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.

Coconut Mountains

These coconut cookies very much remind me of store bought coconut macaroons. Tasty, and very easy to make.

Ingredients:

Baking sheet

Parchment paper 

For the batter:

2 eggs

1 teaspoon each of ground cinnamon, ground coriander and ground cardamom (optional)

150 g sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 package vanilla sugar 

300 g shredded coconut 

Optional:

Semisweet chocolate for decorating 

Preparation:

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

2. Whisk eggs, spices, sugar and vanilla extract or vanilla sugar for 2 minutes on high with an electric hand mixer. Stir in shredded coconut on lower setting.

3. Using two teaspoons form little coconut mountains on parchment paper. Bake cookies for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.

4. Remove cookies from oven, remove with parchment paper from baking sheet, and let cool on parchment paper.

5. Melt some semisweet chocolate and sprinkle some over the coconut mountains or glaze the bottom 1/3 with chocolate.

Cranberry Bar

I came across this recipe and was intrigued by its simplicity. So what could be better to start of 2015 with an easy recipe that uses seasonal cranberry sauce.

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

Some grease

Yeast dough:

125 ml milk

1 package dry yeast 

40 g sugar

Some vanilla extract 

A pinch of salt 

250 g all-purpose flour

Filling:

1 can of cranberry sauce (whole cranberries)

Custard:

500 ml milk

2 tablespoons sugar (don't add when using JELL-O)

1 package vanilla pudding powder or cook&serve JELL-O

100 g marzipan, finely grated

100 g slivered almonds 

Preparation:

1. Prepare yeast dough: Sift flour into a bowl. Heat milk until lukewarm, stir in sugar, salt, vanilla extract and yeast. Add milk to flour and stir until a dough has formed. Cover bowl and let sit in a warm place until dough has visibly risen.

2. Prepare custard: Prepare custard according to the manufacturer's instructions. Remove custard from oven, then stir in grated marzipan. Let custard cool down stirring occasionally to prevent a milk skin from forming.

3. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 F). Grease baking dish. On a floured surface roll out yeast dough, then transfer to greased baking dish. Stretch dough into corners until the entire surface of the baking dish is covered.

4. Spread cranberry sauce on top of yeast dough. Then spread vanilla custard on top of cranberry sauce. Lastly, spread slivered almonds on top. Let cake rest for 15-20 minutes.

5. Bake cake at 180 degrees Celsius (350 F) for about 30 min. Remove cake from oven, cut into bars and serve.

Comments:

1. The original recipe uses "Preiselbeermarmelade", a kind of lingonberry jam. I've been substituting it in all recipes for cranberry because both are tart and sweet.

2. The original recipe adds an egg to the yeast dough and two eggs to the custard (stirred in after removing it from heat). To make this recipe suitable for people with allergies to eggs I did not use any eggs.

3. Don't get me wrong, it's tasty, but I think that I'd prefer it with a pastry dough instead of a yeast dough. It'll be more delicate.

Apple Cake (Riemchenapfel)

This cake is known in the Rhineland as "Riemchenapfel", and every bakery sells it. The filling can vary; in addition to apple sauce apricot or plum jam is also used. When using unsweetened apple sauce this cake is very healthy (for a cake): the yeast dough contains little sugar, and the filling only contains the sugar from the fruit.

Ingredients:

Springform, 26 cm (10 inches) in diameter

Some grease or parchment paper 

250 g all-purpose flour 

125 ml milk, lukewarm 

25 g butter

75 g sugar 

1 package active dry yeast 

1 pinch salt

700 g apple sauce, unsweetened 

2 tablespoons apricot jam 

Preparation:

1. Prepare yeast batter: sift flour into a bowl, mix with 25 g sugar, then make a little dent into the flour. Sprinkle 25 g sugar around the rim on the flour. Heat milk until lukewarm. Add 25 g sugar and yeast, stir; pour milk with yeast and sugar into the well in the flour. Cover bowl with a towel. Let yeast rise for about 30 minutes in a warm place or until bubbly.

2. Using the knead hooks of an electric hand mixer mix ingredients in bowl. Add salt and butter and work the dough until it starts pulling back, pulling away from the bowl, and forming a ball. Remove dough from the hooks and the side of the bowl. Sprinkle some flour over the dough, so that it won't stick to your hands.

3. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 F). Line the springform bottom with parchment paper or grease. Roll out 1/3 of the dough and put on springform bottom. Take another 1/3 of the dough, make long tubes and line the inner edge of the springform. Push the tubes flat against the edge, about 2 cm  high, and connect the edge with the springform bottom.

4. Add apple sauce to springform. Spread evenly. Take the remaining 1/3 of the dough, roll it out flat into a circle with the diameter of the springform. Using a pizza or a pastry wheel cut out thin strips. Put the strips in a crisscross pattern over the applesauce.

5. Bake cake for about 30 min at 180 degrees Celsius (350 F).

6. Stir apricot jam until smooth. Remove cake from oven and brush the top with the apricot jam. Remove springform edge, let cake cool down before serving. 

Comments:

1. The cake is best when served with freshly whipped cream.

2. The sugar for the yeast batter can be further reduced (25 g).

Espresso Chocolate Cake

When I saw a photo of this cake I was intrigued by its looks, and what can be wrong with chocolate and coffee?!

Ingredients:

Deep baking sheet 

Parchment paper 

For crust:

125 g all-purpose wheat flour 

1/4 teaspoon baking powder 

15 g cocoa powder 

50 g sugar 

1 package vanilla sugar or some vanilla extract 

80 g soft butter

2 tablespoons water or milk

For sponge cake:

4 eggs 

80 g sugar 

1 package vanilla sugar or some vanilla extract 

80 g all-purpose wheat flour 

1/2 teaspoon baking powder 

20 g potato or corn starch 

Filling:

200 g dark fruit jam/spread

600 g whipping cream 

100 g dark chocolate 

5-6 teaspoons instant espresso powder 

Decoration:

Shaved chocolate, espresso beans, mini chocolate bars

Preparation:

1. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Pencil a circle of about 22 cm (9 inches) in diameter. Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius (375 F).

2. Prepare crust: sift flour, baking powder and cocoa power into a bowl and mix, then add all remaining ingredients. Using an electric hand mixer mix batter until crumbles have formed. Put crumbles into the circle drawn on parchment paper. Press crumbles together with the back of a tablespoon. Bake cake for about 15 minutes, the remove crust from hot baking sheet.

3. Line baking sheet with a new piece of parchment paper. Prepare sponge cake: whisk eggs until fluffy. Add sugar and vanilla sugar or vanilla extract and whisk for an additional 2 minutes. Sift flour, baking powder and starch, add mixture to batter and briefly mix. Spread sponge batter onto parchment paper and bake at 200 degrees Celsius (375 F) for about 9 minutes. Remove sponge cake from hot baking sheet and let cool upside down on a second piece of parchment paper.

4. Prepare filling: In a stovetop pot melt chocolate into the whipping cream at low heat stirring frequently. Add espresso powder to taste. Remove cream from heat, and chill in refrigerator until cold.

5. Spread 2 tablespoons jam or fruit spread onto the pie crust. Remove parchment paper from sponge cake and cut sponge lengthwise into four strips of equal width. Spread remaining jam or fruit spread onto sponge strips.

6. Whip chilled cream unto stiff. Spread 2/3 of the stiff cream onto the sponge strips. Roll up the first sponge strips like rolling up a jelly roll. Put the rolled up strig with one open end on the pie crust. Now take the next sponge strip. Where the first strip ends start rolling the second strip around the cake. Do the same with the remaining two strips. Spread the remaining cream on top and around the sides of the cake. Remove any extra crust that is bigger than the actual cake. Decorate the cake with remaining chocolate cream, shaved chocolate and espresso beans. Chill cake in fridge for about 1 h before serving.

Date Cookies

This recipe uses oats, so these cookies can be eaten by people who are sensitive to gluten.

Ingredients:

Baking sheet 

Parchment paper 

100 g oats

250 g (fresh) dates

For the batter:

50 g soft butter

3 tablespoons maple syrup 

2 eggs 

50 g hazelnut flour

1 teaspoon baking powder 

Preparation:

1. Roast oats at low heat in a pan without oil; pour onto a plate and let cool down. Pit dates and mince into fine pieces.

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

3. Add butter and maple syrup to a bowl. Blend until smooth using an electric hand mixer. Add eggs, one at a time and mix for 1/2 minute per egg.

4. Mix hazelnut flour with baking powder; add to batter. Lastly, add minced dates, and briefly blend.

5. Using two tablespoons put a walnut sized amount onto parchment paper. Leave some space in between cookies.

6. Bake cookies for about 15-20 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius (350 F).

7. Remove baking sheets from oven, pull cookies and parchment paper off the baking sheet. Let cookies cool down, then store in an airtight box.

Comments:

1. The original recipe uses a blender to purée the dates. I had a hard time with this, so I cut them into small pieces. If you decide to blend then you might have to soak the dates in water to soften them. Or use very fresh and ripe dates.

2. Oats do not contain gluten, so you can make these cookies if you are sensitive to gluten. However, oats and wheat are often processed in the same plant. To avoid issues caused by cross contamination make sure to buy certified gluten free oats.

3. The original recipe bakes these cookies for 30 minutes, but mine would have been burned if I had baked them that long.