Bircher Muesli

Muesli is a Swiss creation, and Bircher Muesli is a variant invented in the 1900s. Growing up with Swiss parents it's not surprising then that I grew up eating the stuff. Religiously. It wasn't strictly a breakfast item for us, it was a delicious snack at any time of the day, even as a dessert. We'd even often eat it with lashings of whipped cream. Probably not such a healthy addition, but bloody delicious nonetheless. These days I skip the cream, but I have fond memories.

Over the past few years I've seen Bircher Muesli pop on cafe menus, I'm not surprised though as it's a nutritious and satisfying dish. However, it's ridiculously easy (and cost effective) to make at home.

Now that summer is basically here, and seasonal summer fruits are plentiful, I've started making my usual weekly batches of it. You think I'd be sick of eating the stuff all through my childhood, but no, it's a summer staple. You can use different fruits, and different yogurts, and different additions such as nuts or dried fruits etc. So no batch ever has to taste quite the same. But every time you'll still have a wonderfully soft and creamy Bircher Muesli.

So today I'll share the way I make it, which is pretty much how my mum would traditionally make it, only difference being I like to add nuts and no cream. There are no hard and fast rules about measurements, but I've given a basic guide. And ingredients can easily be customised to your tastes. Just never skip the grated apple, that is sacrosanct!

BIRCHER MUESLI

Ingredients:

1 and 1/2 cups rolled oats
No more than 1 and 1/2 cups milk
juice of one lemon
splash of fruit juice (amount depends on how thin you want your muesli)
yogurt of your choice, approx 3/4 cup, mum would always use 'fruit of the forest'
one apple, grated
any other fruits of your choice, chopped
optional - chopped nuts, eg almonds or hazelnuts

Method:

To prepare the muesli you need to soak some oats in milk overnight. I like to make a decent quantity, a few days worth, so I use an old 2 litre ice cream tub as my container. I use approx 1 and 1/2 cups of rolled oats and just over one cup of milk. I never measure it though but I did on this occasion to give an example. You don't need to measure because basically you just want to slowly pour milk over your required amount of oats until you see the milk just rising above the top layer of oats, then stop. This will give you the right amount of liquid no matter your quantity. The oats will soak up that milk. No need to stir or anything, just leave the container in the fridge overnight.

Tip: you can replace the milk with fruit juice if you wish.

Next day, add the juice of a lemon and pour in a wee bit of fruit juice to loosen up the oats. Stir well. Next, stir in the yogurt. Now add the fruits:


 

You really can just add any of your favourite fruits. Personally I would never skip the grated apple though, it just would not be the same without it, to me it's a traditional must-have.

Finally you can add any other embellishments you like, such as chopped nuts or even a dash of cinnamon.

I find my batches keep well in the fridge for up to 5 days at most, but obviously will depend on the freshness of your ingredients. Also, some added fruits like bananas or apples will not be looking their best after a day or two. If this kind of thing bothers you then you may want to only add the fresh fruit to the batch on the day/s you plan to eat it.

Hummingbird Cake, and a wedding.

I've been absent from my blog for a wee while. My excuse is that I had other things on my plate; a new town, a new job, and a new husband. Well, "new" in the sense that I've never had one before. So yeah, I got married! Last weekend!

It turned out to be a fun and relaxed day. It wasn't expensive or elegant, but it had personality and was just what I'd envisioned, and more. 

To keep costs down I'd decided to do most of the decorations and planning myself, with the help of friends and family of course. I had the dinner catered but with a bevy of friends (who are keen bakers) I decided to do a dessert table. One of my favourites were these cookie monster cupcakes made by my talented friend.

For some stupid reason, I decided to make my own wedding cake. I say stupid because even though I enjoy baking, it's probably not something you want to fuss around with when you have other things to organise in the day or two before your wedding day. That said, I was not making a huge cake and was using a "no fail" recipe". So everything did turn out 'alright on the night'; literally; I was baking this at 9pm two days before the big day. It was actually quite fun, and it felt quite rewarding to have contributed something to the feast.

My cake. Simple but delicious.

Hummingbird cake is a  banana and pineapple cake with a hint of cinnamon and pecans. The flavours are balanced very well and none are over powering, it is the kind of cake that could have general appeal. This particular recipe I used is adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe, and doesn't require too much faffing around. It can be made a couple of days ahead and actually improves in flavour, and will cut easily into 12 wedges but will serve heaps more if you cut into 'squares'.

Ingredients

For the cake:

Nonstick vegetable spray
Plain flour, for pans
3 cups self-rising flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
2 very ripe large bananas, mashed
1 x 250g can crushed pineapple, with juice (use the juice)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 large eggs, beaten

For the frosting:

450g icing sugar

230g cream cheese, room temperature
85g unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon milk, or more if needed
A couple drops of food colouring if desired

Option: use 1/2 cup chopped pecans for decoration
Or use sugar flowers as I did (I cheated and bought mine ready made)

Method:

Preheat oven to 160 Celsius. Spray and flour three 8-by-2-inch round cake pans, tapping out excess flour; set aside. (You can also just use one pan, just clean and re-use it after baking each layer.)
Prepare the cake; in a large bowl, stir to combine self-rising flour, sugar, oil, pecans, bananas, pineapple, vanilla, cinnamon, and eggs.
Divide batter evenly between prepared pans, smoothing with a spatula. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until the tops spring back when gently pressed with your fingertips, 26 to 28 minutes.
Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto wire rack. Re-invert cakes and let them cool completely, top sides up.
Prepare the frosting; in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine sugar, cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon milk on medium speed until frosting is smooth. If needed, add more milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, to achieve the proper spreading consistency.
Using a serrated knife, trim tops of cakes to make level. Place four strips of parchment paper around perimeter of a serving plate or lazy Susan. Place the first layer on the cake plate. Spread the top of the first layer with 1/4 of the frosting. Place the second layer on top and repeat process with another 1/4 of the frosting. Place the remaining layer on top of the second layer bottom side up. Spread entire cake with remaining frosting. If desired, sprinkle the top with pecans. Remove parchment paper strips; refrigerate until ready to serve.

Adapted from a recipe by Martha Stewart.

-Photos courtesy of Shalane Hopkins

Pistachio Ice Cream - The Real Deal

We've been having some lovely warm sunny days lately. Sure we still get the odd cold rainy day but it's definitely beginning to feel like a beautiful summer is just around the corner. I even have the beginnings of a jandal tan. For me even though I "slip, slop, slap" the tan I get from living in my jandals is inevitable (and welcome). It's a nice reminder that it's finally summer. So while my jandle-tan is still a work in progress I thought I should get to work on my ice cream making skills, because for me summer and ice cream go hand in hand (quite literally).

Ice cream is quite a fun thing to make from scratch, and easier than you might think. It's an especially good skill to have if you're a fan of natural ice creams. Pistachio is one of my favourite flavours of ice cream, but I've been totally put off buying it from commercial outlets because they're often full of artificial flavours (not to mention colours) and end up tasting like poo (not that I know what that tastes like). I just really hate that artificial pistachio flavour, it's so in-your-face and lacks all the subtlety and deliciousness of the real deal. Sure a homemade version may not look as pretty (I guess you could add a few drops of green food colouring if you like) but you'll be totally rewarded with a creamy ice cream that sings with the yummy perkiness of real pistachio. You don't even need an ice cream maker to get good results, this recipe works well when made by hand. Handy if you're gadget-less like me.

Ingredients:

125g shelled pistachios

150g caster sugar

350ml milk

150ml cream (just regular whipping cream)

5 egg yolks, lightly beaten

Method:

First you want to roast the pistachios, this will give them extra flavour. To do this, sprinkle the pistachios onto a roasting tray then roast them in a preheated oven (180 Celsius) for 5-10 minutes until just golden. Leave them to cool then blend them with the sugar in a food processor. You want the texture to be quite fine. You can even grind them by hand (this is what I do) in a pestle and mortar. I quite recommend grinding by hand because while you'll get the majority ground to a fine texture it's still nice to have a few bigger chunks in amongst the mix, rather than having a uniform fine grade. Anywayyy, after processing, transfer this mixture to a bowl.

Heat the milk and cream to boiling point in a saucepan, then pour over the ground pistachio mixture, stir and leave to cool. Cover then refrigerate overnight. This will let the flavour infuse.

The next day, heat up the pistachio cream to boiling point. Pour this over the egg yolks, mix then return to pan. Stir over a gentle heat until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. This means that when you dunk a spoon into your pan, pull it out and run your finger down the back of the spoon, if the mixture does not run and the little path you have drawn holds its shape then it's thick enough.

Next, chill the mixture. I like to do this by letting the pan sit in a bowl filled with ice, this cools it quickly before chilling it further in the fridge. Next, transfer the mixture to a suitable container for freezing and pop it in the freezer. It will take about 5-6 hours to freeze. I like to give it a good stir every hour or half hour until it's too hard to stir anymore. This helps beat air into the mixture, and improves the consistency.

Handmade ice cream tends to freezer harder, so soften the mixture at room temperature for about 10 minutes before serving.

Serves 4

Hazelnut Shortbread Wedges

I'm a massive sucker for hazelnuts, well I'm pretty keen on most nuts, but I do love hazelnuts the most. They have such a distinct flavour and to me they seem luxurious (probably partly due to the crazy price). But they also hold a nostalgic place in my heart. 

When I was growing up my mum was a stereotypical domestic goddess and we regularly had fresh baking in the house. Hazelnuts featured highly in her creations. My mum is Swiss so it was quite common for her to use nuts in her baking, quite a change from the regular store-bought goodies that were available in New Zealand at the time. She used hazelnuts a lot in numerous cookie recipes (Totenbeinli being a fave), also on the base of her Linzertorte, and they were also the star in the filling of Nuss Gipfeli (a pastry which I have to  remember to steal the recipe for because they are amaaazing). So even though today's recipe is not one of my mother's, it would not have been out of place in her European style of baking. I shall have to make them for her sometime and see if they get the seal of approval. 

I wonder if other people have flavours or ingredients that hold some nostalgia?

Ingredients:

150g butter

1/2 cup icing sugar

1/3 cup ground hazelnuts

1 and 1/4 cup plain flour

optional: white chocolate and dark chocolate (melt then pipe or drizzle on top of the cooled wedges, you could even dip the shortbread into the chocolate)

Method:

Preheat oven to 150 Celsius.

Grease a 21cm round flan tin with melted butter or oil. A regular cake tin works well too.

Beat the butter and sugar. Add the nuts, beat again.

Fold in the flour. Mix well until combined.

Press the mixture into the tin, smooth the surface. 

Use a sharp knife, score the surface into 16 wedges.

Bake 35-40 minutes until pale golden.

Leave to cool for just a few minutes. 

Carefully remove shortbread from tin, use sharp knife to cut into the scored wedges.
 
Leave the wedges to cool completely, then decorate as desired.


Makes 16 wedges

Nutty And Spicy - Fried Brussels Sprouts

I feel sorry for Brussels sprouts. They seem to be the number one stereotypical vegetable that everyone hates. But is it really true? Do we all hate them? Personally I love them, and I even loved eating them when I was a kid. Sure we grow up disliking different foods, and probably need to try things a few times, or prepared different ways, before we get accustomed to eating them. But it's sad when one poor innocent (and delicious) vegetable has to be the poster-child for "yucky vegetables".

I don't even know if this stereotype has any basis any more, and I don't know how these vicious rumours even start. But I do know that most of the people I know actually like Brussels sprouts, and some (like me) even love them. So today I thought I'd share my fun and yummy way of preparing them. Maybe you could even give it a go if you've never been a fan of these cute little cabbages. 

The flavours in this dish give a bit of excitement to the humble sprout, but they don't overpower. I should also mention that you should feel free to do away with the measurements and just splash stuff in. Taste as you go, add more chilli if you like more kick, and why not sprinkle in some chopped peanuts if you like things more 'nutty'. Brussels sprouts definitely don't have to be that boring ignored vegetable any more. Ignore the myth.

Ingredients:

250g Brussels sprouts (this is about 12 medium sized sprouts)
1 tablespoon crushed fresh ginger, can also grate or finely chop
1 garlic clove, crushed (or grated or chopped)
1 dried red chilli, chopped finely (fresh chilli is fine too)
1 and 1/2 teaspoon thai fish sauce
1 heaped tablespoon peanut butter (I like to use 'crunchy' peanut butter)

Method:

Slice the sprouts into 3 pieces.

Heat a little oil in a pan to a high heat. Peanut oil is ideal.

Add the sprouts and fry for just a minute or two at the most.

Add the ginger, garlic and chilli. Fry for a minute.

Whisk the fish sauce and peanut butter together with a few tablespoons of water, then add to the pan.

Make sure everything is combined well and cook for a few minutes more until they are just tender.

Serves 2 as a large side, or 3 as a small side dish.

Biscotti

Over the last couple of weeks I kinda lost my baking mojo. I've been a bit sick (feeling heaps better now though) and then my fridge up and died. We still have yet to get a replacement fridge, but it should be sorted soon. This meant I haven't been stocking up on staples like milk or butter. But with the price of the stuff, I'm probably doing my wallet a favour. Nearly NZ$5 for a block of butter, that's insanity. But that's a rant for another day.

So anyway, I decided to give myself a kick in the pants and get back into my domestic goddessness, fridge or no fridge, sickness or no sickness. Besides, baking (and eating said baking) is a great way to perk oneself up. So armed with my no fail easy peasy biscotti recipe I was back in the zone, and these have become our dunking biscuit of choice. They are so easy to make and don't require butter. Bonus! Have fun experimenting with flavour combinations, I like using salted pistachios, oh and almonds with orange zest is awesome too. You could even dip, or drizzle, them in chocolate for extra indulgence. For the ones in the photo I used raw almonds (blanched almonds are good too) and the grated zest of one orange.

Ingredients:

375g (3 cups) plain flour
170g (3/4 cup) caster sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
100g nuts, e.g almonds, pistachio, hazelnuts, pinenuts
Other additions could include things like orange zest or crystallised orange, or spices such as cinnamon or aniseed.

Method:

Add all of the ingredients to a large bowl. Mix with a wooden spoon.
Next, use your hands to knead the mixture into a smooth dough.
Halve the dough.
On a lightly floured bench, roll each portion into a log about 20cm long.
Place the two logs onto a lined baking tray, and slightly flatten the tops with your hand.
Bake for 25 minutes at 180 Celsius, or until lightly golden.
Remove from oven and leave to cool for a little while.
Reduce oven temperature to 170 Celsius.
Cut each log on the diagonal, to create slices that are about 1cm thick.
Like this:

Slicing is easiest when using a large serrated knife.

Place the slices onto baking trays and bake for another 15 minutes, or until they start to brown

Makes approx 35-40

Totenbeinli - Hazelnut Cookies

If you love hazelnuts, then you'll love this recipe. The nuts aren't hiding in the shadows, they are the main star. So when you bite into each cookie you are guaranteed to get a good helping of whole ones, and the ground ones will linger in your mouth helped along by the sweet tang of the lemon zest. I love the simple pleasures in life. Hazelnuts are one of mine.

I'm pretty frugal when purchasing ingredients, so when I use 'expensive' ingredients (like these nuts were) then I like to use them in recipes that I feel will show them off at their best. And this Swiss recipe of my mum's is one of my favourite ways to do so. Roasting the hazelnuts adds to the experience even more. Btw "Totenbeinli" means "dead legs" in English. Creepy name, delicious taste.

Ingredients:

75g butter/margarine

200g sugar

2 eggs

The grated zest of half a lemon

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp clove powder

1 pinch salt

50g hazelnuts, ground

200g hazelnuts, whole

250g flour (you may need to add extra)
1 egg yolk (this will be used as an egg-wash. You could skip it but it gives a nice yellow sheen to the tops of the cookies)


Method:

First you'll need to roast the hazelnuts. I find it easiest to cook them in the oven on a roasting tray, just spread them out and cook them at 200 Celsius for 5 minutes or so, until they are golden. You'll need to babysit them as they will go from golden to burnt, pretty quickly. Then to remove the skins, just grab a clean tea-towel and roll the nuts around in it, the friction will slough the skins right off.

Now onto the dough...
Cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and lemon zest, beat until fluffy and foamy. Mix in the ground hazelnuts and the whole hazelnuts.
Fold in the flour, you may need to add more if you find it too sticky. You now want to turn it out on to a floured surface and knead it a wee bit.
Roll the out the dough, until approx 1cm thick. Cut into finger-sized sticks, approx 1cm wide and 5cm long.
Beat an egg yolk and brush onto the tops.
Bake at 200 Celsius for 18-20 minutes until lightly golden.

Honigherzli (Honey Heart Cookies)

I'm not such a fan of fruitcakes or Christmas puddings or fruit mince pies. In fact, I kinda loathe them. What I do love are Christmas cookies. So when it comes to my Christmas baking I love to whip out my mother's best cookie recipes.

Cinnamon, hazelnuts, almonds, clove powder, aniseed. These are the flavours that conjure up the smells of a yummy Christmas. I know I'm biased, but I reckon Swiss baking is amazing. So here is the recipe for the first batch of cookies we made this year. These would also look great in other shapes, but since the recipe name is "honig" (honey) "herzli" (little hearts), it seems weird to make any other shape. But feel free to rebel.

These cookies are yum even if you choose not to glaze them. They have a nice soft texture and are great for dunking. But the best thing about them is the lovely harmonious combination of honey, spices and lemon. Subtle, yet delicious. Leave some out for Santa, he's bound to love 'em.

Cookie Ingredients:

100g sugar
1 egg
25g margarine (or butter)
100g honey ( use thick/solid honey, not the runny stuff, for best results)
grated rind of half a lemon
1 pinch cinnamon
1 pinch clove powder
240g plain flour
50g ground almond
1 tsp baking powder

Glaze:
60g dark chocolate
2 Tbsp water
60g icing sugar

Method:

In a large bowl, beat the sugar and egg until it becomes fluffy and aerated.
 
Add the margarine and honey to a small pan, heat until they melt completely, then add to the large bowl and stir.

Mix in the lemon zest. cinnamon and clove powder.

Add the rest of the dry ingredients, add a little more flour if needed then lightly knead it, leave aside to rest for half an hour.

Roll out the dough, on a floured bench, until it is 5mm thick. Cut out the hearts.

Bake at 180 Celsius, for 10 minutes.

Let the cookies cool.

When they are cool, melt the chocolate and water together.

Sieve in the icing sugar. Stir well, then glaze the cookies.

Makes approx 29 cookies

Pistachio and White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I have a stack of Dean Brettschneider recipe books at home at the moment and had been drooling over this particular recipe for a while. Usually I tend to favour recipes that use affordable and/or seasonal ingredients, but I'm a big fan of pistachios -so despite the expense of them- I just had to try it. The manthing particularly loved them as they are a chewy and soft cookie. That said, if you prefer a more crisp crunchy cookie then just increase the baking time by a few minutes, it wont dry the cookie out.

Ingredients:

135g butter, softened
100g sugar
100g soft dark brown sugar
1 small egg
10ml milk
few drops vanilla essence or extract
150g plain flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
45g rolled oats, medium coarseness
55g pistachio nuts, coarsely chopped
140g white chocolate drops, coarsely chopped

60g pistachio nuts, coarsely chopped, for topping

Method:

Preheat oven to 175 Celsius (please note that I found this temperate a little too hot so I turned it down a smidge for my 2nd batch, but my oven is super old and perhaps is a little unreliable)

Beat the butter, sugar and brown sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs, milk and vanilla essence. Mix.

Sieve the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and add them to the creamed mixture along with the rolled oats. Mix well until evenly combined.

Add the pistachio nuts and white chocolate and mix until well combined.

Use a tablespoon to scoop spoonfuls (approx 35g) then roll them into round balls using floured hands. Place them 10cm apart on a lined baking tray. Don't flatten them or they will spread too much. Sprinkle a few of the extra nuts on top.

Bake for 8-10 min until golden brown. Place on wire rack to cool.

Makes 20 large, or 40 small cookies.

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I happened to notice that we had a giant jar of peanut butter sitting in our cupboard. And while I’m not a huge fan of PB sandwiches, I am a big fan of cookies. So I decided that this jar of PB was destined for greater things. I think I discovered the recipe from the internet, and it was so perfect that it is now a staple in my baking repertoire.

Ingredients:

· 3/4 cup margarine/butter (or whatever’s your bag. I’m a butter girl)
· 1 cup white sugar
· 1 cup brown sugar
· 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
· 2 eggs
· 2 teaspoon vanilla essence
· 2 1/2 cups flour
· 1 t baking soda
· 1/2 t salt
· 250g milk chocolate, chopped ( I like using the Whittaker’s brand, and chop it fairly chunky)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180 Celsius. Beat butter/marg, sugars, and PB until light and fluffy. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and mix well. Stir in the chocolate pieces. Drop heaped teaspoons of dough onto a lined/greased cookie tray. Bake for 12-15 min or until lightly browned.
Let them stand before removing from tray. They will crisp up on cooling.

Note: The recipe makes heaps, approx 70 cookies. Also, the balls of dough also freeze really well. I like to keep a stash in the freezer in a zip-lock bag, and just bung them straight in the oven.