Poached Pears "Williams Christ"

© All rights reserved, Thorsten Kraska, 2009

This is the dessert for a cold winter day. The pears are poached in red wine and pear brandy (Williams Christ). Black tea and spices complement this dessert.



Poached Pears "Williams Christ"
(for 8 small pears)
8 smaller pears
200mL red wine
200mL orange juice
100mL pear brandy (Williams Christ brandy)
150g honey
100g sugar
black tea bags to make 500mL tea
1 star anise
3 cloves
10 black pepper corns
juice of 1 lemon
orange peel of 1 orange (cut into thin stripes)
1 teaspoon cornstarch

Peel the pears but leave a bit of peel around the stem. Cut out the blossom and cut off a little of the bottom so that the pear will stand later. Drizzle with lemon juice so that pears will not get brown.

In asuited pot combine red wine, orange juice, pear brandy, honey, sugar and spices and bring to a boil. Add tea bags and pears with the lemon juice and poach pears on low heat for 5 minutes. Then take out the tea bags. Poach pears for another 15 to 30 minutes until pears get soft. Do not let cook the pears! When pears are done take them off the wine brew.
Mix the cornstarch in a little cold water until dissolved. While stirring mix cornstarch into the brew and let cook for 5 to 10 minutes. This will thicken the brew. When brew is done add the orange peel and pears and warm them up again. Serve pears hot with some brew and garnish with orange peel.




© All rights reserved, Thorsten Kraska, 2009

Spritzgebäck (German Christmas Cookies)

© All rights reserved, Thorsten Kraska, 2009

If you ask me for the very typical and most traditional christmas cookies for me, I would always answer Spritzgebäck. There is no Christmas without this typical piped cookies. My gandmother made, my mother makes them every year, my mother-in-law makes them. And I make them too based on the same very basic and very easy recipe. There is some controversy though on icing - yes or no. Although I don't like them covered with too much icing, a drizzling with whole milk chocolate do enhance the delicate almond flavor for me.

Even on the last days before christmas you can make them, because the ingredients are easy to get (if you don't have them at hand) and the recipe is easy to make. It never failed the effect of being typical for christmas. With Spritzgebäck christmas time is coming.

Mandelspritzgebäck (Almond piped christmas cookies)
(always not enough cookies)

375g softened butter
250g sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla sugar
1 dash salt
2 small egg yolks
a few drops of bitter almond flavor (bitter almond oil, you can omit this ingredient)
125g grounded blanched almonds
250g all purpose flour
250g cornstarch
whole milk couverture (chocolate)

Blanching almonds: pour hot water over almonds, let stay for a few minutes, pour off hot water and pour cold water over almonds. Now you can peel the almonds easily. Dry the almonds and ground them. Use fresh almonds, because their flavor is much more intense.

Preheat oven to 190°C. Line out baking trays with baking paper. Mix butter with salt, sugar and vanilla sugar until creamy. Add egg yolks and mix until foamy. Add almonds and a few drops oil of bitter almonds. Mix all purpose flour and cornstarch and add little by little to the dough. In the end the dough will get firmer. Fill in the dough into a cookie press with big star nozzle or better into a meat grinder with a big star nozzle. Press dough strings of about 2 to 3-inches. Form dough strings into rings, "S", horseshoes or any other shapes you like and place on baking tray. Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes. Cookies should still be light in color and not too brown. Take out of the oven and let cool on a cooling rack.
Melk whole milk couverture and drizzle over the cookies.

Note: the cookies crack easily when still hot. So let them cool for the first 5 to 10 minutes on the baking tray or move them carefully with the baking paper from the tray to the cooling rack.

Note: for this recipe you will need 2 egg yolks. What to do with the two remaining egg whites? Why don't you try Zimtsterne. This recipe requires 3 egg whites. Make some more Spritzgebäck to get even with egg yolks and egg whites.




© All rights reserved, Thorsten Kraska, 2009



... and ...
Sunshinemom (Blog: Tongue Ticklers) has uploaded a photo for Spritzgebäck on Flickr. Thank you for making these cookies.

Cinnamon-Cognac-Truffles

© All rights reserved, Thorsten Kraska, 2009

These Cinnamon-Cognac-Truffels (Zimt-Cognac-Trüffel) will melt in your mouth. And as fast as they are gone, so easiy they are to make. What a nice present for the Holidays. The cinammon in combination with cognac are making the main flavors. I'm making truffles during advent time, when the days are real short and the weather is cold. These truffles will brighten you day.

One point is important: use high quality ingredients, because there are just a few and they will make the truffles what they are.

Cinnamon-Cognac Truffels (Zimt-Cognac-Trüffel)
(depending on size about 30 or more)
150g softened butter
50g powder sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon powder
3 tablespoons Cognac
200g white chocolate
200g whole milk chocolate
Dutch Cocoa powder (unsweetened)

Mix butter, sugar and cinnamon powder with a hand held mixer until very creamy. Break white and whole milk chocolate into smaller pieces and let melt using the double-boiler method. Add cognac to butter mixture and mix until blended. Add the melted chocolate mixture and mix until blended.
Put mixture into the refrigerator and let rest for at least two hours. After truffle mixture is solid again take walnut size pieces and form into balls. Cover truffles with cocoa powder. Ready.

I keep them in the fridge in an airtight container (but you can keep them also at room temeprature). At least 30 minutes before you want to serve them take them out of the freezer so that they have room temperature again.

Happy Holidays
Thorsten



... and ...
Sunshinemom (Blog: Tongue Ticklers) has uploaded a photo for Cinnamon-Cognac-Truffles on Flickr. Thank you for making these cookies.

Mini Christmas Muffins

© All rights reserved, Thorsten Kraska, 2009

The scent of christmas with cinnamon, cardamom and cloves combined with dried apricots, cranberries, currants and dried orange peelmake this mini muffins. Not as soft and moist as usual muffins are these treats great with a cup of coffee, tea or hot cacao on a cold winter day, for advent and during the holidays.

Mini Christmas Muffins
(depending on your mini muffin forms up to 40)
125g softened butter
100g sugar
2 eggs (medium size)
1 dash salt
200g all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1 teaspoon grounded cardamom seeds
1 knife point grounded cloves
120g dried fruit (I use dried apricots, dried cranberries, currants and dired orange peel)

Note: I always use fresh grounded cardamom and cloves, there flavor is much more intense. Especially for cardamom you need to take care, fresh cardamom can be overhelming. Then use less than 1 teaspoon. You will need around 10-12 green cardamom pods. Open them and ground the seeds only in a mortar. Also use fresh cloves and ground them. They are much better than cloves powder. I used cinnamon very often, so the cinnamon powder isn't getting old.

Cute the dried fruit into small pieces. Set aside. Mix flour and baking powder. Set aside. Preheat oven to 200°C. Prepare your mini muffin forms. I use paper forms and bake the muffins on a baking tray. To assure that the paper forms keep their form and shape, I put three little forms into each other. After baking you can remove the outer ones easily again.

Mix the softened butter, sugar, eggs and salt until creamy and foamy. Add the spices and mix until blended. Add the flour mixture and mix until just blended. Add the dried fruit, but leave some pieces to top the mufins later. Fold into the dough.

Fill the little muffin forms with the dough and put one or a few dried fruit pieces on top (I often use the dried orange peel only for this). Bake muffins until done. Baking time depends on size of your forms. For very little ones you need about 10 minutes for bigger ones a longer. Take out of oven when done and let cool on a cooling rack.

Before serving let it snow and dust them generousely with powder sugar. Enjoy!



© All rights reserved, Thorsten Kraska, 2009

Cream of Scorzonera Soup

© All rights reserved, Thorsten Kraska, 2009

Scorzonera (Schwarzwurzeln, salsify, Schorseneer) are a root vegetable, which were in past times sometimes called the "asparagus of the poor man". When you peel and wash them they have a similar look as asparagus. But they are sure different in taste. They have a delicate sweet touch.

They are easy to cook. I have used them for a very creamy soup or a soupy puree, whatever you would like to call it.


Schwarzwurzel-Cremesuppe (Cream of Scorzonera Soup)
(about 4 servings)

1000g Scorzonera
500mL vegetable broth
150ml white wine
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion
250g celery
8 slices bacon
4 tablespoons dry sherry
100 to 300mL whipping cream
salt and pepper to taste
Parsley to garnish

Peel and clean onion, celery and Scorzonera, cut into pieces. Heat butter in a suited pot and stew the vegetables for a few minutes on medium high heat, but do not let brown. Add broth and white wine and let cook for about 20 minutes. I always started with less broth than the given amount. You can add more broth later, if the soup is too thick.

After 20 minutes puree the vegetables (e.g. with a hand blender), add sherry and salt and pepper to taste. Now you can add also more broth if the soup is too thick. Add as much whipping cream as you like to get the conistency. As more you add as smoother the taste will get. Keep soup warm.

Fry the bacon slices until browned. Cut into smaller pieces.

Serve the soup with bacon and some parsley for garnish. Serve with a glass of a dry white wine and if you like with some white bread.




© All rights reserved, Thorsten Kraska, 2009

When you prepare the Scorzonera I suggest to wear disposable gloves, because the Scorzonera will excrete gluey sap. First wash off all remaining earth from the roots, than peel the roots carefully. Cut roots into pieces for this recipe.

Christmas Fun Project: Ginger Bread Ravioli (Lebkuchen-Ravioli)

© All rights reserved, Thorsten Kraska, 2009

I found the recipe for Ginger Bread Ravioli (Lebkuchenravioli) a few years ago and thought that this would be the perfect recipe for some christmas fun. Actually it is a recipe for jam filled gingerbread cookies, but with a bit of fantasty you could turn it into an Italien look alike Pasta Dish. The gingerbread cookies are based on a dough for typical German Lebkuchen. You will need some special ingredients, which might be difficult to get where you live, but these are making these cookies so special. Before we start the fun, here the recipe and all you need for the fun.


Lebkuchen-Ravioli (Ginger Bread Ravioli)
(for about 20 raviolis)

...for the ravioli dough
350g honey
100g sugar
100g butter
1 egg (medium-size)
1 tablespoon dutch cocao powder (unsweetend)
2 teaspoons ginger bread seasoning (see note)
600g all purpose flour
5g salts of harthorn
2g potash
3 tablespoons milk


...for the dried fruit filling
dried fruit (e.g. prunes, cranberries, apricots, figs, dates)
walnuts
Chop dried fruit and walnuts into small pieces and mix them together


...for the dried fruit filling
marzipan (marchpane, almond paste
raisins
rum
Soak raisins in rum. Take two or three soaked raisins and wrap them in a little piece of marchpane


...for the jam filling
strawberry jam or any other jam you like
Use about 1/2 teaspoon for filling


...for the nougat filling
solid nougat, cut into small cubes
Form the cubes into little balls for the filling



...for the Italian Pasta Dish Idea
green food coloring
red food coloring
raspberry jam
coconut flakes
white chocolate
marzipan



Notes
Ginger bread seasoning: In Germany you can get this seasoning during advent. I always use a commercial product. The one I use contains cinnamon, coriander, aniseed, allspice, cloves, star-anise, cardamon, ginger, and vanilla. The ginger bread seasoning might be difficult to get, but it is worthwhile to try it, because to get the right mixture of spices is difficult.
Potash and salts of hartshorn are the typical baking agent in christmas bakery. They work a little like baking powder or soda, but are very different though. They add a typical taste, create a different texture and they don't loos there baking characteristics during th elong resiting time. When you dissolve potash in milk a strong smell will occur, which is typical.
For the filling there are no amounts given. Use as much or less as you like.


Directions
Mix honey, butter and sugar in a pot and heat over low heat until sugar is dissolved completely. Remove from heat and let cool down slightly. In a bowl mix flour, cocoa, ginger bread spice mixture. Add honey mixture to flour and mix using the dough hook. Add egg and mix again. Dissolve salts of hartshorn in 2 tablespoons of milk in a small bowl. In a second small bowl dissolve potash in 1 tablespoon milk. Add first salts of hartshorn mixture to dough and mix well. Than add potash mixture and mix well. Wrap dough into cling film and set aside for at least 24 hours at room temperature.

On the next day: preheat oven 180°C. Line out baking tray with parchment paper. Dust the work space with some flour and knead the dough a few times. If the dough is too sticky add a little more of flour. Divide dough into smaller parts you can handle easily. Roll out the dough very thinly (about 2mm). Dust the dough with flour from time to time as you would do it with pasta dough to prevent it from stick to workspace. The dough should be elastic, but dry. Halve dough. On one part mark squares of about 5cm. On each square place some filling. Now cover it with the second half of the dough and press slightly with your fingers in between the fillings to mark the ravioli. Cut out the ravioli with a knife.

For each ravioli cookie: press the edges slightly together with your fingers. Seal the edges by pressing a fork into the edges. Place ravioli on baking tray and bake for about 12 minutes until ravioli a slightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool completely on cooling rack. Keep them in an airtight container. They will get better with time, but I guess they will not stay that long.

Why don't you try to present ginger bread ravioli like a pasta dish? Here is the idea (and take a look at the photos below). Colour small coconut flakes with some drops of green food coloring to represent chopped herbs. Color marzipan with red food coloring. Roll small pieces of red colored marzipan into little balls to represent cherry tomatoes (for the stems I have used real stems from cherry tomartoes). Scrap pieces from white chocolate to make "parmesan cheese". Put some raspberry jam as tomato sauce on a pasta plate. Sprinkle some green coconut flakes over sauce. Place some gingerbread raviolie on the plate. Sprinkle with some white chocolate. At last place the marzipan tomatoes around the ravioli. Ready to serve ginger bread ravioli.




...and now to the xmas fun project with photos



© All rights reserved, Thorsten Kraska, 2009

On this photo you can see the dough rolled out, squares are marked and fillings placed on the dough. In front a nougat cube, behind marzipan ball, left to it strawberry jam and behind you can also see the dried fruit filling. If you click on the photo you will be re-directed to the photo on flickr, where the single fillings are marked.




© All rights reserved, Thorsten Kraska, 2009

Close up shot of ginger bread ravioli. You can see the the mark of the fork to seal the ravioli. Close the ravioli carefully and avoid air pockets.




© All rights reserved, Thorsten Kraska, 2009

Serving idea: you can see the marchepan (marzipan) tomato, the white chocolate to represent cheese and the colored coconut flakes.




© All rights reserved, Thorsten Kraska, 2009

Close up shot of serving gingerbread ravioli as an Italian Pasta Dish.




© All rights reserved, Thorsten Kraska, 2009

Close up shot of a gingerbread ravioli with marzipan filling, topped with some jam, white chocolate and some green coconut flakes. The photo at the beginning of this post is a close up shot of gingerbread ravioli with strawberry jam filling.




Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!
Here another fun shot. There is always the big question: will we have snow on christmas eve? With these Lebkuchen-Ravioli you can have snow any time you like.



© All rights reserved, Thorsten Kraska, 2009

Pfeffernüsse (Peppery Ginger Bread Cookies)

© All rights reserved, Thorsten Kraska, 2009

Very traditional, very spicy christmas cookies. These gingerbread cookies have a wonderful flavour of pepper, ginger, and anise. They should be soft inside and crunchy outside. A lemon glaze complements these treats.

Pepper was a very expensive spice during the time these cookies were invented. And for christmas one have used this special ingredient. It was a sign of wealth being and it was a sign for a special feast. So Pfeffernüsse contain much freshly ground pepper. Don’t reduce the amount, because the peppery taste make the difference. Pfeffernüsse are not difficult to make, yet so tasty, and are a typical German advent and christmas cookie.

Pfeffernüsse
(for about 48 cookies)

80g butter
100g dark molasses (Zuckerrübensirup)
100g sugar
1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
1/2 teaspoon freshly grounded anise seed
A little less than 1/2 teaspoon freshly grounded black pepper
250g all purpose flour
1 knife point baking soda

... for the glaze:
80g powder sugar
1 tablespoon lime juice (maybe a bit less or more)


Mix flour and baking soda and set aside.

Bring butter, dark molasses, sugar, and spices in a pot to a single boil and remove from heat. Add flour at once and stir in quickly. Let dough cool down. Then wrap it into cling film and put into the fridge. Let it rest overnight.

Next day: The dough should be very firm. Halve it with a knife. Set one half aside for the moment and put it back in the fridge. Divide the halved dough into 8 pieces. Each of the 8 pieces divide into 3 little pieces (they should have almost the size of wal nuts). Knead the little pieces of dough, so that they get a little waxier. Then roll them between your hands to form a little ball. Place them on a plate and put in the fridge. Do the same with the second half of the dough.

Let the dough balls rest in the fridge for one hour. Meanwhile preheat oven 180°C. Line out two baking trays with baking paper. Take the dough balls out of the fridge and put them on the baking tray. Bake the cookies in the lower third of the oven for 12 to 15 minutes. Cookies will flatten a bit and should be golden. They are still soft when you take them out of the oven. Let them cool completely on a cooling rack.

Glazing: Mix powdered sugar with as little lime juice as possible to form a glaze. The glaze should be pasty, so use as much lime juice you need to get this consistency. Store the Pfeffernüsse between layers of parchment paper in an airtight container. You can store them in a dry and not too warm place for about 4 weeks.

Note: if you bake the cookies for about 12 minutes they are more soft. After 15 minutes they are more crunchy after cooling.




© All rights reserved, Thorsten Kraska, 2009



About the photos
Photos are worthwhile a thousand words. Sometimes photos show more than you can describe in the directions. The glaze for example is described as pasty. In the photos you can see that it has a certain dimension. It is very thick and doesn't flow as you may know it from other glazes. And take a look at the shape. They are really rounded, indicating that I have baked them a little longer. I like my Pfeffernüsse very crunchy. If you bake them as described in the directions they may be more flat after cooling down.

A year before, I have used a similar setting as in the first photo, but used a plain black background (see photo below). And although I like this shot, I thought the angle was to leveled and the background is missing some structure. The plain black is killing a bit dimension and also atmosphere. It seems a bit artificial.

A year later I used again a balck background and used an all black background. I replaced the white plate against a black one. But instead a plain black backround this one has more structure.

In the 2nd photo I was going for a more "conventional" setting using brown and green as the main colors.



© All rights reserved, Thorsten Kraska, 2009