Nameless Berry Cake

Haven’t been able to post at all, and what’s even worse I haven’t had much time to bake either.

I really missed the homemade baked goods, so the other day I caught a little time to make something simple.

No time to browse through never-ending collection of books, and magazines, or Internet, so I just whipped up a dessert from some recipes that I know by heart.

This no name berry studded cake is made of following:
1 recipe cocoa sponge you can find here
1 recipe vanilla cream you can find here
Whipped cream and fresh berries
Orange juice for soaking

I have made one sponge, in a 9 x 13 inch pan, and cut it in half lengthwise.

I find that this way I can make desserts more often, and it’s just enough for entire family, with possibility of some leftovers too.

I have soaked the sponge (when cool) with fresh squeezed orange juice, but you can soak it with other juices, or even alcoholic beverages, as long as you don't serve it to little ones.
Spread with about half of cream, top with berries, and a little bit more cream so the other half of sponge would stick nicely, then spread again with leftover vanilla cream, whipped cream, and garnish with berries. Possibilities are endless, other fruit, no fruit, chocolate cream, etc.

Chill well, and enjoy!

Cheers my dear foodies, and thank you for your continued loyalty, and support!

Torte Reform

I couldn’t find anything on this fabulous cake, it’s history, and where it gets it’s name from, but that didn’t stop me from trying to make this delicious cake loaded with walnuts, and chocolate cream.

Torte Reform

For the layers:
10 egg whites
300g (10.14oz) fine sugar
300g (10.14oz)ground walnuts
2 tbsp flour

For the cream:
10 egg yolks
200g (6.76oz) sugar
100g (3.38oz) baking or dark chocolate,
(Chocolate can be increased/decreased to one’s own liking)
250g (8.45oz) unsalted butter or margarine,
3 tbsp very strong coffee (optional)

Beat egg whites, and sugar until firm, and then gradually add walnuts and flour. Divide this batter into 4-5 parts, and bake each in an 8 inch spring form pan in the preheated oven @ 355° F (180° C) for about 20 minutes.

To make the cream mix egg yolks with sugar and cook in a double boiler, mixing constantly. Add chocolate, and cook and mix some more until it starts to thicken.
Remove form the heat, and add the coffee. Let cool completely, and then mix in butter.

I recommend first making the cream, and set it in fridge to cool until you’re done with the layers. The cream is quite stiff, so to spread it over the layers, divide it in how ever many sections you’ll need to spread over each layer, and put the entire amount needed for one layer in the middle, then spread towards the edges.
This is a really delicious, rich, and satisfying torte!

Recipe adapted from Coolinarika.

Kugelhopf

Lately I have been trying hard to make time for my passion for baking, and I dusted off my cookbooks and found Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan.
The book opened up on Kugelhopf, and I remembered I have been meaning to try it long ago.

From Wikipedia: "A Gugelhupf or Kugelhupf is a southern German, Austrian, Swiss and Alsatian term for a type of cake. As with the Jewish dish kugel, the name "Gugelhupf" is related to the Middle High German word Kugel meaning "ball" or "globe". In Hungary, Croatia, and Serbia, it is called kuglof, in the Czech Republic it is called bábovka, and in Poland it is called babka. In Republic of Macedonia the cake is known as "куглоф".

In the book, and in many other references it is spelled Kugelhopf, but to say the least, I'd say pronunciation is quite irrelevant, what's relevant is how delicious the cake is, and well loved across the globe.

So, here we are, it took a whole morning, and I was finished late in the afternoon. Simple recipe, just so many steps for the dough to properly rise, but oh so well worth it. I have followed the recipe religiously, and it was a major success. Kids couldn't wait to try it, and we are now down to just a few crumbs, just enough to accompany my morning coffee.

The crust is not hard at all, but rather crunchy in a soft way, really delicious. I would love to add a zest of orange next time, and perhaps soak the raisins in rum. Definitely a recipe I am sticking with, thank you Dorie!

Chocolate Cream Pie

For upcoming Holidays, Martha Stewart has assembled a really nice magazine/publication "Holiday Sweets", and I got stuck on the page with this delicious Chocolate cream pie. I am so happy with the results, it's simple, elegant, and the cream is delicious. I am not normally a big fan of the meringue, but it just goes so well, and adds that magic touch.
The magazine is filled with beautiful creations, and I can't wait to try some more. It's very inspiring!
I had a little trouble with the lighting, so my pictures don't give it proper justice, you should see Martha's! Also, I have used regular wafers, and added melted chocolate to the crumb, the recipe calls for chocolate wafers, and they are much more dark, making the pie even better looking.