Nimai's Birthday Cake

This is my second flower cake which I made for my son's first birthday. I found the perfect recipe for the cake layers and for the butter cream icing I used French butter cream. French butter cream is tricky to make but it tastes so much better and has a very nice silky texture. It is made with a sugar syrup and all butter, no shortening. For the colored decorations I used the "American" butter cream made with organic non-hydrogenated shortening, butter and powdered sugar. And the food coloring is all-natural again, of course. I need some more practice in the writing department though. But all in all I was very pleased with the result and everyone who tasted the cake liked it a lot.


Marisha did not think that pink roses very appropriate for a boy but I am sure he did not mind at all. He did take a few bites of the cake but otherwise he probably had no idea what this was all about.


And here he is: The birthday boy. My miracle baby who had a true knot in his umbilical cord and for several reasons caused me to have a lot of anxiety in pregnancy. Now he is already one year old and a happy camper. Where did the time go? Didn't I just have him yesterday?

Birthday Cake Experiment

I always admire well decorate cakes and I always wanted to know how to make those nice roses. And since there are several birthdays coming up this spring I thought I better get some more cake decorating skills. I am not very artistic. I can't draw a nice picture or paint, or sing, or do anything else that is considered an art. Still, I was determined to make some nice cakes this spring. Not that I have never decorated cakes before. I always bake my families birthday cakes and on a few occasions I have baked a cake for friends.

What makes it somewhat challenging though is the fact, that I only use all-natural ingredients and never use artificial food coloring. I have tried the SEELECT brand of natural food coloring before but did not like the fact that it was too liquid. For example, the color blue is blueberry juice concentrate. It made the icing too thin and runny. So I searched the Internet for a better solution and I think I found one. The India Tree brand worked just fine for me although you can only mix pastel colors which I like better than the strong colors you find on decorated cakes in the grocery store. India Tree's Natural Decorating Colors come in a set of three colors: yellow (turmeric), red (beet juice) and blue (red cabbage). If you want any other colors you will have to mix them yourself, and there is were the fun part starts.


I had trouble getting a nice green color. I just could not get a nice green and so my husband suggested that I use some wheat juice powder instead of the India Tree colors and I tried this on my next cake and it worked a lot better. I suppose one could also use spinach powder.

Now my next challenge was the icing. I knew that I probably could not make the roses without using shortening and shortening I did not want to use. I never bake with it. In fact, I never buy it. So one day I was walking the isles at Mother Earth Market and I saw a container of shortening. I was curious about it because I did not think shortening would be sold in a health food store, after all, it is not a healthy food. But is said "organic" on it. So it could not be so bad after all. And what really caught my eye was the word "non-hydrogenated" on the container. Wow, I did not know that such a thing existed. It is made from palm oil, has 0 grams trans fat and less saturated fat than butter. Not that I am going to use it instead of butter from now on, but to use it every now and than for those lovely roses on a cake should be okay.

The above cake was my first experiment. I was not totally satisfied with it. I thought the roses came out good considering it was my very first attempt making them. I did not like the grainy-ness of the icing though. I made powdered-sugar-half-butter-half-shortening icing for the entire cake and it was way too sweet for my taste.


Here is a slice of the cake. The filling was some strawberry jam and whipping cream. The cake layer was okay but I was going to try another one next time. Marisha loved the roses. She did not want to eat them because they looked too good according to her. Only after I promised to make some more did she eat her roses. Well, and since I had to keep my promise I made some more a few days later...

Apple Pudding Cake

The recipe for this cake is from "The Book of Eggfree Cakes" by Cintia Stammers. My husband was one of the editors of this book. As usual, I made my own version of the cake. First of all I used freshly ground whole wheat pastry flour and Sucanat instead of white flour and white sugar. Secondly I used arrowroot starch instead of cornstarch for the filling but I think I will go back to using cornstarch. I do not like the mouthfeel of arrowroot starch.


As you can see the cake looks more like a pie, just does not have the shape of a pie. The crust is also not as rich and flaky as pie crust. The filling is similar to pudding, hence the name Pudding Cake. First I cooked the apples till they were soft, then mashed them, added some spices, some Sucanat and the arrowroot starch and cooked it till it was thickend. Then I poured it in the pre-baked crust and baked it some more. When the cake was thoroughly chilled I topped it with wipping cream and sliced almonds. It is a very light cake and not at all filling.

One slice is never enough. I always have at least two or three.

And now you know why I still haven't lost all my baby fat...

My Version of Cheesecake

I am not a fan of rich cheesecakes. Mine is a cross between Austrian Cheesecake (called Topfentorte) and the American Cheesecake. Austrians use topfen for cheesecake, which is a lot less rich. Topfen is made from either whole milk or low fat milk. I usually make mine with whole milk. For this particular cheesecake I used 16 oz of topfen and 8 oz of regular cream cheese. I like to serve it with a fruit sauce. I like to use fruit in season and strawberries are in season right now in Florida.

Next time I make topfen I will take some pictures and post them here on my blog and I will
explain how to make it. I do not know if anyone is interested in it. I am sure there is already a lot of info on this topic on the Internet. Actually, I just did a search on how to make topfen and there is not really much out there, at least not in English. I guess I should do it. Stay tuned .... I can't promise though that it will be any time soon unless someone volunteers to watch the kids, clean the house, do my taxes, wash and iron the laundry, ....

Cherry Cheese Strudel (Kirschen-Topfen-Strudel)

Yesterday I made cherry cheese strudel. Strudel is a typical Austrian pastry. It consists of thin, parchment-like layers of dough which are wrapped around a filling, e.g. apple, cheese, and fruits like grapes, sweet or sour cherries. It can be savory as well, e.g. spinach or cabbage strudel.

Here is what Wikipedia has to say about strudel:

A strudel is a type of sweet layered pastry with a filling inside, that became well known and gained popularity in the 18th century through the Habsburg Empire.

Strudel is most often associated with the Austrian cuisine, but is also a traditional pastry in the whole area formerly belonging to the Austro-Hungarian empire.

The oldest Strudel recipe is from 1696, a handwritten recipe at the Viennese City Library, Wiener Stadtbibliothek. The pastry probably has its origins in the similar Byzantine Empire or Middle Eastern pastries (see baklava and Turkish cuisine), thus it is even related to the Balkan burek pastry.

The word itself derives from the German word Strudel, which in Middle High German literally means "whirlpool" or "eddy".^[1]

In Hungary it is known as Rétes, in Slovenia as štrudelj, in Czech Republic as závin or štrúdl, in Romania as ştrudel, in Croatia as štrudla or savijača and Slovakia as štrúdľa or závin). It is very popular in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as other ex-Yugoslav republics.

I apologize to all the people who have come to my blog looking for a strudel recipe and I did not find one here. After getting numerous requests to post the recipe I have finally come around to do it. I usually try different recipes and stick with the one that works for me. So my recipe is actually a combination of recipes I have found in baking books. This one works for me but I have to tell you that I always weigh my ingredients and I cannot guarantee that the conversion to cups and ounces will work for you.

Recipe:

For the dough:

1 1/3 cups unbleached flour

1/8 tsp. salt

7 Tbs. water, plus more if needed

2 Tbs. vegetable oil, plus additional for coating the dough

1/2 tsp. cider vinegar

Put all ingredients into a bowl and mix to form a soft dough. Knead dough till it is smooth and feels like the lobe of your ear. I usually slap the dough onto the work surface a few times while kneading. Gather the dough into a ball and place it on a lightly oiled plate. Put a little oil on top of the dough and cover with stretch foil.

For the Sour Cherry Filling:

7 Tbs. sugar

1 Tbs. cornstarch

12 ounces fresh sour cherries, can us canned ones as well

1/8 tsp. almond extract

In a small saucepan stir together sugar, cornstarch, salt and cherries. Let sit for a few minutes so that the cherries start exuding their juices. Cook on medium heat, bringing the mixture to a boil. Don't forget to stir. When the juice has thickened it is ready. Set aside to cool.

For the Cream Cheese Filling:

12 ounces (1 1/2 packages) of cream cheese, can use low fat

1/2 cup of sugar

2 large egg yolks (mine is vegetarian, I use egg substitute)

pinch of salt

2 tsp. grated lemon zest

2 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup sour creme

1 Tbs. cornstarch

With hand or stand mixer beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add egg yolks or substitute and beat again. Don't forget to scrape the sides of the bowl. Add salt, lemon zest and juice, and vanilla and beat until incorporated. Lastly, beat in sour cream and cornstarch until blended. Cover and refrigerate.

Bake strudel at 350 F on upper rack for about 40 to 50 minutes or until filling is set and dough is nicely golden brown. Do not eat right away. Let the finished strudel cool for about 30 minutes to 1 hour before eating. I like to dust mine with powdered sugar.

Strudel dough is very similar to filo dough which is used for making Baklava.

I'll show you how I made my cherry cheese strudel. Keep on reading...

First I make the strudel dough. This is about the only thing I bake that is not made with whole wheat flour. I use King Arthur all-purpose flour. The dough needs do be brushed with oil and wrapped tightly in plastic wrap. It needs to rest for at least 30 minutes. Mine probably rested for at least one hour.

While the dough is resting, I prepare my filling. In Austria quark is used for cheese strudel. Quark is called Topfen in Austria. Quark is what it is called in Germany. Even though both countries speak German, some things have different names in Austria. Like carrots are called Moehren in Germany, and Karotten in Austria. But this post is not about the differences in the German language so I will not elaborate further on this topic.

American cheese strudel recipes usually call for cream cheese instead of topfen. I use a mixture of cream cheese and topfen, sour cream, sugar, corn starch, vanilla extract, lemon flavor, and lemon juice.

This is the cherry filling before I cooked it. I used sour cherries from a jar, added some sugar and cornstarch plus a few drops of almond extract. Then I cooked it till it thickened nicely.


I use my dinning room table to stretch the dough. I use a big sheet to cover the table. The sheet is dusted with flour to prevent the dough from sticking. I put the dough in the middle, dust it with flour and roll it out with a rolling pin as far as it will go, which usually is about 20 inches in diameter. Then the fun part starts....


STRETCHING! I lift the dough up and gently stretch the dough with the back of my hands.


See how thin it is getting! You can easily see my hand through the dough. The rule of thumb is that it should be so thin that you can read a newspaper through it. While I have never tried that I think it might be possible. I just go by feel. When I am afraid that it might tear if I stretch it any further, I stop.


When the strudel gets to big I put it on the table and walk around the table, stretching each side as far as it goes.


Then I do the borders/edges. Professional bakers just trim the thick edges off and discard them. My kids love the strudel ends, so I leave them on. Trying to stretch those borders usually causes the dough to tear a little bit. Small holes are okay, especially on the edge. It would be a problem though to have a hole in the middle of the dough, especially a big one. That never happened to me, even when I made it for the first time. The secret is the right dough consistency. And of course, practice makes perfect.


All done stretching. As you can see, the dough almost covers the whole table. You can also see that I have a fairly large hole on the bottom right hand corner of the table. It happened when I stretched the dough over the corner. This hole is not a problem as it is on the edge. The dough is hanging off the the table edges. Now one has to work quickly or the dough will dry out in a matter of minutes and be like dried up filo dough.


Next I brush the entire surface of the dough with ghee. One could use butter as well. Ghee seems to give nicer layers though.


Put the filling on the short side of the dough, near the edge and fold the edge of the dough over the filling and start rolling, at first just a couple of turns.

Then I fold over the edges on the long side. This will prevent the filling from leaking out. Usually my edge is not as wide as this one. Brush the edge with ghee, since it used to be the underside of the dough which did not have any ghee brushed on yet. Then keep on rolling till the strudel is all rolled up.

Voila! All done.

Transfer the strudel to a baking sheet and brush it with ghee and bake.


And this is how it looks when it is all done. See the layers separating on the top of the strudel. Traditionally strudel is dusted with powdered sugar in Austria.


And this is the guy who asked me over and over again to make him cherry cheese strudel, his favorite. I did not make just one, but two. Actually, I always make two strudel when I make strudel. We had it for dinner and when we were all done, only one piece was left! I asked Janardan to rate the strudel and he gave me a million thumbs up. In reality he only has two though, as you can see.

Now Marisha wants me to make Apfelstrudel (apple strudel) next, her favorite. Since my husband will not be able to babysit Nimai till the end of this semester in school, it probably will not happen soon. Sorry, Marisha!


And this is what else I baked yesterday: Five loaves of unyeasted sourdough bread. Three are sunflower-sesame seed loaves, one just plain and one cinnamon raisin. No, we are not going to eat it all. Most of them are for my customers. We only started to eat the cinnamon raisin and I am not quite satisfied with it. Needs more sweetness and more cinnamon. There is always room for improvement.

And today I am taking the day off baking... Even a baker needs a break sometimes.....

Sourdough Sandwich Loaves - NO yeast

The one on the left has sunflower seeds in it and sesame seeds on the outside. The other one is just plain.

For people who do not want to eat yeast for whatever reason, here is a bread or two for you. Now, if you want me to bake a loaf for you, you would have to let me know three days ahead. Why? Let me explain....

This is how long it takes to make this bread. In order to have a strong sourdough culture I start out with only one tablespoon of sourdough culture per loaf. I double the volume by adding one tablespoon of flour and 1/2 tablespoon of water and let it sit for 12 hours at room temperature. I continue doubling the culture three more times in 12 hour intervals before it is ready to be mixed with the final ingredients. In other words, it takes 48 hours till I have enough culture to bake a loaf of bread. After mixing and kneading the dough it takes about four to six hours till the first rise is done and the bread dough is nicely risen. I then form a loaf and let it rise again which could take between 2 and 3 hours. It takes an hour to bake and ideally the bread should be cooled completely before slicing it.

I think it may not take as long in the summer when it is hot outside and usually also inside my house. I will also try to see if I can cut the culture fermenting time in half and still get the same result. I like to experiment but the down side is that I might end up with more bread to eat than my family can handle and my freezer is already full with "experimental" bread. Maybe I should open my front door and shout, "Anybody hungry?" like in Vedic times, you know....

Bohemian Sourdough Rye Bread (NO yeast)

This bread is about half wheat half rye flour and was made without yeast. By the time I found a minute to take this picture, the bread was already several days old, but still tasted great. The advantage of using sourdough over yeast is that sourdough bread is a good keeper. It does not dry out as fast as yeasted bread and the addition of rye flour helped in this regard as well. Actually, we had the last slice of this bread today for dinner with our soup and although the bread was already 10 days old, it still tasted good, just a little bit on the dry side. Even though I baked it as a free form loaf it did not flatten when I turned it out onto the baking sheet from the proofing basket. I am starting to like unyeasted sourdough bread so much that I might just not bake yeasted bread any more, at least not for my family...

When it comes to the people I bake for, they mostly prefer a square loaf of nicely risen yeast bread and I do not blame them. After all, this is what most of them grew up eating. And I am happy baking it for them. After all, the customer is king.... or queen....