As you can well imagine, it took a lot of ‘field trips’ to keep our 7 year old warm, fed, and happy. One of these trips, we took a drive to Bed Bath & Beyond to try and find astove-top percolator, as we were coffee-less, and grumpier for it. Imagine my surprise when we walked in and saw their newest addition – World Market. My son and I spent much too much time wandering through, slack-jawed and taste-testing everything they had available. There is more coffee and tea than I have ever seen in any one place before. The Brit in me drooled over the PGTips teas, Cadbury candy, and canned treacle pudding, while the German in us was equally enchanted by the Adventskalendar selection, spaetzle, Milka, Kinderpunsch, and jarred wurst. The Asian palates will find equally exciting items, not easily found elsewhere in the States. The selection of gourmet and international foods is simply wonderful. If I had to make one negative observation, it would be that there are too many choices. One could easily spend an hour wandering through there. And the best part? Given the specialized nature of the items, the prices are very reasonable, and somehow manage to undercut small, niche food markets.

I am unsure as to how many Bed Bath & Beyond stores are adding the World Market section, but I can tell you that there is one in East Hanover, New Jersey. Very new, and very wonderful. If you are in North Jersey, I highly recommend it. They are apparently not putting money into marketing the opening yet, as they want to ensure that there is a real interest. So please, stop by and show them how much we love the idea!

As an aside, we never did find a percolator. However, we did find stollen, lebkuchen, jarred bockwurst, and Milka bars had somehow found their way into our basket. Today we returned with my husband, who was equally flummoxed by the selection of German and Indian foods. All in all, a very good find!

Difficulty: Easy.
Preparation Time: 70 minutes.
Portions: 10 slices.

Ingredients:

Ingredients:

• 1 2/3 c. blanched almonds or hazelnuts (about 1/2 pound)
• 4 c. unbleached flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. finely ground black or white pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1 tsp. dry powdered mustard
• 1/4 tsp. ground mace
• 1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
• 2 1/2 sticks butter (10 ounces), softened
• 1 1/4 c. light brown sugar, packed
• 3/4 c. honey
• 1/3 c. warm water
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees F. Toast the nuts in a shallow pan on the middle rack for about 10 minutes, until they are only lightly toasted. Cool the nuts.
2. Using a food processor or blender on ‘Chop’, chop the nuts along with 1/4 cup of the flour until they are about the size of uncooked grains of rice.
3. In a large bowl, beat butter until creamed. Add the sugar and beat until thoroughly mixed. Next, beat in the honey. Reserve about 2 tablespoons of water and place the the rest into the bowl, beating to mix. It will look curdled. In a small cup stir the reserved 2 tablespoons water with the baking soda until the soda is dissolved; add to the bowl and mix.
4. In another bowl, mix the sifted, dry ingredients. Add these into the butter bowl, blending in gradually. Finally, beat in the chopped nuts.
5. Spread out three large pieces of plastic wrap or paper, wrap, and then flatten each package to about a 1-inch thickness. Place the packages in the freezer for about 1 hour (no longer) or in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.
6. To bake, adjust two racks to divide the oven in thirds and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with baking parchment or aluminum foil, shiny side up, and set aside.
7. Flour a pastry cloth and a rolling pin. Unwrap a piece of the dough. Cut it in half. Work with one half, rewrapping the other half and placing it in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it. Place the dough on the floured cloth. If it is very firm pound it a bit with the rolling pin. Turn the dough upside down occasionally while you work with it, and re-flour the pastry cloth and the rolling pin as necessary. Roll out the dough to a 1/4-inch thickness. Using a large, round cookie cutter (mine is 3 1/2 inches in diameter), start to cut the cookies on the outer edge (not in the middle) of the dough, and cut them touching each other.
8. Place the cookies about an inch apart on the lined sheets. It might be necessary to use a metal spatula to transfer the cookies from the pastry cloth to the sheets. Use a smaller cutter to cut cookies from any of the scraps that are large enough. Press any other scraps together, re-wrap, and re-chill. Bake for about 18 minutes, reversing the sheets top to bottom and front to back once during baking.
9. Bake until the cookies are golden. If the cookies on the lower rack start to darken too much around the edges, slide another cookie sheet under them – the double sheet will protect the bottoms. Cool briefly on the sheets until the cookies are firm enough to be moved. With a wide metal spatula transfer the cookies to racks to cool.
10. Dust each cooled cookie in confectioners sugar. If desired, cookies can be redusted the next day before serving, or gifting. Store in an airtight container.

Ingredients:

• 6 c. flour
• 1 1/2 tbsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 pound butter, softened
• 2 1/4 c. sugar
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 c. fruity wine, such as Riesling

Preparation:

1. Sift together flour, salt and cinnamon into a large bowl.
2. Beat butter with electric mixer, while gradually adding 2 cups of sugar, and beat until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then alternately beat in the dry ingredients and wine, about a third at a time. Dough will be very soft.
4. Divide the dough into 5 equal parts, flatten, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate overnight.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll out dough about 1/4 inch thick on a lightly floured surface. (Placing a piece of wax paper over the dough while rolling will help prevent sticking, without adding too much extra flour to the dough.)
6. Cut with cookie cutters, transfer to greased cookie sheets. Scraps may be gathered, rechilled, and rolled one additional time.
7. Brush cookies with lightly beaten egg, sprinkle with a little of the remaining sugar. Bake in batches until golden, about 20 minutes.
8. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and cool completely. Decorate or glaze as desired. Cookies taste best after sitting for 1 week.

There are many things we love in our house. Some of the Stolze family favorites? We must have Marzipan and Butter Stollen, Pfeffernüsse, Lebkuchen (gingerbread, especially chocolate covered for the boys), and of course liqueur-filled chocolates – every year.

What to do if you don’t have someone to send them to you? There are a few options. For one thing, if you have an Aldi’s near by, they always do some German Christmas specialties this time of year. I have found Stollen, Lebkuchen, Pfeffernüsse and frozen specialty German cakes there. Some even carry Glühwein. Aldi’s is a German owned company, so they are great for finding reasonably priced German goods. Another option is Big Lots. They occasionally carry some of the German cakes and Stollen there. Not as fresh, in my opinion, but good in a pinch. Also, some Shoprites carry a good mix of German sweet items, such as Balsen brand cookies and Stollen. And if you simply can not find these near you? Try German Deli, an online German specialty retailer based in Texas.

German Deli has made it very easy and affordable to try a variety of holiday specialties. They offer the Christmas in a Box, which is essentially various sizes of gift boxes containing German holiday specialties.  You can also find items to purchase individually.

I wish you luck in you German holiday food endeavors. It can be difficult, but rewarding in the end. Trust me.

Enjoy, and happy holidays!

Your first option is to make it from scratch.  The most difficult part is to continually mix and not overheat the mixture.  Here is the recipe.

Fruit Torte Jelly/Gelatin

Ingredients:

• 1/2 tsp. gelatin (plain, unflavored gelatin – can be found in the baking aisle of any grocer)
• 1 cup water OR apple juice (be aware this will add some extra flavor)
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• Optional: 1 tsp. red food coloring

Preparation:

1. Soak gelatin in 2 tbsp. cold water for 10 minutes.
2. Heat over low heat until it becomes liquid.
3. Add 2 tbsp. sugar and the remainder of water and heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved.
4. Remove from heat and cool until it is just pourable (20 – 30 minutes).
5. Spoon over finished cake shell with fruit already arranged over the top.
6. Allow whole cake to set for at least one hour before serving.  For extended life, refrigerate to prevent fruit from molding.

Okay, so you say this sounds too tedious, and you want a quick and dirty solution? Try Tortenguss.  You can purchase a dry mix, which still needs to be heated, but is a little less finicky. My personal favorite can be bought from German Deli: Dr. Oetker Tortenguss Klar (Clear Cake Glaze). It is sold in a 3-pack, and I will stock up on a few at a time.

See? Isn’t it great when one of life’s little mysteries can be solved so simply?

Difficulty: Moderate.
Preparation Time: 2 hours.
Portions: 4 – 6. 12 pieces.

Ingredients:

Cake Batter

• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp. warm water
• 6 tbsp. sugar
• 1 tbsp. vanilla sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 7 tbsp. all purpose flour
• 6 tbsp. cornstarch

Topping

• 1 1/2 pint raspberries
• 3/4 cup whipping cream
• 2 tsp. sugar

Jelly

• 1/2 tsp. gelatin
• 1 cup water
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. red food coloring

Preparation:

1. Grease pan and lightly dust with flour.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Separate eggs.  Beat egg whites with salt until stiff, but not too dry.  Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat egg yolks with water until foamy, and pale yellow.  Gradually add sugar and vanilla.  Beat until the sugar is dissolved, and the batter has visibly increased in volume.
4. Sprinkle in flour and cornstarch ad blend well with yolks.
5. Using a rubber spatula, fold egg whites into the batter until just blended.
6. Pour batter into cake pan (form) and bake in lower oven for 16 minutes, until golden yellow.
7. Let cake rest in pan for 10 minutes before removing.  Allow cake to cool completely.
8. To prepare jelly: soak gelatin in 2 tbsp. cold water for 10 minutes.  Heat over low heat until it becomes liquid.  Add 2 tbsp. sugar and the remainder of water and heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved.  Remove from heat and cool until it is just pourable (20 – 30 minutes).
9. To prepare topping: whip the cream with 1 tbsp. sugar until stiff.  Spread evenly over cake.
10. Arrange berries on top of cream.  Pour jelly over fruit.  Let jelly set for 30 minutes.  Serve immediately.

You can also make extra whipped cream to garnish the top of the cake.  This cake MUST be refrigerated if there are leftovers.

Difficulty: easy.
Preparation Time: 1 hour, 35 minutes.
Portions: 6.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound flour (this is about 3 -4 cups, but check the flour weight for best results)
• 3/4 pound butter, softened
• 6 ounces sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup rum

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Place softened butter into a large bowl.  Add sugar to butter and cream together well.
3. Scramble egg in small bowl and add into the butter mix.  Mix well.
4. Next, add in flour, a cup at a time, mixing all very well.
5. Last, blend in the rum.  Use a hand mixer if necessary.
6. Place batter in a prepared (lightly greased with cooking spray) springform pan.  Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar across the top.
7. Bake for 50 – 60 minutes.  Check at about 45 minutes and test with a toothpick.

Difficulty: moderate
Preparation Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Portions: 6

Ingredients:

• 2 cups plain flour
• 1 oz sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 pack dry yeast
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 oz butter,unsalted
• 1 egg
• 4 oz butter,unsalted
• 1 2/3 oz sugar

Preparation:

• Combine flour, sugar and pinch of salt. Create a small recess in the flour.
• Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm milk, pour in the recess, sprinkle with flour and cover. Let it rise for 15 min.
• Melt 1 oz of butter, let cool mix together with the egg and add to the dough.
  
• Knead well until dough is smooth and comes of the sides of the bowl easily.
  
• Cover the dough ball and let rise for another 30 minutes.
  
• Knead again and roll out an oblong shape on a lightly floured surface. Fold in the edges and seal with a fork.
• Melt 2/3 oz of butter and brush the dough. With your fingers make little dips into the dough and fill the dips with small pats of butter.
  
• Sprinkle with sugar. Put the butter cake on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Bake for 20-25 minutes on the middle rung at 390 F until golden brown.
  

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. ]]> http://www.thegermankitchen.com/index.php/recipes/2009/03/butterkuchen-butter-cake/feed/ 1 http://www.thegermankitchen.com/index.php/recipes/2009/03/baumkuchen/ http://www.thegermankitchen.com/index.php/recipes/2009/03/baumkuchen/#comments Thu, 12 Mar 2009 18:06:37 +0000 Frank http://www.thegermankitchen.com/blog/?p=39 While traditional Baumkuchen would be impossible to create in a home kitchen, it is possible to make a mock version which is almost as good.  This recipe requires some work, but will go well with coffee, especially around the holidays.

Difficulty: normal.
Preparation Time: 45 min.
Portions: 8.

• 7/8 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar
• 7/8 cup cornstarch
• 5 1/2 ounces almond paste
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 pinch salt
• 2 egg yolks
• 6 egg whites
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 9 (1 ounce) squares semisweet chocolate
• 2 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1. Butter a 9 inch square metal pan. Place a sheet of parchment paper in the bottom. Butter the parchment, and flour the whole pan. Position the rack of the oven to the lowest level, and preheat the broiler.
2. In a large bowl, cream the butter or margarine until light and fluffy. Add in the almond paste in small chunks; beat until smooth. Add the confectioners’ sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, and salt. Beat in the yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat until smooth.
3. In another bowl, beat the egg whites to soft peaks. Add in the sugar slowly while continuing to beat the meringue to stiff, glossy peaks. Fold the meringue into the yolk mixture. Sift the flour over this, and fold in.
4. Spoon a small amount of batter onto the parchment in the baking pan. With a pastry brush, paint the batter on. You want to cover the paper completely, but have a thin layer. Place under the broiler, and cook until light brown; this should take about 1 to 2 minutes. Brush another layer of the batter over the cake, and place under the broiler. Continue on in this way until all of the batter is used. Cool completely. Turn the cake out of the pan, and trim the edges clean.
5. In a double boiler, combine the chocolate and the oil. Heat until the chocolate is smooth. With a pastry brush, brush one side of the trimmed cake with some chocolate. Don’t make it too thick. Allow this to harden. Turn the cake over, and brush the other side. Allow the cake to set. Cut the cake into 6 narrow strips, each about 1-1/2 inches wide.  Brush the sides and top with the glaze, and allow to set. Store in the refrigerator, but serve at room temperature.