TWD: Cardamom Crumb Cake

 Phew! Feels like a little eternity since I baked along with TWD. (in fact, I had to skip only three weeks, what is not too good, but also not too long. Work, holidays, guests and life in general kept me away from the oven).

Cakes are good, and crumbs are wonderful. I likelikelike streusel! Let me choose between a dry, ordinary cake with streusel and a fancy spectacular torte with lots of cream and chocolate - and I will always choose the simple cake.

This one is easy done. I had the feeling the batter was slightly too moist, so I added a little bit more flour just before baking. But I guess it would not have been necessary.

Cardamom was not available in the supermarket next door, and it is far too much winter here in Vienna to take a walk to the next bigger one on a Saturday afternoon. So I mixed what I had and what did sound like an acceptable deviation: For the 1 1/4 teaspoons in the batter I took 1/2 TS cinnamon, 1/2 TS ginger, 1/4 TS nutmeg, a pinch of pimento and a dash of pepper.

I like this pick by Jill form Jill's Blog for its easiness, fastness and sapid taste. Although it is not the same as in the original recipe, I guess it is a good approximation and variant. Find the original recipe on Jill's page or in Dorie's book on page 38/39.

TWD - Applesauce Spice Bars (Thanksgiving rewind)

Give me options and see me overextended. Once I got a yes-no-coin from a friend I visited in Budapest. She was completely enervated by my unability to meet a decision (how can I decide between strawberry and blueberry yoghurt? and what about vanilla? vanilla might be fine as well. and what to drink in the morning? coffee? tea? which tea? aaaaahhhhh!!!)

At the same time, when I read "rewind" I was all "hooray, I can pick one of the many, many recipes I missed because I strated TWD so late".

So I limited the enourmous range of possibilities. And limited them further, and further, and further, until... until I recognized that I have about a million apples waiting to be eaten. So in the end it was an easy decision. I opted for the Applesauce Spice Bars, originally due for August 18, 2009. You can find the recipe in Dorie's book on pages 117 and118 or on Karen's blog, who was the first to choose this recipe for a regular TWD. Her bars look perfect, just like the picture in the book.

I made the applesauce myself, what is pretty easy (just cook the cored and peeled apples as a whole in a tiny bit of water, until they fall apart by themselves). Apple sauce is incredible, because it has very few calories and still tastes so sweet! Love it.
I ate a bit of the bar with applesauce and vanilla pudding and completely enjoyed it.

Apples and fall are a wonderful combo. But honestly spoken, I am not too sorry fall is almost over and I can for some months leave all the (wonderful, fabulous and delicious) apple-recipes behind me, and head over to some other things.

TWD: Not-Just-For-Thanksgiving Cranberry Shortbread Cake

I had no idea what a Not-Just-For-Thanksgiving Cranberry Shortbread Cake as chosen by Jessica of Singleton in the Kitchen chose for this week's TWD, should look like. So I did what every decent 21st century women does - I googled it.

Therefore I hope, what I made is pretty close to what it should look like. Anyhow, it did taste excellent, but it was not too hard to convince me, because I adore shortbread. They are really my favourite kind of cookies. Because they are sweets, but more and the fat-and-a-tad-salty taste than on the complete sweet side. And that is just my cup of tea.
The cranberries match perfectly. I am glad I didn't switch to plums - my first intention. Because it is impossible to get fresh or frozen cranberries here. Only dried ones. Dried with a heavy load of sugar. But we have something similar, lingonberry-jam, which is served with deer. So that's what I used. I know, I know, I skipped making the jam myself. But honestly, you cant' really buy fresh lingonberries, only the ready-made jam. I mixed them with some of the dried cranberries, and ended up with a good mix for the filling.

Without the jam in the middle, the cake would be a bit too dry. All in all it was pretty, pretty easy to make (uhm, maybe only because I buyed the jam...) and fast and at least one of my colleagues (and me!) loved it!

You can finde the recipe on Jessicas page or on pages 208-209 of Dorie's book

TWD - Peanuttiest Blondies

OMG, Tuesday's almost over and I haven't blogged and it was not because I did work so much today (unfortunately). Some other thoughts just kept my far away from the computer...
But here we go.
I adore Blondies. I did already mention it one or two times: I haven't ever seen a blondie until February this year. No joke. Never. Doens't exist aorund here. But I fell in love with them immediately once I had my first bite at Amy's Bread in Bleecker Street in the Village.

And, I also mentioned one or two times (or a million of times) that I fancy, love, adore anything peanuts and in particular peanut butter.
So, absolutely nothing could go wrong with these  Peanuttiest Blondies chosen by Nicole of Bakeologie for this week's TWD. You can find the wonderful recipe in page 119 in Dorie's book or on Nicole's page.

I used only half the chocolate chips amount, and added the rest of the peanutbutter chips I had left. For the peanutbutter I didn't use Skippy's but indian peanutbutter. It is slightly softer than the ordinary peanutbutter, but it did work out fine. I like the taste of this kind of peanutbutter slightly more, because it is a bit more natural (I guess it only pretends to be...).

These were really excellent and wonderful, and because they are so easy to make, I will definitely do them again!

TWD - All-American, All-Delicious Apple Pie

So here we go - this is my TWD-"birthday" entry, because I started just one year ago with TWD. Emily of Sandmuffin chose the All-American, All-Delicious Apple Pie (to be found on her page or on pages 300-302 in Dorie's book) for this special week.

For me, this is a wonderful "TWD-birthday"-pick, because I love apple pies.

I made it according to the recipe but did skip the tapioka, because it is hard to get round here and I didn't wanted to by 1 kg of tapioka for using just two spoons. I used some shredded nuts instead, but maybe should have taken more or some floor or anything else that holds the filling together, because it fell apart a bit.
I also included some raisins. (I know, there are raisin-haters out there, but I like it, and I am the baker here on this blog, so, harhar, I only just do what I want :o])

The pie is pretty easy made, you just need some preparation time for the pie crust. But once you are used to it, you get a routine for doing the dough and then it is no problem.
The name of the pie is no exaggeration - it is an all delish pie, indeed! And it is a perfect fall recipe. So I guess, this is a keeper. I can even imagine it, made as minis in small soufflé forms, as part of a christmas dessert plate.

P.S.: Wow, one year of baking. Who would have thought so. And so much did happen in this year. A lot of good things, some not so good. But over all, the balance sheet is far in the blacks. And I am pretty much happy for all the wonderful things that did happen to me and the great people I met.

364 days

I just had a look when I actually started this blog. I could only remeber that it must have been shortly after my return from my Paris-stay in October. And it turned out, that I wrote the fist enry on October 23rd, so tomorrow is my first annoversary.
My first TWD entry (in fact the reason why I started the blog, and still the almost single justification for it) was written in November 4th, the Sugar-Topped Molasses Spice Cookie.

Since then, I made 43 regular TWD recipes (i.e. in time, or at least almost), about 15 rewinds and a handful of recipes from other sources. All in all, I can say on average I did bake once a week.

My reason for participating in TWD was to get some practice, because my baking abilities were really low and I wanted to improve them. Now, one year later, I am still far far away from getting a good baker. But some things turn out well, already. I can find some leitmotif in it, but it is hard to explain why I find a common ground: Cookies (especially Shortvread/Sablés), Brioche, Biscuits, Brownies/Blondies as well as Cremes/Flans and icecream turn out really well. Cheesecakes and some chocolate cakes are fine. Muffins and Cupcakes are sometimes yes, sometimes no. Tartes and Tortes are still a bit of a horror, mostly due to my unability of making a good crust.

So, for my birthday entry this weekend I will do an apple pie, and I think that's a wonderful celebration recipe.

And for my first month in my second year we head over to:

Peanuttiest Blondies - big hooray for this recipe! I adore Blondies even more than Brownies, and Peanuts are my big love
Not-Just-for Thanksgiving Cranberry Shortbread - excitement for this. "Shortbread" is only a cookie for me, but as far as I understand it, this is more of a cake. Wonder what it will be like, and where to get cranberries...
Cranberry Lime Galette - and again the cranberry problem... But the combo sounds extremely good!
Devilish Shortcakes - and again the Shortcake/Shortbread-question. But here I have a picture in the book, that gives me a hint.

There is one week missing - because for November 23 we are free to choose a fall/holiday/Thanksgiving Dorie recipe. hat a great idea! I am already considering my options...

TWD - Fold-Over Pear Torte

And another fall recipe this week... This month of October is full of them for the TWD-community with the Double Apple Bundt Cake last week and the Caramel Pumpkin Pie (can't imagine this one - sounds, uhm, special...) and the All-American, All-Delicous Apple Pie to come the weeks to follow.

But let's talk about this week. Cakelaw of Laws of the Kitchen selected the Fold-Over Pear Torte. Go to her page to have a look at the recipe, if you don't own Dorie's book (pages 348 and 349). But I recommend to have a look at her page anyways, because she is one of the few non-American-TWD'ers and I always find it very interesting how non-Americans find their way to TWD, and what they choose. I think they often choose the most typical-american of all, funnily. And (more important) - she is very supportive, always kind, leaves a lot of hints, tricks and comments and bakes wonderful treats.

I like pears and fall recipes, and I extremely like this Torte. Even though I think of it more as a pie than a torte, but maybe that's a language problem. The dough is wonderful. I could eat tons of it even without filling. But why should I, when I have additionally this tasty pear-filling?

I had way to much filling, so I made some minis. Unfortunately my torte didn't turn out very photogenous.I feel always sorry for not being able to picture the baked goods I like most in a way that comes up with their taste. But taking pictures of baked goods is maybe a bit like baking itself - the more often you do it, the better you get...

TWD - Double Apple Bundt Cake

It's fall! I like fall. I love fall. Fall is my time. Maybe it has something to do with my red hair and pale skin, what makes me the "autumn type". Maybe it has something to do with the possibility of wearing boots with your short skirts, what makes me always more comfortable than with ballerinas. Or maybe it is because I just love walking with a cappuccino to go in my hand through the red and brown leaves in the parks of Vienna before returning home for making a big pitcher of chai tea just for myself.

One of my favourite songs from my favourite band is about why they love their wives and girlfriends and all their freaky nuttiness that makes them even more adoreable, and one line translates to "because you love fall more than summer". I love this line! :o]

So, let's talk about this week's Tuesdays with Dorie, the Double Apple Bundt Cake, which is chosen by Lynne of Honey Muffin. You can find the recipe on her page or in Dorie's book on  pages 184 and 185.
It's a "double" apple bundt because you use apple butter and grated apples - and therefore end up with a pretty moisty, soft bundt cake.

It's easy made, has a great consistence, is full of autumn-flavour thanks to the appels and nuts (I skipped the raisins because I halfed the recipe, and it wasn't worth opening a whole pack of rasins for not even a handful of fruits).

I halved the recipe and made12 minis and really, really liked them. The right cake for the right time of the year! (see on the right side: a flying mini double apple bundt cake :o])

I joined TWD not even a year ago, so there are a lot of recipes I didn't bake with the group. With some I try to catch up. We had a birthday girl in the office, so I tried my luck with the Peanut Butter Torte. It was one of the early recipes in TWD, and it is easy to see, why: Because it is just incredible! It has a crust made of oreos, the filling is a mix of peanutbutter, salted peanuts, a bit of bittersweet chocolate and whipped cream. I love anything peanut, and peanutbutter is my nemesis, so it was easy to cinvince me of this torte. I am pretty satsified with the taste and looks of it, but the cream didn't firm completely. Therefore, it turned out more as a spoon dessert than a torte. But who cares as long as it is an oreo-peanut-peanutbutter-with-a-tad-of-bittersweet-chocolate-spoon-dessert!

TWD - Tarte Fine

For this week of TWD Leslie of Lethally Delicious decided on Tarte Fine - go to her page to find the recipe, or flip through Dorie's book to page 315.

Tarte Fine is a french classic - the recipe says. When I read the ingredients and this introduction, I had a certain picture in mind. A picture of a very thin tarte crust (the "fine" part in the Tarte Fine, I thought), layered with apples. Well, the second part of my guess was right, but the "crust" should be puff pastry.

Unfortunately, I am not a big fan of puff pastry. It has a lot of fat and calories for not so enormously much taste. In this respect it reminds me very much on a croissant. When I see a croissant I always ask myself why I should eat something as fat and full of calories as a muffin, but without any taste of itself (despite, maybe, the taste of butter).
That doesn not mean I never eat croissants :o]
And it does not mean I didn't try the Tarte Fine...

The second point why I am not a huge fan of puff pastry is that it's not a good keeper. I always bake on Sunday and bring the treats to work the next day, so anything puff pastry is always difficult and never a big success.

The Tarte Fine didn't taste bad, but it had the looks of a cold Pizza and wasn't a big hit around here. Maybe it didn't help I used the jam as a bottom layer between the pastry and the apples...

So. Let's just not speak too much about this tarte and start thinkig about the next apple recipe, which is just one week ahead with the Double Apple Bundt Cake to come!


PS: Don't forget to visit Leslie's page anyways! She is one of the nicest, most helpful and most awesome bakers of all these awesome TWD-ers!

PPS.: Now that I had a look at Leslie's page and some other TWD-bakers I found out what the Tarte Fine should actually look like! And as I had some puff pastry left, I just tried it out. Looks much better! Now my colleagues will have to deal with another Tarte tomorrow...

TWD Rewind - Peanut Butter Crisscrosses

I am not going to leave my link in this weeks TWD-"Leave your Link"-section because I made a catch-up. I missed the cookies Jasmine of Jasmine Cuisine  picked two weeks ago. But I adore peanut butter (and anything peanut in general) so it was no question I am going to catch up with those one day. Additionally, I do not really like coffee-taste. Funnily, very often when coffee-including recipes are scheduled for TWD I nevertheless decide to follow them - and often they turn out great.

However.

Two weeks ago I missed the Crisscrosses because I was in Paris (no misery, I know). And this week I was a bit in a hurry, because a close friend stopped by for the week, so there was no chance I am going to do both, the cookies and the Coffee Break Muffins Rhiani of Chocoholic Anonymous picked this week. You can find the recipe on her page or in Dorie's book on page 15.
And you can follow all the honest TWD'ers who made the right recipe for this week.

I got to say that I was as sorry two weeks ago not to bake along with Jasmine, as I am this week for not going down the road with Rhiani. Both are incredible bakers and have wonderful homepages! Additionally, Jasmine is one of the few European participants and I am always surprised they often chose recipes with very typical american ingredients, just like peanut butter. Strange, isn't it?

Well. The crisscrosses turned out just as expected. Incredible. In-cre-dible! Peanuts. Butter. Peanutbutter. Perfect.
The recipe gives a whole lot od cookies, about 40-50. My colleagues really loved them, and nevertheless there were some left in the evening. But be sure, it was not the falt of the cookies, but of the quantity.


Do it again, again, and again...