Christmas Season without ...

... the smell of heavenly baked goods is like, like christmas without a christmas tree and glühwein and presents and family and more glühwein and so sad it makes me burst into tears while i'm writing this! it's just not the real deal. it's not complete. but this year – at least until today and for at least another unpredictable while – it's the brutal reality of my life!
i wish, i were only half as good as one of the gazillion wonder women out there, who seem to do it all. you know them (probably are one of them) the women who raise a family, work a full time job, wake up every morning with gorgeous hair, bake, cook, clean, do the laundry, drive the kids to ballet and soccer, throw parties, organize their husband ... mother, wife and super model! well, i'm not! not that i'm complaining but, how do they do it? seriously, how? if you know how, please let me know. they look fresh and sexy at any time. i look like a herd of monkeys got me 10 minutes after i left the house. if i could only manage the "gorgeous hair" part, i'd be extremly grateful ;o)

anyways, back to where i came from. christmas time without baked goods. i just don't have the time this year ... feels pathetic to say so but it's true and it breaks my heart. this was my kitchen exactly one year ago. isn't it pretty?

and it smelled divine! i loved it. it was the perfect winter. snow outside, cakes, cookies, muffins, home made jam and deliciouness inside.

this is how i feel since, i don't know, i guess since there are no more cookies in my kitchen!

there were no more cookies and that's were i just simply snaped.

after feeling like this for days and days and days and days and days and well, you know days, i got around to decorating the house a little. so, even though it doesn't smell like christmas cookies, it looks a bit like christmas in my kitchen ... that makes me very happy and i feel a bit less like losing it any second ;)

happy 1. advent, enjoy the christmas season as much as you can! don't snap, sit down, enjoy a coffee and take it as it comes. that's what i'm gonna do during the next weeks. and maybe i get lucky and find the time to bake. if not, who says christmas cookies don't taste delicious in january?

xoxo J.

Chewy Gooey Delights of Heaven!

they actually should be called "chewy gooey chocolately delights of heaven". i came across the recipe this morning on the blog of the absolutely fabulous Bakerella and had to try it immediately. everything she says about these little pieces of heaven is true! yes, they're super easy but most importantly they're extra-super-über-heavenly-delicious.
i'm actually thinking about hiding some from the sister so i don't have to share them all ;o) unfortunately, the sister is too cute, i cannot do that to her. y'all should have seen her eyes light up when she tried the first one. i love chewy cocolate meringues but i love the sisters even more!
they are perfect for a little sonntagssüß! just the right amount of chocolately süß and the perfect amount of sunny sonntags happiness to serve them to a huge cup of iced coffee.

want to see more? but please – pretty please with a cherry on top! – don't just look at them. bake them! all you need are 4 ingredients: egg whites, sugar, cocoa powder and chocolate.

i looooooooove the texture of stiff egg whites. 

instead of a scoop i used piping bags to "slosh" the batter onto the baking sheets – works perfectly too.

my version turned out to be a bit darker then Bakerellas but that doesn't change the deliciouness a bit. i wish i could tell y'all just how sinfully wonderful these little meringues taste. if you love chewy, if you love gooey, if you love chocolate and the sinnfull smell of baked goods wafting through your house, give these babies a chance. plus, there's like a ton of air in them. how bad can they be for our hips? sweet sunday sonntagssüß!

thank you Bakerella, thank you Salty Tart!

i didn't think it possible but today i fell a little more in love with baking – xoxo J.

Howdy y'all

ladies and gentleman, for – soon to be – obvious reasons i'd like y'all to embrace the fact that for today, i am not your sweet sugar J. but sweet cowgirl J. including good old worn chaps, boots and a stetson. the stetson would be pink ... of course.

y'all might wonder why. well, first of all i always wanted to be a cowgirl, so why not. but, the real reason is the white texas sheet cake that filled my heart with sugarlove and the desire to become the cowboy princess of the lone star state.

yummy cake! easy cake! pretty cake! good cake! moist and sweet and überlicious cake! this link will take y'all directly to the recipe and while y'all are there take a look around Hollys blog.

yes, not only did i spinkle (i like the word sprinkle) the cake pink, i took the pictures with my awesome hipstamatic iphone app using – of course – the pink lense bettie xl.

i asked the viking if the pink sugar spinkles would make the cake to girly and if he would prefer "manly" blue or black sugar spinkles ... he didn't even bother to reply and i'm sure i saw him role his eyes when he left the kitchen with a very manly coffee ;o) but even with all pink sprinkles he's a fan of the texas sheet cake. fingerlickinglicious!

xoxo J.

p.s. if i wouldn't be madly in love with a viking, i'd definitely be the lady of a cowboy!

Gato de Almendra

spanish almond cake. spanischer mandelkuchen! i only need one word to sum it up: devine!
and here's how the it goes – scroll down if you want the US version.

250g geschälte und gemahlene mandeln
250g puderzucker
8 eier
1/2 tl. vanillemark
zitronenschale von einer bio-zitrone
1 msp. zimt

24cm springform, backtrennpapier, fett für den rand, puderzucker zum bestäuben

*den ofen auf 180°C vorheizen, den boden der springform mit backtrennpapier auslegen und den rand mit fett einreiben

*eier trennen, eigelb in eine rührschüssel, das eiweiß in eine andere
*puderzucker auf das eigelb sieben und glatt rühren
*vanille, zimt und die abgeriebene zitronenschale dazugeben
*mandelmehl unterrühren

– bis zu diesem schritt darf gerne ein mixer oder eine küchenmaschine eingesetzt werden. mir ist der putzaufwand dafür allerdings zu hoch! eine schüssel und der liebste rührlöffel reicht vollkommen aus. –

*eiweiß steif schlagen und gaaaaaaaaaaaanz vorsichtig mit einem rührlöffel unter die teigmasse heben

*den teig in die vorbereitete springform füllen und im vorgeheizten ofen ca. 50 minuten bei 180°C backen

*abkühlen lassen
*dick mit puderzucker bestäuben

*mit eis und sahne servieren

+++

US measurement

2 cups peeled and finely ground almonds (almond flour)
2 cups confectioners' sugar
8 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
lemon peel from one lemon
1 pinch cinnamon

24cm spring form, parchment paper, grease, confectioners' sugar for dusting

*preheat the oven to 350°F, line the spring form with parchment paper and – to make sure absolutely nothing gets even the tiniest chance to stick to the form – grease the sides

*separate the eggs into 2 mixing bowls
*sift the confectioners' sugar over the egg yolk and mix until it's smooth 
*add the vanilla, cinnamon and the lemon peel
*"throw" in the almond flour and give it another good mix until it's a smooth dough

– up to now y'all are welcome to use any kind of mixing device you feel happy with. i personally use a good old wooden spoon. but only because i'm way to lazy to clean the blender twice –

*beat the egg whites until stiff (here's the point where i run asap to my blender. no way am i beating the whites stiff with a spoon. if y'all are up for that, knock yourself out)
*very very very very very very carefully fold the stiff egg whites in the dough
*fill the dough into the prepared spring form and bake for about 50 minutes at 350°F

*let it cool
*dust it with a lot of confectioners' sugar

*serve with ice cream and – because it's better this way and y'all are worth it :) – whipped cream

have a fabulous time in the kitchen. the cake is überdelicous without any doubt! but with tons of love it truely becomes devine!

xoxo J.

SüßSüßSüß sind alle unsere Pausen!

die letzten sonnenstrahlen – obwohl wir dem wetter unseren rücken gekehrt haben! – verdienen unsere aufmerksamkeit. und sie kitzeln in der tat noch sonniger auf der nase, wenn es was süßes zum lunch gibt. nicht selbstgebacken, zumindest nicht von S. oder J., aber mit ganz viel liebe in der lieblingsküche zubereitet. schmandkuchen! yummy! für die S. und eine nachlunchliche (da musste vorher noch ne portion salz ins frollein J.) belgische waffel für J.

euch allen ein süßes wochenende. lasst euch vom ofen wärmen und fliegt von einem zuckerschock zum nächsten.

xoxo J. und S.

I didn't ...

.. do it myself! so am i allowed to write about it? of course i am. what's being baked in the family, gets eaten by the family and is part of this sweet sinful sugar world.

i honestly cannot decide if i enjoy more being the baker or being baked for. i LOVE baking. i LOVE cakes and cookies and creams and muffins and and icing and chocolates and cupcakes and frosting. I LOVE eating cake and more often then not a good bloody t-bone steak ...

but is it better to be the one baking away the day? or is it better to be the one eating away the cake?

a little while ago – occasion: aunt u.'s birthday – i was the one doing all the eating (i baked a little but really it's not that big a deal, people are used to me baking something and having my baked goods pushed into their arms ... if they want it or not!). and i LOVED it.
on the menu that day – among tons of other heavenly deliciousness – were: spanish almond cake (dad made it ... it runs in the family!) and italien pine nut cake (aunt u. made it ... i told y'all, it runs in the family)!

i could not for the love of sugar decide, which cake i wanted to eat first. i had to (once again) put my greedy side on display and eat both at the same time. and i didn't do it only once. nooooooo, that wouldn't be fun ... i did it twice. delicious! that night i fell into bed very cake happy.

deciding between eating and baking is impossible – for moi! but enjoying both is pure bliss. thank you S., thank you my dearest family and thank you all the bakers in the world for baking!

xoxo J.

p.s. i'll try to get the almond cake recipe from my dad. it's fluffy almondy magic. i simply have to share it with y'all!

Samstagsbackfrühstück

ich steh auf frühstück. maaaaaann, steh ich auf frühstück! unter der woche keine spektakularitäten, aber am wochenende? da will ich entweder ganz fein auswärts frühstücken – und das muss wirklich was gutes sein, denn das frollein ist anspruchsvoll und gibt sich nicht mit schnöden wurstundkäsestapeln und einem *pöh* osaft zufrieden. da muss entweder die lokalität gaaanz besonders sein oder der frühstücksteller fabulös. beides kriegt übrigens das wunderschöne *tati* hin, nur mal so für alle hamburger jungs und deerns, die trés francais einen samstag- oder sonntagmorgen verbringen wollen. oder mit ricard und einer wundervollen galette einen joli abend :)

also entweder 1a-auswärts – oder eben deluxe zuhause! denn genau daaaher kommen die hohen auswärtsansprüche. wer zuhause auf frühstückszaubereien steht, der ist eben ein verwöhntes gör ;) einziges problem bei ganz viel geschnibbeltem obst, einer jummie wurstundkäseauswahl und schäumigstem kaffee: das dauuuuuert, bis man bei mir frühstücken kann!
also, zuckerschwesta J., *warte, das fehlt noch* und *halt, ich mach noch kurz* – und das, obwohl das frühstück heut nicht so ganz groß ausgefallen ist ... irgendwann stand dann aber der erdbeersekt auf dem tisch (faaabelhaftes getränk für samstagsmorgens um 11!) und wir haben die lipperländische dosenwurst geschmaust (die sieht so fies aus, die durfte nicht aufs foto ;)) und überhaupt hatten wir ja nicht soo viel zeit – denn wir wollten backen!

noch nie haben wir zusammen gebacken? jaaa, ich hab der J. schon mal beim torte eindecken zugeguckt und die J. hat schonmal frosting für einen kuchen mitgebracht, den ich gebacken habe – aber so richtig zusammen am ofen? premieeeeere!

heute: *natas* – leckaaaaa! wir hamburger hasen sind da ja sehr verwöhnt: im portugiesenviertel an jeder ecke, auf dem galaostrich in der schanze, in den vielen kleinen portugiesischen cafés auf der weidenallee – natas en masse, lecker en masse!
jetzt aber mal selber en masse:

*1 rolle blätterteig (sorry, ich kann mich nicht durchringenm blätterteig selbstzumachen ... da kenn ich keine scham, einfach ins supermärktische kühlregal zu greifen!) ausrollen, kreise ausstechen (ca. 10 cm) und die mulden von einem gefetteten  muffinblech auskleiden. wenn der erste ausgerollte teig nicht ganz reicht, einfach die reste übereinanderlegen und nochmal ausrollen :)

 (mein mehl wohnt am allerschönsten!)

backofen vorheizen: 200° umluft (225° elektro)
jetzt die crääääm:
*500ml milch mit
*1/2 TL gemahlene vanille (oder das mark aus einer vanileschote + vanilleschote) und
*1 TL butter aufkochen
in einer schüssel *275g zucker mit einer *prise salz und *2 EL mehl mischen, mit ordentlich schmacke in die milch rühren, nochmal aufkochen lassen
*5 eigelb und *1 ei verquirlen, ein paar löffel der heißen creme dazugeben und verrühren, alles ind en topf geben

(Zuckerpuppe J. im einsatz ... und es würde mich nicht wundern, wenn hier noch ein zweiter natas-eintrag folgt ;))

creme in die blätterteigmulden verteilen und 10-12 minütchen backen.
jedes törtchen mit ein bisschen *braunem zucker bestreuen und nochmal für 3-4 minuten unter den grill im ofen stellen, bis der zucker karamellisiert ...

jetzt die natas noch 10 minuten abkühlen lassen und lauwarm oder ganz kalt wegputzen :)
haaaach, beim portugiesen sind sie noch leckerer ... vielleicht das nächste mal einfach milch mit sahne für die creme mischen? hat irgendwer professionelle natas-DIY-erfahrungen? merci – na, besser: graaaacias! – für tipps! :)

habt einen wundervollen und süüüüßen samstag!
La panadera S.

5 times a Year ...

... and that's it! fortunately not for cakes and cookies and muffins and sweet sins in general.
but as painful as it is, that's the rule for the birthday cake of family h.: we're only having it 4 – now 5 – times a year! thank you viking :) and we're taking this rule very serious. weird, unexplainable, not quite sane maybe but that's the deal. i'm pretty sure the universe would not implode if i'd dare to bake it a sixth time buuuuut ... do i really want to be the one responible? yeah, no thank you!

the cake is everything and way more a cake should be. sweet, delicious, full of happiness and bliss. no wonder, it's the traditional birthday cake my mom made and still makes for our birthdays, every year. for dad, the sister and me. and every year – when we were little – she made it for herself, too. i'm happy to report she doesn't have to do that anymore!

all i know is, it wouldn't be a real birthday if the cake wouldn't be there! it's essential. it's more important than lots of presents. it's my birthday-breakfast, birthday-lunch and the birthday-afternoon snack.

the cake itself is a very basic cake. fluffy, moist dough with either chocolate chips – the mom (even though she'd prefer the other version more. but she loooooooooooooves her daughters too much to ruin the cake for us) the sister and moi cheer for the chocolate chips – or rum raisins – the dad's favourite (we spent most of dads birthdays picking out raisins, yuck).

but what actually makes the cake so überspecial is every single birthday memory of the last XX years ... like i'm going to admit my age here. pfffffffffft ;o)

the last birthday happend to be the vikings birthday a few weeks ago. chocolate chip birthday cake with tons of love! no problem!

never ever ever ever ever – seriously y'all – never ever use margarine for baking! only if you must. only if butter would actually honestly for sure and all eternity kill you. i mean it! why my mom wrote it done? i have no idea. she'd never use margarine for anything. butter is the real deal, baby!

birthday mornings are the best. cake and coffee and presents.

yummy! next month is moms birthday. and then we have to wait again until march. horror but so worth it ;)

happy fabulous birthday y'all!
xoxo J.

p.s. i'd love to give you the recipe but ... i'd really like that ... if i do, i'd have to shoot you though.

LemonyLemonDelight

i love lemons! i love the smell and the color and the taste and all the sweet things you can make out of lemons ... lemonade, yummy ... and i love how amazing they look as a centerpiece on the sunday dinner table. to sum it up: i really love lemons. and lemon trees. so pretty. ohhhhhh and my parents have a beautiful painting of lemons in the dining room. it would fit perfectly into my future dream kitchen ... fine, i'll stop ;o)

last year i spent the summer baking lemon-cream-meringue cakes for the viking. he really loves lemons too – coincidence or fate? this year i came across a great blog called Clockwork Lemon and one of the first things i found while browsing was this! it looked too good to be true. i'm crazy about moist pound cakes – beats any kind of fancy layer cake any day. i had to tweak the recipe a bit for my liking – a little less sugar and a little different icing – but other than that i had the cake in the oven just minutes after reading the blog for the first time. thank you, lady lemon, for sharing this lemonylemondelight!

this is how my first shot turned out – a tiny bit too dark in one corner. i forgot to tweak the temperature of my very – due to my generally sunshiny personality and in this case fear of god he (the oven, not god) might blow up if i'm not gracious, i'm gonna use a  kind word – "excentric" oven.
ladys and gentleman, i give you my very own, very first, very unbelievably-super-delicious-it'll-knock-you-outta-your-high-heels lemon pound cake.

this is how it turns out once the oven was set straight and did what it's supposed to do: bake at the temperature i choose!

and if you're not careful this is what you'll find when you come back to the table from a 15 meter "can you get some more milk out of the kitchen for the coffee"-run.

since my first time, i did it again and again and again and again and yes, again and again. in lots of different shapes and forms and sizes. once you go lemon pound cake ... yeah baby ;o)

before i let you try out the recipe, this is what i have to add: there is something seriously, wickedly wrong with you, if i haven't convinced you yet to try it yourself. love the lemon!

xoxo J.

p.s. sorry sweet S. i know i'll never be able to pull you over to the lemon side. or ... maybe?

Auf in die Kuchenschlacht!

nein, niemals würde ich mit kuchen werfen. nicht einen krümel gönne ich irgendwelchen griesgrämigen streithanseln, sahne gehört auf den kuchen und nicht auf ein tortengeschoss ... und eigentlich ist es gar kein "krieg", der hier ausgefochten wird, sondern eine spaßige anstachelung zum mittagspausengestalten ... schon vom *post-it war* gehört?

in vive la france geht er richtig ab - aber sowas lassen wir nicht an hamburch vorbeiziehen! spitzenkollege tilo hat das equipment besorgt (war wohl die wiedergutmachung fürs "mich in die alster schubsen" tags zuvor ... na, ich führ's mal nicht weiter aus, aber DEN schreck muss ich auf jeden fall noch in backwerk umwandeln!). und kurze zeit später hat auch schon unser heißgeliebter elmo aus dem büro runtergewunken!

natürlich durfte er nicht alleine bleiben, und wir zuckerschnecken müssen in dieser schlacht selbstverständlichst auch unsere ofenliebe zum ausdruck bringen :)

es ist so großartig, die leute zu beobachten, die sich unten freuen. und wir freuen uns noch mehr! :)

reinhauen und mit post'-it'en!
die papierverliebten bäckerinnnen J. und S.

Roll me in Almonds ...

... and i'm happy! alright, not me. but my little almond covered chocolate candy cookie balls. perfect bite size. perfect balance between cookie, white chocolate and almonds. pop one in your mouth and let your tongue indulge in this sweet little piece of the schlaraffenland. at least this is how i imagine the land of milk and honey. little chocolate candy cookie balls floating around and if you feel like one you just have to open your mouth ... i think i'm gonna rename my fridge "schlaraffenland" ;o)


i actually found this recipe in the "cook" book the sweetest S. was writing about yesterday but my trusty grocery store was basically out of everything yesterday  – plus it didn't really help that i (like most days) was shopping way too late for other stores to still be open – so i had to improvise. but i like improvising so it didn't really bother me. i like when things don't go like planed so i can tweak them like i really want them to be. most days i wouldn't do so without the "emergency" that something goes wrong though. if i am able to do it exactly like the recipe says i do it – to me it feels like cheating on the person who took hours and month and so much hard work and dedication and love to actually write a cook book. it's not fair to them. at least the first time it should be done "right". after that i can start tweaking it. so if i ever get to write a cook book y'all better do like i tell you to – at least for the first time ;o)

here it goes: my version of chocolate cookie candy almond balls
300g white chocolate
130g butter cookies
100g heavy cream
2 tbsp. rum
100g almonds

chop the chocolate into small pieces

mix the chocolate with the cream and let it melt in a bowl over hot, steaming water ...

... stir until it's smooth and glossy.

crumble the cookies up real fine (i used a food processor but you can do it by hand, if you prefer) and – you knew it would come at some point – add 2 tbsp. rum

pour the melted chocolate-cream over the cookies and mix it together until it's a – it'll look kinda gooey – yummy chocolate-cookie-sauce. cover the bowl up and put it into your fridge for at least 2 hours. 

get to work with a teaspoon, take of small portions, roll them to little balls between your hands, roll the neat little balls in the choped (make your food processor work a lil for you) almods and voila there done. keep them in the fridge and don't forget to make a trip to the land of milk and honey once inna while to give yourself the amazing sensation of one or two or three chocolate cookie candy almond balls.

gotta go, the dough for my strawberry cake is done and needs some attention. and i still have to cook some pudding. and melt chocolate ... the life i have :)

xoxo J.

p.s. the viking is coming home tomorrow. thought y'all like to know ;)