German Meal

Growing up my Dad used to visit Germany for work a lot. I remember my Dad had learnt a baked potato casserole from a friend in whose house he had spent the weekend. He would make it at home in our little oven. We also had a lot of visitors from Germany in our house invited over for dinner. In fact, a bar of Kinder and Staedtler brand products make me nostalgic even today.

A mushroom and creme topped pizza like bread called Flammkutchen was the basis around which I built the meal. Flamkutchen were supposed to have been used to test the temperatures of the oven before the precious breads were baked. We could have had it for a meal by itself. Spaetzle dumpling is made in Germany as well as Austria. My initial plan was to make it for my Austrian noodle and dumpling meal. But it was just too much food so I shelved the idea. So I made it a point to include it when I planned this menu. The apple and potato casserole or auflauf as it is called in German added a lovely flavor. Eis und Heiss or cold and hot is a simple fruit based dessert. Red berries like raspberry and strawberry are cooked in their own juice and combined with cold ice cream. It is a real treat on a hot day.

I did not use any new ingredients for this meal. However, I had never used creme as a topping for any kind of flat bread before. I was not happy with the picture background but let it go as I did not want to cook the whole meal again.

As they say in Germany, Guten Appetit!

Here are the recipes for the dishes on the menu

• Flammkuchen (German Pizza) 
• Spaetzle Dumpling (Noodles) 
• Kartoffel Apfel Auflauf (Potato Apple Casserole)

And for dessert

• Eis und Heiss (Cold and Hot)

Flammkuchen (German Pizza)

There is a very interesting story associated with this pizza like flat bread. It was once used to gauge the temperature of the oven before the precious breads were baked. The crust on this bread is very thin and cooks up quickly. It is best eaten hot out of the oven. The hot cream with the mushrooms and thin crunchy crust make a divine combination.

The morning I made this meal I bought fresh creme fraiche but then forgot all about it when it was time to cook. Instead I used a combination of sour cream and fresh cream on the flammkutchen. Not being preoccupied is something I am constantly working on without much success. :)

Recipe adapted from here
You will need
For the dough
125 gm flour
75 gm whole wheat flour
10 gm active dry yeast
125 ml warm water
a pinch sugar
1 1/2 tbsp. oil

For the topping
1/4 cup sour cream
3 tbsp. cream
1 clove garlic
1/2 onion
20 shitake mushrooms
salt and pepper to taste

Combine the dry ingredients for the dough. Mix in the wet ingredients and form a soft dough. Knead well until elastic, cover and keep aside for 30 minutes. In the meantime, combine the cream, sour cream and salt. Mince the garlic, slice the onion, clean and slice the mushroom.

Preheat oven to 475 F. Heat a baking pan in the oven. Divide the dough into four portions. Roll out each portion on a floured board until very thin.

On it spread the cream mixture, the garlic and then the onion and mushrooms. Repeat for the other portion. Bake for 5-7 minutes or until edges begin to brown.

Enjoy it hot out of the oven.

Kartoffel Apfel Auflauf (Potato Apple Casserole)

Auflauf is German for casserole. This potato and apple auflauf is very tasty having a lot of different flavors blended together. In addition to the potato and apple the casserole has cream, cheese and cilantro adding to the flavors.

My daughter loves potatoes. Baked, boiled, mashed any potatoes and she is happy. These were very different from any potato dish I have made before. The apples and potatoes go very well together.

Recipe adapted from here
You will need
2 medium white potatoes
1 apple
1/4 cup cream
1 clove garlic
1/2 inch piece ginger
cilantro
1/4 cup cheese
salt to taste

Boil the potatoes in a pressure cooker or in a pan until tender. Preheat oven to 350 F. Peel and slice the potatoes. Layer them on the bottom of a buttered dish. Sprinkle some salt over them. Core and slice the unpeeled apple. Layer the apple over the potatoes. Pour the cream over the top. Mince cilantro, ginger and garlic. Sprinkle over the apples.

Shred the cheese over the top. Bake for 20 minutes or until the cheese has melted and browned slightly.

Spaetzle Dumpling

Spaetzle are noodles that are popular in Germany and Austria. They are handmade using a noodle maker, a tool with holes that allows the cook to drop tiny bits of batter into boiling water. The spaetzle cook quickly and are great for a quick meal or as a side to an elaborate meal.

I do not own a spaetzle maker so I made it using a hand held grater. It worked out great and the noodles look just like they are supposed to. These noodles can be combined with cheese to make European macaroni and cheese.

Recipe adapted from here
You will need
1/2 cup flour
a pinch nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
a pinch white pepper
1 egg
3 tbsp. milk

Bring 5 cups of water to a boil. Sift the flour and add the nutmeg, salt and white pepper. Beat the egg and add to the milk. Add the mixture to the flour and form a wet thick batter. Hold the tool of choice over the water and pour some of the batter over it. Push it through the holes into the simmering water. Let it cook for 5-8 minutes and remove. Repeat until all the batter is gone. Drain the prepared noodles. Heat butter in a pan and add the noodles. Heat through and remove from heat. Garnish with cilantro and serve.

Eis und Heiss (Ice cream With Strawberry And Raspberry Sauce)

Eis und Heiss literally translates to 'cold and hot'. This hot and cold dessert is super simple to make and very delicious. When I found the recipe here I simply had to make it. It was perfect for a hot summer day. Ice cream with fresh berry sauce poured over the top - hot and cold

I found some really fresh raspberries and strawberries in Whole Foods. There is no real recipe here. Heat the fruit in a pan until the juices begin to flow.

Let the fruit cook in their own juice on low heat for about 5-10 minutes. If the fruit is very juicy and the sauce looks runny add a little cornflour to the juice to thicken it. Turn off heat. Let it cool a little. While it is warm pour over ice cream and enjoy!

This is my entry for week 36 of the 2014 52 week challenge for the theme hot and cold.

Baumkuchen (German Tree Cake)

The January 2014 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Francijn of "Koken in de Brouwerij". She challenged us all to bake layered cakes in the tradition of Baumkuchen (tree cake) and Schichttorte (layered cake).

I had seen pictures of Baumkuchen on the web and my impression was that of a very complex cake too difficult to attempt. Then I found the group Daring Bakers. I liked the concept and decided to join in. January was my first month and Baumkuchen my first challenge with the Daring Bakers. If it had not been for this group I would never have attempted to bake this cake.

Baum Kuchen is German for Tree cake. Just like growth rings on a tree the cake has rings. The authentic Baumkuchen is made on an open spit on a log and truly resembles the tree rings. The version I baked is broiled in layers that can be clearly seen when the cake is sliced.

The batter was easy to prepare. It was the baking process that was very time consuming. I got about 10 layers excluding two layers of apricot jam. Each layers had to be broiled for about a minute and a half. A few seconds over and you risked burning the layer which would ruin the entire cake. But for all the effort the end result was awesome. I was thrilled when I cut into the cake and saw the layers.

Usually the Daring Bakers provide the recipe which the challengers are to follow. However, this month we were supposed to bake a layered cake. It was not mandatory to use the provided recipe. Hence I adapted the recipe from Global Adventures.

You will need
For the batter
6 oz. almond paste (I got it at Whole Foods)
3 tbsp. half and half
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1/2 sugar
5 eggs
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup cake flour (I used King Arthur unbleached cake flour)
1/4 cup and 2 tbsp. cornstarch

5 oz. apricot preserve

To prepare the batter
Bring all the ingredients to room temperature. Break up the almond paste into pieces and add the half and half to it. Beat it until combined and creamy. Add the butter and beat some more. Add the sugar and beat until frothy. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites. Keep the egg whites aside. Beat in one egg yolk at a time into the almond mixture. Add the vanilla extract. Sift in the flour and corn starch a little at a time.

In a separate bowl beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Fold them into the almond flour batter. Now you are all ready to prepare the cake.

The layering process
Use an 8" springform pan lined on the bottom with parchment paper. Put butter on the pan, place the parchment paper on it and then put some butter on the paper. Once the batter and the pan is ready, set the oven boiler on Low.

Use a 1/4 cup measure to place batter on the parchment paper in the pan. Spread it around evenly with a round pastry brush. Place the pan on the top rack under the broiler. Set the timer for a minute but watch it like a hawk. When the top turns brown take it out of the oven. If needed add another minute under the broiler. I was very surprised to see it done in just over a minute.

Add another layer of batter and spread it around evenly. You have to ensure you are building a level flat cake. Put the pan back in then oven. It took the batter a little over a minute to brown in my oven. You will figure out the time it takes in your oven in a few layers. Continue building the cake one layer at a time until a third of the batter is gone. Put in a layer of apricot jam and broil for about 30 seconds. Add another layer of batter. Continue building the cake adding a layer of apricot jam after every few layers until all the batter is gone. I got two apricot jam layers in this cake.

Take it out of the pan and place on a cooling rack or a parchment sheet. When cool remove the parchment paper and using plastic wrap cover the cake completely. Place a large inverted mixing bowl over it and leave on the counter top overnight.

Cover it with chocolate glaze. I used my own recipe for the chocolate glaze that you will find here. Pour it over the cake and let it dribble over the sides.

Enjoy!