German Baking Today - German Baking Today Read online

  Foreword

  German Baking Today, the standard baking book for every household, is ideal for both beginners and experienced cooks.

  Having been extensively revised, this new edition now includes many new recipes, as well as the more classic cakes and pastries.

  In addition to popular, well-known recipes such as apple strudel, marble cake, Black Forest gâteau and Berliners, there are new recipes for muffins with chocolate chips, Maulwurftorte ("mole cake"), buttermilk slices with cherries and Mohnstriezel.

  All the recipes have been thoroughly tested and baked in Dr. Oetker’s test kitchen.

  We wish you every success with your baking and hope you will enjoy the cakes, torte, pastries and biscuits as well as the bread and bread rolls. Bon appétit!

  Contents

  C A K E M I X T U R E

  Recipes 1-24

  A L L - I N - O N E C A K E M I X T U R E

  Recipes 25-56

  S H O R T C R U S T PASTRY

  Recipes 57-52

  Y E A S T D O U G H

  Recipes 53-70

  S P O N G E M I X T U R E

  Recipes 71-84

  C H E E S E A N D O I L C A K E M I X T U R E

  Recipes 85-91

  C H O U X P A S T R Y

  Recipes 92-94

  S T R U D E L

  Recipes 95-98

  P U F F P A S T R Y

  Recipes 99-106

  M E R I N G U E C O N F E C T I O N E R Y

  Recipes 107-110

  P A S T R I E S F R I E D I N F A T

  Recipes 111-115

  C H R I S T M A S P A S T R Y

  Recipes 116-131

  B R E A D

  Recipes 132-140

  G L O S S A R Y A N D I N F O R M A T I O N

  A L P H A B E T I C A L I N D E X

  I M P R I N T

  General information about this book

  Read through the recipe carefully before you start cooking, or even better before buying the ingredients. The various stages of the recipe and the method will often appear much clearer if you have read it through first.

  Please look at the indications of quantities and spoon measurements on the inside covers of the book because they will be very useful when following a recipe.

  Preparation time:

  Preparation time refers to the time it takes to carry out the actual work. The preparation time does not include cooling down, marinating or soaking and waiting times during which no other activity takes place. Baking time is indicated separately. The preparation time is an approximate indication.

  Baking time and baking temperature:

  The baking temperatures and baking times indicated in the recipes are approximate values which can be reduced or increased depending on the individual heating performance of the oven. Be careful to follow the manufacturer’s instructions when using the oven and check whether it is done towards the end of the baking time indicated in the recipe.

  Nutritional values:

  The nutritional values indicated in the recipes are only valid for the amounts indicated. But they are not sufficient in the context of a diet plan.

  Advice:

  At the beginning of each section you will find a general guide including general information on the type of baking covered in the section, helpful tips, detailed descriptions of how to make dough as well as a basic recipe. In addition, you will also find a general guide at the end of the book dealing with subjects such as baking ingredients, flour, fats, mixers and blenders, ovens and baking temperatures, baking tins and utensils, garnishing and decorating, baking tips, problems, gelatine and technical terms.

  ADVICE

  Cake mixture

  Cake mixture is made with fat, sugar, eggs, plain (all-purpose) flour and baking powder. The ingredients are added in that order. Cake mixture has a light, crumbly texture which can be endlessly varied by the addition of ingredients such as flavourings, cocoa powder, starches, pieces of chocolate, raisins and so on.

  Preheating the oven

  Preheat the oven at the top and bottom. Even fan or gas ovens must be preheated if the baking time is 30 minutes or less. If the baking time exceeds 30 minutes, fan and gas ovens do not need to be preheated.

  Preparing the baking tin

  Coat the baking tin generously and evenly with soft margarine or butter using a brush. Do not use oil because this would run down the edge of the tin.

  If using a springform tin, grease only the bottom so that the pastry stays close to the side of the tin and does not “slide down”. To make it easier to remove cake from a rectangular tin or fluted mould, sprinkle some flour, breadcrumbs, ground hazelnuts or ground almonds over the tin after greasing it and distribute them around it by shaking and tapping it.

  Alternatively, grease a rectangular tin and line it with baking parchment. This will make it easier to remove the cake from the tin.

  Prepare the baking parchment as follows. Draw round the bottom of the tin on the baking parchment, then tip the tin up on each side in turn, drawing the shape of the sides. Cut out the corners and fold along the lines outlining the bottom of the tin.

  Use softened margarine or butter

  It is important to use softened margarine or butter that is neither runny nor too firm. Runny butter or margarine will not make a smooth dough, but if too hard it must be softened first. This is why it is important to take the butter or margarine out of the refrigerator in good time.

  Use a hand mixer with whisk set to the highest setting spreadable butter or margarine even softer.

  Adding the sugar

  Mix together the sugar and vanilla sugar (or 2–3 drops natural vanilla essence in 1–2 tablespoons sugar) and add little by little to the softened butter or margarine. Stir until it forms a smooth, homogenous mixture. Caster sugar is preferable to granulated sugar because it dissolves more easily. If using honey, add it a little at a time as well.

  Adding the flavouring

  When adding liquid essences, let the drops run along the tooth of a fork, because this will make it easier to measure out the required amount.

  Adding the eggs

  Crack each egg into a cup in order to check its freshness. Do not add all the eggs to the butter or margarine and sugar mixture at the same time because this makes it difficult to obtain a smooth mixture. Add each egg separately with the mixer on the highest setting and work in for ½ minute before adding the next one. If the eggs are too cold they may cause the butter or margarine to curdle and make the pastry gritty. However, this should not affect the successful outcome of the pastry.

  Mixing and sifting the plain (all-purpose) flour and baking powder

  If cornflour (cornstarch) or cocoa powder are among the ingredients, they should be mixed with the flour (with some exceptions, such as marble cake). Sifting the flour will aerate it and distribute the baking powder (and/or cornflour or cocoa powder) evenly in the flour. This will make the pastry lighter.

  Wholemeal flour and baking powder should only be mixed, not sifted together, because the coarser texture of the wholemeal flour makes sifting impossible.

  Stirring the flour at the medium setting

  Stir the liquid (usually milk) into the flour in two stages, with the mixer at the medium setting. Add only enough liquid so that the dough to drops off the spoon with difficulty. This means that the dough has the right consistency. If too much liquid is added, the cake or pastry will be left with streaks of sodden dough. Also, if the dough is too soft, heavier ingredients such as raisins will sink to the bottom. However, this does not apply to cake mixtures that contain a lot of fat and eggs and little or no liquid. These can be softer because the raw eggs wi
ll set when heated during the baking process.

  Baking powder should not come into direct contact with liquid because this would activate its rising properties prematurely.

  As soon as the milk has been added to the flour, stir it only briefly; otherwise the pastry or cake may have an irregular texture (i.e. air holes).

  Depending on the recipe, add the fruit to the cake mixture last

  Drain the tinned fruit thoroughly and, if necessary, place on kitchen paper to remove as much moisture as possible in order to prevent the dough or cake mixture from becoming too wet. Stir the fruit or other solid ingredients into the mixture using a dough scraper or mixer at the medium setting. If the mixture is stirred for too long at this stage, the fruit will be damaged and turn the mixture an unsightly colour. Cherries and other fruit can be prevented from sinking to the bottom by coating them lightly in plain (all-purpose) flour before stirring them into the mixture.

  Putting the cake mixture in the tin or mould

  It is best to use a dough scraper to put the cake mixture in the prepared tin and smooth the surface flat. The tin should be twothirds filled with the cake mixture.

  Baking the cake mixture

  Cake mixture must be baked immediately after it has been made, following the instructions in the recipe. Put the tin on a shelf in the oven.

  At the end of the baking time indicated in the recipe, check that the cake has been baked long enough. To do so, stick a wooden cocktail stick into the thickest part of the cake. If the stick comes out dry with no cake mixture attached to it, the cake is ready. After taking it out of the oven, put the tin on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then remove the cake from the tin and leave to cool down. Remove fruit flan base from the flan tin immediately.

  Storing

  When the cake has cooled, wrap it in aluminium foil and it will keep for several days. Cake may also be frozen and allowed to defrost at room temperature. Do not unwrap before defrosting.

  CAKE MIXTURE

  1 | Basic recipe for 1 rectangular cake

  For a rectangular tin (25 x 11 cm/10 x 41⁄2 in):

  some fat

  plain (all-purpose) flour

  For the cake mixture:

  250 g/9 oz (11⁄4 cups) soft margarine or butter

  150 g/5 oz (3⁄4 cup) sugar

  1 sachet vanilla sugar or 2–3 drops vanilla essence in 1 tablespoon sugar

  1 pinch salt

  4 medium eggs

  300 g/10 oz (3 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour

  4 level teaspoons baking powder

  4 teaspoons milk

  1. Preheat the oven at the top and bottom. Grease the tin and then dust with flour.

  2. Stir the soft margarine or butter in a mixing bowl using a hand mixer with whisk to obtain a smooth, homogenous consistency. Add the sugar, vanilla sugar and salt gradually, stirring continuously until the mixture has thickened. Add each egg separately and whisk at the highest setting for about 1⁄2 minute each time.

  3. Mix together the flour and baking powder, sift and add to the margarine or butter in two stages, alternating with the milk, using the mixer at a medium setting.

  4. Transfer the cake mixture to the greased, floured tin and smooth out. Put the tin on a shelf in the oven. After 15 minutes in the oven, cut the cake in half lengthways to a depth of 1 cm⁄3⁄8 in using a sharp knife.

  Top/bottom heat: about 180 °C/350 °F (preheated),

  Fan oven: about 160 °C/325 °F (not preheated), Gas mark 4 (not preheated),

  Baking time: about 60 minutes.

  5. Take the cake out of the oven, leave in the tin for 10 minutes, then remove from the tin and leave to cool on a wire rack.

  CAKE MIXTURE

  2 | Basic recipe for 1 round cake

  For a deep flan tin (diameter 28 or 30 cm/11 or 12 in):

  some fat

  For the cake mixture:

  125 g/41⁄2 oz (5⁄8 cup) soft margarine or butter

  100 g/31⁄2 oz (1⁄2 cup) sugar

  1 sachet vanilla sugar or 2–3 drops vanilla essence in 1 tablespoon sugar

  1 pinch salt

  2 medium eggs

  175 g/71⁄2 oz (2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour

  1 level teaspoon baking powder

  2 teaspoons milk

  1. Preheat the oven and grease the tin.

  2. To make the cake mixture, stir the softened margarine or butter with a hand mixer with whisk until it becomes smooth and homogenous. Gradually add the sugar, vanilla sugar and salt, and stir until the mixture thickens. Add 1 egg at a time, whisking each one for about ½ minute at the highest setting.

  3. Mix together the baking powder and flour, sift and add to the margarine or butter in two stages, alternating with the milk, with the mixer at the medium setting.

  4. Transfer the cake mixture to the prepared tin and smooth out. Place the tin on a shelf in the oven.

  Top/bottom heat: about 180 °C/350 °F (preheated),

  Fan oven: about 160 °C/325 °F (preheated), Gas mark 4 (preheated),

  Baking time: about 20 minutes.

  5. After removing the flan base from the oven, turn it out of the tin onto a rack covered with baking parchment and leave to cool.

  Tip: Cover the flan base with a topping, for instance of 500 g/18 oz fruit in season, such as strawberries, red currants or peaches. To make arrowroot glaze, take 250 ml/8 fl oz (1 cup) water or fruit juice. Blend 2 teaspoons arrowroot with a little of the liquid, then stir in the rest of the liquid. Bring to the boil and simmer for 1⁄2–1 minute until it is clear. When cool, pour it over the fruit using a tablespoon. Leave the glaze to set before serving.

  CAKE MIXTURE

  3 | Fruit cake

  Popular (about 20 pieces)

  Preparation time: about 30 minutes

  Baking time: about 80 minutes

  For a rectangular tin (35 x 11 cm/14 x 41⁄2 in) or a gugelhupf mould (diameter 24 cm/91⁄2 in):

  some fat

  plain (all-purpose) flour

  For the cake mixture:

  50 g/2 oz candied lemon peel

  50 g/2 oz candied cherries

  300 g/10 oz (13⁄8 cups) soft margarine or butter

  250 g/9 oz (11⁄8 cups) sugar

  1 sachet vanilla sugar or 2–3 drops vanilla essence in 1 tablespoon sugar

  2–3 drops lemon essence or 5–6 drops rum essence

  1 pinch salt

  5 medium eggs

  500 g/18 oz (5 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour

  4 level teaspoons baking powder

  1–2 tablespoons milk 250 g/9 oz raisins

  Per piece:

  P: 2 g, F: 14 g, C: 25 g, kJ: 1005, kcal: 240

  1. Preheat the oven at the top and bottom. Grease and flour the rectangular or fluted tin. Chop the candied lemon peel and candied cherries into small pieces to add to the cake mixture.

  2. To make the cake mixture, stir the softened margarine or butter with a hand mixer with whisk until it becomes smooth and homogenous. Gradually add the sugar, vanilla sugar, lemon or rum essence and salt, and stir until the mixture thickens. Add 1 egg at a time, whisking each one for about 1⁄2 minute at the highest setting.

  3. Mix together the baking powder and flour, sift and add to the margarine or butter in 2 stages, alternating with the milk, stirring briefly with the mixer at medium setting. Now add the raisins, candied lemon peel and cherries and stir with the mixer at medium setting. Spoon the cake mixture into the tin, smooth out and put on a shelf in the oven.

  Top/bottom heat: about 180 °C/350 °F (preheated),

  Fan oven: about 160 °C/325 °F (not preheated), Gas mark 4 (not preheated),

  Baking time: about 80 minutes.

  4. After taking out of the oven, leave the cake in the tin for about 10 minutes, then remove from the tin and leave to cool on a rack.

  CAKE MIXTURE

  4 | Bergische Waffeln (Bergisch waffles)

  Quick (8–10 pieces)

  Preparation and baking time: about 60 minutes


  For the waffle iron:

  some cooking oil

  For the waffle mixture:

  125 g/41⁄2 oz (5⁄8 cup) soft

  margarine or butter

  75 g/3 oz (1⁄3 cup) sugar

  2–3 drops vanilla essence in 1 tablespoon sugar

  2 medium eggs

  250 g/9 oz (21⁄2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour

  1⁄2 level teaspoon baking powder

  about 180 ml/6 oz buttermilk

  4 teaspoons runny honey

  some icing (confectioner’s) sugar

  Per piece:

  P: 5 g, F: 13 g, C: 30 g, kJ: 1095, kcal: 262

  1. Preheat the waffle iron to the maximum setting.

  2. To make the waffle mixture, stir the softened margarine or butter with a hand mixer with whisk until it becomes smooth and homogenous. Gradually add the sugar, vanilla sugar and salt and stir until the mixture thickens. Add 1 egg at a time, whisking each one for about 1⁄2 minute at the highest setting.

  3. Mix together the baking powder and flour, sift and stir into the margarine or butter in two stages, alternating with the buttermilk, using the mixer at the medium setting. Finally stir in the honey.

  4. Reduce the temperature of the waffle iron to medium and grease using a baking brush. Spoon the mixture onto the waffle iron in portions that are not too large. Bake until golden brown and leave to cool down (not stacked) on a rack. Dust the waffles with icing sugar.

  Tip: Serve Bergisch waffles with sour cherries, rice pudding and cream.

  CAKE MIXTURE

  5 | Crème fraîche waffles

  Easy (8–10 pieces)

  Preparation and baking time: about 60 minutes

  For the waffle iron:

  some cooking oil

  For the waffle mixture:

  300 g/10 oz crème fraîche,

  100 g/31⁄2 oz (1⁄2 cup) sugar

  2–3 drops vanilla essence in 1 tablespoon sugar