Remember how I wanted to learn to cook Indian, so I promised to make it once a week last year? That failed. I managed to cook quite a few Indian dishes, but few of them appeared on the blog because they just weren't that spectacular. Andrew and I would eat them, and they were moderately tasty, but nothing that I wanted to encouraged other people to make. As a result, I've put that project on hold until I can take some proper lessons from someone who knows how to make proper Indian food.Instead, I introduce my new cooking challenge: tortes. For some reason (perhaps centuries of national animosity?), the French bakery where I trained rarely made tortes. So I can whip up pate a choux, buttercream, and eclairs in my sleep, but I can't make a proper German cake. My trip last year to Muenchen reminded me how terrific these layered cakes, concoctions of cream, fruit, and nuts, really are. The introductory contestant is the Eierlikoertorte, from a recipe shared by a colleague, who has much more experience with German baking, as he is (1) German and (2) bakes more professionally than I do.
Eierlikoer is a cordial made of cream, eggs, and alcohol. Because I live in Miami, I couldn't buy the typical Northern European brands, but it turns out the Venezuelans like it too. The end result was a flourless cake (just almonds, chocolate, and lots of eggs), layered with a lingonberry jam and topped with whipped cream and more egg liquor. It was a smashing success.
P.S. Does anyone know how to include foreign characters, like umlauts, in blogger posts? I think this project will require heavy use of them.
9 comments:
I assume you are using your mac. In that case you would press Option-u-a and that would make รค.
On windows you hold down alt and press 0 2 2 8 then let go of alt.
You can see the full list of keys here: http://german.about.com/library/blcharcodes.htm
Oh yeah, nice cake too.
The food looks wonderful.
The milk jug has survived the journey from DC - the photos look professional and could be used in a cooking publication
I presuming you will be offering a full complement of vegetable low calorie tort options for we who are currently on multi-year diets :(
good lord, that torte looks incredible. I understand it's a challenge this year but do try not to give you and your hubby a heart attack from all the cream and sugar ;)
On the subject of Indian food at home. I have to say I have also not really satisfactorily made Indian food at home. I mean Indian food like the dishes I have had in India (or London!). I think it has to do with the quality of ingredients to be honest - the spices here I suspect have been sitting a while. Granted I don't feel too bad because the restaurant Indian food you get in Amsterdam is also not fantastic. If they can't recreate it I don't feel too bad if I can't do it at home.
Oh WOW!!! Can you email me the recipe? I'm sure all my celiac relatives would be VERY appreciative!!
I second Ellie's request. I have some celiac friends. I want to admire how beautiful and professional looking the torte is. I love the wafer garnish. At first, I thought it was the torte you saw in Germany at a bake shop!
I have heard that, in this day and age, Indian food really requires a pressure cooker to get the beans and lentils really creamy.
Loving yur blog and want to share with you another foodie friend's page:
https://www.facebook.com/#!/candacewalsh.spooning?sk=wall
Mmmmmm. I was going to say, "With that ingredient list how could you go wrong?" but then I thought, "She didn't even tell us how to go right!"
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