Susi's Kochen und Backen 1st Blogoversary!

Wow, I can't believe it's been one whole year already since I started this "blog thing". One year ago, my very smart 17 year old daughter told me I should start a blog. Little did she, or I know what a fun and at times exhausting ride this would be. The year has certainly been filled with a few trials, a few extra gray hairs, but mostly great memories. If it wouldn't have been for my little "hiatus" named Valley Fever, I would have finished as strongly as I started, but sometimes life does not work out the way you intend it to. However, through all of this I could not be prouder of this blog and how far I have come. I have challenged myself with recipes, photography and writing. I'd like to think that I've improved in all areas. The cooking and baking part comes easily to me, the other two don't come as naturally, but it has been a great experience and learning curve. None of this would have been possible without all the support you guys have given me. Some of you have been around since the very beginning and I can't begin to express how much your kind comments have meant to me. Some of you are newer to my blog, nonetheless your friendship and equally encouraging comments have been what keeps me coming back. All of your great blogs are what drives me to push and improve myself everyday. The last year would have not been as possible or successful without all of you and for that I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I could not be prouder to have "met" every single one of you!

So what is in store for year 2 on Susi's Kochen und Backen Adventures? At this point, I'm just happy that I'm feeling well enough to blog again, however, I do have a few "monsters" I would like to tackle this year. Baking more of my own bread is on the top of my list, along with trying my hand at macarons which I have only admired on other blogs thus far. I would also like to challenge myself into creating more "original" recipes and keep working on my photography skills, which is still my greatest struggle (even though I think I've improved from my early months). I will also continue to feature more German recipes since I enjoy sharing my heritage with you. Lastly, but not least, some popular features will make a return along with a few more recipes that focus on healthy eating in general. I'm certainly looking forward to a great year and can't wait to share all of this with you!

To celebrate this momentum occasion I struggled with the decision of what recipe to feature today. I finally decided to go with this cupcake recipe and in true Susi's Kochen und Backen fashion, this recipe ended up turning out a bit different then intended.  Chocolate cupcakes, with a cream cheese center who were "supposed" to be topped with a chocolate glaze and chocolate curls. Unfortunately, once baked, the cupcakes decided to have a mind of their own and the cheesecake center decided to sink on me, leaving them looking more like craters then photographic gems I had envisioned. That's when I decided to macerate some of my bounty of frozen fruit from last summer and top the cupcakes with that. Everyone agreed that they looked prettier than the original in the book and while I can't compare taste, I'd like to think that the fruit gave them this little extra special something. These cupcakes were a hit and I will definitely be baking them again, "Susi's Kochen und Backen Style".

Black & White Cupcakes

 ~makes 12 cupcakes~

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

8 ounce cream cheese, at room temperature

1 tablespoon sour cream

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 cup cake flour

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup milk

1 cup berries, frozen or fresh, tossed with 2 tablespoons sugar

Preparation:

Toss berries with 2 tablespoons sugar and set aside.

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.

To make the cream cheese filling, in a bowl, using an electric mixer on high speed, beat the cream cheese until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the sour cream and 1/2 cup of the sugar and beat until combined.

To make the cupcake batter, sift together the cake flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl. In another bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the butter and remaining 3/4 cup sugar together until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the milk in 2 additions, beating on low speed until just combined; scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each about one-half full. Spoon the cream cheese filling onto the center of each, dividing it evenly (the filling will sink into the cupcakes as they bake). Bake until the cupcakes are set in the center, about 15-20 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Transfer the cupcakes to the wire rack and let cool completely, about 1 hour.

Right before serving top each cupcake with the berry mixture.

Adapted from: Cupcakes 

Nutella Espresso Mousse

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day! I know a lot of people think this is a Hallmark holiday, but it is nonetheless a great day to show that special person in your life how much you love them. And what better way to show that, than in the form of food, by making a dinner at home from scratch rather than going out. We always stay home, but that is because Valentine's Day is also my husbands birthday. I always cook him a special by request meal and tomorrow will be no different. He picked a wonderful authentic German meal for his birthday dinner and he could not be more excited about it. If you are a fan of my facebook page you know I have already spilled the beans of what I'm cooking. The recipes will certainly be featured soon. Anyway, I'm sure a lot of you already have your dinner plans for tomorrow firmed up as well, but if you are still looking for that final touch without a lot of fuss, then look no further.

Sometimes we tend to "over-think" desserts when in reality, simple can just be as effective and tasty. I had it in my head that I wanted to feature a chocolate mousse. After looking through some of my cookbooks I knew I didn't want to mess with raw eggs in my recipe that many versions suggested. I was looking for something simpler. I also wanted to kick up the flavors so instead of chocolate I decided I was going to use Nutella. Trying to think of ways to enhance the hazelnut flavor, Frangelico liqueur was my logical choice and to take it just a step further I figured espresso powder would harmonize with the mousse as well. For the espresso powder I have come to love the Starbucks Via packets. They pack a lot of flavor and incorporate beautifully into wet or dry ingredients.

This recipe literally does not get much easier and with only a handful of ingredients it won't break the bank either. Heavy Cream, a Starbucks Via packet, Frangelico liqueur and of course the star of this concoction; Nutella. The ingredients get mixed with a handmixer until everything comes together and the mixture forms soft peaks. Fill into your favorite dessert glasses and chill for a few hours in the refrigerator. Before serving, you can top the mousse with additional whipped cream or simply place some fruit on top. Easy, yet elegant, and the flavor is amazing! It tastes rich, full of chocolate with a hint of coffee. Even my non-chocolate loving husband gave this one the thumbs up. Think of this one as a chocolate pudding for grown-ups and spoil your special someone with this recipe tomorrow, he or she might thank you later ;o)

Nutella Espresso Mousse
(A Susi's Kochen und Backen Original) 
~makes 4 servings~

(Printable Version)

Ingredients:
1 cup chilled heavy cream
1 Starbucks Via Italian Roast Packet (1/2 teaspoon of espresso powder will work also)
 2 tablespoons Frangelico liqueur (Kahlua would be wonderful as well)
3/4 cup Nutella
Whipped Cream and Berries for topping (optional)

Preparation:
Combine heavy cream and espresso powder in a medium mixing bowl. Stir together. Add Frangelico and Nutella. Beat with an electric mixer 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and continue beating until soft peaks form. At this point the mousse is very soft/loose, but will firm up once chilled. Divide the mixture into the serving dishes of your choice and chill at least 2 hours in the refrigerator.
If desired, top with additional whipped cream or berries just before serving.

Meyer Lemon Curd

 

So I know January came and went and there was no new posts from Susi's Kochen und Backen. Honestly this time I don't have much of an excuse. After another sickness ridden month of December (this time the whole family) I realized once January came that all my momentum, all of my mojo, was simply gone. I don't know how to explain it properly, but just the thought of cooking, photographing the meal and then writing a post was too much to comprehend. I guess I needed another month to start getting myself back on track. After months of pretty much being useless, courtesy of the lovely disease "Valley Fever", my house needed some well deserved TLC as did my family. I haven't cooked anything fancy and quite frankly, it felt good to not have some of my self-imposed pressure looming over my head. However, after this long hiatus I'm ready to jump back into the blog world. This time around I will try to take things a little slower though and take a little bit more care of myself in the process. A big thank you, to all of you who decided to stick around. Your support truly means the world to me :o)

Anyhow, what do you make when life hands you Meyer Lemons? Of course, desserts! Not that any of us needed more sweets after the indulgence of the holidays, but my little lemon tree in the backyard was like the little engine that could and provided us with a fantastic amount of Meyer Lemons this year. With a freeze warning looming for Arizona the last week of December, I knew we had to pick all of our lemons as soon as possible so we wouldn't lose any of the precious fruit to the frost.

The first thing on my "to-do" list was a lemon curd. I love anything citrus and knew that this would go over well with the family also. Meyer Lemon's are less tart than store bought, think of them as a cross between a lemon and a mandarin. This recipe comes courtesy of Recipe Girl who adapted the recipe from Gourmet. The curd itself is certainly not a low-calorie dish, but is worth every indulgent spoon full. It is creamy, luscious goodness and with that, worth every calorie.

The recipe is not hard to make, all you need is about 15 minutes and a good stirring arm. Lemon juice, zest and sugar are whisked together in a bowl along with eggs. This mixture is set over simmering water in a double boiler and this is where the fun starts. You keep whisking away until the mixture is nice and thick and reaches a temperature of 160 F. While whisking, a stick of butter gets incorporated in 4 additions. After the curd is nice, thick and glossy, all that's left to do is cover the surface with plastic wrap (to prevent a skin from forming) and set in the fridge until cool.

If you are wondering what to do with lemon curd, let me tell you there is a plethora of options of what you can do with it, here are a few suggestions:

- Fill a white layer cake with the curd

- Use it as a filling in a pre-baked tart shell

- Spread it on a muffin, scone or biscuit

- Fill crepes with it

- Fold in some heavy whipped cream to make a wonderful light mousse

- Use it in a trifle

- Use it as a dip for fresh fruit

- Use it as a dip for homemade gingersnaps

Meyer Lemon Curd

~makes about 1 2/3 cups~

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

3 to 4 medium Meyer Lemons (about 1 lb.)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

Preparation:

Finely grate enough zest from lemons to measure 2 teaspoons and squeeze enough juice to measure 1/2 cup. Whisk together zest, juice, sugar, and eggs in a metal bowl and add butter. Set bowl over a saucepan of simmer water and cook, whisking. Once mixture gets warm, add the butter in 4 additions, whisking well after each until incorporated. Continue whisking until thickened and smooth and an instant read thermometer registers 160 degrees F. This can take anywhere from 6 to 15 minutes (depending on how well your bowl is conducting heat). Force curd through a fine sieve set into another bowl. Serve warm or cover surface of curd with plastic wrap and cool completely.

*Of course you can make this recipe with regular lemons as well. In that case increase the sugar to 3/4 cup. This curd will keep well covered in the refrigerator for about 1 week.

Adapted from: Recipe Girl and Gourmet