Yogurette Torte - A Birthday Yoghurt-Raspberry Cream Cake

As a child, I really admired these cream cakes (called "Torte") made with all those fancy German chocolate bars such as Kinderschokolade, Ferrero Rocher, Raffaello, Yogurette, etc. As I saw this recipe of a cream cake made with the Yogurette chocolate bar which gives it a pink color, I immediately had to think about my friend whose birthday was coming up.

I also learned a lot about how to prepare an airy and fluffy sponge cake (in German "Biskuitboden")...

Yogurette is a chocolate bar that has a creamy yogurt strawberry filling. The cream cake uses an airy sponge cake topped with a like yogurt-créme fraiche cream with chopped yogurette and frozen raspberries. Despite the cream and chocolate bars, due to the tarte yoghurt and créme fraiche, it actually is a light cake. I added some fresh lemon juice to balance the sweetness even more.

Happy Birthday, T. :)

Ingredients:

Cake Bottom:

• 3 Eggs
• 100g (1/2 cup) sugar
• 60g (1/2 cup) flour
• 1 box instant vanilla pudding mix

Cream:

• 500g plain yogurt
• 1 package instant gelatine ("Sofort Gelatine")
• 200g créme fraiche
• 1 package vanilla sugar
• 250ml whipping cream
• 1 package cream stabilizer ("Sahnesteif")
• 10 bars Yogurette (chocolate bar with strawberry yogurt filling)
• 500g frozen raspberry
• 2 tablespoon of fresh squeezed lemon

Decoration:

• 6 bars Yogurette

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 200 degree Celsius ("Ober/Unterhitze"). Grease a 26cm round springform.

1. Cake Bottom: Mix the eggs and the sugar for about 8-10 minutes. This is the most important step, be careful to not underwhip them, take your time. It may even need a little longer if you use an electrical hand mixer instead of a stand mixer. The consistency of the liquid needs to turn into a white creamy consistency and the volume will double. The sugar will work as a stabilizer. If you don't mix it long enough, the sponge cake will not rise and be airy. In a separate bowl, mix the flour and vanilla pudding mix (a powder). Then, sieve the flour mix into the creamy eggs and fold it lighltly into the egg mix by hand (to not take out too much of the air). Bake in preheated oven for about 10-15 minutes. Prick with a skewer to see whether the cake is done. Take out and let cool completely for about 1 hour. Loosen the bottom from the spring form with a knife, but leave it in.
2. Prepare the cream: Mix the yogurt with the instant gelatine. Instant gelatine is a powder and does not need to be dissolved in water beforhand but can go into the liquid immediately (you can also substitute with normal gelatine and prepare according to package instructions). Add the créme fraiche, the sugar and vanilla sugar and stir. In a separate bowl, whip the whipping cream for a few seconds and add the cream stabilizer. Mix, till cream is completely stiff. Fold the whipped cream under the yogurt mix. Now, chop the Yogurette chocolate bars and add to the cream. Add the frozen raspberries and lemon juice and fold everything under. The frozen raspberries will bleed into the cream which will give it a light pink color. You can reduce the bleeding a bit by dusting the raspberries with a bit of flour before adding to the cream.
3. Assemble the Cream Cake ("Torte"): Spread the cream onto the cake bottom which is still in the springform. The form will prevent the cream from spreading out. Cool the cake in the fridge for about 3 hours. Cut the remaining 6 Yogurette chocolate bars in half and decorate around the cake top.

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Gala Dinner at "De Lokeend" (Antwerp, Belgium)

Last month, I had the pleasure to participate in a meeting of a European research group on sleep apnea - ESADA (European Sleep Apnea Database) that was held in Antwerp, Belgium. We were treated with some very nice Belgian food and treats during the conference, but the biggest highlight was the last night. We were invited to a Gala Dinner at "De Lokeend" with a tour through the historical city of Antwerp preceding the dinner. We started our tour at the harbor with the fortress, went through the old town with the Grand Market, and stopped at "De Lokeend".

De Lokeend

This is not a usual restaurant, you can only dine there as part of a group reservation. It started back in 1986, when the owner organised dinners for friends on Saturday evenings. This hobby of hers grew to the restaurant it is now. The atmosphere is very familial, more like a country home style. The restaurant has two dining rooms. Another nice highlight is the winter garden.

The Dinner started with some prosecco and appetizer in the winter garden. The little quiches were just delicious! The Dinner had several courses, all tasted amazing and homemade:

• Crepes with spinach and cheese
• Creamy celery soup
• Chicken with anchovies, roasted chicory, tomato, and potatoes
• Poached pear with ice cream and homemade biscuit cookie
• Tea or coffee with more homemade little cookies

Little Belgian treats during the conference :)

My Mom's "Gebratener Blumenkohl mit Kick" (Spicy shallow fried cauliflower)

This is another of my Mom's recipes. What makes this simple dish so flavorful and perfect, is the addition of the Indonesian chili-based spice Sambal Oelek, one of my Mom's signature spices. It gives the buttery and nutty cauliflower a bit of a kick :) My Mom "shallow fries" the cauliflower florets, that means she fries them in a frying pan with just a little bit of oil compared to "deep frying" where it is submerged into hot oil. Roasting on the other side happens over an open fire or in the oven where the hot air envelopes the food. So, to be acurate, we are "shallow frying" the cauliflower.

One or more of her signature spices - Sambal Oelek, Biber Salcasi, Harissa - are also used in My Mom's chickpea salad, stuffed beef rolls, sunday pot roast, spaghettie bolognese, spinach in garlic-tomato sauce, cous cous,  pork filets with gravy, etc.

Ingredients:

• 1 cauliflower head
• 2 l water
• 3 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 teaspoon butter
• 2-3 teaspoons Sambal Oelek (Indonesian style chili-based sauce with garlic, lime, ginger)
• 1 tablespoon breadcrumbs
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons pepper 
• 2 teaspoons breadcrumbs

Preparation:

1. Pre-cook the cauliflower: Remove the green outer leaves of the cauliflower. Cut the stalk crosswise. Place the entire cauliflower head in a big pot, stalk down. Pour the cold water over it till the entire cauliflower is covered. Add salt. Bring water to a slow boil and let cook for about 15 minutes till the cauliflower is soft. Test by poking the cauliflower with a fork, it should go in smoothly. Take the cauliflower from the heat and drain.
2. Shallow fry the cauliflower: In a frying pan, heat the oil and butter at medium heat. Break the floretes of the cauliflower apart. Don't cut the cauliflower, try to leave the individual florets whole. Add the Sambal Oelek and the bradcrumps to the frying pan and stir. The pan should be covered with a red sauce. Place the cauliflower florets into the sauce, heads down. Sprinkle with a teaspoon of each salt, pepper and breadcrumbs. Fry the cauliflower for a few minutes till the breadcrumps in the sauce turn slightly darker. Turn the cauliflower around, sprinkle again with another teaspoon of each, salt, pepper and breadcrumps. Let fry for another 5 minutes.
3. Serve: The slightly spicy roasted cauliflower is a nice snack on its own. You can also serve it as a side dish. I recommend to serve it with my Mom's Pork Filets. As she prepares those filets with similar spices, including the Sambal Olek, the filets and the gravy of the filets are also nicely spicy and add to the flavor of the cauliflower.

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Vegan Mini Frittata Muffins

This is a long overdue post. My former co-worker likes to eat vegan, so I decided to prepare and bring a vegan dish to a relaxed evening and she provided the caipirinhas :)

I got inspired to this dish through a pinterest picture. The recipe is from "The Mosltly Vegan" blog  which also has some amazing pictures of those mini frittatas.

As this is a vegan dish, you cannot use dairy products and need to substitute milk, eggs, cheese, etc. There is even a discussion whether white flour may not be vegan due to the bleaching process... However, I do like chickpea flour and used it. This recipe also uses nutritional yeast which will give the dish its cheesy flavor.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups chickpea flour
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 3 cups chopped veggies
• salt, pepper, cayenne pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup spring onions - sliced

Sautéed tomato sauce:

• 3 tablespoon oil
• 2 pints cherry tomatoes - quartered
• salt, pepper to tast
• 2 tablespoons fresh chives - sliced

Preparations:

Preheat oven to 200 degree Celsius (400 degree Fahrenheit).

1. Prepare the batter. Mix together chickpea flour, nutritional yeast, baking powder, salt, pepper and water. Set aside.
2. Prepare the vegetables. I followed the author and used frozen broccoli that I let unthaw a little bit, red and yellow pepper, corn, and zucchini that I shredded and then squeezed to remove water. Heat the oil, add the veggies and cook for 5-7 minutes. Add the spring onions, season to taste (salt, pepper, cayenne pepper) and cook for another 2 minutes.
3. Bake the mini frittatas. Brush a muffin tin with oil. Fill each muffin cup with the veggies (will make about 12-14 mini frittatas). Now, pour the chickpea batter on top and stir with a spoon to cover all the veggies. Bake for 30-45 minutes. They are ready when the top starts to brown slightly and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool down for a bit before removing from the tin.
4. In the meantime, prepare the cherry sauce. As the frittatas may be a little dry, I do like to have some flavorful sauce with it. I used this sauce before with my Spinach Gruyere Strata. Heat the oil, add the tomatoes, salt and pepper and let cook for a few minutes till they are soft and slightly burst. Remove from heat and add the chives.

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