11*52 Cake Pops

Ah, cake pops. Finally. But not the real deal to some...

Let me explain: I bought one of those silicone cake pop pans a while ago because it was on sale.
I know that a lot of people will say that baking cake pops (as opposed to mashing them up with cream cheese or the like) is not the real thing.

Okay, maybe it is not the original thing but it sure is cake pops.

Anyway, my godson turned 2 last week so what better occassion to try the pan?

I found it very hard to find a recipe online for baked cake pops. The recipe that was included with the pan didn't really appeal to me because it called for 3 eggs and no baking powder. To me, that just sounded like it's going to be really omelett-y and not very rising, if you know what I mean...

Lemon Cake Pops

Adapted from 'Yuki Sunaneko' who posted it in a forum on Chefkoch

150 g (1 1/4 cups) flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

125 g (1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons) sugar

1 egg

75 ml (1/3 cup) vegetable oil

75 ml (1/3 cup) Sprite

300 g (10 oz) white chocolate, for dipping

sprinkles, glitter if you wish

Chocolate Cake Pops

ingredients as above but

35 g (1/4 cup) cocoa powder (in addition)

90 ml (1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon) milk (instead of Sprite)

300 g (10 oz) milk chocolate, for dipping (instead of white chocolate)

• Mix all ingredients (except for the chocolate). Fill into prepared cake pop mold. 
• Bake in preheated oven at 180°C (355°F) for 20 minutes.
• Let cool before opening the mold and taking out the cake pop balls.
• Melt chocolate, dip sticks into chocolate before inserting into balls. Coat all cake pops with melted chocolate and decorate with sprinkles or glitter.

My modifications:

I made the lemon cake pops first and I wouldn't make them again. This recipe might be nice for muffins or even a cake but the Sprite makes it too fluffy for cake pops. It was a lot of trouble to get them out of the pan in one piece, then onto the sticks in one piece, and covered in chocolate without falling apart. They did taste good though.

The chocolate ones I created myself and they were a lot more dense than the lemon ones (but still moist enough) so they were a lot easier to get out of the pan and to cover with chocolate.

The taste:

Yummy. And they look so pretty!

But they would taste even better if it wasn't that much work. I'm not sure when I will make them again.

Have you ever baked something that wasn't really worth the effort?

10*52 Chestnut-Chocolate-Pie

Do you know Vermicelles?

If you're not Swiss, or live in Switzerland, or dine in Switzerland often, then you are probably thinking of pasta right now.

Completely wrong, sorry.

The Swiss Vermicelles is a chestnut puree usually served as a fall/winter desert with whipped cream and meringues. You can find a bit more info here and a recipe how to make it from scratch here . In Switzerland it is a bit easier to make as you can buy the ready-made puree in blocks or in tubes.

The hubby and I recently bought two slices of very yummy chestnut layer cake at a local bakery. Layers of sponge cake and whipped cream topped with Vermicelles. One slice and you are not hungry anymore for the rest of the day...

But because we both love chestnuts and Vermicelles so much I started searching for Vermicelles cakes and stumbled upon this week's recipe. Enjoy a bit of 'swissness' :)

Chestnut-Chocolate-Pie

Adapted from Annemarie Wildeisen

100 g (1/2 cup minus 1 tablespoon) butter, soft

50 g (1/4 cup) sugar

2 packages vanilla sugar or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 egg yolks

400 g (14 oz) chestnut puree/Vermicelles

3 egg whites

150 g (5.3 oz) apricot jam

200 g (7 oz) dark chocolate

150 ml (5.5 fl oz) heavy cream

• Beat together butter, sugar, and vanilla (sugar) until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks one at a time and beat until light again.
• Add chestnut puree and combine well.
• Beat egg whites until stiff. Add 1/3 of beaten egg whites with a whisk, then fold in the rest with a (silicone) scraper. Fill into prepared springform pan (bottom dressed with parchment paper).
• Bake at 180°C (355°F) for 45 minutes. Take out and let cool.
• Heat up apricot jam in a pan. Either blend to make it smooth or scrape through a fine sieve. Spread evenly onto cake and sides.
• Heat up the heavy cream. Remove from heat and add the chocolate in pieces. Stir only after chocolate has melted. Let cool a bit. Cover cake and sides generously with ganache.

My modifications:

The original recipe calls for 80 g sugar, I just reduced it a bit since the chestnut puree is also sweetened already. And it was totally sweet enough.

I also omitted 3 tablespoons of kirsch (or alternatively: rum) just because I'm not the biggest fan of it. It would make it more Swiss though.

The taste:

Very good. Not very cake-like though. But the combination with the chocolate ganache is lovely. Maybe next time I would use a smaller springform to get a higher cake.

What desert is typical for your country but might not be known to many people outside of your country?

9*52 Strawberry-Lemon-Bars

Remember, right after Valentine's Day I told you that I had planned to bake something pink and heart-shaped but then was too sick?

I couldn't get the recipe for that pink and heart-shaped something out of my head so I made it now.
Just not heart-shaped. But pink. And full of summer flavors. Lemon and strawberry.
What could be better? Not much, I think.

Strawberry-Lemon-Bars

Adapted from Backbube

300 g (0.7 lb) strawberries, frozen

300 g (1 1/2 cups) sugar

300 ml (1 1/4 cups) lemon juice (about 6 lemons)

150 g (1 1/8 cups) flour

50 g (1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon) powdered sugar

2 x 75 g (2 x 1/3 cup) butter

pinch of salt

6 egg yolks

75 g (1/2 cup) corn starch

• Defrost strawberries.
• For the crust, combine flour, powdered sugar, salt, 2 tablespoons cold water and half the cold butter (in pieces) and knead until combined to a nice shortcrust dough.
• Distribute dough evenly on the bottom of a prepared square spring form. Let cool in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F). Using a fork, poke some holes into the crust and bake for 20 minutes.
• Blend together strawberries and lemon juice until smooth and without fruit pieces. Add sugar and remaining butter and bring to a boil in a saucepan. 
• Mix starch with 7 tablespoons water and stir well to avoid clumps. Add to the strawberry mix, let boil for 1 minute, stir constantly. 
• Take pan off the heat. In a small bowl, mix egg yolks with 2 tablespoons of the strawberry 'jam', then put back into the saucepan to combine with all the strawberry 'jam'. Pour on top of the crust and bake for 20 minutes.
• Let cool. Cut into squares or bars.

My modifications:

None.

Except for not cutting out hearts. Just plain old squares/bars.

Oh, and I changed the name. Backbube called them 'Pink Lemon Hearts' but I think 'Strawberry-Lemon-Bars' is more fitting (especially since I didn't make hearts).

The taste:

You usually have me at 'strawberry'. And this is no exception. These bars are so so so so good! I could really bathe in them. 

The strawberry puree/jam/topping was a bit wobbly and gooey and I am not really sure if it is supposed to be like that. But it was so very tasty nonetheless. I might try a little less starch next time, that might do the trick.

What fruit do you love, especially in or on cake?

8*52 Choco-Coco-Squares

I used to hate (well, maybe not hate but strongly dislike) coconut.

Especially (if not exclusively) in combination with chocolate.

Totally strange and stupid, right?

Then, about 3 years ago, I suddenly loooooved the combination of coconut and chocolate.

I don't even remember what exactly changed my mind or why I even bothered trying it again.
But chocolate-coconut has been good to me ever since.

Even though this week's recipe is not very coconutty, it still adds nicely to the growing list of coconut-chocolate baking recipes.

Choco-Coco-Squares

From Swedish Cakes and Cookies

Cake

150 g (2/3 cup) butter

2 eggs

300 ml (1 1/4 cups) sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon sifted cocoa

450 ml (2 cups) flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

150 ml (2/3 cup) milk

Frosting

75 g (5 tablespoons) butter

1-2 tablespoons cold coffee

1 tablespoon sifted cocoa

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

350 ml (1 1/2 cups) powdered sugar

coconut flakes

• Melt the butter and let cool. Beat the eggs and sugar until yellow and thick. Alternating, add dry ingredients, milk, and melted butter. Pour into prepared 30 x 40 cm (12 x 16 in) cake pan. Bake in preheated oven at 175°C (350°F) for around 15 minutes on a low oven rack. Let cool.
• For the frosting, melt the butter, stir in all frosting ingredients (except for the coconut flakes). Spread the frosting over the cake and sprinkle with coconut flakes. Cut into squares.

My modifications:

None.

The taste:

Very yummy. Nothing crazy or extraordinary, but solidly good.

Any flavor combination that you used to dislike but now love? Or the other way around?

7*52 Chocolate-Oat-Cookies

Yes, I know... Valentine's Day was 3 days ago.
But there was and is no sign of it here on this blog. Let me explain:

I was planning on baking and posting something pink and heart-shaped before Valentine's Day.
But then I got the flu and I just couldn't bake or taste (or do pretty much anything else for that matter). And while I do feel better today, I really couldn't bake anything complicated or time-consuming.

So this is the point where we just pretend that we didn't even know about Valentine's Day and feel totally excited about simple, fast, straightforward Chocolate-Oat-Cookies. Okay?

Chocolate-Oat-Cookies

Adapted from Green Gourmet

Makes 20 big or 40 small cookies

100 g chocolate chips

60 g butter

120 g oats

30 g flour

1 egg

50 g sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

• Melt butter, mix with oats. Combine with remaining ingredients.
• Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Using 2 teaspoons (or your hand), form balls, put them on the prepared baking sheet and flatten them a bit. 
• Bake for 9-12 minutes (depending on the size of the cookies).

My modifications:

I added the cinnamon to the original recipe. I just thought it would add a nice flavor.

The taste:

Well, as I said above, I can't taste that much right now. But what I did taste was good (and very chocolaty). The hubby agreed.

What is your quick & easy go-to baking recipe?

6*52 Savoy Cabbage Quiche

Savoy cabbage is one of my favorite winter vegetables and I'm always looking out for new ways to prepare it.
When I stumbled upon this recipe, I knew that it was gonna be awesome. And it was.
Add some fried sausages for the non-vegetarians and you have a solid meal that you can totally make for your friends.

Savoy cabbage Quiche

Adapted from WDR2 Einfach Gote

Crust

300 g flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

125 g butter

1 egg

Filling

1 medium savoy cabbage (about 800 g)

50 g butter

3 eggs

150 g creme fraîche

100 g mountain cheese, grated

salt, pepper, nutmeg

• Cut cold butter into smaller cubes. Using your mixer knead flour, baking powder and butter until crumbly. Add egg and continue to knead until solid dough is forming. If it doesn't get smooth, add a bit of cold water. Using your hands, knead into a ball and let rest in your fridge for about 30 minutes.
• Take away the outer dark green leaves of the cabbage. Quarter the cabbage head, remove stem and throw away. Cut  leaves into stripes. Heat butter and stir-fry cabbage stripes. Add salt, pepper, a bit of nutmeg, and 3 teablespoons water, put lid on and let simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove lid and cook until all liquid has evaporated. Let cool.
• Roll out dough and put into prepared quiche pan. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Whisk together eggs, creme fraîche, salt and pepper. Mix cabbage and grated cheese and spread evenly onto crust. Pour egg mixture on top and bake for about 40 minutes. Let rest in oven for 5 minutes before serving.

My modifications:

None. Just what I always do with piecrusts like this one: I distribute the dough with my hands before putting it into the fridge. It's so much easier than cooling it and then rolling it out.

The taste:

Very good! The guests really liked it as well. I will definitely make this one again - so good!

What's your favorite quiche or savory pie?

5*52 Waffles

Waffles are comfort food. And we all need a bit of comfort in our lives, don't we?

Now, I know that this is not your typical baking recipe because it doesn't even require an oven but I still consider waffles to be a 'baked good'. I hope you agree.

I feel like I also have to mention that the waffle iron is one of those kitchen equipments that I absolutely love to have but which are neglected for most of the time. I really have to change that...

Oh, and did I mention that these waffles are fat free? Can't get better than that.

Waffles

Adapted from Chefkoch

Makes 8 waffles

250 ml (1 cup) milk

2 eggs

4 tablespoons (50 g) sugar

pintch of salt

180 g (1.5 cups) flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

• Separate the eggs and beat the egg whites until stiff.
• Whisk together milk, egg yolks, sugar, and salt. Add baking powder and flour and whisk until smooth. Fold in beaten egg whites. 
• Bake in your waffle iron as directed.
• Dust with powdered sugar, sprinkle with chocolate sprinkles, top with fruit preserves or Nutella.

My modifications:

I added 10 g of sugar to the original recipe. The waffles are still not sweet, so dusting/sprinkling/topping with something sweet is highly recommended :)

I also omitted the lemon zest that the original recipe called for. I just didn't see it necessary.

The taste:

Very fluffy! Not very sweet which makes them perfect for putting something sweet on top. But I already mentioned that above, didn't I?

What's your favorite (baked) comfort food?