ROYAL TREATMENT FOR LEFTOVER PANCAKES - KAISERSCHMARREN

My husband and I love pancakes! At least once a week we have them for lunch, made with all kinds of different grains, nuts and fruits. And, of course, our traditional family recipe, my Omi's German Pancakes.

Emperor Franz Josef loved Kaiserschmarren

I always cook a whole batch of them, even though we are only two, and I could just halve the recipe.

There's a good  reason:: leftover pancakes can be easily recycled into an (almost even more delicious) dish: Kaiserschmarren!

A famous Austrian dessert, Kaiserschmarren ("Emperor's Mess") is made from twice-fried pancakes.

First you bake regular fluffy pancakes, then you mess them up by ripping them apart, creating a "Schmarren" -  a mess in Austrian dialect. After that, you refry the torn pancakes in butter, together with raisins and other add-ins.

Emperor Franz Josef I, to whom the royal "mess" was dedicated, supposedly loved this rich dessert.

His Empress Elisabeth, anxiously watching her famed hourglass waistline, most likely not so much.

But since those painfully strait-laced days of yore are past, we can follow His Majesty's example, happily indulging in refried pancakes - and with a good conscience to boot, since we are thrifty recyclers!

Typical add-ins for Kaiserschmarren

LEFTOVER PANCAKE KAISERSCHMARREN  (2 servings)

2 servings of leftover pancakes, any kind (4 to 8, depending on size)
1-2 tbsp butter, for frying
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup golden raisins (or to taste)
powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar, for sprinkling

Tear leftover pancakes in small pieces

Using two forks (or your fingers), tear pancakes in bite-sized pieces.

In large skillet, heat butter over medium heat. Add pancake pieces, and cook, stirring frequently, until they are warmed through.

Cook pancake pieces with almond slices and raisins, stirring often

Stir in raisins and almonds, and fry until pancakes are crisped, and almond slices are starting to brown.

To serve, dust the pancakes with powdered sugar. Or sprinkle them with cinnamon sugar, like I do.

We like the faux Kaiserschmarren with maple syrup and lingonberry preserve. (The classic accompaniment for this dessert is plum compote.)

Finally we have spring after this long, cold winter!

ERRÖTENDE JUNGFRAU - BLUSHING MAIDEN WITH CHERRIES

Light, fruity and lemony - just the right dessert for hot summer days!

My family has two favorite summer desserts, both very light, tangy and refreshing.

One is the famous Rote Grütze, made of at least three different kinds of red berries, a summer treat so popular that it slowly made its way from Denmark and Northern Germany to the South, even welcomed by Bavarians (who notoriously despise everything even remotely "Prussian").

Popular German summer dessert Rote Grütze

The other goes by the poetical name of "Errötende Jungfrau" (= blushing maiden), referring to the delicate pink hue of the dessert. It is made with buttermilk and lemon, and we enjoy it even when the temperature goes up to 90, and our panting Buffy demonstrates the true meaning of "Dog Days".

Summer's Dog Days turn Buffy into a sea dog

"Errötende Jungfrau" is, like Rote Grütze, a traditional North German specialty, not only Pommern (Pomerania) (homeland of my mother and grandmother), but Ostpreussen (East Prussia) and Dithmarschen in Schleswig-Holstein claim it as their own.

Our family version is simple and straight forward: just buttermilk, lemon juice and zest, sugar and gelatin.

The red coloring comes from red gelatin. Other recipes contain egg yolks, fruit or even red wine.

Though my beloved Omi's puristic recipe is very good, I like to achieve the pretty pink color in a more natural way.

Dark, sweet cherries, one of my favorite fruits, make my Maiden blush, and, also, adds some nice bits to the jello-like dessert.

"Errötende Jungfrau" is quick and easy to make. It only needs some time to set and chill.

Make it in the morning, when you want to enjoy it with tea or dinner. Or prepare it the evening before.



ERRÖTENDE JUNGFRAU - BLUSHING MAIDEN WITH CHERRIES  (12 servings)

17 g/ 3 tbsp + 1/4 tsp. gelatin powder (2 1/2 pouches) (I use Knox Unflavored Gelatine)
 or 12 gelatin sheets
 cold water, for soaking gelatin
 1 liter buttermilk (I use 2%)
95 g/6 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. lemon zest
1 tsp. vanilla extract
250 g pitted cherries
125 ml whipped cream (for garnish, optional)

Cherries and cherry puree provide fruity bits and color

In a blender (or with an immersion blender), puree 50 grams of the cherries. Cut remaining 200 grams in halves (saving a few as decoration), and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together buttermilk, sugar, lemon juice and zest and vanilla extract. Stir in pureed cherries, until well blended.

Cherry puree makes your Maiden blush naturally

For gelatin powder, sprinkle gelatin over 150 g cold water. Let stand for 1 minute, then microwave on high for 30-40 seconds, stirring once to dissolve.

For gelatin sheets, in a small bowl, cover gelatin sheets with cold water. Let stand for 5 minutes, then gently wring to remove excess water, and microwave it until melted.

To temper it (and prevent lumps!), stir 1/4 cup of the buttermilk mixture into the melted gelatin, until well combined. Then, slowly add tempered gelatin in a steady stream back into buttermilk mixture, whisking continuously, until completely blended.

Slowly add tempered gelatin to the buttermilk mixture, whisking steadily

When mixture starts to thicken, but has not completely set, fold in chopped cherries. Pour dessert in a glass bowl, cover, and place in refrigerator for several hours to chill and set.

To serve, decorate with whipped cream (if desired) and reserved cherries. "Errötende Jungfrau" keeps fresh for several days in the fridge.

Enjoy!

BOSTON CREAM PIE - IT'S A CAKE!

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January is finally over - it was no friend of the Anderson family, nor of their car! But we survived the untimely end of our vehicle, and even our colorful bruises are by now almost history.

Fortunately we survived the collision - our car did not!

Time for a brand new month, a brand new car - and a brand new Avid Baker's Challenge!

This year we use King Arthur Flour recipes as inspiration, and, with January's "Panettone Muffins", we were off for a roaring start.

"Boston Cream Pie" is a classic. In 1856, Monsieur Sanzian, French chef of the Parker House Hotel in Boston, turned ye olde custard filled "Pudding Cake Pie" into an elegant dessert by adding a layer of chocolate icing.

He also dressed the sides with almond slivers, but King Arthur's and other versions do not.

This so called pie is no pie at all, but a sponge cake, filled with a layer of pastry cream, and topped with chocolate ganache. Eggy and rich as it is, it doesn't keep very long and should be eaten within two or three days (at the most.)

Having only one co-eater at home, I decided to make a smaller version with half of the Boston Cream Pie recipe, using a 7" springform pan. I also used King Arthur's highly recommended Pastry Cream (1/4 recipe.)

King Arthur apparently has a pronounced sweet tooth. The amount of sugar in the cake seems very high - I reduced it by half, and it was still quite sweet.

The original recipe suggests rubbing a piece of butter over the surface of the hot pastry cream before covering it with plastic wrap, to prevent sticking. I buttered the plastic wrap - much easier than messing around with the cream.

The smaller cake took only 40 minutes to develop a deep golden brown. The original recipe says the cake should be "beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan", but mine and other bloggers' didn't - so don't wait for that to happen, otherwise your cake will be over-baked and dry!

Massachussetts' State Dessert in all its glory!

BOSTON CREAM PIE  (for a 7" cake)

CAKE
1 ½ eggs, at room temperature
150 g (3/4 cup) sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
85 g (3/8 cup) milk
7 g (1/2 tbsp) butter
85 g (3/4 cup) unbleached cake flour
¾ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt

PASTRY CREAM  (can be made up to 3 days ahead and stored in the fridge)
170 g (3/4 cup) whole milk
25 g (1/8 cup) sugar
1 pinch salt
½ tsp vanilla extract (or 1/8 vanilla bean)
9 g (1 tbsp.) corn starch
¾ tsp all-purpose flour
1 egg yolk
14 g (1 tbsp.) butter

GLAZE
57 g (1/4 cup) heavy or whipping cream
1 ½ tsp corn syrup
64 g (3/8 cup) chopped dark chocolate or semisweet chocolate chips
¼ tsp. vanilla extract


PASTRY CREAM:
In medium saucepan, stir together 1/2 + 1/8 cups of the milk, sugar, salt, and vanilla bean. (If using vanilla extract, add it at the end.) Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.

Meanwhile, whisk cornstarch, flour, and egg yolk with remaining 1/8 cup milk. Whisk some of the hot milk mixture with egg yolk to temper them. Then pour egg/milk mixture back into remaining simmering milk. (Doing this through a strainer will help prevent lumps.) 

Whisk constantly until mixture thickens

Bring mixture to a boil, whisking constantly, until it thickens. Remove from heat and strain through a fine sieve. Stir in butter and vanilla extract (if using).

Grease piece of plastic wrap and place over pastry cream (so that it touches surface of cream to prevent skin from forming.) Refrigerate until cool.







CAKE:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 7" springform pan, line with parchment, and grease parchment.

Beat eggs and sugar until very thick, until batter falls from paddle in thick ribbons. Beat in vanilla.

Bring milk and butter to a simmer in small saucepan. Slowly stream it into egg/sugar mixture with engine running, and beat for another minute.

Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients until just combined

Sift flour, baking powder, and salt over cake batter. Mix on low speed just until combined, about 1 minute.

Pour batter into cake pan, checking carefully for lumps of flour. (Remove any lumps.)

Bake cake for about 40 minutes, or until it's a deep golden brown (it's supposed to begin to pull away from sides of pan, mine didn't, so don't wait for it!)

Run a spatula or table knife around cake edges (if using a springform pan, remove rim,) and let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Turn cake out onto rack to cool completely.

Using a long serrated knife, cut cake horizontally into two equal layers. Fill with pastry cream, spreading it right to the edges. Replace the top layer.

Waiting for the chocolate glaze

GLAZE:
Melt chocolate, corn syrup, and cream together until smooth and free of lumps. Add vanilla and stir well.

Pour glaze over filled cake.

(Store any leftovers in the fridge, wrapped in plastic.)

In the meantime, we have visited the Parker House Hotel in Boston, and, of course, ordered the famous dessert. The Boston Cream Pie tasted as good, as we had hoped, and this is what it looked like, en miniature, and a little spruced up:

Boston Cream Pie at the Omni Parker House Hotel in Boston

Post updated 12/28/15

COOKING WITH MY MOM - BRUSSELS SPROUTS SOUFFLÉ AND KEY LIME BARS

Brussels sprout soufflé fresh from the oven

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My mother is an amazing woman. A retired gynecologist at 93, she is still going strong, grocery shopping with her bike, climbing up the stairs to her third floor apartment, staying on top of the news, and struggling to keep up with the pile of medical magazines on her table (I inherited those qualms to throw out unread newspapers - you never know what you might miss!)

Three years ago she also learned to use a computer in order to join Facebook. She didn't want to be the only family member not able to see the photos my daughter posted from her stay in Bhutan, my sister's from her garden on Mallorca, or pictures of my newest kitchen ventures.

When I visited my mother last fall in Hamburg I wanted to cook something with her, something light, healthy and, of course, delicious.

My Mom's no-frills kitchen

Kitchens resemble owners - Mutti's kitchen is a spacious, cheerful place, a cooking/dining room with a no nonsense, no frills, and waste-not-want-not attitude.

The tall cabinet - painted in neon pink, yellow and blue by my 14-year old sister 50 years ago, when my mother was not looking - holds an abundance of supplies, kitchen gadgets, and odds and ends.

Many of those were left behind whenever my sister and I were moving ("You never know when somebody might need them," Mutti insists), but the strangest item is an enameled colander - made from a recycled WWII helmet, with holes for the strap!

Helmet turned colander

Baking there is a bit of a challenge, because the oven also serves as storage space for pots and pans, that have to find another place in a kitchen full of flower pots, newspaper clippings, and other things my mother likes to have around.

But I am a baker, and where there is a will, there is a way. So one morning we went shopping and purchased Brussels sprouts, limes, graham cookies and sweetened condensed milk (not an easy thing to find in German supermarkets).

Mutti purées Brussels sprouts

Brussels sprouts are the base for a wonderful soufflé that will turn even Brussels sprouts haters into fans. It can be also made with broccoli or cauliflower.


BRUSSELS SPROUTS SOUFFLÉ
(3-4 servings)
(adapted from Johanna Handschmann: "Aufläufe aus der Vollwertküche")

300 g Brussels sprouts (or broccoli or cauliflower)
 40 g butter
 40 g whole wheat flour
250 ml heavy cream or milk
1/2 cube vegetable broth (or 1 tsp. broth granules)
pepper, freshly grated, to taste
pinch nutmeg, freshly grated, to taste
herbal salt, to taste
50 g Emmental cheese, coarsely grated
3 - 4 eggs, separated
butter, for gratin form


Cut large Brussels sprouts in halves, broccoli or cauliflower in florets. Cook in steamer for ca. 5 - 7 minutes until almost done. (Or cook with 1 cup water and 1 tsp. lemon juice in pan with tightly fitting lid.) Drain and set aside.

For the Béchamel sauce, cook butter in a large sauce pan until foaming. Add flour and cook over medium heat for 1 - 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until slightly browned. Remove from heat, and whisk in cream or milk in a slow stream. Add herbal salt and spices, then bring to a simmer, stirring constantly, until mixture has thickened. Set aside.

Béchamel sauce

Preheat oven to 400º F/200º C. Adjust rack to middle rung. Place high rimmed gratin form in oven for 5 minutes, to warm up.  

Using a food processor, immersion blender or chef's knife, finely chop Brussels sprouts (or broccoli or cauliflower).

Stir purée into butter/cream mixture. Add cheese and egg yolks and mix until well blended. Season with herbal salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste.

Remove hot gratin form from oven, and melt a piece of butter, tilting pan to grease bottom.

Whisk egg whites with pinch of salt until stiff. Fold into vegetable mixture. Pour into gratin form, smooth top with rubber spatula, and immediately place into oven.

Bake gratin for 20 - 25 minutes, or until top is well browned. Let cool for 5 minutes in switched-off oven with door slightly ajar, then serve immediately.

Waiting for her daughter...

My mother loves desserts - she often says with conviction: "The dessert is always the best part of a meal!" We both prefer tart fruits, and don't like it overly sweet. Therefore I chose a citrus-y dessert that is as delicious as it is simple:


KEY LIME BARS  (16 servings)  (adapted from "Cook's Illustrated")

Crust
142 g/5 oz animal crackers or other dry cookies
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1 pinch salt
57 g/4 tbsp butter, melted

Filling
57 g/2 oz cream cheese
1 tbsp. lime zest (1 lime)
1 pinch salt
1 can sweetened condensed milk (399 g/14 oz)
1 egg yolk
½ cup lime juice ( 1-1/2 limes)
lime zest , for garnish

Preheat oven to 325ºF/160ºC. Line an 8 x 8" (20 x 20 cm) square pan crosswise with aluminum foil strips, allowing extra foil to hang over edges of pan. Mist with oil spray.

For the crust, process crackers in food processor until finely ground (or place cookies in ZipLock bag and crush them with roller pin), add brown sugar and salt, and pulse to combine.

Drizzle with melted butter, and pulse until all crumbs are moistened. Press crumbs evenly into bottom of pan.

Bake crust until deep golden brown, 18 - 20 minutes. Let cool on wire rack (don't turn off the oven!)

For the filling, combine cream cheese, lime zest and salt in mixing bowl. Add sweetened condensed milk, and mix until well blended. Whisk in egg yolk. Add lime juice, and mix gently until incorporated.

Pour filling in cooled crust, and smooth top with spatula. Bake until set, and edges begin to pull away slightly from sides (15 - 20 minutes.)

Transfer pan to wire rack, and let cake cool to room temperature. Decorate with lime zest. Cover pan with foil and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 2 hours.

Remove cake from pan by lifting foil extensions. Cut into 16 squares.

Key Lime Bars

I could never find fresh Key limes, when I baked these, but you can as well use regular (Persian) limes. But don't substitute with bottled lime juice - the bars will not taste the same!

Since the sweetened condensed milk supplies plenty of sugar, I cut down on the sugar when making the crust (from 3 tablespoons to 1 tablespoon.)

"Cook's Illustrated" suggests toasted shredded coconut as garnish for those who don't like it too tart. Mutti and I, of course, love citrus flavor and used lime zest curls as decoration.

The Key Lime Bars keep fresh for several days if stored in the refrigerator - if they last that long!

My mother Gisela, my older sister Ingrid, and me in the Fifties