresh yeast from making stollen. I decided to make a loaf of buttermilk-based rye-wheat bread, since it could be left to its own devices for the most part and I was quite busy with studying. I added some caraway to complement the hearty flavour of rye and to contrast  the tanginess of the buttermilk. I love caraway in rye! Then again, I love caraway in a lot of things. It really goes down very well in this particular recipe.

As well as having a complex flavour, this loaf also has a great, porous crumb that's still dense and moist. It would make an ideal partner with a stew (especially a cabbage-based dish) or in wedges with soup- or with a firm sharp cheese on top. I think I'll try a variation with coriander seed, or maybe cumin, and also try replacing the rye with spelt or another whole grain. The recipe might even work well with kefir instead of buttermilk. 

Buttermilchbrot
From chefkoch.de

450 g. Buttermilk
21 g. Fresh yeast, or 2 1/2 Tsp. active dry yeast
340 g. Bread flour
200 g. Rye flour, dark or medium
1 TBSP Vinegar, preferably apple cider vinegar
1 TBSP Salt
1-2 TBSP Caraway seeds, optional

Mix the yeast and buttermilk to dissolve it. Add the vinegar and both flours and mix until cohesive. Add the salt and knead for 5-10 minutes to form a dough, along with half of the caraway seeds if using.

Let rise covered for 30 minutes. Form a loaf and sprinkle with the other half of the caraway seeds if desired. Otherwise, dust with flour. Let rise covered until doubled.

Preheat oven to 200℃. Cut the loaf with slits around the sides so that it can expand in the oven. Bake for an hour, adding steam after 10 and 20 minutes with a spray bottle of water for an extra crispy crust. Let cool for at least an hour before cutting.

Homemade Quark- German Fresh Cheese

For the longest time I've mourned the fact that you just can't get the insane variety of dairy products available in Germany in Canada. Particularly quark cheese, which is the backbone of a classic Käsekuchen, not to mention a key ingredient in countless other doughs, dishes, and fillings- I've seen one ultra-low fat 0.25% version for sale, but I don't want to make a pastry with that! Vastly superior would be something of at least around 10% fat. 

Of course, there are other types of quark. Magerquark is, to my knowledge, any quark with less than 10% fat- but something to the higher end of that spectrum is better for baking, while that with less fat can be eaten like yogurt with fruit or jam. Topfenquark, which is used in a ton of strudels, Auflaufs, and pastry fillings, is about 20% fat. And Speisequark is about 40% fat, and can be used as a bread spread amongst other uses in giving richness to dishes. 

When I found this recipe for homemade quark that didn't need rennet and could be done within the temperature range that my oven offers, I was suspicious that it was too good to be true. And while this isn't "true" quark in that it isn't cultured the same way... it's definitely a good enough approximation for me! I made mine with half 18% cream and half 3.8% buttermilk to get something with a slight amount of richness, but not too much- perfect for enhancing bread doughs, or for the Quarkstollen that I plan to be making. I'll definitely be trying the recipe out with different fat proportions, like a 20% fat version made partly with whipping cream... then I can try my hand at Topfenstrudel and Topfenpalatschinken. And delicious German cheesecake, of course.

I got just over 400 g. of quark out of this batch, but because I drained it in the fridge overnight, it was really a lot firmer than one would be used to for quark- but that's good, because you typically want to wring out as much whey as you can. Then, you can remoisten it to the desired level by adding some buttermilk or cream. I froze the majority of mine (hey, Google told me I could, but only time will tell if that was really a smart idea) but reserved a small amount to try right away. I added a spoonful of extra buttermilk, some chopped green onion, and some salt and pepper to make a spread for some freshly-baked buns, and it was received with great enthusiasm.

I never would have expected something so good to come of a recipe so simple and easy- any sort of homemade cheese always feels intimidating, but it's really not. My grandmother used to make her own fresh cheeses this way, and in my humble opinion, it tastes much better fresh and homemade.

You can also control the quality of all your ingredients very easily! I'm going to try my hand at other fresh cheeses in the near future. And get back on that Quarkstollen.

Homemade Quark
Adapted from chefkoch.de
(makes 400-500 g.)

500 mL.Buttermilk, 3.8%
500 mL Light cream, 18%

Mix both and let sit for about 15-30 minutes. Pour into a large Dutch oven or other baking pan. Place in an oven preheated to 100℃ and bake for 2 hours. Let cool. 

After cooling completely, strain for 2 hours (or better yet, longer in the fridge- I drained it overnight) with cheesecloths over a pot or bowl. Squeeze the curds dry and add a little buttermilk or cream to get a suitable consistency- you usually want it to be about as thick as Greek yogurt.