Chocolate-Peppermint Cream Roll

Ingredients:

Deep baking sheet 

Parchment paper

For the sponge cake batter:

3 eggs

3 tablespoons hot water

150 g sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla sugar or 1 package vanilla sugar 

100 g all-purpose wheat flour 

25 g starch (potato)

25 g cocoa powder 

1 teaspoon baking powder 

For the filling:

400 g (1 pint) heavy whipping cream

1 package Andes peppermint chocolate mints

Decoration:

1-2 chocolate mints or some chocolate shavings 

Some mint leaves

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius (375 F).

2. Whisk eggs and hot water on highest setting for about 1 minute using an electric hand mixer. Add vanilla sugar or extract, then slowly pour in sugar while whisking. After adding the sugar keep whisking for another 2 minutes. Mix flour, starch, baking powder and cocoa; sift mixtures and add in three portions to batter, briefly mix in on lowest setting.

3. Line baking sheet with parchment paper, fold parchment paper around edges if necessary. Spread batter on parchment paper. Bake batter at 200 degrees Celsius (375 F) for about 10 minutes.

4. In the meantime, sprinkle some sugar on top of a kitchen towel. Immediately after removing sponge cake from oven place cake upside down on kitchen towel, remove parchment paper from back and roll up the sponge cake starting from the longer side. Let cool down rolled up.

5. Prepare filling: in a stovetop pot warm up the whipping cream and melt the peppermint chocolate mints in it. When chocolate is fully melted chill cream in refrigerator until cold.

6. Whip cream until stiff (you should be able to tilt the bowl or even put it upside down without the cream to slide out).

7. Carefully open the chocolate sponge roll. Use 2/3 of the cream to fill the chocolate sponge, then roll up again. Put about 3 tablespoons of the cream and set aside. Spread the remaining cream over the top of the sponge roll. Decorate the roll with the remaining cream using a piping bag. Sprinkle some chocolate shavings over top, decorate with some mint leaves.

8. Chill cream roll for at least three hours prior to serving.

Comments:

1. Traditionally one would use "After Eight" thin mints. Since I had a hard time finding this I used Andes thin mints instead.

2. I usually use potato starch for baking, but this time I used corn starch. I'm not sure if I hesitated for too long after removing the cake from the oven, if the oven wasn't at the right temperature, or if it was the cornstarch, but the roll broke twice when I was rolling it up. That hasn't happened to me so far, so I'm not yet sure what caused it.

Snowcake (Schneetorte or Kirschbaiser)

The original recipe for this cake uses a filling of gooseberries; however, I've never seen gooseberries in the US, so I used sour cherries instead. Although I don't know where the name comes from I can imagine the following explanation: The cake contains a yellow cake batter, which is overlayed with an airy and light meringue layer. The meringue is fluffy and crunchy like snow, so I could imagine that this is why the cake is named snowcake.

Ingredients:

2 Springformboden

Some grease

For the meringue:

3 egg whites

150 g sugar 

For the cake batter:

75 g (3/4 stick) butter or margarine 

75 g sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 package vanilla sugar 

1 pinch of salt 

3 egg yolks

100 g all-purpose wheat flour

1/2 leveled teaspoon baking powder

Topping:

75 g slivered almonds 

Filling:

1 jar sour cherries (Morello cherries from Trader Joe's)

1 package Vanilla JELL-O cook and serve or 1 package vanilla pudding powder

400 g whipping cream 

2 tablespoons sugar

Preparation:

1. Grease the bottom of the springform baking pans. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (or 350 F).

2. Prepare meringue: Whisk egg whites until stiff peaks appear. In portions, slowly whisk in sugar. You have to go so slowly that you're not destroying the structure of the egg whites.

3. Prepare batter: Whisk butter or margarine until smooth and soft. Add sugar and vanilla extract or vanilla sugar and salt and whisk until sugar has dissolved (no crunch noise). Whisk in egg yolks, one at a time. Mix flour and baking powder, sift and add in two portions to cake batter.

4. Divide cake batter in half and spread on springform bottoms. Now divide meringue and spread on top of cake batter, sprinkle almonds on top. Enclose springform bottoms with edge and bake each cake layer for about 20 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius (or 350 F).

5. After removing cakes from oven immediately remove springform edge and let's cake layers cool down.

6. Prepare filling: Add cherries and juice to a stovetop pot. Add vanilla JELL-O cook and serve or vanilla pudding. While stirring bring to a boil, the remove from heat and let cool down. Whip cream with sugar until stiff.

7. Spread cooled cherry mixture on top of one cake layer, the spread whipped cream on top of cherries.

8. Cut the second cake layer into as many pieces as you want (usually 12-16). Put the pieces on top of the whipped cream. Chill cake for at least 1 h prior to serving.

Comments:

1. I only have a springform set with three different sizes. I used the large and the middle one for the cake layers. I spread the cherries and cream on top of the large sized bottom because whenever you try to assemble a cut layer on top of a cake you can never get the pieces so close together as an intact layer. So it turns out perfect with two different sized cake pans.

2. For a non traditional version you can certainly prepare this cake with other berries (raspberries or blueberries might go nicely).

Berliner (jelly-filled donuts)

This is a typical treat for Karneval (Mardi Gras) and Silvester (New Years Eve). But beware, if you buy a dozen Berliner one of them might be filled with mustard instead of jelly!

Ingredients:

For the yeast dough:

125 ml milk

100 g (3/4 stick) butter or margarine 

500 g all-purpose wheat flour 

1 package dry yeast

30 g sugar

1 package vanilla sugar or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1 teaspoon rum or 1/4 teaspoon rum extract 

1 leveled teaspoon salt 

2 eggs

1 egg yolk

3 quarts of vegetable oil for frying 

A pot for frying 

For the filling:

300 g jam

For the glaze:

100 g powdered sugar

2 tablespoons eggnogg 

Preparation:

1. Heat milk in a small pot, dissolve butter or margarine in milk.

2. Mix flour and dry yeast in a large bowl. Add all the remaining ingredients for the dough including the milk-butter mixture. Using the knead hooks of an electric hand mixer whisk until a smooth dough has formed. Cover the bowl with the dough and let the yeast rise until the dough has visibly increased in size.

3. Dust dough with some flour, then briefly knead dough with hands. Roll dough out until about 2 cm (3/4 inch) thick. Using a round cookie cutter or a glass with a diameter of 7 cm (2.5 inches) for normal sized or 5 cm (2 inches) for bite-sized Berliner cut out round dough pieces.

4. Let dough pieces rise again: dust a towel with some flour, put the dough piece on floure surface, dust with flour, cover with a second towel. When dough has visibly increased in size, Berliner are ready to be fried.

5. Heat frying oil in a pot. To test whether the oil is hot enough put the end of a wooden cooking spoon into the oil. If the oil is hot bubbles will form around the end of the spoon. You can also use a thermometer to check that the temperature is 175 Celsius (350 F).

6. Fry dough from both sides until golden. It takes less than 2 minutes for each side. Remove Berliner from oil, put on paper towels to drain excess oil. Let cool down

7. Squeeze jam through a fine mesh to remove any chunks or pits. Using a piping bag with a long and narrow extension punch a hole into the side of the Berliner (if done correctly they have a lighter colored rim around the middle through which it is filled) squeeze a little jam into the middle of each Berliner.

8. Mix powdered sugar and eggnogg. Glaze each Berliner on top. Let glaze dry before serving.

Comments:

1. I like to prepare my yeast doughs the night before and let them slowly rise overnight. When you get up in the morning the dough is ready for the next step.

2. There are many variations on the glaze: You can dip the Berliner into regular sugar when they are still hot, you can prepare an alcohol-free glaze using water or lemon juice, and you can add food coloring to the glaze. Instead of using eggnogg with alcohol you can prepare the glaze with whiskey or bourbon. Decorate the Berliner with colored sprinkles or chocolate shavings. Be creative and have fun!

3. I used raspberry jam for the filling, but you can use any kind of jam. Strawberry and mixed fruits work well, but even plum jam or apple sauce can be used. Every variation will turn the rather boring basic dough into a new experience for your tastebuds!

Raisin Snail Buns

This is a very traditional baked goodie found in every German bakery. I remember having them for our afternoon coffee when my dad came home from work.

Ingredients:

Baking sheet 

Parchment paper 

For the yeast dough:

125 ml milk

100 g (3/4 stick) butter or margarine

500 g all-purpose flour

1 package dry yeast

50 g sugar

1 package vanilla sugar or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 

2 eggs

For the filling:

125 g raisins

Rum

100 g marzipan (optional)

For the topping:

4 tablespoons apricot jam 

2 tablespoons water

100 g (1 cup) powdered sugar

1-2 tablespoons lemon juice 

Preparation:

1. A day ahead, cover raisins with rum. Soak them until the dough is ready.

2. Cut or grate marzipan. Heat milk in a small pot, dissolve butter or margarine in milk.

3. Mix flour and dry yeast in a large bowl. Add all the remaining ingredients for the dough including the milk-butter mixture. Using the knead hooks of an electric hand mixer whisk until a smooth dough has formed. Cover the bowl with the dough and let the yeast rise until the dough has visibly increased in size.

4. Drain raisins. Roll out the yeast dough to a rectangle about 60x40 cm (24x16 inches). Spread raisins and grated marzipan over dough. Starting from the long edge roll the dough up. Cut slices of about 2 cm (1/2-3/4) inches wide. Put the slices on parchment paper. Cover the slices with a towel and let buns rise again until increased in size.

5. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 F). Bake yeast buns for about 15 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius (350 F). 

6. In the meantime prepare the topping: Squeeze apricot jam through a fine mesh. Add water to jam and heat until a syrup has formed.

7. Remove buns from oven. Glaze the hot buns with the apricot syrup. Let buns cool down.

8. Mix powdered sugar with lemon juice. Whisk with a fork until smooth and no clumps of powdered sugar remain. Using a fork drizzle some of the powdered sugar mix onto the glazed buns. 

Comments: 

1. I used more raisins, too much, bakeries have become quite stingy, but if you like raisins you can use more for the filling.

2. I prefer to prepare my yeast dough the night before, then let it slowly rise overnight. The next day you can immediately roll it out, fill it, make the buns, and let those rise again. Giving the yeast a long time to rise makes the dough light and fluffy.

Peach Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

A deep baking dish (40x30 cm or 9x13 inches)

Some grease

For the cake batter:

100 g semisweet chocolate

250 g (2 sticks) butter or margarine 

100 g sugar

6 egg yolks

300 g all-purpose wheat flour

3 leveled teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder 

6 egg yolks

For the topping:

2 cans peaches

Some powdered sugar

Preparation:

1. Chop the chocolate into pieces. Drain the peaches. Grease the baking dish. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350F).

2. Using an electric hand mixer until smooth. Add sugar and whisk until sugar has dissolved (no crunchy noise).

3. Separate eggs. Add one egg yolk at a time to the batter and whisk for 1/2 minute per egg. Mix flour and baking powder, sift, and add in three portions to batter. Add chocolate and cocoa powder to batter.

4. Whisk eggs until fully stiff. Fold stiff egg whites under batter. Pout batter into greased baking dish, level batter. Put peaches on top of batter.

5. Bake cake at 180 degrees Celsius (350F) for about 40 minutes.

6. Remove cake from oven, let cool down. Dust with powdered sugar prior to serving.

Comments:

1. In the original recipe the chocolate is melted, then stirred into the batter. No cocoa is added in the original recipe, but I wanted to enhance the chocolate flavor without adding more sweetness.

2. I used sliced peaches because I had them in my pantry. If you use peach halves it makes the cake look really pretty.

3. You can also use fresh peaches when they are in season: Put peaches for a couple of minutes into hot, but not boiling water, then cool down with cold water. Now the peaches can be easily skinned, cut in half and pitted. Now they are ready to be used.

Poppy Seed Yeast Bread (Mohnstriezel)

Ingredients:
Baking sheet
Parchment paper

For the yeast dough:
200 ml water
125 g (1 stick) butter or margarine
500 g all-purpose wheat flour
1 package active dry yeast
75 g sugar
1 package vanilla sugar or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the filling:
200 g poppy seeds
400 ml milk
1 package vanilla pudding or cook&serve JELL-O vanilla
100 ml milk
2 eggs (optional, I didn't use any)
75 g sugar (don't add when using JELL-O)
75 g Zwieback (I used unseasoned bread crumbs)

For the topping:
100 g all-purpose wheat flour
100 g sliced almonds
75 g sugar
100 g (1 stick) soft butter

4 tablespoons apricot jam
1 tablespoon water

100 g powdered sugar
2-3 tablespoons water

Preparation:
1. Prepare the yeast dough: Heat water in a stove-top pot. Melt butter or margarine in hot water.
2. Mix flour and yeast in a bowl. Add remaining ingredients and the water-butter mix. Using the knead hooks of an electric hand mixer mix the batter for about 5 minutes until a smooth dough has formed. Cover the bowl and let stand until the dough has visibly increased in size.
3. Prepare the filling: Heat poppy seeds in 400 ml milk until boiling, then remove pot from stove and let stand for 10 minutes. Mix vanilla pudding or JELL-O in 100 ml milk, add with eggs, and sugar to poppy seed and bring to a boil. Let mixture cool down, then add in the Zwieback or bread crumbs.
4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 F).
5. Sprinkle yeast dough with flour, then knead on a lightly floured surface. Roll dough out to a rectangle of 16x12 inches (40x30cm).
6. Spread poppy seed filling onto flattened yeast dough, leave 1/2 inch (1 cm) room to the edge of the yeast dough. Roll dough up starting from one long edge, put roll with the seam facing up on parchment paper.
7. Prepare topping: Whisk flour, sugar, almonds and softened butter until crumbles of desired size have formed.
8. Brush some water over the yeast bread, then coat with crumbles. Make sure to press crumbles on.
9. Let yeast bread sit until it has again increased in size, the bake at 180 degrees Celsius (350 F) for about 60 minutes.
10. Mix apricot jam with water, reduce on low heat until a little syrupy. Remove yeast bread from oven, and coat immediately with the apricot syrup. Let yeast bread cool down.
11. Mix powdered sugar and water. Only use as much water as needed to make a thick syrup. Drizzle mixture over yeast bread before serving.

Comments:
1. I prepared the yeast dough in the evening the night before, and left it at room temperature overnight, which worked great.
2. I didn't use any eggs in the mixture for the filling, and because I used JELL-O I didn't add any sugar because JELL-O is already sweetened.
3. I put a bowl with water in the oven, which increases the moisture and temperature in the oven. This cut the baking time to about 45 minutes.

Orange Fingers

Ingredients:

Baking sheet 

Parchment paper 

For the batter:

300 g soft butter

150 powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 package vanilla sugar 

1 pinch of salt 

1 teaspoon ground orange peel 

4 egg yolks 

300 g all-purpose flour 

3-4 tablespoons orange juice 

Filling:

100 g Nutella

and/or orange or apricot jam

100 g semisweet chocolate 

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350F). Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Using an electric hand mixer whisk butter until smooth. Add sugar, vanilla extract or vanilla sugar, salt, and orange peel. Whisk until batter is smooth.

3. Add egg yolks, one at a time. Whisk each egg yolk in for 30 seconds. Sift flour and add in two portions, alternating with the orange juice.

4. Add batter to a piping bag and squeeze fingers of 5 cm (2 inches) onto parchment paper. Bake cookies for about 8-10 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius (350F).

5. Remove cookies from oven, remove with parchment paper from hot baking sheet, and let cool down.

6. Spread Nutella or jam on the flat side on one cookie, then add a second cookie with the flat side on top.

7. Melt semisweet chocolate, and dip cookies with one end into chocolate. Let cookies dry on parchment paper.