Heinz Georg Erbhäuser must have adored Prince Regent Luitpold when he invented this cake in the Prince’s honour because this was not a straightforward bake. Now I admit fundamentally there is nothing complicated here – a bit of genoise sponge (well 7 layers of sponge), sandwiched between chocolate butter cream and covered in chocolate is…
Month: February 2016
A quick Poppy Seed Roll and Sourdough Loaf
I obviously need to learn to not take too much on when it comes to baking, but I woke up really early this morning and thought I would do my perfect German Hausfrau impression and whisk up a few Frühstuck Brötchen (breakfast rolls), and a sourdough loaf or two. I should know by now that…
A Bavarian Treat, The Prinzregententorte
I was thinking this week might be the week to try biscuits, something I don’t make very often. I had found some marvellous ones on Hanuma kocht, the blog that helped me with the Kardinalschnitte, but I realised I can’t bake next weekend so have decided to keep biscuits to next week’s challenge as it…
Trouble on the Heath…and a Brioche on the side
…….and not Hampstead Heath you dirty minded boys out there (though you may need to be of a certain age, or George Michael, to understand that reference). The heath referred to here is Lüneburg Heath in Northern Germany where Heidebrot (Heath Bread) is supposed to come from. I remember Lüneburgerheide as somewhere the British army…
The Miracle that is a Quark Cheesecake
Yesterday was a fulfilling day which ended with the huge surprise of how fabulous a Quark based cheesecake can be, so please read on. Our super new Neff oven (to replace the rust bucket I had turned our old one into from bread steaming) was fitted on Saturday morning, and I then started what was…
Shall I stay in Germany or head elsewhere
Oh lord, I am in a spin about the challenge this week. My old friend Iain is visiting for the weekend and I have barely had a chance to think about what to do, never mind the demands of playing Mein Host this weekend. Bread for breakfast and a pudding for dinner are required, but what…
A Valentine’s Date with the Cardinal Slice
Some stories are best started at the end. One of the issues with baking every weekend is how to consume the produce. If I keep the pace up, both the husband and I are set to be either very popular at work or get even more portly than we already are, not to mention all…
Kardinalschnitte Day is almost upon me
……and so is Valentine’s Day. I have of course realised that I am a terrible husband and completely forgot that Sunday is Valentine’s Day and therefore should have done a challenge that is appropriate for the season rather than this Austrian beauty. But it is too late now. The challenge has been committed to and…
Preparing to Bake the Cardinal Slice in German
I have been asking my friends to recommend my next challenge, and at the the rate the suggestions are coming in, I am going to be a very busy boy. One of the recommendations came in from my old university friend Susanna. They are off to Vienna for the weekend and she suggested the Cardinal Slice…
Trials with Puff, Creme Pat and Choux ….II
Well as you can see I tried one more time including the caramel. My rule of 3 applies – a little better but the Choux was still not quite right. I tried a mixed milk and water recipe to experiment and frankly I think just water works best – there is more steam to push…
Trials with Puff, Creme Pat and Choux……
As it is Sunday and I seem to be coming down with a bug, I think it is appropriate to become metaphysical for a moment. The trinity (or the power of 3) seems to be a firm rule in baking as well as western religion. However rather than being God, the Father and Son, learning…
A journey of 1000 baking blogs starts with one small step!
I have never blogged before and starting today is a little daunting to say the least, but it is a stormy day outside and I had this sudden brain wave earlier in the week to start a baking blog ….so here goes. I started baking seriously about 6 years ago when we bought our lovely…
The Cottage Loaf 