Seelensturm

We call them “Zupfkuchen” in Germany. The traditional Zupfkuchen is a cocoa shortcrust filled with curd.

For a small springform pan (about 7”)

• 50g margarine, chilled
• 50g (brown) sugar
• 2 tbsp. cocoa
• 75g flour

Knead all ingredients to shortcrust and chill.

• 80g margarine
• 50g (brown) sugar
• 250g silk tofu
• 1/2 banana
• 2 tsp. vanilla extrakt
• 1 pinch of salt
• 3 tbsp. cornstarch
• 50ml soy milk
• 1/4 tsp. rice vinegar

Dissolve margarine.
Whisk together milk and vinegar and set aside to curdle.
Puree silk tofu.
Put curdled soy milk into a bowl. Sift in cornstarch and stir into the milk. Mix in tofu.
Mash banana and mix in. Add remaining ingredients and stir until smooth.

Grease springform pan and dust with flour. Crumble half of the shortcrust into the pan and press it to the bottom and the wall. Fill in tofu mixture. Crumble remaining shortcrust on filling.

Bake at 350° F for 60 minutes. Let cool in the pan.

This is my entry in the Mediterranean Cooking Event Slovenia.
Congratulations and the best wishes on the anniversary. This is the 10th Mediterranean Cooking Event.

For a small loaf pan. You can use larger quantities, as you please.

• 1/2 pack puff paste (about 100-150 g/4-5 oz.)
  
  
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• 2 1/2 tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggyolks
• 1 tbsp. butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 drops rum flavor (or some rum)
  
  
• 200g (about 7 oz.) cream
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 1 packet whip cream stabilizer (or 2 tsp. each sugar and cornstarch)
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
  
  
• some confectioners’ sugar

Bake puff paste until it browns (about 15 minutes).

Dissolve cornstarch in 2 tbsp. milk. Bring the remaining milk with sugar and salt to a boil. Melt butter in the milk. Beat eggyolks and stir in the milk. Mix in vanilla, rum and dissolved cornstarch. Take the pot from heat and stir constantly while the custard thickens. Fill the custard in a bowl and let it cool, stir occasionally.

Cut a piece of puff pastry fitting the bottom of your pan and lay it into the pan. Spread custard on puff pastry and refrigerate.

Beat cream with sugar, stabilizer and vanilla until stiff. Spread whipped cream on custard and cover it with another piece of puff pastry. Refrigerate until serving.

Serve blejska kremšnita dusted with confectioners’ sugar and cut into slices.

This is my entry in the 9th mediterranean cooking event Tunisia. The frosting is neither authentic nor necessary but it is a perfect match to the cupcakes.

Makes about 8 cupcakes.

• 50g dates, dried
• 20g walnuts
• 20g hazelnuts
• 20g almonds
• 1tsp honey
• 1tbsp brown sugar
• 20g butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 pinch cream of tartar
• 1/8 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp orange juice
• 1 tbsp corn starch

Preheat the oven and line a muffin pan with paper cups.
Peel, chop and roast the nuts and almonds. Peel, pit and chop the dates.
Melt the butter, mix in dates, nuts, almonds, honey and sugar.
Separate the eggwhites from the yolks and beat the eggwhites with cream of tartar until stiff.
Beat the yolks until creamy. Mix in juice and vanilla. Carefully mix in corn starch and the dates-mixture. Fold in egg foam.
Fill batter in paper cups. Bake about 10 minutes at 425° F and let them stay in the oven for a few more minutes. After this let them cool on a cooling rack.

• 100g butter
• 100g Philly cream cheese
• 100g confectioners’ sugar (or more, to your taste)
• 1/4 tsp orange blossom water (or more, to your taste)

Cream together all ingredient untill well combined. Refrigerate if necessary. Pipe or spread frosting on cupcakes.

I try to imitate Cappuccino with this cupcakes. Cappuccino is made from espresso and steamed-milk foam. I made espresso cupcakes and added some cocoa for coffee brown color. Instead of milk foam I topped them with whipped cream. This is my entry for the 6th Mediterranean Cooking Event – Italy.

makes 12 cupcakes

• 1 stick butter
• 3/8 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp instant espresso coffee powder
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp amaretto liqueur (optional)
• 6 tbsp milk

Preheat the oven and line a muffin pan with paper cups.
Dissolve espresso powder in the milk.
Sift flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa into a bowl and mix it.
Beat butter and sugar until combined. Add the eggs and beat until creamy. Mix in vanilla and amaretto. While stirring add half of flour mixture, espresso milk and remaining flour mixture.
Fill paper cups with batter about 3/4 full.
Bake about 22-25 minutes at 350° F until a cake tester comes out clean.
Let them cool completely on a cooling rack.

• 1 cup whipping cream
• 2 tsp confectioners’ sugar
• 2 tsp cornstarch

Mix sugar and cornstarch. Sift mixture on cream and beat until firm. Fill whipped cream into a piping bag and frost the cupcakes.

What is it about this McDonalds cupcake thing? American blogs make an issue out of this advertising and in germany nobody even take notice of it.
Hey, of course it is stupid! It is advertising and it is McDonalds, both are always stupid. Don’t take it serious!
Germans bake cupcakes from the scratch, like anyone else. We don’t buy them in fast food restaurants! There may be some people who like fast food, but that doesn’t imply, everyone eats this crap.
What do you think about prejudices like “all americans are fat and unhealthy because they eat hamburgers and fries all day” or “all americans are incompetent in geography and confuse Sweden with Netherlands”. What if others judge you by the commercials in US TV? Is everyone an idiot, who is not familiar with european cities?