Posted on 12/07/2017 4:37:25 PM PST by Jamestown1630
Recently – for some reason that I can’t even remember now – I was looking for information on Germany’s Black Forest. Many of the links that came up were for the famous Black Forest Cake – an extravagant confection of chocolate sponge cake, ‘kirschwasser’ and cherries. Definitely a 'celebration' cake, and it looks very nice for Christmas.
Here, from Genius Kitchen, is a ‘from scratch’ recipe:
http://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/authentic-black-forest-cake-schwarzwald-kirsch-kuchen-343698
and here is one using prepared cake mix (includes a little history on the cake) from What's Cooking America:
https://whatscookingamerica.net/History/Cakes/BlackForestCake.htm
I may have been looking up the Black Forest because I’ve become entranced by train driver’s view videos of trains in Europe. This one on the Bergen line in Norway makes you feel as if you're really there - a nice way to enjoy a snowstorm without being in it. For some reason, I just like having this on the television as I putter about the house. (Warning: it's a 2-hour video; but it doesn't take long to get into the storm ;-)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=facDr2lTAUM
-JT
I’ve been mulling over how to send you some nutmeg. You have a micro planer and that’s the biggest expense. I think they are somewhat circular, they wouldn’t really fit in an envelope very well.
Now I wonder about using fresh ginger and baking recipes. It seems that’s never done, it’s always the ground stuff. To me it has a very harsh flavor about it. Maybe it works better for baking. While the fresh stuff is used in conjunction with garlic a lot, kind of the opposite use! I think the fresh stuff has a bit of heat to it, and maybe that dissipates with the powdering.
No, I imagine fresh ginger wasn’t available on the Prairie! Is it tropical? I think cooks back then had to make do a lot. When my mother came over here in the 50s, there wasn’t much available for an Italian correct. Parmesan in a can, no risotto or polenta, and now that stuff is commonplace.
I wonder if I could use fresh grated nutmeg in place of ginger? I think I might try it, in a cookie and see how it goes. If I can’t send you the nutmeg, I can at least post a picture of how it looks with the kernel half graded. I just think it’s the prettiest thing. But right now I’m just laying on the couch. I got up at 3:30 to take happy to the airport. He’ll be gone for two weeks so I get to do anything I want. Except for tomorrow, then I have to go to the dentist :-(
Well, we’re not exactly living off the grid or in a bunker! But we did move here with self-sufficiency in mind. Actually our house is very nondescript. From the outside it just looks like any other around here. And in California our gun and ammo supply would be seen as an unusual, but in talking to neighbors it is common place here. Although we have to remodel the inside extensively and it looks really nice. It’s probably the best house I’ve ever had, although it is quite a bit smaller than the last one and quite a bit older. But we didn’t want to stand out as different from the neighbors so we’re keeping the outside the same.
And although our plan was to be self-sufficient, we are really living no different then other people around here. They have been self-sufficient for generations! So I am learning a lot about gardening and “putting up” produce From them. The only thing different is I have some food storage for long term. Other than that, they are very like-minded. When we first moved here I was surprised by two neighbors in two separate conversations talking about having to defend the holler in case of economic or government collapse. They really belong on free republic! Anyway I didn’t bring up the subject at all, because we came here to be incognito and do everything under the radar. And surprisingly, people around here are thinking the same way but preparing openly. I pity any group that tries to take this area over.
Ours has the yogurt function, but we haven’t used it. There are a lot of yogurt instructions on the Internet, but most I’ve seen assume the yogurt function.
I would suggest finding your model and doing a search on that and yogurt.
The one I’m looking at doesn’t have the yogurt function but I figure I could improvise. I’m going to practice in the next few days making it in my standard crockpot. It’s actually a really simple process, it’s just keeping the yogurt warm for eight hours and at the right temperature for incubation That I was wondering about. Or whatever it’s called while it thickens.. Anyway, I figure if I can get a good product out of my standard crockpot, the instant pot warming function should work just fine.
So far, my husband is the Instant Pot engineer here, so I’m not sure - but it seems to only have a sort of low-med-high gauge for the manual ‘saute’ function; and low may be too high and imprecise for yogurt. I’m sure there’s someone out there doing it, though.
The first time I made yogurt, I didn’t use any equipment; just heated the milk and set it in a wrapped-up bowl in a warm place.
Here’s a cake for the holiday season: chocolate biscuit cake from Eating Royally. I saw another version of this on Nigella Lawson’s recent Christmas special which she shaped into an Italian salami. This is much easier. It is one of Queen Elizabeth’s favorite tea cakes.
8 ounces rich tea biscuits (or Social Teas or any crisp blond biscuit)
1/2 stick unsalted butter, room temp
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 ounces dark chocolate
1 egg, beaten
8 ounces dark chocolate
Grease a cake ring and place on a parchment-lined tray. Break each of the biscuits into almond-size pieces by hand and set aside. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Melt the 4 ounces of dark chocolate in a double boiler. Add the butter and sugar mixture to the chocolate, stirring constantly. Add the egg and continue stirring. Folding the biscuit pieces until they are all coated.
Spoon the chocolate biscuit mixture into the cake ring. Try to fill all the gaps on the bottom of the ring, because this will be the top of the cake when unmolded. Chill the cake for at least 3 hours.
Melt the 8 ounces of the dark chocolate. Slide the ring off the cake and turn the cake upside down onto a rack. Pour the 8 ounces of melted chocolate over the cake and smooth. Allow it to set at room temperature. Remove to a cake dish.
I’ve made this several times and it is easy, crunchy and tasty. Children will like it, too, due to its pebbly interior.
I was watching a cooking show yesterday when British pastry chef Lorraine Pascal mentioned using crystallized ginger rather than fresh ginger in baking. She thought it had a stronger ginger flavor. Candied ginger still retains that wonderful heat you get from fresh.
I think you’re right, that little might be too warm. I’ve been reading directions on the Internet on how to use a crockpot and you only use the heat function to heat up the crock for a short while. And then stick the incubated milk in there cover it with a towel and let it sit with the heat off.
The one I’m looking at does have a warm function, but I’ll have to figure out what temperature that is first.
Maybe it would be nice to buy the one with the yogurt function after all. It’s only 20 bucks more. But it does say you can can in it, pressure can, which I don’t see the others as saying. Happy just asked this morning what I want for a Christmas present, so I am mulling this over. It’s either that or an alpaca. They are awfully cute. But since they are herd animals I would probably need three.
It was a dark, moist, almost heavy, spice cake A&P grocery stores used to sell. It’s called a bar cake, because it was a 2 layer cake in a bar shape, about 4x10 inches. Just the top of each layer was frosted, not the sides. It had some raisins in it; not a lot.
Ooh, I’m going to look that up. Thanks.
Obviously, the Spanish bar cake is popular because I see several nostalgic articles about it as well as recipes. It’s very similar to a cake my mother used to buy - only with chocolate icing. It looks delicious and NO cloves. I may try it, so thanks for bringing it to my attention.
When did the A&P stop making it?
You’re welcome. I don’t know when they stopped. If they’re even still in business, they’ve probably gone through several corporate takeovers by now. It’s been 40 years since they left the upper Midwest.
You’re welcome!
The A&P went out of business about 2 years ago. It was replaced by Acme which is now going out of business itself!
A friend of mine who I made if for used to call it “Maryland State Police Sobriety Check Point – Don’t Eat This Rum Cake”. LOL!
The alcohol baked out of the batter but the glaze was a killer, especially if you used extra rum or added some brandy.
A great recipe......Bacardi Rum is a good addition.
Once lived near an Italian bakery........their pastry was heaven.
They sold a rum cake that looked like plain old pound cake....no glaze.
But when you cut into it, the rum flavor permeated the cake....the aroma caressed your nostrils......and eating it was perfection.
I read that Diane’s children often visited gramma for tea....and that the biscuit cake was young Prince William’s favorite.
Yes, that’s true. It’s in the cookbook I quoted today. One of my favorite books - just beautiful.
The A&P stores that had the bar cake probably stopped having it long ago - I haven’t seen it in at least twenty-five years. But it really was the best grocery store-bought cake.
Does anybody remember when its generic products were called Ann Page? (A&P - get it??!)
You are right. If you get the yogurt mix warmed up I would just sit it in the oven overnight and it would stay warm enough
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