Buttermilk Pancakes

One of my favorite things about holidays and having guests over is that I get to eat things for breakfast I normally wouldn't eat because I don't usually take the time to make something elaborate. On Good Friday I decided to make buttermilk pancakes from Denis Cotter's brilliant new cookbook "for the love of food." They didn't quite turn out as aesthetically pleasing as the ones we had at his restaurant Cafe Paradiso last summer (this was probably due to my frying pan and not having the temperature of my stove under total control). Nonetheless they were delicious and very easy to make, and have definitely made my list of favorite recipes. Can't wait to try another recipe from this lovely new cookbook. 

for 4-6

260g/9 1/2 oz plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda 

2 1/2 tbsp caster sugar 

1/2 tsp salt

450ml/16 fl oz buttermilk

4 tbsp sunflower oil

2 eggs, separated

clarified butter, for cooking (I used regular butter)

to serve

fresh fruit

honey (I prefer maple syrup!)

lightly whipped double cream

Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, sugar and salt together into a large bowl. In another bowl, stir together the buttermilk, oil and egg yolks. Stir this liquid into the dry ingredients, without mixing too much. 

Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks, and fold them into the batter. 

Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Brush it with clarified butter and add separate tablespoonfuls of the batter to the pan. Fry the pancakes until lightly colored, then flip them over to cook the other side until they become light and fluffy. The pancakes can be served immediately or kept warm in an oven at low heat. 

Serve 2 or 3 pancakes per portion, with fruit, honey and lightly whipped cream. 

Apple Berry Crumble

What better way to spend a Sunday than making a crumble? I had some apples and frozen berries that I wanted to use up so I tried my first recipe from Cooking with Apples and Pears by Laura Washburn. I made a slightly different version as I had some slivered almonds I wanted to use up and instead of the fresh blackberries I used frozen mixed berries. It turned out really well and due to the slivered almonds the topping was a little crunchy, which I really liked. 

4-6 servings

900g apples, peeled, cored, cut into small pieces

450g blackberries

50g sugar

For the crumble

80g oats

140g flour

80g light brown sugar

80 g ground almonds

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

150g butter, cut into pieces

Preheat the oven to 200°C (390° F).

Mix the apples, berries and sugar in a bowl and put this mixture into a buttered baking pan.

For the crumble mix oats, flour, sugar, almonds and cinnamon in a bowl. Add the butter and rub into mixture until you get coarse crumble. Top the fruit with the crumble and bake 35-40  minutes until the crumble turns golden brown and the fruit bubbly. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream made with vanilla extract and powdered sugar. 

Delicious Delights in Paris

Now I know where you can get the best hot chocolate in Paris (and that's after only trying one hot chocolate in Paris so you know I'm an expert!). It can be found at Angelina. I'd read about the café in several guide books before my last trip to Paris but we had so many other chocolate shops and patisseries on our list last time that we couldn't possibly cover them all. So when my friend and I went to Paris last weekend I made a point to go there. We went for breakfast and both decided to get the Pétit Dejeuner Parisien (Parisian Breakfast). Included was a fresh-pressed juice-orange, grapefruit or lemon (who orders that?)-, a hot drink of choice (DEFINITELY go for the hot chocolate), mini viennoiserie (mini pastries) - pain au chocolat, croissant and pain aux raisins- and a roll served with butter, honey and jam. Everything was very good and the hot chocolate (which comes in a 2-cup pitcher) was thick and chocolatey. The unsweetened whipped cream, which was whipped to perfection, made it even more heavenly. Good thing they serve it on the side so you can keep adding more with every sip instead of it melting right away and leaving none for the last sips. Since the breakfast was quite expensive I'd recommend just getting a regular sized croissant or other pastry to go with the hot chocolate.  Next time I visit the café I just have to try one of their beautiful pastries.

On the first day of our trip I needed (yes, NEEded) a coffee and a sweet and we ended up at Jean-Paul Hévin, where we had only briefly stopped by to get some pastries -to-go during my last visit. This time we took a seat in the upstairs café, which was cute and cozy due to the chocolate colored interior. I had the Chocolat passion, a cake layered with chocolate sponge, chocolate mousse and chocolate ganache. It was very tasty although it could have been a tad fresher. My beverage of choice was the Viennese coffee as it came with whipped cream, which is currently my must-have accessory. 

This trip I also revisited Pierre Hermé and La Maison du Chocolat where I got some goodies to go: macarons at Pierre Hermé and chocolate at Maison du Chocolat. So far my favorite macaron is still the chocolate one with salted caramel following closely. This time I tried mint, but the flavor doesn't go along that well with the almond flavor of the macaron shells. At Maison du Chocolat I tried a couple different chocolates-Andalousie (dark chocolate ganache infused with lemon zest), Chiberta (dark chocolate mousse with orange and lemon zest), Yoko (dark chocolate ganache infused with Russian Douchka black tea) and Rigoletto Noir (caramelized mousse coated with dark chocolate). All were very good. 

Another place I finally visited was A la Mère de Famille, a shop carrying chocolates and candies. There I bought some goodies to take home. It's definitely well worth the visit.

Di Simo and Würzhaus in Nürnberg

I finally made it back to Nürnberg, one of my three hometowns, at the end of February. As usual, my mom's question when I arrived was where I wanted to go out for dinner. I convinced her to try Würzhaus, as we'd thought about going there many times before but somehow never made it. The name of the restaurant literally translated as "house of seasoning" is a play on words as it sounds similar to "Wirtshaus", which is another word for a traditional-style restaurant.  

I'm glad we tried the restaurant because (except for the dessert) it was really good. We started off with a small appetizer on the house which was cubed fish mousse topped with pumpernickel crumbs. Then we got our appetizers. I had warm goat's cheese with olives and toasts. My mom had the mushroom trio, which was a soup, salad and croquette. For the main dish I ordered fried turbot on a creamed onion sauce topped with poppyseed and a dash of pomegranate sauce and my mom had walnut ravioli with fried Belgian endive and Roquefort. All of those dishes were very good and were rather unusual combinations of flavors and textures, which went together beautifully. Unfortunately the dessert I chose was not to my liking. It was called "nougat meets peanut and banana". Nougat in Germany is like gianduia, a mix of chocolate and roasted hazelnuts. I thought the combination of nougat, peanuts and banana sounded great. It ended up being a mousse-like layered dessert made with the nougat and peanuts accompanied by banana sorbet. The sorbet was refreshing but the nougat and peanut dessert disappointing as it lacked the flavor and depth I associate with nougat and peanuts. Nevertheless we'll be back as not only was the food good but the atmosphere in the restaurant was also really nice with a comfortable room temperature and sleek interior design.

The following two days we went downtown to browse the shops and stopped both days to get coffee at the tiny café Di Simo (Trempelmarkt 5-7). Although it's self-service and you often have to wait in line, the coffee is well worth it. My favorite is the latte macchiato which has the best foam I've ever had. The ratio of airiness and stiffness is just perfect. I never need Starbucks when visiting Nürnberg! The only thing missing at Di Simo is a delicious cake or pastry to go along with the coffee. I tried the cheesecake but it didn't quite cut it. 

Butterscotch Pudding

I've gots me a new favorite recipe: Butterscotch Pudding from The SoNo Baking Company Cookbook that I got for Valentine's Day from my aunt and uncle (thanks again!!). It's truly heaven. The texture is so smooth and the flavor a perfect balance of vanilla bean, dark brown sugar and half-and-half. It melts in your mouth and makes you forget you had to make two batches to get it right. I screwed up the first one by letting it boil too long. It curdled and I had to toss it into the organic waste. I was totally annoyed, needless to say. But I was determined so I went to the supermarket to buy another round of eggs and half-and-half and tried again. And it was oh so worth it!

Serves 6

4 large egg yolks, at room temperature

1/4 c cornstarch

31/4 c half-and-half

1/4 tsp coarse salt

1c firmly packed dark brown sugar

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and scraped, or 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 c (1 stick, 110 g) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons

1. In a medium heatproof bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, cornstarch, 1/4 c of the half-and-half, and the salt; set aside.

2. In a saucepan, combine the remaining 3 c half-and-half, 1/4 c of the dark brown sugar, and the vanilla bean and seeds, if using. Bring to a simmer.

3. Meanwhile, in a second saucepan, combine the remaining 3/4 c brown sugar and the butter. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the butter melts and the mixture is smooth and bubbly and smells a little nutty, about 2 minutes. Pour into the saucepan with the hot half-and-half and whisk until smooth.

4. Whisking constantly, pour the hot mixture into the egg mixture, gradually at first to temper it and then more quickly. Place a strainer over the saucepan and strain the custard mixture back into the saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly. Boil for 10 seconds, whisking. (Make sure the custard boils for 10 seconds in the center of the pan, not just around the sides). The mixture should thicken to a pudding-like consistency. Discard the vanilla bean, if using. 

5. Fit a standing mixer with the paddle attachment and pour the pudding mixture into the bowl (I used a hand mixer). Beat on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes to cool slightly. Add the vanilly extract, if using. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until chilled, 3 to 4 hours. 

Top with whipped cream!