MAPLE-APPLE CAKE (GUGELHUPF)

This is a moist and light delicious cake for a cozy Sunday afternoon and especially in the Advent of Christmas. And it is done so fast that I just made it in between.

3 ¼ cups all purpose flour

2 ½ Tsp baking powder

2 Tsp cinnamon

3 apples grated with peel (sour apples are the best)

1 cup walnut oil (you can use any other neutral oils too, but walnut oil is healthy and gives a great nutty taste)

1 cup brown sugar

½ cup maple syrup

4 eggs

More maple syrup for the top

Preheat oven to 180 °C. Mix wet ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix in dry ingredients until well combined. Bake cake for 40 – 60 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Let cool and serve drizzled with more maple syrup.

MAMI’S APPLE STRUDEL (Apfelstrudel)

I am from Austria! And this is THE taste of my home. My wonderful handywoman mother even started a little business when we moved to the USA in the 80ies selling Apple strudel to local restaurants. Well with two toddlers and a household to manage a rather great challenge. Whatever my mother touches turns to gold, so the business took off and everybody was craving real Austrian Apple strudel. Therefore our house was always filled with the smell of cinnamon and baking apples. Thank you Mom for such a wonderful childhood!

This is the no fuss version (to make the dough is a whole other story!!)

For the filling:

6 apples (more on the sour side like Prinz Rudolf or Fuji

6 Tbsp sugar

1 Tsp cinnamon

½ cup raisins

4 cl dark rum

Juice from ½ lemon

For the

1 Pack frozen Strudelteig (or frozen Fillo dough), completely thawed

½ cup real unsalted butter, melted

1 egg, beaten

1 cup bread crumbs

Confectioner’s sugar

Preheat oven to 180 °C. For the filling peel apples, quarter, cut out cores and slice into 1-2 mm thick slices. Mix all ingredients for the filling and set aside (it is best if it sits for about 1 hour. A lot of juice will form. The taste of the filling should be mildly sweet, not too bitter from cinnamon and you should be able to taste the apples. Please resist the urge to put in tons of more sugar.

Meanwhile to easily roll the strudel spread out a clean table cloth or a surface of paper towels. Carefully take Strudelteig/Fillo layers apart and place 5 sheet-layers overlapping on the paper towels forming an about 60 cm x 60 cm surface. Then top with an inverted layer. God, this sounds so much more complicated than it is..well, it is all about making a non-leaky surface…you will figure it out…lol.

Brush the whole surface with a lot of butter. Heap bread crumbs on the side facing you about 40 cm long. Now mix the apple filling one more time and spread it on the whole surface leaving 10 cm on left and right side. Using the paper towels as support fold over left and right side to the middle. Now using the paper towels as support roll the strudel to get a 40 cm long and about 20 cm wide strudel. With the open side down place on a baking-paper lined baking sheet. Brush with lots of butter and a little bit of egg on top.

Bake for 40 minutes or until brown and crisp. Let cool and sprinkle with lots of confectioner’s sugar.

CHOCOLATE-CHOCOLATE-CHOCOLATE COOKIES

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup good-quality milk chocolate, coarsely chopped

8 Tbsp butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

1 Tsp pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 180°C. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. Melt coarsely chopped chocolate with the butter in a large pot just until melted and let cool a bit. Add sugar, eggs, and vanilla and mix. Reduce Mix in flour mixture. Fold in chocolate chunks. Scoop 1 Tbsp of dough on a baking sheet about 5 cm apart and bake for 15 minutes. Transfer on parchment to wire racks. Let cool 5 minutes. They will look a bit soft but they become firm when cooled. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days if they survive that long.

My lovely roommate is from Japan and just showed me how to make a typical Japanese sweet. It is such a delicious new taste, I had to share this with you!

JAPANESE DUMPLINGS WITH SWEET BEAN PASTE (SHIRATAMA DANGO)

Sweet bean paste:

100 g adzuki beans

50 g sugar

Dumplings:

50 g rice flour

About 5 Tbsp water

1 Tsp matcha tea powder (optional)

In a medium pot cover beans with water. Bring to a boil and strain. Again cover with water, bring to a boil and strain. Now just cover with water and boil for 1 hour. Add sugar and boil for another half hour. Either cool in the refrigerator for a nice summer treat or set aside for a warming delight in the winter time.

For the dumplings mix together rice flour (and matcha powder if you want green dumplings) and cold water until you have the consistency of play-dough. Form small balls or disks about the size and thickness of your thumb cap. Bring water to a boil and place dumplings inside. Boil until they float, about 3 minutes. Then spoon them into cold water.

Serve Shiratama dango in a bowl with warm or cold sweet bean paste.

When life gives you lemons make…

HAPPY LEMON CUPCAKES

For 6 cupcakes:

2 eggs

100 g sugar

1 Tsp vanilla extract

50 g butter

50 ml milk

150 g flour

1 Tsp baking powder

½ Tsp salt

Lemon zest and juice of ½ lemon

For lemon frosting:

50 g soft butter

300 g confectioners sugar

100 g cream cheese

Lemon zest and juice of 1 lemon

Pre-heat oven to 180 °C. For cupcakes mix first eggs and sugar until fluffy, then all other wet ingredients, followed by all dry ingredients. Mix until well combined. Fill into 6-8 large Muffin forms and bake for 15 minutes. Let cool completely. For frosting mix all ingredients together and spread over cooled cupcakes. Good for 1 week when kept covered in the refrigerator.

I miss home!

There is nothing more satisfying than smelling freshly baked cookies after a long working day. These crunchy on the outside but chewy and moist on the inside cookies just tastes like home!

HOME-MADE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda or baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup packed light-brown sugar

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 180°C. In a small bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl mix butter and both sugars until fluffy. Add the vanilla, and eggs. Beat until well mixed. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. Make 1 Tsp large balls and place them on a baking sheet. Slightly press them down and sprinkle with a little sugar, for the top to be nice and crackled. Back 10-12 minutes rotating pan halfway through. Let cool on wire rack.