Tigercake

Ingredients:

9x11 inch Pyrex form (30x40 cm deep baking dish)

Some grease

Batter:

150 g (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter or margarine

125 g sugar

1 pinch salt

3 eggs

200 g all-purpose flour

1.5 teaspoons leveled baking powder

Topping:

100 g orange marmelade

200 g sour cream or creme fraiche

250 g whipping cream

1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Decoration:

100 g blueberry jam

50 g sour cream

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 F). Grease Pyrex form or deep baking dish.

2. Whisk butter or margarine until soft and smooth. Add sugar and salt and whisk until sugar is blended in (no crunchy sound remains). Add one egg at a time and whisk for 1/2 minute per egg.

3. In a separate bowl, mix flour and baking powder, and sift. Add in two portions to batter and mix until blended.

4. Spread batter evenly in baking dish, and bake at 180 degrees Celsius (350 F) for about 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

5. Remove cake from oven and let cool down.

6. Briefly mix orange marmelade and sour cream. Whisk whipping cream with powdered sugar until stiff. Fold orange cream into whipped cream and spread topping on top of cake. 

7. Blend blueberry jam and sour cream, and transfer into a small ziplock bag. Cut one corner of the bag and decorate the cake with tiger stripes. Refrigerate cake for at least one hour or better overnight.

Coconut squares

This cake sounded nice when I read the recipe. I was intrigued by the addition of coconut milk to the whipping cream, and wanted to try that out. I am quite curious how this one will turn out because it seems such a complex mixture of textures (coconut and chocolate in the batter) and tastes (coconut, chocolate, orange marmelade, and coconut cream on top).

Ingredients:

Pyrex dish or other baking form (8x8 inches for a higher or 9x13 inches (30x40 cm) for a flatter cake

Some grease

8 Almond Joy (remove almond) or Bounty fun size bars

125 g (1 stick) butter or margarine

50 g sugar

3 eggs

1 package vanilla sugar or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

150 g flour

2 leveled teaspoons baking powder

30 g chopped semisweet chocolate

2 tablespoons coconut milk

Orange or apricot jam

200 g whipping cream

200 ml coconut milk (chilled)

30 g powdered sugar

Some shaved chocolate

Some toasted coconut flakes

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350F). Grease 30x40 cm (9x11 inch) baking dish. Chop bars into small pieces, 

2. Using the beaters of an electric hand mixer beat butter or margarine until soft. Add sugar and vanilla sugar or vanilla extract and whisk until batter is smooth. Add one egg at a time and whisk in for 1/2 minute per egg.

3. In a separate bowl mix flour and baking powder. In two portions stir in flour alternating with bounty bars, chocolate pieces and coconut milk.

4. Scrape batter into greased baking dish and bake for about 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean at 180 degrees Celsius (350F).

5. Remove dish from oven and let cool down. Glaze top of cake with jam (Orange will give it a little bitter taste, but I prefer it because it gives the cake an interesting twist).

6. Whisk whipping cream, coconut milk and powdered sugar until stiff. Spread cream on top of cake, and chill overnight in refrigerator.

7. Toast coconut flakes at 180 degrees Celsius (350F) for about 10 minutes or golden while stirring frequently. Decorate cake with chopped chocolate and shaved coconut before serving.

Marble Bread (Marmorkuchen)

This is my favorite bread, my traditional birthday cake, and a kids favorite when I bring to events and meetings. It is very easy to make, and easy to transport.

Ingredients:

5x8 loaf pan (Kastenform)

Some grease

125 g (1 stick) butter or margarine

125 g (1/3 cup) sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 package vanilla sugar

2 eggs

200 g (2 cups) flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon cocoa powder (Dutch processed)

1 tablespoon sugar (optional)

1 tablespoon rum or 1/2 teaspoon rum extract (optional)

1-2 tablespoons milk

Preparation:

1. Grease loaf pan. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350F).

2. Add butter or margarine to a bowl. Using the beaters of an electric hand mixer beat butter or margarine until soft. Add sugar and vanilla sugar or vanilla extract and whisk until the sugar stops crunching. Add one egg at a time, and whisk batter for 1/2 minute.

3. In a separate bowl mix flour and baking powder. Sift mixture in two portions into batter and mix. If the batter is too solis, add 1 tablespoon of milk and mix.

4. Add 1/2 to 2/3 of the batter into the greased loaf pan.

5. Sift cocoa powder into the remaining batter. Add sugar and rum and whisk dark batter until cocoa has blended in.

6. Add brown batter into the loaf pan on top of the white batter. Now take a fork, go into the batter and heap some of the white batter from the bottom and put it on top of the brown batter. Repeat this multiple times to marble the bread. Do not stir the batters, though!

7. Bake bread at 180 degrees Celsius (350F) for about 40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Comments:

1. If the eggs are too cold the fat from the butter or margarine will separate. Don't worry when this happens. When you add flour one smooth batter will form.

2. Be stingy with the liquid you add. Only add so much milk until the batter heavily falls off a spoon. If the batter is too runny add more flour, if the batter doesn't fall off at all, add some more milk. If the cake is too moist, it'll collapse in the middle and moist sections are visible. It's still edible, it just doesn't look as pretty.