The Daring Bakers' May Challenge - Strudel

The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers. (Recipe HERE.)













In what was an otherwise busy month, we were both off work and at home for Memorial Day, so I got up early and prepared the strudel for our breakfast. Instead of the traditional apple filling, I filled my strudel with a strawberry/rhubarb/apricot mixture. It was delicious. I used fresh strawberries, frozen rhubarb, sine there wasn't any fresh at the market, and dried apricots. It was sweetened with light brown sugar.

The first step was making the dough, which was easy and fun. It was a very soft, very pliable dough. The recipe said to let it sit for 90 minutes, but I left mine overnight. Then I cajoled it into a tissue-paper thin sheet. One Daring Baker remembered her mother telling her that strudel dough was to be thin enough "to read love letters through."

Butter and breadcrumbs were supposed to be sprinkled across the face of the dough, but I thought crushed ginger snaps would add a more exciting flavor to the rhubarb filling.


After baking, I glazed it with a powdered sugar icing and served it, still warm. Dan had his with a strong cup of espresso, and gave it his hearty approval.

Still hot from the oven.

Glazed

Ready to eat

Other Completed Daring Bakers' Challenges: Lavash, Pizza Napoletana, Caramel Cake, French Yule Log, Tuiles, Chocolate Valentino, Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna, Cheesecake

CLICK HERE NEXT (BAKEWELL TARTS)

The Daring Bakers' April Challenge - Cheesecake

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge. (Recipe HERE.)

Cheesecake is something, believe it or not, that I've never made before, unless you count the no-bake version. So I eagerly ran out, right away, and bought the ingredients. I stayed home with Dan, when he had his eye surgery, and thought that being creative in the kitchen would be a good use of my at-home time.

According to our challenge-hostess, we were permitted to use whatever flavorings we chose, as long as we used the basic recipe that was provided. And that freedom almost got me in trouble! I made a strawberry swirl cheesecake, and here's a picture of it after coming out of the oven.


I baked it in a springform pan, and wrapped the bottom securely with extra-strength aluminum foil, since it was baked in a water bath. After 55 minutes in a 350 degree oven, I turned off the heat and let it sit another hour in the cooling oven, as directed. This was supposed to keep it from cracking on top as it cooled. Here's a picture of it just after it came from the oven. The swirls were made from melted strawberry jelly, and, as you can probably see, the cake did crack a little bit on top, despite my care. Still, it looked pretty good and smelled wonderful.

I should have stopped there, but NO; I had to try to get fancy! I had seen pictures of a cake called a Strawberry Mirror Cake, which was a Daring Bakers' challenge before I joined. I loved the "mirror" top and thought that it would be the perfect topping for my cheesecake. (You can see a picture of Tartelette's Strawberry Mirror Cake HERE. Isn't it gorgeous?)

Dan laughed at my "Rube Goldberg" apparatus for draining the strawberries.

So I cooked up the strawberries, sugar and water; and then let the berry juice drain, through some cheesecloth, into a bowl. To the juice, I added a gelatin "sponge" made from unflavored gelatin and a splash of lemon and apple juice. After letting the concoction cool, over ice, until it was a thick syrup, I poured it on top of the cooled cheesecake. It looked pretty good, so I put it in the refrigerator and, somewhat impatiently, waited for the gelatin "mirror" set.

Later in the evening I eagerly pulled out my cheesecake, uncovered it, expecting to see a perfectly smooth, shiny, brilliant red mirror top. But what I found was a mess! The cheesecake had developed more and deeper cracks, the gelatin mixture had seeped down into the cracks and, some of it, out through the bottom of the springform pan. It was a very sad looking cheesecake. I didn't know whether to cry, to laugh, to throw it out, to take a picture, or to pretend I never even attempted this challenge! What I did was scrub the red gelatin off the refrigerator shelf, put some fresh foil beneath the pan, cover the top of the pan with plastic wrap, and put it away for the night. I'd deal with it the next day.

As usual, things looked better in the light of a new day. Although the strawberry mirror had found its way through the fissures in the center of the cake, it had set up pretty well around the outer edge. A few dollops of whipped cream did a pretty good job of hiding the flaws, once it was plated. And, if I do say so myself, it was the best tasting cheesecake I've ever eaten. Some cheesecake is heavy and dense, but this was creamy and dreamy - much more to my liking. I'll be baking this recipe again and will probably experiment with different flavors. But no more Strawberry Mirror topping on any of my cheesecakes!



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Other Completed Daring Bakers' Challenges: Lavash, Pizza Napoletana, Caramel Cake, French Yule Log, Tuiles, Chocolate Valentino, Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna

CLICK HERE FOR NEXT (STRUDEL)

Salzburg - Home of Mozart and of the Von Trapp Family

We woke to a beautiful sunrise, in Passau, Germany.

By 8:00 a.m. we had eaten breakfast aboard the Scenic Crystal and boarded buses which would take us across the Austrian border and into Salzburg. As we crossed this bridge over the Inn River (a tributary of the Danube), we left Germany and entered Austria. 

Crossing over the Inn River, into Austria

Salzburg is probably most famous for being the birthplace of Mozart. At every turn there is some sort of reminder of this most famous Salzburgian. 

Salzburg is also famous as the home of the Von Trapp family, and many of the scenes in the movie, The Sound of Music, were filmed here. Most prominent is the Nonnberg Convent, which sits high on a hill, overlooking the old town. This was the place where the real-life Maria lived as a postulant (nun apprentice) for a couple of years, beginning in 1924, and it was also depicted in numerous scenes in the movie.

Nonnberg Convent

The town was one of the most relaxed and pleasant ones for us. We had fun browsing through some of the shops, sitting at yet another sidewalk cafe, watching the horses and carriages pass by, and soaking in the warm sunshine. 

Looking up, you can't miss seeing many beautiful domes and spires adorning Salzburg's sky. One example is the Neue Residenz, originally built in 1588 as the private residence of Prince Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau. Its tower houses a 35-bell Glockenspiel. We did not get to hear the bells, as they only ring three times a day. 

Another magnificent building with towers and domes is the Salzburg Cathedral. This is the site of Mozart's baptism.

High on the hill, near the Nonnberg Convent, stands the Hohensalzburg Fortress, a castle dating from 1077. Wow! That's 932 years ago!!! 

When we left the city of Salzburg, we boarded buses and took a one-and-a-half hour tour up into the Austrial hills. It was jaw-droppingly beautiful! Alpine meadows, forests, lakes and chalets. I'd already been impressed with the German countryside, but Austria was magnificent. I was ready to find my own chalet and make a move! At times on our route we were able to see the Austrian Alps!

Wolfgang Lake, looking toward the Austrian Alps

Finally we reached our destination, a lovely Alpine chalet-style lodge, where we would be served dinner. We were welcomed into the lodge with a fanfare.

The apples strudel we were served for dessert was the very best we tasted on the entire trip.

The entertainment, after dinner, was a joy ... talented musicians, young and old, performing Bavarian folk music and selections from The Sound of Music.

Children doing the Schuhplattler, a traditional Bavarian folk dance. 

A man playing the alpenhorn.

Theme from Sound of Music.

After the dinner and entertainment, we were bussed back to the ship. Dan seems to be coming down with a cold. I probably gave it to him, since I had one before we left home. 

While we slept, the Scenic Crystal moved on down the Danube to Melk.

CLICK HERE NEXT (MELK AND DÜRNSTEIN)

Losing an Old Friend - My KitchenAid Mixer

FORTY YEARS ago Dan spoiled me by encouraging me to buy a KitchenAid stand mixer. At that time in our lives, that was an extravagant purchase, and it took quite a bit of convincing on his part. But baking has always been a passion of mine, so I gratefully brought my new mixer home.

My "Almond" colored KitchenAid has moved with us from Salem, Oregon; to Newberg, Oregon; to Juneau, Alaska; to Albuquerque, New Mexico; and, finally, to Temple, Texas. It helped me raise our two boys. It was there for me when I baked with my grandkids.

It has has been used to make tasty breads;

It has helped me make ountless cookies of every variety;

It has beaten batter for birthday cakes, potluck cakes and family dinner cakes;  

It has partnered with me in making gingerbread creations;

And it saw me through my happy years with the "Daring Bakers" challenges. Here are a few of them:

Macarons

Nazook

Pavlova

Strudel

Tuiles

But . . . last month I was mixing up the batter for a Southern Caramel Cake to take to a church potluck when my beloved mixer began making a strange noise. I continued beating the batter, but when I turned off the mixer I heard Dan, calling from the other room: "What's wrong with your mixer?" I was in a little bit of denial. "Nothing!" I insisted. But when I tried to use it again, a little later, to make the caramel icing, I knew that I was wrong. The metallic noise and jarring vibrations coming from it now were so bad that I had to turn it off and finish making my icing with a little hand beater.

It's six weeks later, and I've really been missing my old "friend." It has continued to sit on my kitchen counter, but as nothing but a memorial of times past. 

So today Dan and I drove to Sam's Club and bought a brand new, even fancier model of KitchenAid mixer. If this wears out in 40 years, like the old one, I'll be 110 years old and probably won't be needing to buy a replacement. Two KitchenAids in one lifetime. Not bad!

I can't wait to try it out with some of my favorite recipes.

Did I mention the new color is "Aqua Sky?!"

Weekend Get-Away - New Braunfels, Texas

With little or no planning, we decided, late last week, to escape the routine and go out of town for the weekend. We tossed around several ideas, and finally decided to visit the New Braunfels area, since we had never been there. We found a reasonably-priced hotel in Schertz, just down the road from New Braunfels, so hopped in the car Friday morning for the just-over-two-hour drive to Schertz.

New Braunfels is in the heart of the Texas Hill Country, and was founded in 1845 by German settlers. The German heritage is apparent everywhere you look. We wanted to enjoy a German style dinner, so I called a highly-rated little restaurant named Alpine Haus to make a reservation. I was told that they were full for the entire evening. Dan and I talked it over and decided to try for Saturday evening, so I called back. The fellow was so sorry to tell me that they were also full for that evening. But he took pity on me, I guess, and said, "Since there are only two of you, I'll make room for you tonight!"

We got to New Braunfels a little bit earlier than our reservation, so we strolled down the street and went into a couple of the interesting shops. One was a quilting shop, and the other a leather shop. Both of them gave us free "gifts" - some fabric squares at the quilting place, and two leather key fobs in the shape of the state of Texas at the leather store.

We had a little trouble finding Alpine Haus. It is located in a little old "haus" that sits behind some of the shops. It turned out to be worth the hunt, though . . . friendly folks, a great atmosphere, and delicious German food. I had schweinebraten (roast of pork) served with spaetzle and red cabbage.  Dan had rider roulade (stuffed beef steak) with German potato salad and red cabbage. Both meals
were superb. And, despite our full tummies, we couldn't resist apple strudel for dessert. Yum!

The next morning we went back to New Braunfels to explore more of the shops along the quaint main street. We especially enjoyed the old-timey hardware store and a large antique mall. A lot of the shops said they were from 1860 or thereabouts. The buildings are all historic and the original horse-rings are still embedded in the sidewalks.

Street scene

The hardware store

Barber shop

Most of the shops had original tin ceilings and decorative pillars like this

Courthouse

Horse rings

Many of the houses were historic, grand and beautiful, but this little tiny house with the log shed caught my eye

 We went back to our hotel for a while after lunch, and before dinner we went out for a drive to do a little exploring. The drive was jaw-dropping beautiful, with rolling hills, vibrant green fields with trees, and wild flowers of various colors carpeting the fields and sides of the roads. A few miles north of Shertz we stumbled upon the Natural Bridge Caverns and Wildlife Ranch. Sadly, things were closing down for the day. Now we have a good reason to return to this area. I SO wanted to explore both of these. They are located right next to each other, in the midst of some of the lushest, most beautiful countryside. Sadly I didn't have my camera with me on this outing, and my iPhone just couldn't capture pictures worthy of posting.

On Sunday morning we started home, driving up I-35 through Austin, and to the Round Rock area, where we stopped for church at the Westside Church of Christ. Our friends, Robert and Susan worship there, and it was fun seating ourselves behind them and surprising them.

All in all it was a very relaxing and enjoyable little weekend get-away. We knew we had to take advantage of this weekend or lose our chance, since I will be having my second (left) knee replacement surgery on Thursday. That will lay me up for awhile, so it was our last opportunity to do something for a few weeks.