Nadine bakes

Home-grown Rhubarb and Vanilla Torte I topped of the...

Sun, 19 May 2013 14:57:00 -0400

Home-grown Rhubarb and Vanilla Torte

I topped of the almond-based sponge with a crumbly nougatine crust before baking. For the rhubarb compote I used freshly pressed rhubarb juice. The cake is decorated with raspberry drupelets and candied strips of rhubarb.

Cupcakes with Vanilla Mousseline Cream for Mother’s (or...

Sun, 12 May 2013 07:58:27 -0400

Cupcakes with Vanilla Mousseline Cream for Mother’s (or actually Grandma’s) Day

After some sightseeing and a visit to the Hortus Botanicus we...

Sat, 11 May 2013 12:17:00 -0400

A Spanish chorizo stall

Serving hot drinks from a boat.

My dad and I enjoying some coconut water, the real deal!

A bedouin looking food stall

Nice car, bros!

Mmmmm... churros :)

After some sightseeing and a visit to the Hortus Botanicus we went to the Weekend van de Rollende Keukens at the Westerpark - a unique street food festival where meals are served on wheels exclusively! There was a great diversity of food and most of the owners put lots of effort into make their food stalls rolling works of art. The food was an international display of treats: from vegan superfood burgers to fresh coconuts, cupcakes and ice cream to smoked and barbecued meats. Unfortunately it was very windy and quite cold so we didn’t stay long enough to try as much of the food as I would have liked. Nevertheless I had a creamy risotto with rather rubbery gambas whilst my dad munched on a pitta bread with vegetarian gyros. My sister had a delicious white chocolate crêpe and my mom took some spicy patatas bravas. For dessert we nommed on some awesome South-American churros!

Last Friday we all had a day off so my family and I decided we...

Sat, 11 May 2013 12:10:00 -0400

My mom viewing some of Amsterdam's finest patisserie

Enjoying my slice of the Orient

Pie perfection

Last Friday we all had a day off so my family and I decided we would made a cultural and gastronomical expedition to Amsterdam. This meant I could seize the opportunity of going to Patisserie Holtkamp and sample their amazing baked goods! Over the past year I have made many of Cees Holtkamp’s recipes from his book De Banketbakker, to which I refer here every so often. The bakery is now owned by Cees’ daughter and her husband but the master is still present. While I was gasping at all the lovely pies he went past me in the shop, wishing his staff and customers a good weekend. So, I can now safely say I have met one of my culinary heroes, even if I only saw him for a split second. While the cakes and pies all looked fantastic I made a choice I will never regret, the terrifically calorific ”Oriënt”. According to the website, this pie consists of

“a brittle, baked frangipane crust, lightly covered with whipped cream, with on the edges balls of hazelnut bavaroise, enclosed in a thin layer of milk chocolate. In the core a ball of walnut cream, in which thin shards of orient mass (caramel with nuts) have been placed.”

Yes, it tasted every bit as good as is sounds - it was easily the best slice of pie I have had in my life. Unfortunately, the recipe is not in the book so needless to say I will spend the rest of my life like some sort of Dr Frankenstein, bringing to life and perfecting my own version of that impossibly delectable walnut cream.

Foraging in the Garden + Shrimp Salad

Tue, 07 May 2013 07:30:00 -0400

For yesterday’s dinner I made a salad with cooked spelt grains, cucumber, celery, julienned apple and shrimps and a wild garlic dressing.

Now that I’ve turned to eating more plant-based food I find I do not take animal products for granted anymore. Therefore, I take extra care when I prepare a fish or meat dish, making sure everything tastes as special as they deserve to be. I bought a packet of North Sea shrimps and went for a special dressing made from the wild garlic that I discovered was growing in our garden. To complete my dressing I also took some chives and parsley. Much tastier than a shop-bought dressing and, as it happens, a lot cheaper!

These directions are for one (hungry) person.

Dressing

4 Tbs plain yogurt, 1 Tbs lemon juice, 1 Ts olive oil, 1 Ts honey, 6 wild garlic leaves, 5 strands of chives, 1 Ts capers, handful of parsley, salt and pepper to taste.

Blitz to produce a tangy green dressing, adding more honey, salt or pepper to you reach a nice mix of acidic, salt, hot and sweet.

Salad

A portion of cooked spelt

Handful of lettuce

Half a cucumber, finely sliced

2 celery sticks, finely sliced

100 g small pre-cooked shrimp, rinsed

1/2 small apple, in julienne strips

For the spelt, follow cooking directions on the packet. Once cooked drain, rinse with water and leave to cool in a sieve. Mix the cucumber and celery slices with the dressing and leave for a while then add the apple (keeping some apart for decoration) Place the lettuce on a place, divide the spelt on the plate and put the vegetables and some of the dressing on top, followed by the shrimp. Finish with some more dressing and the apple strips.

Enjoy!

I made Laugenbrezeln, traditional German pretzels with a bite...

Mon, 06 May 2013 06:35:00 -0400

I made Laugenbrezeln, traditional German pretzels with a bite that’s similar to bagels but carrying a unique flavour thanks to the lye solution in which they are poached.

Bourbon vanilla porridge with red berries, strawberries and...

Mon, 06 May 2013 06:28:00 -0400

Bourbon vanilla porridge with red berries, strawberries and mango.

Quinoa salad with broad beans, peas, grapes, pecans, radish and...

Mon, 06 May 2013 06:26:12 -0400

Quinoa salad with broad beans, peas, grapes, pecans, radish and goat’s cheese with a sweet and sour dressing

Tiramisu with homemade savoiardi (ladyfingers).

Sun, 05 May 2013 10:58:00 -0400

Tiramisu with homemade savoiardi (ladyfingers).

Vegetarian tapas table with roasted chickpeas, salads, grilled...

Sat, 04 May 2013 06:02:00 -0400

Vegetarian tapas table with roasted chickpeas, salads, grilled peppers and courgettes, baba ganoush and caponata.

The King's Cake

Wed, 01 May 2013 07:58:00 -0400

The idea for this cake was a bit tongue in cheek. As of yesterday, The Netherlands has a new king: Willem-Alexander. I felt like making something cheesy like a Koninginnerol (no actual cheese involved) but then I came across the Pavé du Roy, which translates as “The King’s Cobblestones”. The chocolate mousse originally meant to resemble the cobblestones but of course mine decided to collapse so it ended up looking rather more like the king’s asphalt. I didn’t really care because the cake was absolutely delicious. With the little pieces of mixed fruit I meant to symbolise the crown jewels.

I made pistachio and almond Baklava with my sister :)

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 06:20:00 -0400

I made pistachio and almond Baklava with my sister :)

Apple, Pear & Almond Flan on a strange Sunday. Today was,...

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 15:45:00 -0400

Apple, Pear & Almond Flan on a strange Sunday.

Today was, well, strange. Meteorologists had promised great things, so I had already taken precautions by getting up real early to do some essay writing. After that, I thought, I might go outside and do some gardening. So, I got up at 7:30 and sat behind my desk for a couple of hours doing absolutely nothing and feeling completely miserable.

I decided the most sensible thing to do with my time was to use up some food that had been lying around for too long. I still had some home-made puff pastry in the freezer and I found some apples that had seen better days. The idea for a flan was born. Whilst I was baking I sensed there was a lot of commotion in my neighborhood. I won’t discuss it here since I don’t know the exact details, but it made the overall atmosphere of the day even more bizarre.

Once the flan was ready to be turned over I was quite disappointed seeing it had a soggy bottom. Blind baking puff pastry, as it turns out, is not really my forte. It tasted good nevertheless and, now fully energised, I set out into the greenhouse and planted some hundred seeds, each in an individual little pot. “Bo-ring” I hear you think. Well, it wasn’t. I totally lost track of time and when I went back inside it was already too late to bake my usual bread to go with the soup. I then opted for a quick soda bread, which turned out a bit too sticky but again tasted fine.

Only a few moments ago, when I wanted to upload a photo of my flan for this post, the nightmare of every food blogger nightmare became reality: Whilst I was cutting and pasting the photos from my camera it ran out of power and as a result I had only five very mediocre photos left to choose from. I wasn’t very pleased. At all.

I must say nothing today went like I had imagined it would. If anything, I do hope the seeds I planted will thrive. Perhaps I can look back upon this day and say something good sprouted out of it.

Dark Chocolate Truffles A great way to use up leftover ganache.

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 16:09:00 -0400

Dark Chocolate Truffles

A great way to use up leftover ganache.

Cappuchino Chip Buckwheat Cupcake Topped with crème...

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 15:46:00 -0400

Cappuchino Chip Buckwheat Cupcake

Topped with crème pâtissière-based mocha cream and a dark chocolate ganache.

Strawberry and Vanilla Mascarpone Cream Cake I made this cake...

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 15:20:00 -0400

Strawberry and Vanilla Mascarpone Cream Cake

I made this cake for my grandmother’s 89th birthday. The only indication for the cake she gave me was ‘something sweet’ so basically I could bake anything I wanted. The recipe and design of the cake are my own. I coated the three layers of vanilla almond sponge with strawberry jam before adding the mascarpone vanilla cream. I finished the cake with white chocolate shavings and whole strawberries which I made glossy with jam. I piped the butterflies myself using candy melts, following this tutorial. Needless to say my gran absolutely loved the cake :)

Easter Roundup

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 17:13:00 -0400

I’ve been a busy busy baker this Easter break. Here’s what I’ve been baking.

Easter Sunday

On Sunday we had my grandmother over all day. I wanted to provide something sweet and savoury to have her try something she doesn’t taste every day.

Simnel Cake

I love it when a baked good comes with an interesting history, so this cake with eleven marzipan orbs symbolising the faithful apostles was first on my list. I shaped the marzipan balls into eggs to make the syncretism of Easter even more apparent. Inspired by the Great British Bake Off Easter special I decided to go for Mary Berry’s recipe. The spices and flavours of this cake are really lovely.

Fougasse

I provided the bread to go with my mom’s tomato soup. I often make fougasse - the French variety of foccaccia - and make my own flavour combinations.

Easter Monday

On Monday I organised an Easter brunch with lots of home made food. I had made the butter bunny a few days in advance - a really tricky job! On the day itself I stood up very early and worked my way through the three types of dough I had prepared the night before. My friend came over and we had a true feast. Afterwards we even did an Easter egg hunt for old time’s sake. For dinner I made stuffed mushrooms with a cheese sauce. They were very delicious but I was too tired to take a good photograph of them!

Braided Bread Rolls

The idea to use quark for little braided rolls comes from my favourite German baking magazine Sweet Dreams. The rolls were nice - I would have preferred a little more vanilla. The chocolate eggs were my own addition. As the rolls were still a little warm, the insides of the chocolate eggs had melted and became a luxurious praline spread.

Hot Cross Buns

When I saw Paul Hollywood raving about these on the Bake Off special I knew I had to try them myself. Having heard the name so often, I really wanted to find out what makes these famous British buns so special. Apart from the obvious cross it is the rich fruity softness of the bread that I really loved about these - definitely a keeper.

Brioche

The plaited brioche loaf was my personal favourite and an absolute winner. The outside was crisp and the inside flaky and soft like a croissant. The little eggs looked very cute and again I loved the fact that they had melted inside. It took me half an hour to knead the rather substantial amount of butter into the dough, but it was worth all the effort. I am already planning to make one again very soon.

I really enjoyed my Easter break, hope you did too!

Mary Berry’s Simnel Cake

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 12:11:23 -0400

Mary Berry’s Simnel Cake

Paul Hollywood’s Hot Cross Buns

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 12:09:00 -0400

Paul Hollywood’s Hot Cross Buns

Recipe: Ridiculously Delicious Vanilla Cookies

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 16:55:00 -0400

Quantitive testing has proven that human beings are incapable of resisting these cookies. The sheer simplicity of the recipe means that baking them is already very rewarding. Though the ultimate reward is, of course, tasting one. Or two. Or three.

Originally, these are crescent-shaped cookies, also called Vanillekipferl in German. They are originally eaten around Advent and that was when I made them for the first time, as you can see in this blog post. Personally I think they are too good just to be eaten in December, after all you can easily make them into any shape you like. I made these simple flowers which are great for Easter.

For about 20 cookies, you’ll need

- 1 vanilla pod

- 140 g plain (spelt) flour

- 50 g ground almonds

- 50 g sugar

- 115 g cold butter

- 60 g or more icing sugar

Method

Slice the vanilla pod into two halves and scrape out the seeds. Tip: keep the empty pod in a sugar pot to make your own vanilla sugar. Mix the flour with the ground almonds together in a bowl. Grate the butter or cut into tiny flakes and mix all the ingredients, save the icing sugar, together with your fingers until you get a crumbly dough. Then, shortly shape the dough into a ball, cover in clingfilm and flatten. Put in the fridge for about an hour. Put the icing sugar into a deep dish.

Preheat the oven at 180 degrees Celsius / 365 Fahrenheit (fan oven 160 degrees C / 320 F). Divide the dough into two portions.

For round cookies: Make two rolls out the dough and form two even sized cylinders. If the dough has become too soft, leave to chill in the fridge for a bit. Cut the cylinders into similar sized round cookies and place on a baking tray, lined with a silicone mat or baking paper. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges start to become golden.

For kipferl: Use the same method as the round cookies. Once you cut the cilinders into similar sized pieces, roll each piece with your fingers on a floured surface. You’ll want the middle to be slightly thicker than the outsides. Pull the ends towards each other to get the crescent shape.

For figure cookies: Roll out the dough onto a floured surface and cut shapes. The cookies might taste a little more flour-y because more flour gets worked into the dough this way. I can assure you they taste great nonetheless. After cutting the shapes, you’ll want to cool them in the fridge because they will loose a bit of shape in the oven as the butter will soften.

Put your cookies in the icing sugar straight after you’ve taken them out of the oven. Careful, the cookies are hot and still a bit soft, so they might break. (I actually consider myself lucky when a cookie breaks - it means I can eat them without anyone noticing).

The cookies will keep for a week in an airtight container and the taste will improve with aging. However, I challenge you to keep them for this long!

Enjoy!