Quarkstollen
Archive of posts from December 2005
Roasted Clementine and Chocolate Tart With Macadamia Nut Crust
The crust was a bit too crumbly. I used satsuma tangerines instead of clementines; I prefer to use organic ones when I know the peel will be eaten. The slices were a little on the thick side because I didn’t want them to disintegrate, but they weren’t quite soft enough. The bi...
Vanilla-Hazelnut Cheesecake
The hazelnut brittle never turned into a paste for me, even after adding a bit of Frangelico. I think I cooked the sugar syrup too long so the caramel was too hard. I couldn’t find Neufchâtel cheese, so I substituted with half quark and half cream cheese. This was the first ti...
Almond Apricot Pound Cake with Amaretto
The directions say to grind the almonds in the first step, but don’t mention them in the remainder of the recipe! I incorporated them along with the chopped apricots. I was able to find Odense marzipan at Whole Foods in Oakville. I used peach schnapps: unfortunately, it tastes...
Black Cake
The original recipe comes from Laurie Colwin’s Home Cooking who in turn got it from her babysitter, a woman from St. Vincent, who got it from her mother. The main differences are that Colwin’s calls for burnt sugar essence while Lawson uses treacle (molasses). I think the burn...
Persimmon Meringue Stacks
The persimmons (I used Fuyu) are marinated in a wine syrup. It was difficult to whip just two egg whites in my mixer, so I used a trick I learned in school: elevating the bowl slightly by slipping a dishcloth underneath the brackets. The brown sugar meringue didn’t form stiff ...
Golden New-Fashioned Dried Fruitcake with Cashews, Pistachios and Bourbon
A lengthy list of ingredients, and a long baking time, but this fruitcake is worth it. Wonderful rich base flavour from butter, ground cashews and bourbon. The various dried fruits contribute both sweet and tart flavours, without the excess from traditional candied fruit. It’s...
Fruit and Spice Loaf Cake
According to the notes, this cake is in the style of the classic French pain d’epices. The blend of spices for this cake is dazzling: star anise, cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, coriander, cardamom and nutmeg. However, the cake turned out to be a letdown. It was quite dense, a...
Oatmeal Bulgur Wheat Bread
The trouble started when my new mixer groaned under the strain of incorporating the flour into this bread. I took it out of the bowl and kneaded it by hand. The dough seemed very dry and crumbly, and I had to split it into two pieces. It never became elastic and didn’t pass th...