Pecan Cake / Nusstorte

We’ve been having winter like weather here in Ontario, with lots of snow and cold temperatures.  It’s snowing as I’m writing this blog post and there is a snow squall warning in effect.

I made this Pecan Cake for my son’s 17th Birthday. The original recipe uses Hazelnuts but my son really likes Pecan nuts, so I used these instead. It was delicious with a simple whipped cream filling and a few maple caramelized pecans to finish it up.

Pecan Cake / Nusstorte

• 220 g coconut sugar
• 6 egg yolks
• 2 tbsp rum
• 6 egg whites
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp honey
• 300 g ground pecans
• 1 tbsp spelt flour

-Grease and flour two 9-inch baking forms.

-Whisk together the coconut sugar, egg yolks and the rum.

-In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites with the salt and baking powder until stiff peaks form. Add the honey and whisk until combined.

-Mix together the flour and pecan nuts then gently with the egg whites, a little at a time, stir/fold under the egg yolk mix until well combined.

-Fill into prepared baking forms and bake in preheated  350 F oven for 20 minutes then change temperatures to 300 F and finish bake for another 40 minutes or until tester inserted into centre of cakes come out clean.

-Let cool completely.

For the filling: 300 ml 35% cream, 2 tbsp honey

-Whisk the cream until stiff peaks form, add the honey and whisk until combined.

-Fill and decorate as desired, I also used some maple caramelized pecan halves to decorate which was really delicious. You can easily make it yourself. Combine maple syrup and pecan halves in a small saucepan and let simmer until caramelized.

Have a wonderful week!

Enjoy!

Ursula 

 

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littleswisslittlecanadian

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Happy 1st November!

Time sure has gone by fast since I posted my last recipe here. I hope you’ll forgive my lack of responding and also reading and commenting on blog posts.

We’ve been having a beautiful fall. I just love the colorful leaves and pumpkins and everything pumpkin spice!

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Yields: 12

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup coconut sugar
• 2 cup spelt flour
• 1/2 cup oats
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp pumpkin spice
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• pinch salt
• Optional, add raisins, choc chips…
• Extra topping:
• 4 tbsp butter, melted
• 3 tbsp maple syrup
• 1/2 tbsp pumpkin spice
• 2 tbsp spelt flour
• 2 tbsp ground walnuts

-Preheat oven to 375F

-Mix together butter, milk, eggs, pumpkin puree, vanilla and coconut sugar. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin spice, cinnamon and salt. Stir until well combined.

-Fill into 12 muffin tins.

-Mix together the butter, maple syrup, pumpkin spice, flour and ground walnuts.

-Spread the mixture evenly onto the muffins. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, then lower temperature to 350F and finish bake the muffins for about 20 minutes or until tester inserted into centre of muffins comes out clean.

 

Enjoy!

Ursula 

 

 

 

 

 

Streusel Cake with Apple Pie Filling

Hello everyone, happy Wednesday!

I’ve made this lovely and delicious cake with yummy homemade apple pie filling and lots of streusel on top!

And of course I used local apples from Crunican Orchards as well as flour from Arva Flour Mills of London Ontario.

 

Streusel Cake with Apple Pie Filling

Cake:

• 2 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup butter, soft
• 1 cup sugar or maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream

Streusel:

• 40 g unbleached all-purpose flour
• 60 g sugar
• 60 g ground almonds
• 50 g butter, soft

Apple Pie Filling:

• 5 small apples, peeled and chopped
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• maple syrup to sweeten, if desired

 

For the Apple Pie Filling:

-In a medium saucepan add the chopped apples, lemon juice and cinnamon. Let simmer on low heat until apples are tender. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

For the Streusel:

-Combine all ingredients and mix until crumbly.

For the Cake:

-In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.

-In a large bowl, cream butter with sugar until well mixed. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well. Stir in dry ingredients alternately with the sour cream. Fill batter into a 24 cm Springform pan, greased and floured. Spread the apple pie filling evenly on to the batter then top with the streusel.

-Bake in preheated 350F oven for about 45 minutes or until golden brown and tester inserted into middle comes out clean.

 

Happy Baking! Enjoy!

Ursula

 

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Pumpkin Cookies

Happy Halloween!

I hope you are all having a fun and not too scary Halloween! Thinking back of those times when my kids were still little and impatiently waiting for this day to come. Such cute memories of my daughter mostly dressing up as a little princess, my son trying out different characters from cowboy to Star Wars Darth Vader 🙂

I’ve made these delicious, melt-in-your-mouth pumpkin cookies, all dressed up for Halloween, these are the perfect fall or holiday cookie, with a lovely pumpkin and spice flavor. Can be enjoyed with or without icing. I used maple butter as an icing.

 

 

Pumpkin Cookies

• 1/2 cup butter, soft
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups maple syrup
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups white spelt flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg

-Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

-Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt, set aside.

-Cream together the butter, egg and maple syrup. Add pumpkin puree and vanilla, beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls, flatten slightly.

-Bake for 15-20 minutes in the preheated oven or until lightly browned. Let cool completely. Drizzle with maple butter or icing.

Tip: -Use 3 teaspoons of pumpkin spice. – Substitute spelt flour with whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour.

 

Enjoy!

Ursula

 

You can find me on Instagram: littleswisslittlecanadian

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thurgauer Apfeltorte

Happy weekend everyone!

It has been a busy but wonderful last few weeks, with my mom and stepdad visiting. It was a special gift for my daughter to be here for her high school commencement, which was a lovely evening full of joy, pride and maybe a few happy tears! We were also able to celebrate my moms birthday, this was the first time in 20 years! We just never visited each other during fall. Living so far apart makes it difficult to see each other for every birthday or other celebrations. It was very special and meant a lot to all of us.

The weather was not always so great, lots of rain and chilly winds and this week humid hot days that now turned into a cold and frosty weekend. Over the last two weeks we could really see how the leaves are changing colour and showcasing a beautiful indian summer. 

We made this traditional Swiss apple cake, Thurgauer Apfeltorte, which means it is a recipe from the Canton of Thurgau. A simple but very delicious apple cake made with fresh, local apples.

 

Thurgauer Apfeltorte

• 150 g butter, soft
• 150 ml maple syrup
• 1 organic lemon, zest and juice
• pinch salt
• 3 eggs
• 150 g spelt flour or unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3 apples, peeled, cored, cut in half
• 3 tbsp coconut sugar

 

-Line the bottom of a 24 cm Springform pan with parchment paper, grease and flour the sides. Preheat oven to 350F/180C.

-Whisk together the butter, maple syrup, half of the lemon juice, lemon zest and salt. Add eggs one at the time, mixing well.

-Peel apples, cut in half, remove core and cut in thinly but not all the way through. Mix with half of the lemon juice and coconut sugar, set aside.

-Add the flour and baking powder and mix until well combined. Pour into prepared baking pan. Top with the apples and bake for about 45 minutes or until cake is golden brown and tester comes out clean.

-Let cool completely, dust with some icing sugar if desired.

-Tip: Cane sugar can be used instead of the maple syrup and coconut sugar–

 

Visit my Instagram page for more pictures including our trip to Niagara Falls!  littleswisslittlecanadian

 

Enjoy!

Ursula

 

 

 

 

 

 

Plum Tart / Zwetschgenwaehe

Love this time of the year with all the peaches, plums and fresh apples locally available. I’ve felt like making a traditional Swiss Plum Tart. Simple way of using any kind of fruits. Flaky, buttery crust, plums, cinnamon and I added a small Canadian touch by using maple syrup-simply delicious!

 

 

Plum Tart / Zwetschgenwaehe

Crust:

• 150 g white spelt flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 75 g butter, cold, cut into small pieces
• 3 – 4 tbsp cold water

Filling:

• 2 tbsp ground hazelnut or almonds
• 8 – 9 plums / Zwetschgen, cut into 1/4
• 100 ml cream
• 1 egg
• 3 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp cinnamon

 

-In a  medium bowl add the flour and salt. Mix in the butter with your hands until  small crumbs form, add 3 tbs of water, mix until well combined, adding more water if needed. Do not knead to long. Refrigerate for 30 min.

-Grease and flour a 26 cm tart or pie form. Preheat oven to 375 F (convection setting).

-Roll out dough and fit into prepared tart form. Sprinkle evenly with the ground nuts.

-Whisk together the cream, egg, maple syrup and cinnamon.

-Arrange plums and top with the cream.

-Bake in preheated oven for about 30 min.

-Dust with some icing sugar, can be served with whipped cream.

 

 

Simply delicious!

Enjoy!

Ursula

 

You can find me on Instagram: littleswisslittlecanadian

 

 

 

 

 

 

Caramel Apple Sticky Buns

I got the inspiration for these sticky buns from the October 2017 edition of the Canadian Living magazine. I’ve been waiting impatiently to try them. A pretty sticky bun situation, with an apple and pecan filling and sticky caramel made with apple juice and sugar.

As always I’ve made these completely refined sugar free, but I will write down the original ingredients as well. These are best enjoyed freshly baked and still warm.

 

Caramel Apple Sticky Buns

Yields: 12 buns

Dough:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour, I used white whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup sugar, I used honey
• 11/2 tsp quick-rising (instant) dry yeast
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

Glaze and Filling:

• 4 apples
• 1 cup brown sugar, I used coconut sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 2 cups chopped pecans
• 1 cup apple butter*
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp ground ginger

To make the dough:

-In a large bowl mix together flour, sugar, yeast and salt. In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat, add milk and heat until warm, (not hot). Pour milk mixture into flour mixture, add egg. Stir until combined. Turn onto floured work surface and knead dough until soft and elastic. Place in greased bowl, turning to grease all over then cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in size, about 1-2 hours.

Glaze and Filling: Line a 13- x 9-inch baking dish with parchment paper.

-Meanwhile (optional peel) grate apples to measure 4 cups; strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl, pressing on solids with back of spoon to extract juice. Reserve grated apple.

-In a small saucepan, bring apple juice and brown sugar to boil over medium-high heat until thickened, about 5 minutes. Add butter; cook, stirring for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Reserving 3 tbsp, spread remaining glaze evenly over bottom of prepared pan; sprinkle with 1 cup of the pecans, In a bowl stir together apple butter, reserved 3 tbsp glaze, cinnamon and ginger.

Assembly:

-Preheat oven to 350F/180C.

-On a slightly floured surface roll out dough to a 16-x 12-inch rectangle. Leaving 1/2-inch border on 1 long edge, spread apple butter mixture evenly over dough; sprinkle reserved apple and pecans over top. Starting at the long edge opposite border, tightly roll up dough, pinching seams to seal.

-With a serrated knife, cut into 12 buns; arrange, cut side up, in prepared pan. Cover with a damp tea towel; let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

-Bake until golden brown and buns sound hollow when gently tapped, 30-35 minutes. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes before serving.

 

*I’ve made these without the apple butter, because I did not have any at the time.

-Also I found the sticky buns were not really sticky after baking, maybe it depends how much juice you’ll get from the apples. I’ve made an additional simple maple glaze: In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup of maple syrup and 1 tsp cinnamon to a boil, then reduce to low heat, stirring until slightly thickens; add the butter, stir until melted, remove from heat and pour over baked buns.

 

Enjoy!

Wishing you all a great weekend!

Ursula

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Apfel Puddingteilchen/Apple Pudding Danish

Pastry filled with vanilla pudding or custard then topped optional with fruit of choice I stayed with autumnal fruits like our local apples, really simple but oh so yummy treat that you could find in any German bakery. Again I had some trouble figuring out how to call this in English, did not have much luck so I am just calling it a danish.

There are so many delicious apple dessert that I would like to make, but it would just be to much to eat;) I am glad to be able to get back into baking and also eating normal again, after being sick for the last two weeks. Strong stomach pain kept my in bed or on the washroom for most of the time. I am feeling much better now, trying to get back into normal eating without getting stomach pain can be challenging. Also hope to get back to posting a recipe per week again.

 

 

Recipe is adapted from Chefkoch.de

Apple Pudding Danish

Pastry Dough:

• 300 g unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 80 g honey or sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 pkg vanilla sugar or 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 150 g quark or greek yogurt
• 6 tbsp milk
• 6 tbsp oil, canola or coconut oil

Filling:

• 1 pkg vanilla pudding powder, Dr. Oetker
• 500 ml milk
• 40 g honey or sugar, or more

Apple Topping:

• 2 1/2 medium apples, peeled and sliced
• 1/4 cup maple syrup or more
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp cinnamon

For Eggwash:

• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tbsp milk

-Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

-Prepare vanilla pudding according to package a few hours ahead, it needs to cool down and set.

-Mix apples with the maple syrup, lemon juice and cinnamon and let simmer on medium/low heat for about 10 minutes.

-In a medium bowl mix together quark, milk, oil, honey, vanilla extract and salt. Sift flour and baking powder into the wet ingredients and mix it well until holds together, it will be a soft dough.

-On a floured surface roll out the dough into a rectangle, then cut into 10-12 pieces. Transfer pieces onto baking sheet and fold edges in slightly. You can keep a rectangle shape or make it more round or traditionally into a pretzel shape.

-Add 2-3 tbsp of vanilla pudding into the center of the pastry then top with the apples.

-Brush pastry with the egg wash, sprinkle with some slivered almonds if you like

-Bake in a preheated 350F/180C oven for 20-25 minutes or golden brown.

 

I hope you give this recipe a try, it is so good, perfect for your afternoon tea or coffee!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Ursula

 

 

 

Pumpkin Spice Babka

This is just a simple sweet yeastbread filled with pumpkin and spices and glazed generously with spiced maple syrup. I just love the smell and taste of this. I usually make babkas (Nussstriezel) filled with ground hazelnuts or almonds, I was surprised how good it was with a pumpkin filling.

Nothing complicated for the filling, just pumpkin puree sweetened with coconut sugar, spiced it up with cinnamon and pumpkin spice mix. For the dough I used my sweet yeastbread recipe that you can find here: Almond Croissants just changed the flour ingredients to 200 g unbleached all-purpose flour and 100 g spelt flour and spiced it up a bit by adding 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1 tsp cinnamon:)

 

 

Pumpkin Spice Babka

Dough:

• Almond Croissants
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp cinnamon

 

Pumpkin Spice filling:

• 200 g pumpkin puree, (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 3 tbsp coconut sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice mix

Spiced Maple Syrup Glaze

• 3 tbsp maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice mix

-Prepare dough in advance, it needs at least 1 hour to rise. In the meanwhile prepare your pumpkin filling by mixing together pumpkin puree, coconut sugar and spices.

-Whisk together maple syrup, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice mix, set aside.

-Line a loaf pan or a baking sheet with parchment paper

-When doubled in size, roll out dough into a rectangular shape. Then spread pumpkin filling evenly all over. Start rolling dough up from the longest side, like you would for a cinnamon bun and gently pinch ends together. Cut log lengthwise in half so filling is exposed, pinch one end. Twist both pieces, pinch the other end to secure.

-Place in prepared loaf pan or baking sheet. Cover and let rise for another 30 minutes.

-Bake in preheated 350F/180C oven for 40 minutes.

-About 25 minute into baking brush some of the syrup onto babka. Bake until golden brown. Remove from stove and brush with remaining syrup. Let cool before cutting.

 

–Make sure your spice mixes are not old, it looses its flavor over time.–

 

Wishing everyone a happy weekend and to all my Canadian friends a happy Thanksgiving!

Enjoy!

Ursula

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Plum Rose Tarts with an Almond Shortbread Crust

Happy weekend everyone!

Fall has finally arrived! It’s been crazy hot lately, which made it kind of harder to think of fall baking:) I’ve found some beautiful local plums and like every year turned them into some kind of dessert(s). Our annual favorite happens to be a Zwetschgen-Streusel Cake (Plum-Crumble-Cake). I took the recipe from my Peach-Crumble-Cake/ Pfirsich-Streuselkuchen just used plums instead of peaches, so delicious!

Instead of using apples to make roses I thought I give it a try with plums. It was a little tricky because the plums were very soft, you definitely need some patience;), in the end I was happy, it worked out beautifully!

Baked in a yummy almond shortbread crust

 

Plum Tarts with an Almond Shortbread Crust

Yields: 4 small tarts

Almond Shortbread Crust

• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup all-purpose unbleached flour
• 1/2 cup almonds, finely ground
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1/4 cup honey
• pinch of salt
• 1 lg egg yolk

-In a small bowl, with a whisk, mix together butter, honey almond extract and egg yolk. Add flour, almonds and salt. Mix until well combined. Wrap dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour.

-Start with cutting about 5 plums into very thin slices, once you assemble the roses you see if you might need more.

-Preheat oven to 375F. Grease 4 small tart forms.

-Take dough out of refrigerator and let it sit for a few minutes, otherwise it is very hard to roll out. Then roll out and cut to fit into each form, prick crust with a fork and place again in refrigerator for a few minutes.

-Assemble roses by starting on the outside working toward the center.

-I used a simple milk, egg, honey and cinnamon filling from my Peach Tart , I only used a little bit in each tart.

-Bake in preheated 375F oven for 10 minutes then reduce heat to 350F, for another 10-15 minutes, bake until golden brown and liquid is set. Cover with tin foil if crust is golden brown but liquid is not set. Let cool before taking out of forms.

 

In memory of my late father-in-law who passed away one year ago.

 

Ursula