Black Forest Cake - Schwarzwälderkirschtorte

I am still surrounded by books and single sheets of paper are everywhere in my room. On the bright side I only have 1,5 weeks of exam period left - on the negative side eight exams wait to be completed.
So I tried this cake last weekend. My dad was away for a few days and since Black Forest Cake is one of his favorite desserts I decided to make it to welcome him back.
It was the first time that I tried this rather intimidating cake. The taste was very good, the optics on the other hand are to be improved. My cake doesn’t resemble too much the cakes you get in German backeries. Oh well, I think that homemade cakes often beat the backery ones. Just more natural!

Have a wonderful and sunny day,
Annika

Black Forest Cake - Schwarzwälderkirschtorte
(makes 1 small cake (springform pan with a diameter of 20 cm))

Ingredients

3 eggs
Pinch salt
100 g/ 0.4 cups sugar
75 g/ 0.3 cup flour
20 g/ 0.1 cup + 3 tsp cornstarch
25 g/ 0.1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
250 g/ 1 cup sour cherries
75 ml/ 0.3 cup cherry juice
4 tbsp sugar
400 g/ 1.7 cup cream
1 packet whipped cream stabilizer
3 tbsp Kirsch
20 g/ 0.1 cup dark chocolate

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 160 degree Celsius/ 325 degree Fahrenheit.
2. For the sponge mixture, seperate the eggs.
3. Beat the egg whites with the pinch salt until stiff
4. Mix the egg yolks with 2 tbsp warm water and the sugar until foamy. The mixture should be thick and light.
5. Pour the egg yolk mixture on top of the egg whites.
6. Sift flour, 20 g cornstarch and unsweetened cocoa on top of it.
7. Fold in the egg yolks and the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula.
8. Pour the sponge mixture in the springform pan.
9. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
10. Turn the springform pan upside down and let cool the sponge mixture.
11. When cooled, take out of the pan.

12. For the filling, wash and pit the cherries. (For the decoration, put 8 cherries aside)
13. Stir the rest of the cornstarch with 2 tbsp cherry juice.
14. Boil up the rest of the cherry juice, together with 2 tbsp sugar.
15. Add the cherries and boil up again.
16. Stir in the mixed cornstarch and boil up again.
17. Let the cherry mixture cool.

18. Cut the sponge mixture two times horizontaly, so that you have three thin layers of the sponge mixture.
19. Place one of them on a cake plate.

20. Beat the cream with the rest of the sugar and the packet of whipped cream stabilizer until stiff.
21. Spread a little bit of the cream on the first sponge mixture layer.
22. With the help of an icing bag, place three circles of whipped cream on the sponge mixture layer.
23. Fill the spaces inbetween the whipped cream circles with the cherry mixture.
24. Place the next spong mixture layer on top.
25. Soak the layer with half of the Kirsch.
26. Repeat the process of placing whipped cream circles and cherry mixture on the layer.
27. Place the third sponge mixture layer on the cake.
28. Soak it with the rest of the Kirsch.
29. Spread the remaining whipped cream on top and on the sides of the cake, so that the entire cake is covered with whipped cream.
30. Place the 8 cherries on top of the cake.
31. Plane off chippings of the dark chocolate and sprinkle them on the cake.
32. Chill cake for at least two hours.

Cream Puffs

As I child I used to love frozen cream puffs. I could eat tons and tons of them (…and still can). Thats the main reason why I hadnt had them in quite a while. I felt “safe” from eating them since I was always too scared to try to make choux pastry by myself. I believe I ve heard people say that it was super complicated.
But a coin is always two-sided, and I had to try whether I d suceed with choux pastry or not.
Good thing: To my surprise my cream puffs turned out perfect.
Bad thing: I guess I will go back to my old routine of eating tons and tons of them…

Have a great day!
Annika

Cream Puffs
(makes twenty small cream puffs)

Ingredients
For the choux pastry
30 g/ 0.15 cup butter
salt
75 g/ 0.3 cup flour
2 eggs
1 tsp baking powder

For the Filling
200 g/ 0.85 cup cream
0.5 packet stabilizer for whipped cream
1 packet vanilla sugar

Directions

1. For the choux pastry, cook 125 ml/ 0.5 cup water and the butter up in a mediumsized saucepan while stiring with a wooden spoon.
2. Add the salt.
3. Sift the flour and add to the boiling water.
4. Set cooktop on medium heat.
5. Stir until a glossy dough lump is forming. The dough lump should slowly come off the bottom of the saucepan.
6. Keep moving the dough lump with the wooden sppon over high heat for two more minutes. There should be a thin white layer on the bottom of the saucepan.
7. Put dough in a mixing bowl and let cool for 10-15 minutes.
8. Add the baking powder and the eggs one by one and stir them in using dough hooks.
9. Preheat oven to 180 degree celsius/ 350 degree Fahrenheit.
10. Place rosette-shaped dough balls with a diameter of 3-4 cm on the baking sheet.
11. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
12. Cut of a small cap of each cream puff immediately after baking. (Use scissors of a knife)
13. Let the cream puffs cool off.

14. For the filling, whisk the cream, the stabilizer for whipped cream and the vanilla sugar until stiff.
15. Fill the cream puffs with whipped cream and close with the cap.

You can vary the filling by incorporating cocoa powder in the whipped cream or adding chocolate sprinkles or any type of fruit.
I recommend to eat the cream puffs within two days.



The shape of the choux pastry when placed on the baking sheet.

Cut a small cap off the cream puff immediately after baking.

What my cream puffs looked liked! :)

Almond Waffles

Hi there,
this is my very first post on my very first blog.
A little over a year I discovered baking as my new passion. It took me a while to figure out all the basic stuff like using the oven the right way, what kind of ingredients to use (bad quality is a no go) and so on - not to mention that there were a few kitchen disasters. 
By now I would classify myself to be in a stage where I can share my hobby.
Since I am German, I will share both, international as well as german recipes with you!

I am starting this blog with a very basic recipe…waffles. Everyone one loves waffles! Here in Germany you get them at all big events like christmas markets and fairs.
Because of the almonds, these waffles are a little different from the ones you usually get. They have a really light texture which I love. 
Almond waffles with strawberries and whipped cream for breakfast will make a good start to every day.
I hope you enjoy it!

Have a wonderful day,
Annika

Almond Waffles
(makes 9 servings)

Ingredients:

200 g/ 0,8 cup soft butter
100 g/ 0,4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 package vanilla sugar
4 eggs (medium size)
150 g/ 0,6 cup flour
100 g/ 0,4 cup ground almonds
3 tablespoons milk
250 g/ 1 cup cream
Confectioner’s sugar for dusting

Directions:

1. Beat butter, sugar, salt and vanilla sugar until flufy.
2. Stir in the eggs individually.
3. Mix the flour and the ground almonds.
4. Add the flour mixture together with the milk to the butter mixture.
5. Cover the dough.
6. Let the dough stand for about 10 minutes at room temperatures.
7. Preheat waffle iron.
8. Grease the backing surface with oil.
9. Put a medium sized ladle of dough in the waffle iron.
10. Bake the waffle 4-5 minutes until golden brown.

Then sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar and add whatever topping you like.
I highly recommend whipeed cream and strawberries!