Three Kinds of Macaroons - German style

A year ago, I ate some delicious coconut and walnut macaroons that my friends Nick and Bianka prepared. They called them "Schäumle" (which is Swabian for meringue macaroons). I am used to coconut macaroons, but I rarely eat walnut and hazelnut macaroons, so they were a very tasty surprise.

I took this as an opportunity to bake some Christmas macaroons/ meringue cookies with my Mom this year. We made three different kinds: Walnut-Rum, Hazelnut-Almond and Coconut-Lemon Macaroons. We used Nick's recipes (which is actually partially based on their grandmother Irene) and adapted them slightly.

"Schäumle" - a special kind of meringue macaroons

Most times, for macarons, the egg white will be whipped separately till stiff. Then you fold in the sugar and the coconut/ nuts. However, for the meringue macaroons - the "Schäumle" -  you mix the egg whites with the sugar together and whipped it for a long time till stiff (similar to a biscuit dough). The "Schäumle" are a little lighter, full of air, like meringue :)

Nutty Meringue Macaroons

 

Important Note: 
Use the batter immediately, do not let it sit or cool it down in the fridge. After beating, the batter has a nice consistency. If you wait to long, it becomes more liquid again and will spread....

 

Ingredients: 

Walnut-Rum Macaroons (20-25 pieces):

• 3 egg whites
• 150 gram confectioner's sugar - sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla aroma
• 1/2 teaspoon rum aroma
• 1 pinch salt
• 200 walnuts - chopped 
• thin wafers (in German they are called "Oblaten")
• ca. 25 walnut halves (for decoration)

Hazelnut-Almond Macaroons (15-20 pieces):

• 3-4 egg whites (depends on size of egg)
• 200 gram confectioner's sugar - sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla aroma
• 1 pinch salt
• 100 gram hazelnuts - ground
• 100 gram almonds - ground
• thin wafers (in German they are called "Oblaten")
• ca. 20 hazelnuts (for decoration)

 

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 130 degree Celcius (ca. 270 degree Fahrenheit).
Prepare two separate batters for the walnut and hazelnut macaroons.

1. In a bowl, add the egg whites and the sugar. Beat with an electrical mixer or blender for about 8-10 minutes till it is relatively firm from consitency and does not run down the blender hooks anymore. You call that having "stiff peeks".
2. Add the aroma and salt. Fold in the chopped walnuts or ground hazelnuts/almonds.
3. Use the batter immediately as it will lose its consistency otherwise. Wafers are optional. Place them on a parchment lined baking tray. They should not touch, as the macaroons could spread. Now, either use two teaspoons or a pastry bag (cut of a corner of a zip lock bag) and pipe the mixture in a half-dome shape on the wafers. Decorate each macaroon with a walnut half or a hole hazelnut.
4. Bake for 10-20 minutes. Time depends on oven and ingredients. Keep checking the macaroons, they only need to dry. In this recipe, the walnut macaroons needed the longest.

Coconut-Lemon Macaroons

Ingredients (ca. 10 pieces):

• 2 egg whites
• 75 gram confectioner's sugar - sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon aroma
• 100 gram coconut - shredded
• thin wafers (in German they are called "Oblaten")

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 130 degree Celcius (ca. 270 degree Fahrenheit).

1. Beat egg whites till completely stiff. 
2. Fold the sifted confectioner's sugar gently into the egg whites. Add the aroma to the egg whites. Fold in the shredded coconuts.
3. Place the thin wafers on a parchment lined baking tray. Be careful that they do not touch, as the macaroons could spread. Now, either use two teaspoons or a pastry bag (cut of a corner of a zip lock bag) and pipe the mixture in a half-dome shape on the wafers.
4. Bake for 10-20 minutes. Time depends on oven and ingredients. Keep checking the macaroons, they only need to dry. Coconut macaroons are done when they turn slightly golden-brown. 

If batter is too liquid:

• Add another beaten egg white.

Aroma: 

• I used little bottles of vanilla, rum and lemon aroma. You can of course switch it up, but lemon and coconut and walnut and rum definitely go good together. Instead of little bottles of liquid, you might find other aroma sugars/extracts that you can use, but be careful not to use too much.

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Merry Christmas

Oatmeal Cake with berries and a coconut-pecan frosting

I made this oatmeal cake for our Christmas breakfast at work. I thought it fitting for breakfast as it contains oatmeal :) I never made one before, but it turned out pretty good. It is a heavy cake with the barley flour, flax seeds and oats, but I used a nice coconut-pecan frosting which gave it a good creamy balance.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup barley flour
• 2 tablespoons flax seeds (or chia seeds) 
• 1 cup oats
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or 1/2 teaspoon each cinnamon and nutmeg)
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or 1 package vanilla sugar)
• 1-1/2 cups mixed berries, frozen

For a homemade coconut-pecan frosting (I used a store bought frosting):

• 1-1/3 cup shredded sweetened coconut
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1/4 cup cream
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Alternatively: a Streusel Topping:

• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup oats
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans

Preparation:

Cake: 

Preheat oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit.

1. Add the white and brown sugar in a small bowl. Add the butter, cut into small pieces. Mix with an electrical hand mixer for 2 minutes. Now, add the eggs and buttermilk and mix till creamy.
2. In a big bowl, whisk together the rest of the dry ingredients - white and barley flour, flax seeds, oats, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, salt, vanilla sugar and oats. Make a well in the middle and pour the liquid mix in. Stir till it becomes a thick batter.
3. Use frozen berries. Do not thaw or rinse them, leave them in the reezer until right before stirring them into the batter. The more liquid they give up while thawing, the grayer will the batter turn. Sprinkle a tablespoon of flour over the berries and mix. Now, carefully fold the berries under the batter. 
4. Pour the batter into a baking pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, untill a fork poked into the center comes out dry. Take out the cake and let cool dwon for a while. Spread the store bought frosting evenly over the cake.

Homemade Frosting:

I used a store bought coconut-pecan frosting, if you want to prepare your own coconut-pecan topping, combine all ingredients for the topping and spread over the warm cake. Return to the oven and broil for 2-4 minutes until bubbly and lightly browned. Take the cake out of the oven and let cool down before serving.

If you do not want to have such a sweet topping, you can alternatively use a Streusel topping. Therefore, mix the flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut in the butter with your fingers or forks and mix until combined and crumbly. Mix in the pecans. Sprinkle the Streusel topping evenly over the unbaked cake batter and bake it with the cake in the oven.

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Kiymet's Homemade Börek

Börek is another traditional Turkish dish from my work colleague. A short while back I had posted her recipe to Poğaça, which is a filled Turkish pasty and a typical breakfast dish. Börek is a little bit bigger, it is a baked filled pastry (not a pasty - small distinction) made with thin flaky dough (e.g. special Börek dough that you can find in a Turkish store or substitute with phyllo dough) and also eaten as an appetizer or for breakfast.

This week, my work colleague prepared Börek for our Christmas breakfast. She made a vegetarian filling at home and baked the Börek freshly in the morning. So delicious! She used a spinach-cheese filling, but you can also use a ground beef filling.

Ingredients:

• 600g store bought Börek dough (possible alternative: phyllo dough)

Filling:

• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 small onion - diced
• 250g fresh spinach
• 200g feta cheese
• 1 tablespoon paprika paste
• salt, pepper

Sauce:

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup plain yoghurt
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
•  1/2 cup club soda
 

 

Preparation:

1. Heat the oil and sauté the onions. In a bowl, combine all remaining ingredients of the filling. Pour the onions with the oil over those ingredients and mix lightly with your hands. In another bowl, whisk all ingredients for the sauce together. Set both bowls aside. 
2. Lay out half of the phyllo dough on a greased baking pan. Spread with the sauce to soften the dough. Add the filling and cover up with the other half of the dough. Spread the rest of the sauce on top over the dough. Let sit for 30-60 minutes. Preheat oven to 250 degree Celsius (about 480 degree Fahrenheit).
3. Bake the filled dough for about 5 minutes, then reduce the heat to 200 degree Celsius (about 390 degree Fahrenheit). Take the börek out of the oven and let cool for 15 minutes. Cut into squares.

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Almond-Marzipan Cookies - It's this time of year again...

And again, I made some Almond-Marzipan Cookies for my father to Christmas. I have posted the recipe earlier, but here are some new pictures. It just looks too good to be true...

Vegetarian Thai Curry

This is a delicious recipe that my friend AM taught me during college time. The first time we cooked it together we had invited some friends from our hometown and we cooked in my dorm kitchen. A nice memory.

We used lots of beans, potatoes and other veggies. I also added a small can of "Green Curry Sauce" from Exotic Food, which contains coconut milk and some veggies, but that is optional and we did not use it the first time we cooked it.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 tablespoon ginger - minced
• 3-4 chilis - sliced
• 3 cloves garlic - minced
• 1 big onion - cut into chunks
• 4-5 potatoes - cut in cubes
• 1/2 tablesspoon salt
• 3 carrots - sliced
• 1 green bell pepper - cut into cubes
• 3-5 tomatoes - cut into big chunks
• 1 can chickpeas
• 1 can kidney beans
• 2 chicory - cored and sliced
• 1-2 cans of coconut milk 
• 1 lemon
• salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, curry

optional: 

• 1 can "Green Curry Sauce" 
• 2 tablespoons cream 
• rice

Preparation:

1. Heat the oil, add the ginger, chilis and garlic. Fry for 1-2 minutes and keep stirring. Add the onions and fry for another 2 minutes. Add the potatoes and the salt. Stir and fry for about 5 minutes. Be careful that the garlic or onion do not turn black, add a little bit of water if needed. Add the carrots, stir and cook for 5 minutes. Then add enough water so that the potatoes are covered. Let cook for about 5 minutes.
2. Add the bell pepper and tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Vegetables should still be a little crunchy, not too soft. Add the chickpeas, kidney beans and chicory and cook for 5-10 minutes till all vegetables are soft. 
3. Now, add the coconut milk, slowly and bring to a boil. If you decide to add a can of Green Thai Curry Sauce, add it as well. Let cook for a minute, squeeze in the juice of half a lemon. Add the spices (salt, pepper, cayenne pepper and curry) to taste. You can also add a little bit of cream, but make sure that it doesn't boil anymore as the cream would seperate. 
4. Serve as a soup or with rice.

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My Brother's Homemade Cheese Pizza from scratch

My brother's pizza tastes incredible. It is really made from scratch with all the important ingredients. As far as I know, he really did his research - the right flour, yeast and fermentation starters, the right equipment (pizza stone, etc.). He uses a variety of high quality cheeses which just tastes delicious when melted into a gooey pizza topping. And the sprinkle of some drops of tabasco sauce at the end is just the tip of the iceberg - everything comes together splendidly.

Ingredients:

For the dough:

• 220g pizza flour Typ 0* (or bread flour)
• 4-5g baking ferment (a fermentation starter)
• 1 tablespoon barley malt (enzyme active)
• 10g yeast (fresh)
• 1/2 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 230ml water

Toppings (variations possible):

• 2 big tomatoes - cut into cubes and pureed
• 50g of each, emmenthaler, gauda, and parmesan cheese - freshly grated
• 50g gorgonzola - cut into little cubes
• 50g mozzarella and or feta cheese - cut into little cubes
• 1 tablespoon tabasco sauce
• freshly grounded black pepper

Preparation:

Preheat oven at 270 degree Celsius (520 degree Fahrenheit).

1.  Prepare the dough: In a big bowl, mix the flour, baking ferment and salt. In a smaller bowl, mix the barley malt with the water, yeast and olive oil to activate the yeast. Now, add the water mix to the flour mix and knead the dough for a few minutes. Form a dough ball and cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towl. Let proof in a warm area for 1/2 - 1 hour till dough more than doubled in size. 
2. Prepare the fresh tomato sauce: Puree the tomatoes. My brother used fresh tomotoes from the garden, so he also kept a couple of tomato slices as topping. (Important: If you do not immediately use the tomato sauce, you need to boil the sauce in order for it to be durable.)
3.  Toppings: Roll the dough out, 1/2 inch thickness. Fold and press in the edges (Additional tip: I know some people that put additional mozzarella cheese in the edges which tastes delicious!). Spread the tomato sauce evenly on top of the dough. Now, sprinkle the grated cheeses (emmenthaler, gauda and parmesan) on top and add the cheese cubes (gorgonzola, mozzarella, feta). Add the tomato slices (otpional).
4. Baking: Use a pizza stone for the oven. Bake the pizza for 4-6 minutes (depending on the oven). Keep an eye on it, so that it doesn't burn. Take it out of the oven and sprinkle with tabasco and freshly grounded black pepper.

*Note: There are different types of flour that vary in texture due to the amount of gluten. In Europe, they use type 1, 0, or 00 and it refers to the texture of the flour with 1 being the roughest texture. Type 0 or 00 is the "Italian style flour", suitable for "Neapolitan style pizza" (thin in the middle and puffy at the edges).

 

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