German Cookbook Recipes

Baked Apple Cake

Makes 1 9 1/2-in (24-cm) cake

Ingredients

For the pastry:

• 7 1/2 oz (200 g) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 5 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 large egg
• 7 tbsp softened unsalted butter

For the custard filling: 

• 8 small, tart apples
• juice of 1 lemon
• vanilla pudding mix (not instant)
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 2 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 3 tbsp sliced almonds

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) or 325°F (170°C) if you are using convection heat. Grease a 9 1/2-in (24-cm) spring-form pan. To make the pastry, sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Using the dough hook attachment, knead the sugar, vanilla extract, salt, egg, and butter in an electric mixer to form a dough. Gather the dough into a smooth ball and divide it in two. Roll out one ball to line the base of the spring-form pan. Wrap the remaining dough in plastic wrap and chill. Lay the pastry in the base and prick it with the tines of a fork. Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and prebake the base for about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes. Leave the oven on. 
2. Form the second ball of dough into a long roll and shape it into an edge for the cake. Peel the whole apples and remove the cores with an apple corer. Sprinkle them with lemon juice and set them upright on the pastry base. Measure out enough pudding mix for 2 cups of milk in a bowl. Stir in the sugar and 1 cup of the cream. In a pot, bring the remaining cream to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove the cream from the stove and, stirring constantly with a wire whisk, pour in the pudding mixture. Return the pot to the stove and let the custard cook for 2 minutes more. Pour the hot custard over the apples and sprinkle the sliced almonds over the top. Place the cake on the middle rack of the oven and bake it for 65 minutes. 

Tip: If you would like to bake the cake with raisins, soak 5 tablespoons of raisins in 2 - 3 tablespoons rum for 30 minutes, sprinkle them over the apples, and then pour the custard over the apples. 

Frankfurt Herb Sauce

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 9 large eggs
• 1 bunch each of chives, flat-leaf parsley, borage, sorrel, salad burnet, chervil, and watercress
• 7 oz (200 g) crème fraîche
• 14 oz (400 g) sour cream
• 4 1/2 oz (125 g) quark (alternatively, use a thick and creamy, plain, non-fat yogurt
• 1 level tsp mustard
• 2 tsp salt
• 2.2 lb (1 kg) yellow potatoes, such as Yukon Gold
• 1/2 tsp caraway seeds
• small pieces of butter for the potatoes

Instructions

1. Cook the eggs for 8 - 10 minutes until they are hard-boiled. Peel the eggs. Chop 1 egg finely and set it aside. Wash the herbs, pat them dry, and chop them coarsely. Put the crème fraîche in the food processor, add the herbs, and purée. Gradually add the sour cream, quark or yogurt, mustard, and 1 level teaspoon salt to the food processor and mix thoroughly. The sauce should be thick and creamy. Place the sauce in a bowl and stir in the chopped egg. Taste for seasoning. Add a bit of salt if needed. 
2. Scrub the potatoes and place them in a pot. Add 1 teaspoon of the salt and the caraway seeds. Fill the pot with cold water until the potatoes are just covered. Set the lid on the pot, bring the water to a boil, and cook the potatoes over moderate heat for about 20 minutes or until they are done. Turn off the heat. Drain the potatoes, return them to the pot, and shake them back and forth until all the water has evaporated. Peel the potatoes and keep warm. 
3. To serve, place 1 large ladle of herb sauce onto each plate along with 2 hard-boiled eggs and a few peeled potatoes. Distribute the pieces of butter over the potatoes and salt to taste. 

Tip: If you don't have a food processor, or if you prefer hand-chopped herbs, chop the herbs very finely and stir them into the liquid with a large wire whisk. If you have trouble finding any of the herbs listed above, substitute baby field greens, arugula, lovage, or stalk celery leaves, young beet leaves - whatever you like. Just keep in mind that no one herb should dominate.

Kale and Sausage Stew

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 lb (800 g) small potatoes (such as fingerlings or new potatoes)
• salt to taste
• 3 1/4 lb (1 1/2 kg) kale
• 2 onions
• 3 tbsp pork lard or clarified unsalted butter 
• pepper
• 1 heaping tbsp sugar
• 8 sausages, such as mild chorizo
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• mustard to taste

Instructions

1. Cook the potatoes in salted water and peel them. Set them aside. Strip the kale leaves from the ribs. Thoroughly wash the kale, changing the water several times until it is clean - kale can be quite sandy. Let it drain in a sieve. Peel the onions and chop them finely. Melt the pork lard or clarified butter in a large pot and sauté the onions until they are translucent. Coarsely chop the kale and add it to the onions. Stirring constantly, briefly cook the kale and onions and season liberally with salt, pepper, and 1 pinch of sugar. Pour in 1 cup of water and stir. Place the sausages on top of the kale. Cover and let simmer on a low heat for 2 hours. 
2. Shortly before the kale is cooked, melt the butter in a large, heavy, frying pan. Add the peeled potatoes and cook them over moderate heat until they are golden-brown. Evenly sprinkle the remaining sugar over the potatoes and, turning them frequently, caramelize them until they are golden-brown. Season with salt. Remove the sausages from the kale and arrange them on a pre-warmed platter with the potatoes. Return the kale to a boil, stirring constantly, boil briefly, and put the kale into a bowl. Serve any kind of mustard you like as a condiment for the sausages. 

Tip: Instead of or in addition to the sausages (but then only buy two sausages), kale also tastes very good served with smoked pork loin (kasseler). While you are sautéing the onions, brown 4 pieces of smoked pork loin in the lard but take them out of the pan before the onions become translucent. Then place the smoked pork loin and the sausages on top of the kale. 

Pickled Red Cabbage Salad

Makes about 4 jars - 2 cups (500 ml) each

Ingredients

• 1 head of red cabbage (about 4 1/2 lb (2 kg))
• 3 tbsp salt
• 8 1/2 cups fruit vinegar (such as apple vinegar)
• 5 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp coarsely crushed black peppercorns
• 1 tbsp coarsely crushed allspice berries
• a 2 in (5 cm) strip of thinly-peeled organic orange peel

Instructions

1. Quarter the red cabbage and remove its core. Shred the cabbage finely and place it in a glass or ceramic bowl. Add the salt and toss well. Using a cabbage or potato masher, vigorously mash the cabbage for 5 minutes. Place it uncovered in the refrigerator or another cool place for 24 hours. Pour the cabbage into a sieve and let it drain well. Then, place the cabbage and the remaining ingredients in a nonreactive pot. Bring everything to a boil and cook gently over moderate heat for about 15 minutes, stirring often. 
2. Fill a boiling-water canner half-full with water and heat the water until it is hot but not boiling. Using a slotted spoon, remove the cabbage from the pot and fill it into sterilized jars. Return the liquid in the pot to a boil and pour the piping-hot liquid over the red cabbage until the jars are filled, leaving a 1/4 in (5 mm) headspace. Seal the jars with sterilized self-sealing lids and jar rings. Place them in the boiling-water canner, adding boiling water if needed to ensure the tops of the jars are covered by about 1 in (2.5 cm) of water. 
3. Bring the water to a rolling boil over high heat and boil for 10 minutes. Let the cabbage marinate in the jars for at least 1 - 2 weeks. Stored in a cool, dark, place, the pickled red cabbage will keep for 4 - 6 months. Store opened jars in the refrigerator and use the red cabbage salad within 3 days. 

Tip: To make green cabbage salad, replace the allspice berries with caraway seeds and use a bay leaf instead of orange peel.

Potato and Jam Pastries

Makes 1 dozen pastries

Ingredients

• 9 oz (250g) salad potatoes, such as Yukon Gold
• 1 3/4 oz (50g) softened unsalted butter
• 2 large eggs
• 3 1/2 oz (100g) sugar
• 9 oz (250g) flour
• 1/2 tsp double-acting baking powder
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 12 heaping tsp jam to taste
• 3 tbsp milk
• a bit of confectioner's sugar

Instructions

1. The day before you want to make the pastries, boil the unpeeled potatoes in liberally salted water until they are done. On baking day, peel the potatoes and put them through a potato ricer. Cream the softened butter and the eggs and sugar in a bowl until thick and fluffy. Mix in the vanilla extract and the potatoes. Mix the flour with the baking powder and salt and beat into the potato mixture. Lightly knead the dough, gather it into a ball, cover it with plastic wrap, and let it rest for 1 1/2 hours in the refrigerator. 
2. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Roll out the dough on a floured work surface until it is 1/4 inch (5mm) thick. Cut out 12 squares about 4 inches (10cm) on each side. Spread each square with 1 heaping teaspoon of the jam. Working from the tip, roll up the squares diagonally into croissant shapes. Place them on the parchment paper and brush them with milk. Place the baking tray on the middle rack of the oven and bake the triangles for 20 - 25 minutes until they are golden-brown. Remove the baking tray from the oven and dust the pastries lightly with confectioner's sugar. 

Tip: Apricot jam, plum butter, or rosehip butter also make good fillings for the pastries. Don't worry if a bit of the jam leaks out when the pastries are baking, they taste even better.

Potato-Cucumber Salad

Schnitzels

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the potato-cucumber salad:

• 1 3/4 lb (800 g) yellow potatoes, such as Yukon Gold
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 English cucumber
• 1 cup beef broth
• 3 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 5 tbsp sunflower oil
• 1 tsp medium-hot mustard
• 1 small onion
• 1 bunch of chives

For the schnitzels: 

• 4 thinly-cut boneless top round veal cutlets 1/4 lb (120 g) each 
• a bit of vegetable oil
• salt to taste
• pepper
• freshly grated nutmeg
• 4 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 3 1/2 oz (100 g) fresh bread crumbs
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tbsp milk
• 7 1/2 oz (200 g) clarified unsalted butter
• 4 lemon wedges
• cranberry sauce to taste

Instructions

1. To make the potato and cucumber salad, wash the potatoes, place them in a pot, and cover with cold water. Add salt. Cover the pot, bring the water to a boil, and cook the potatoes for about 15 minutes until they are done. While they are cooking, peel the cucumber and slice it thinly. Heat the beef broth in a small pot. In a large bowl, combine the vinegar, oil, mustard, and a pinch of salt to make a dressing. 
2. Drain the potatoes, let the steam evaporate, and peel them while they are hot. Cut them into thin slices directly into the dressing. Add the hot broth to the potatoes one-third at a time, tossing carefully after each addition. Wait 10 minutes between each addition to let the potatoes absorb the broth. Finely grate the onion. Chop the chives very finely. When the potato salad is lukewarm, add the cucumber slices, grated onion, and chives. 
3. To make the schnitzels, spread a layer of plastic wrap on a work surface and grease it lightly with the vegetable oil. Place the veal cutlets on the plastic wrap and cover them with another layer of wrap. Carefully flatten the cutlets with a meat pounder until they are about 1/8 in (3 mm) thick. Strip off the wrap and season the schnitzels on both sides with salt, pepper, and a bit of nutmeg. Place the flour and bread crumbs on two separate plates. In a deeper plate, mix together the milk and the egg. 
4. Heat the clarified butter in a large, heavy, frying pan. Dip each side of the schitzels into the flour, egg mixture, and bread crumbs. Shake off any excess breading. To get the coveted slightly wavy, bread-crumbed crust, do not press down on the schnitzels! Immediately place the schnitzels in the hot butter and fry them until they are golden brown. They should float in the butter as they fry. Shake the frying pan gently back and forth so that the butter flows over the schnitzel. After about 2 - 3 minutes, carefully turn each schnitzel and fry it on the other side for 2 - 3 minutes. Remove the schnitzels from the frying pan and put them on paper towels to drain. Serve with lemon wedges, potato and cucumber salad and, if desired, with a bit of cranberry sauce. 

Quark Stollen

Makes 1 stollen

Ingredients

• 1 lb 2 oz (500 g) flour
• 1 1/2 oz (42 g) yeast cake or 2 tsp active dry yeast
• 7 1/2 oz (200 g) sugar
• 1/2 cup lukewarm milk
• 5 1/2 oz (150 g) raisins
• 9 oz (250 g) quark (alternatively, use thick and creamy, plain, non-fat yogurt)
• 2 large eggs
• 7 tbsp softened unsalted butter
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 oz (25 g) candied lemon peel
• 1 oz (25 g) candied orange peel
• 1 tsp melted unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp confectioner's sugar

Instructions

1. Sift the flour into a bowl and make a deep well in the center. Crumble the yeast in the well, then add the sugar and 4 tablespoons of the milk. Stirring in the well, carefully incorporate a bit of flour into the liquid. Cover the bowl and leave it in a warm place for 20 minutes until the yeast bubbles up. 
2. Wash the raisins in hot water and drain them. Add the raisins, the remaining milk, quark or yogurt, eggs, butter, the remaining sugar, salt, candied lemon peel, and candied orange peel to the dough. Using the dough hook of a hand mixer, knead the dough until it no longer sticks to the side of the bowl. 
3. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Flour your hands and gather the dough into a long loaf, place it on the baking tray, and place the stollen on the middle rack of a cold oven.
4. Heat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and bake the stollen for 45-55 minutes. After about 15-20 minutes, when the stollen is already light brown, it is important to cover it with parchment paper, otherwise it will become too dark. Remove the stollen from the oven and brush melted butter over it immediately. Let it cool. Before serving, dust the stollen with sifted confectioner's sugar. 

Tip: All the ingredients should be at room temperature so make sure to take them out of the refrigerator in advance. There are many ways to vary this stollen recipe. You can leave out the candied lemon peel and, instead, use grated organic lemon peel, or add chopped almonds or pistachios to the dough or put marzipan paste in the middle of the dough.

Raspberry Sponge Roll

Makes 1 sponge roll

Ingredients

• 4 large eggs
• 4 tbsp hot water
• 5 1/2 oz (150 g) sugar
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 oz (75 g) flour
• 1 3/4 oz (50 g) cornstarch
• 3/4 tsp double-acting baking powder
• 3 1/2 oz (100 g) sliced almonds
• 1 tsp unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 1 tbsp confectioner's sugar
• 10 1/2 oz (300 g) raspberries

Instructions

1. Line a 16x12x1 in (40x30x2.5 cm) baking tray with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C) or 350°F (180°C) on the convection setting. Using the highest setting of an electric hand mixer, beat the eggs and the 4 tablespoons of hot water in a large bowl until thick and foamy. Gradually add the sugar (reserving 3 teaspoons for later) and the vanilla extract. Beat for 2 minutes more. Combine the flour, cornstarch and baking powder, sift over the egg mixture, and gently fold them in. Pour the sponge batter onto the lined baking tray. It should be about 1/3 in (1 cm) deep. 
2. Place the tray on the bottom rack of the oven and bake the sponge for 10-15 minutes. Lightly sprinkle 1 tablespoon sugar on a clean dish towel. Remove the baked sponge from the oven and turn it out immediately on to the towel. Quickly, and carefully, peel off the parchment paper. Using the towel, roll up the sponge from the short side and let cool. 
3. Melt the butter in a nonstick frying pan. Add the sliced almonds and lightly roast them, stirring constantly. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of sugar over them, stir briefly, and remove from the heat. Whip the cream lightly, add the confectioner's sugar, and continue whipping until the cream forms stiff peaks. Unroll the sponge, leaving it on the towel. Spread half of the whipped cream evenly over the sponge. Sprinkle the raspberries with 1 teaspoon of sugar and press them lightly into the cream. Re-roll the sponge and filling but don't roll it up too firmly otherwise too much cream will squeeze out from the sides. Slice the ends of the roll with a knife to make them even. Spread the remaining cream over the raspberry roll and sprinkle it with the roasted sliced almonds. 

Tip: Sliced almonds often keep getting darker after roasting so as soon as you have roasted them, turn them out of the frying pan on to a cold plate. 

Strawberry and Rhubarb Jam

Makes about 5 jars - 8 oz (250 ml) each

Ingredients

• 2.2 lb (1 kg) strawberries
• 1 lb 2 oz (500 g) rhubarb
• 1 package light pectin crystals

Instructions

1. Wash and trim the strawberries, which should be free of bruises, and rhubarb. Cut the ends off the rhubarb stalks and chop the stalks into small pieces. Hull the strawberries, place them in a large nonreactive pot, and crush them with a potato masher. Add the rhubarb and sugar. Stirring constantly, bring the fruit to a full rolling boil and cook for 5-8 minutes. Use the masher to crush any still-intact pieces of fruit. When the setting point test shows the jam will set (see tip on page 176), immediately ladle the jam into sterilized glass jars, leaving a 1/4 in (5 mm) headspace. Cover the jars with sterilized self-sealing lids and jar rings. Fill a boiling-water canner half-full with hot water and heat the water until it is hot but not boiling. Place the jars in the canner, adding more boiling water if needed to ensure the tops of the jars are covered by about 1 in (2.5 cm) of water. Bring the water to a rolling boil over high heat and boil for 5 minutes. Let the jars cool. The jam will keep for about 12 months in a cool, dark place. 

Vegetable Soup with Semolina Dumplings

Serves 4

Instructions

For the vegetable broth:

• 1/4 celery root
• 1 large onion
• 2 large carrots
• 2 stalks of celery
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/2 bunch of flat-leaf parsley 
• 1 tsp tomato paste
• 1 level tsp salt
• 1 clove
• 1/4 cup peas (fresh or frozen)
• 1/4 cup chives chopped very finely

For the semolina dumplings: 

• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• salt to taste
• 1 large pinch of freshly-grated nutmeg
• 1/3 cup semolina
• 1 large egg

Instructions

1. To make the soup, clean the celery root, onion, carrots, and celery, dice finely, melt the butter in a large pot, and sauté the vegetables. Chop the parsley and add it to the pot along with the tomato paste, salt, and the clove, stir, and sauté briefly with the vegetables. Pour 5 1/4 cups of cold water into the pot. Bring all the ingredients to a boil and simmer on a low heat for about 30 minutes, stirring every now and then. If scum rises to the surface, skim it off with a slotted spoon. During the last 5 minutes of the cooking time, add the peas and taste the soup again for seasoning. Add salt if needed. 
2. To make the semolina dumplings, place the milk, butter, salt, and nutmeg in a small pot, bring to a boil, and remove from the heat. Add the semolina and cook, stirring constantly with a spoon, until a smooth ball forms and comes away from the sides of the pot. Then, beat in the egg. Using two teaspoons dipped into cold water now and then, cut out small dumplings from the semolina mixture. Place them directly into the simmering vegetable soup and let them poach in the liquid for 5 minutes. Ladle the soup and the dumplings into soup bowls and garnish with a sprinkling of chives.

Tip: This soup also tastes very good as a noodle soup and is quickly made. Instead of semolina dumplings, add a handful of star noodles to the soup during the last 5 minutes of cooking time.