Spot Dessert Bar

Last Sunday, the lovely Keen , invited me and a few others along to taste Spot Dessert Bar's menu, along with their new Valentine's day specials. I was completely floored by the kindness of our hosts and the quality of the aesthetic and taste of the dessert tapas, making me regret not having eaten here more often in the past year (to be fair, the lines are always long, and now I understand why). Personally, I love a meal made up of sweets only, so a dessert tapas bar is right up my alley. My favorites were the Oreo macarons and the Love Fondue (chiffon cake encased in white chocolate and raspberry mouse, pictured above), as well as the Green Tea Lava Cake.

Green Tea Chocolate covered strawberries with pocky and oreo crumbs.

Golden french toast with vanilla ice cream and strawberries. 

Green tea chocolate lava cake. 

Find them here: 

 

Zucchini Pine-nut Salad

Well I should be making dinner, but who will blame me for sitting right here to write the recipe for this post, comfortably in my chair and enjoying these photos. I love them I hope you do too. At my son's school we had Teacher Appreciation Lunch this week and every parent had to bring in a dish according to the last name initial so we were down for "Savory". 

I had way too many ideas and I am so glad it was not "Sweet", because it is much harder to be healthy with sweet than with savory. So when I went shopping and saw these beautiful organic zucchinis I grabbed a load and while picking the nicest I realized I must have inspired another lady who in fear of probably getting none, stared at me with a rather unfriendly smile. I left 6 zucchini and headed over to the scale with 3 kilograms  ... that makes 15 zucchinis, or more .... then she took the rest! Good for her and I hope she made something yummy, sharing is civil I suppose ...

Here is one more challenge after fighting for your lot: most ingredients are a no go if it comes to school: walnuts, hazelnuts, gluten, histamine, ... you name it they will not be able to eat it ...

So I hope they liked my salad, as probably the greenest and healthiest on that buffet table.
I made it the day ahead and added the dressing and toppings before school in the morning.  

You Need:

1,5 kg organic zucchini for a party of 8
some olive oil

3 tbsp lime juice and
1 tip of the knife of grated peel from the lime
3 tbsp organic olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp agave sirup or maple sirup
salt, fresh pepper

3 sprigs of fresh basil
3/4 cups pine nuts
lots of parmesan shavings

Cut the washed zucchini length wise and then in 4 mm think slices. Quickly stir fry over high heat in a little bit of olive oil, batch by batch. Too many in the pan will make them soggy. If they turn dark every here and there that is pretty I think, but be careful you need them to be very crisp. That is why high heat and quick turning is best. Let them cool completely and mix the dressing. Mix well and pour it over the zucchini, let marinate for a bit and sprinkle the pine nuts, basil leaves and parmesan shavings with a little extra olive oil over the salad for decoration. Some extra fresh pepper! 

I love freshly baked hot ciabatta with olives or herbs with a salad so fresh and green and lemony. Maybe at the next summer party with a tender white fish from the grill - oh ya !

Cannelés - French Custard Cakes from Bordeaux

A recipe known since the 1700s and back then strictly regulated in terms of how many bakeries were allowed to produce this sensational type of pastry, it is now again hyped and can be bought in french pastries in batches of 8 or 12. The outer crust is crisp due to the caramelizing of the sugar the centre soft and flavorful. Best for snack with champagne, served along with tea or wine either white or red, and even found on breakfast menus. I fell in love it while visiting Sophie and we went to Maison Kaiser on 3rd Avenue between 74th and 75th Street last fall. The history of this recipe inspired me for the food photography. A little hard to tell since back then none took photos and it took a long time until they would take photos of food ....
I adopted the recipe from many I researched on the internet. There are even videos that show the full procedure like the one of Bruno Albouze. I loved in particular the pretty copper molds they had ! but mine work just as fine and won't topple over ....

The funniest thing is to watch the cannelés grow out of their molds and some might even stay up as if they had outgrown their shoes.

The best advice is fresh eggs and long resting for the dough. Everything else is pretty easy. Oh and of course a really good rum! makes all the difference !

No worries, the look is a bit frightening, they do look dark but remember the crust must be crips due to the caramelization of the sugar. Devine if you get one still warm!

You Need:

500g | 2 cups | 50cl whole milk
50g | 3.5 tbsp butter
1 vanilla bean or 3-4 tsp vanilla extract
100g | 3/4 cup +1 tbsp plain flour
250g | 2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp sea salt
2 large eggs (use really fresh eggs, they make a difference.)
2 large egg yolks
1/4 cup rum, a really good one 
 

Heat the milk, butter, and vanilla bean (that you cut in half and scrape the seeds into the pot) over medium and bring to a boil, and with the help of a thermometer 85°C | 185°F. Remove from heat and let cool down while you get to the other ingredients.

Measure and then sift together the flour, powder sugar and salt.
Mix the eggs and yolks with a fork, don’t beat.

Temper the beaten eggs little by little with the warm milk-butter-vanilla mixture. This way the eggs will not cook and lump. Do not remove the vanilla bean. Pour the warm milk mixture into the bowl containing the dry ingredients, and gently stir together until well blended.

Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 2 days, the longer the better. I know that sounds an awful lot but It is really worth the wait.

Strain the lumpy batter (over a fine-mesh strainer) into the large enough can, pressing the lumps through until you get a totally lump-free batter. Add the rum and stir until combined. Cover the container with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to rest for 48 hours. If you can remember it, stir it once after 24 hours and put it back in the fridge to continue to rest.

Grease the special molds generously and fill with the batter 5 mm short oft the edge and bake at 220°C | 428°F for 25 minutes, then lower the heat to 190°C | 375°F for another 30 minutes. Let them cool 5 minutes and remove them from the mold, they come out easily, do not use a knife, you will most likely destroy your cannelés and the mold. Serve warm and enjoy the admiration.

Bagel Secrets

I realize that the prospect of making bread can be quite frightening. However, as the title of this post implies I have a secret bagel recipe that will have you making bread in under an hour. Easy-peasy fresh bread. And the good news is that you can even use dried yeast instead of fresh yeast and your bagels will still turn out perfectly well. Did I mention that these are Montreal style bagels? Whenever I'm not in New York I always find myself missing my breakfast or lunch bagels, so when I'm home I just quickly whip up a batch of these and top them off with some sesame and some rock salt. Isn't it ironic that bagels are such a New York trademark these days, even though bagels were originally invented in Poland and known since the early 1600s?

I got this recipe from one of my favorite easy recipe cook books, and have linked to it at the end of the post! Also if you want to read a post on my favorite bagels in NYC, you can read about Black Seeds Bagels here.

Recipe

50 g sugar
525 ml water
42 g fresh yeast, or 2 packets of dried yeast
20 g salt
1 kg all purpose flour
1 tbsp sugar
Sesame, poppy seed, rock salt, garlic or any toppings you desire

First, stir together the water, sugar and yeast until fully disolved. Add the salt and the flour and place the mixture in a large bowl (now would be the time to use a kitchen aid if you have one) and knead your dough until smooth, or for about 10 minutes. Cover your bowl with a kitchen towel and place in a warm place to let the dough rise (I like to put mine in the oven at about 30-35°C to help the yeast do its magic).

Preheat your oven to 225°C and boil a big pot of water together with the tbsp of sugar. Form your bagels without using any extra flour by rolling sausages from the dough and attaching the ends. Leave them to rise another couple minutes on a baking sheet. Then place a couple bagels at a time in the simmering water. Once the bagels reach the surface of the water, you can remove them and put your toppings on them. It's important to add the toppings while the bagels are still wet and you can add a bit extra of the toppings, because some of it will probably fall off before you can eat it. Place the finished bagels on a baking sheet and in the oven for about 22 minutes or until golden. And there you go, fresh bread in no time.

Cynthia Barcomi's Backbuch (German Edition)

By Cynthia Barcomi

Buy on Amazon

Simply Raw Bakery

Isn't this a lovely place ? Here in the heart of Vienna you will find since last year a raw bakery making delicious and nutritious cakes, cupcakes, truffles, salads and more, you can order green smoothies and almond milk, the ingredients are healthy vegetables and fruits and nuts and seeds.

All is vegan, gluten-free, lactose-free, soy-free, and sugar-free.

Are you curious now? I was ! What on earth do they put into their cakes to make it tasty and be attractive to the Viennese who are really spoilt by their tradition. In the vicinity of established bakeries and pastry shops, chocolate havens and the famous Coffee Houses with their vitrines full of temptations that have centuries of history here! You must try it out, promise me, please!

I fell in love with the place immediately, I felt welcome right away, I felt great when I left because all I ate was yummy and healthy and good for me ! One must feel at home here when you see how this place is designed by Shanna herself a graphic designer and daughter of Gabriele. 

OK another reason why I just love Simply Raw Bakery: A mother – daughter enterprise ! Just like Sophie and I !!! Gabriela has completed her Raw Food Chef degree in California at the Matthew Kenney Academy. She combines her skills and techniques with the talent of her daughter Shanna in this unique place for healthy indulgence that taste terrific and makes you want to come back soon. I particularly love the slice of " break with onion lard" The bread is made of zucchini, nuts, seeds and spices a secret recipe created by them and the substitute for lard is purely vegan and outstanding in taste. The Pumpkin tart was spiced with kurkuma and curry and the base is made with chia and almonds and oriental spices! Then we had "Kaiserschmarrn with Röster", something very Austrian:

The Kaiserschmarrn must be translated with "Emporer's Nonsense", a Röster is made of plums, mostly in form of a compote. This version again was raw healthy, no sugar great taste and a very good combination with the plums. They make cupcakes and smoothies and my favorite of all time is the "Hello Dolly" bar made of nuts: Oh My! I always take it home when I am there! Then there is a heart warming Almond milk and a great large bowl of fresh Zucchini noodles. 

Open from 10 am to 6 pm from Tuesday to Saturday. You can have breakfast and lunch and everything in between.

If you like to try one of their "Lucky Truffles":

1/4 cup organic orange juice
1 cup dates, pitted
2 cups ground almonds
1 tsp cinnamon
1tsp vanilla
dash of salt
coconut flakes or ground nuts for rolling

They are done in 10 min and here is the trick:
Soak the dates at least for one hour in orange juice and mix in a strong blender together with all the ingredients into a paste like dough. I recommend a Vitamix of some kind. Most important is the power of the blender, some might not be up for the task. Form balls and roll them in either coconut or nuts. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

German:
Lucky Truffles

Orange Almond Scones

Some breakfast ideas stay with you forever, some are fleeting memories. Once we visited Napa valley and some of their famous vineyards. We stayed in a cosy Bed & Breakfast place. I remember vividly how it smelled early in the morning, as the entire valley harvested their grapes and the air was filled with sweet smell of freshly pressed wine. Did you know that a 3 day old grape juice is already fermenting and very sweet? I was so surprised when we got to sip on a Mondavi that was still virgin. One morning we got up really early and against all our instincts we climbed into the basket of a hot air balloon and travelled with all the other balloons through the valley. The most "uplifting" experience. The sun rises and you are high up there almost no sound except the heating of the air balloon. I will never forget the coming down as well. A little breeze got us off track and we motioned towards a ridge and some bushes. All the other balloons landed safely, except ours. The captain then asked all the men to jump out , take a rope and pull the balloon down, but with less weight and only us 2 girls in the basket the wind took us right into the ridge.

I was terrified and couldn't help but think: " Why did I ever get into that balloon in the first place, I might die today!" Of course I didn't but most of us got some scratches and bruises because the balloon then got caught in the trees, the men wanted to help rescue their wives and we had to descend from up there! A balloon ride with an adventure for free!

The B&B we stayed in was called "Sunny Acres" in St Helena and the owner of the house was previously the pastry chef at the Mondavi Estate. Her breakfast each morning was just awesome and she kindly shared one of her recipes with me. I still have it in her handwriting, back then when you actually wrote with a pen on paper ...

You Need:

3 cups all purpose flower
1/4 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 baking soda
> mix all in bowl

8tbsp or 115 grams butter
1/2 sugar
1/2 almond finely chopped or almond meal 
> add to the the flour mix with the help of your pastry blender

1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup buttermilk, yoghurt or milk
1 large egg
1 tbsp grated orange peel
1/4 tsp almond extract
Mix all in a large enough glass and and then into the other ingredients until a soft dough forms.
Turn onto your bored and knead 5/6 times, put into round and cut it with a knife into 12 or 16 equal pieces before baking.

Bake for 25 minutes at 185°C or 375°F. Let cool. Best enjoyed with butter and jam or clotted cream even with whipped cream. The orange and the almonds are really a great combination and it is easy to make - just scones!
 

Marbled Meringue

This has been really hard! I had to make these gorgeous meringue watch them on my countertop, waiting to be enjoyed and I cannot eat them !!! How much torture can one endure? I am almost giving in ....

I am on a little detox and it has been a week without sugar ... A WEEK! already! And here I have this beautiful post for you and while I am writing my mouth waters. My only comfort is that you are able to enjoy them and try them out, it is an easy recipe. The thing I realized is that the baking time I put down on paper can be prolonged another hour! Yes, Ii checked them at the time given but they were not done yet on the inside, so at 100°C nothing burns they only dry as they should so give it a try and make them, most important is that they are thoroughly baked. You can even prepare them days ahead they keep well after they dried ... mine wait for me to finish my inner cleansing ! And THEN I will indulge ! 

And how are you doing, are you keeping your resolutions against all temptations ? You are very brave and committed just like me! It is to our benefit, right? And we can do it: YES WE CAN !

You Need

6 egg whites
350 grams caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp white wine vinegar
150 grams dark chocolate, melted in a hot water bath

Preheat oven to 125°C / 257°F.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 
Whisk egg whites until frothy. Gradually add in caster sugar, then vanilla and vinegar. Whip until the egg whites hold stiff peaks and there is no sugar grit left. Drizzle 2/3 of the melted chocolate on top of meringue and with a spoon,  carefully and gently fold (don’t mix). With two spoons heap mixture onto baking sheet, you can be creative and make those meringue look all different, but try to give them all approximately the same size so they are ready at the same time.

Drizzle leftover chocolate on top of meringues, in swirls or grids.   

Lower oven temperature to 100°C / 212°F. Bake for about 70-80 minutes (or until meringue no longer sticks to the paper). 

Turn off oven and leave meringues in the oven for an extra 20 minutes.

Let the meringues cool on a wire rack. Best if you love to make desserts with lots of drama and much effect: you can brake them with your thumbs in the center and spoon liquor soaked fresh raspberries on them. Or you make layers of vanilla ice-cream with broken meringue pieces in a pretty glass. That I will definitely try and top it with the liquor infused berries ... mhhhhhhh!

Let it look really messy this time and enjoy the crisp melting texture. It is heavenly. FAT FREE !!!

Cranberry Apple Pie

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While Sophie was still here in Austria, we tried to bake as much as we could eat and every visitor had to sample our creations. The weather was exceptionally beautiful for Christmas break, kind of picturesque. It was snowing lots for hours on end and after extensive walks or hikes on the mountain maybe a relaxing Sauna, what feels more like home than baking warm apple pie? I once heard that the smell of freshly brewed coffee and an apple pie scent would make prospect buyers of a home more prone to purchase than anything else. Just because subconsciously one can imagine to make a cosy home there. Tricky but effective. Sophie and I made this recipe up out of the things we had at home and we used the Pâte Sucrè recipe simplified by Thomas Keller, one of our favorite cookbooks.

Let us know what you think of the look for this post, we tried something new to inspire you. Kind of our "winter look" for food, as the light has just not been too helpful this time. I do kind of like it but I will need a little training still.

You Need

3 peeled apples, no core, cut in slices
1/2 cup fresh cranberries, rolled in sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice

Let the apples marinate in the sugar-cinnamon-lemon juice that you heat up once before. Set aside.

for the dough:

375 grams flour
50 grams icing sugar +
90 grams icing sugar
45 grams of almond flour (bought in store,that is finely ground almonds)
225 grams butter at room temperature
1 egg
vanilla, salt

In a bowl mix together: flour, almond meal, and 50 grams of sugar.
With your electric mixer work your butter until it forms peaks, and looks a bit like mayonnaise. Add the 90 grams of icing sugar and combine it for 1 min, then add the dry ingredients from the other bowl. Lastly the egg and the vanilla. Mix for 30 seconds on low speed. Work it with your hands on a clean surface for a bit and refrigerate wrapped in foil and shaped like a flat disc, that way it is easier to work with it again.
 

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Once the dough has rested for at least 2 hours or up until 2 days in the fridge you can run your rolling pin over it with the tiny help of flour on your work surface and on the upper side of your dough until it is evenly 3 mm thick. Place your buttered and flowered baking dish upside down on the dough and cut 2 cm away, all around the form, lift it away again and set it down near by. Now with the aid of your rolling pin, start on the edge of your circle and roll the dough up, wrapped around your pin, carefully hold it - otherwise it will unroll - and transfer it over to your baking dish. There you can let it unroll as soon as you see it will sit centered over the dish. Viola! you get a perfect edge, clean as if you actually attended a pastry class! If by any means the dough is nosy and looks over the rim, push it back gently and you get there a slightly thicker crust. No harm in that, some love the crust more than anything - my husband only eats the outer crust anyways, I get the fruity centre and every one is happy!

The best part is the decoration: Here you see Sophie placing all the marinated apples in the form and add some cranberries. Fresh cranberries are very sour so the sugar coating comes in handy. Cover it either with crumbled leftover dough which is perfectly fine and will look great with caster sugar. Or you can roll out the left over and make a grid like Sophie did. Then you need a whisked egg with a sprinkle of milk to brush the pie before baking. And it looks beautiful !!!

Bake at 175°C for 35-40 min or until golden brown.

I couldn't resist to take it outside again and use the rest of daylight and the pretty background with snow in front of the house for this photo.

Red Beet Detox

Done partying ...

Hi everyone, how did you survive the festive season?
This year I left my tree way too long in the house and it was completely dry in the end. Never again! By then a Christmas tree should rank as a weapon with a million shrapnels you can find everywhere. It is a nightmare.

But the best part, once we have it outside the house is that no one is able to bring it away to the dump. Still too heavy to carry it I came up with an idea that is now my favorite tradition. I tie it with a rope to the  back of the car and pull it up the road behind me, slowly but steadily. I get a lot of surprised looks and smiles from neighbors ! Believe me ! Kids love it too!

How do you get rid of your tree?

And in a way my body feels the same after Christmas and the overload on sugar and alcohol. How convenient it would be to just tie all the bad stuff to a car and pull it to the dump. I decided to feed myself now with fresh healthy drinks lots of water and less of comfort food. This is a recipe that will lift your mood, just by the color.

Juice

5 fresh red beets
1/4 of a celeriac
1 lemon
3 cm fresh ginger
 

Blend with the flesh of a 1/4 of a honey dew melon until smooth. Add water if you like.

Good bye Christmas tree, Christmas sins and Christmas tree needles.

Cheers to Detox!

New Year's Day Pasta with Winter Truffles

Good morning !

Good Morning everyone!

A new year has begun!

Welcome 2015 !

What will this year bring? Where will we head with doubledipping ? What will we come up with to inspire you and keep you cooking and enjoying? Who knows, please stay with us through this new year 2015 !

We have some champagne left over from last ... year and it is the best pairing for this dish and will lift some of those yesterday sins. It is a "healing" dish and will bring you back onto your feet.

Promise!

We celebrate not on big scale. I kind of find New Years Eve a bit challenging. One must eat late and long we use to play games like cards or other bord games then we go outside make a little fire in an iron bowl and music and dance into the new year. We stay away from fireworks or crackers. There is a lot of deer in the woods around us and we do not want to scare them. We feed them and love to watch them come real close so fireworks is a no go around our house. They said that on New Years fireworks are responsible for a year's amount of pollution by cars. WOW that really is a reason to stay away from it.

My New Year's day pasta is a simple and heart warming dish and we eat it out of one bowl with lots of laughter and extra cheese.

My mom gave me this wonderful truffle for Christmas and Julian wanted to make lunch for us. In no time I could convince him to enhance his plain noodles with a little bit of truffle oil, cream and parmesan!

You Need

500 grams fresh pasta
400 ml heavy cream
200 gr grated parmesan
salt, grey pepper
2 tbsp truffle oil
a winter truffle thinly sliced

Pour the heavy cream into a saucepan and bring to boil, as soon as the bubbles rise pour in 150 grams of your grated parmesan and let it rise one short time, then turn off the heat. The Cheese will melt while you stir on the stove that is still giving off enough heat. Season to your liking and add the truffle oil last. let sit there while you cook your pasta, drain the pasta and transfer it to a bowl pour the cream mixture evenly over it, sprinkle the rest of the parmesan over the pasta and finally add the truffles.

So easy - so quick - so heavenly!

What will pick you up today ?