simple whole wheat lemon cake recipe

simple whole wheat lemon cake

You need:

125 g butter (room temperature)

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

3 organic lemons (clean with hot water)

1 cup maple syrup

1 cup kefir

3 eggs

• preheat your oven to 325° Fahrenheit
• generously butter the cake pan
• cream the butter, and slowly pour in the maple syrup. 
• beat in the eggs and add the lemon zest and juice as well as the kefir.
• mix the dry ingredients in a bowl and add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients  
• bake at 325 Fahrenheit for 30-45 minutes. The cake is done when a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. 

I made this cake for my little ones. The cake is really moist and a big hit. I try to limit their sugar intake and have for that reason skipped the lemon glazing.

lemon glazing:

keep the lemon zest for the glazing, add 2 tbsp lemon juice and add powdered sugar. Mix well and cover the cake with it. 

Guten Appetit!

sweet potato pancake recipe (Kartoffelpuffer inspired)

Kartoffelpuffer tastes like home for me!!! It is greasy, I admit, but just too good to live without it.

Today I tried it with sweet potatoes instead of the normal cooking potatoes. I loved the result and so did my family.

So the ingredients of the day for 4 servings are:

1 kg sweet potatoes 

1 onion

1 tsp salt

8 tbsp flour (whole wheat)

3 eggs

frying oil

pepper

how you get there:

• peel the potatoes
• grate them, twist them in a dish towel to get the water out
• do I make sense???
• mince the onion
• beat the eggs lightly, add flour, salt and pepper and at last add the potatoes and onion
• heat the frying pan over medium heat, add vegetable oil or butter
• fry little pancakes, press them thin
• flip when they start to get golden brown
• serve hot with apple sauce

tip: if you like it fruity you can also mix a couple of peeled and grated apples in the batch.

Guten Apettit!!!

almond rice pudding (german style) recipe

Since it is raining (still!!!) my craving for something sweet is enormous and rice pudding jumped right into my head. I was out of milk and used almond milk and the result was better than I even imagined.

you need for 4-5 servings:

           1 l   almond milk (classic would be whole milk)

          60 g   butter

         250 g   arborio rice (any short grain will do, 

                 but brown rice does not work well)

        1 tbsp   cinnamon

        1 tbsp   maple syrup

        1 pinch  salt

• melt the butter in a large pot
• add the rice
• salt to taste
• add 1/2 cup of almond milk at a time until absorbed, repeat until all the almond milk is gone. you will need to steer it constantly so it won't burn.
• add the cinnamon
• when the rice looks really creamy you are done.
• you can eat it hot or cold
• sprinkle with some cinnamon and maple syrup if you like it extra sweet.

Note: combine with apple sauce or cherries.......

guten appetit!!

garlic pizza recipe (german style)

If you like garlic and pizza you will be in heaven. For this pizza dough you won't need any yeast and therefore no rising time is involved. The crust should be almost paper thin for best results.

for 2 pizzas you need:

220 g flour (I use whole wheat)

100 ml/g water

3 tbsp olive oil

1 egg yolk

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp creme fraiche (or sour creme)

2 garlic bulbs (I know!)

200 g aged cheddar

fresh thyme

2 tbsp olive oil for drizzle

• mix flour, water, olive oil, salt and egg yolk in a bowl to a smooth dough.
• divide the dough into 2 equal pieces and wrap in plastic foil.
• let rest for 30 minutes at room temperature
• preheat the oven at 430 Fahrenheit
• cut the garlic super thin
• grate the cheese
• roll the dough super thin in 2 ca 11" diameter pizza
• sprinkle with olive oil
• spread the 1 tbsp creme fraiche on each pizza
• add garlic and thyme
• salt and pepper to taste
• top with cheese
• bake for about 15 minutes on bottom rack.

 Guten Appetit!

Tip: serve with tomato salad

apple pancake recipe (apfelpfannkuchen)

This following recipe is from my sister in-law. It has a twist to the most common pfannkuchen which traditionally is eaten with apple sauce and sweetened with sugar and cinnamon.

you need:

3 eggs

375 ml milk

250 g flour

3 apples (grated)

1 pinch salt

• grade the apples (preferable peeled)
• mix all ingredients in a bowl, add grated apples at the end when the batter is well mixed
• heat a lightly oiled frying pan over medium high heat
• scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/2 cup for each pancake
• brown on both sides and serve hot 
• sweet with sugar and cinnamon as desired.

whole wheat linzer torte recipe

If you ever ask my father what cake he would like to have for tea he always will ask for a Linzertorte.

I share this fable with my dad and had to live without this great treat until I finally located some hazelnuts (not an easy task 12 years ago in Austin) Anyhow in my mind they are very important for the perfect Linzer. It is also important to pick a good Jelly, which should not be too sweet. The Linzertorte tastes better by the day. The crust itself needs to have time to soak up the perfect moister from the jelly. So resist the urge to eat it right away, no matter how good it smells!!

you need:

250 g flour (I use white whole wheat)

220 g brown sugar

150 g ground almonds

100 g ground hazelnuts (I use a food processor for this)

1/2 tbsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground clove

250 g unsalted butter

2 omega-3 eggs

250 g raspberry jelly

3 tbsp Himbeergeist or another fruit snaps

confection sugar for final touch

• make a dough out of the flour, brown sugar, nuts, cinnamon, clove, one(!) egg and butter. 
• split the dough in 1/3 to 2/3 and wrap it in plastic foil and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• preheat the oven at 350 fahrenheit
• grease an 11" round pan generous
• cover the pan with the 2/3 dough and pull up the edges. 
• combine jelly with the snaps and fill-up the pie.
• make a typ. crust pattern on top or get creative.
• beat the last egg and cover the crust with it.
• bake for 30 minutes
• powder some confection sugar over the finished Linzer.
• wait a day before you taste it! 

muesli hausfrauenart or home made granola recipe

I love eating granola and so does my family. I have made lots of different batches and this is my personal favorite. You can of course switch around the fruits and nuts to your own taste.

Ingredients:

1 cup of almonds

2 cups of mixed fruits (raisins, dried apricots & dried figs)

1/3 cup of coconut

4 cups oatmeal (old fashioned toasted)

2 cups corn flakes

6 tbsp flax seeds

1 tsp nutmeg

4 tsp cinnamon

3/4 cup agave nectar

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 300 Fahrenheit.

Combine the oatmeal and the flax seeds in a large bowl.

Combine the veggie oil, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and agave nectar in a saucepan and simmer on low (about 4 minutes).

Pour the sauce over the oatmeal and flax seeds and stir evenly.

Prepare two baking sheets ( I recommend parchment paper) and spread out the mixture.

Bake for ca 40 minutes and stir occasionally.

When it starts to smell yummy and it turns golden you are almost done. Let the granola cool down and add the cornflakes, dried fruits, nuts and coconut flakes.