Apple Rose Tart

Happy Family Day!

So nice to have an extra day off! Family day is a statutory holiday in Ontario and other provinces in Canada. It has been a sunny weekend, unfortunately it is raining and foggy today. Perfect for relaxing at home, I’ve had an earache for most of last week, but I think it is starting to get better now.

I finely took the time to make an apple rose cake, it is so pretty and it was really delicious with the walnut and maple crust. It would also be delicious with hazelnut or almonds.

 

 

Apple Rose Tart

Walnut Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups ground walnuts
• 1 1/2 cups spelt flour
• 1/2 cup + 3 tbsp butter, soft
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of salt

Filling:

• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla sugar

Apple roses:

• 4 medium red and/or yellow apples, thinly sliced

 

-Line a 9-inch tart/pie form with parchment paper, grease the sides.

-Whisk together the butter, egg and maple syrup, add vanilla and a pinch of salt. Fold in the nuts and spelt flour until well combined. Refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour.

-Place the thinly sliced apples in a medium saucepan, cover with water and lemon juice and let simmer for a few minutes until pliable.

-Roll dough out directly on tart form, if you have a removable bottom. Cover sides evenly by hand.

-For the filling: whisk together all ingredients and pour into tart form.

-For the roses: on a large plate or cutting board take a few, five for example, apple slices and lay them slightly overlapping in a straight line, then from the opposite side start rolling up tightly. Place into tart form. The more apple slices you take, the bigger the roses get. Have fun making different sizes, as you like.

-Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Bake for about 30 minutes.

 

Enjoy! Have a great week!

Ursula

 

 

You can find me on Instagram: littleswisslittlecanadian

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Alsatian Kugelhopf/Elsaesser Gugelhopf

Happy Friday!

I was thinking of making a Gugelhopf for quiet a while, one with a yeast dough and only raisins in it. I used the recipe for a Alsatian Kugelhopf from my Betty Bossi’s Backstube book. Even though Gugelhopf has its origin in Austria, this seems to be a very traditional cake in Alsace, France. One small village even has a festival each summer to celebrate the Kugelhopf:)

 

I slightly adapted the recipe, using instant yeast, because I can not find fresh yeast here. And I sweetened it with honey.

 

 

Alsatian Kugelhopf / Elsaesser Gugelhopf

Ingredients:

• 500 g unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp instant yeast
• 120 g honey or sugar
• 180 ml milk (200 ml if using sugar)
• 1 tsp salt
• 200 g butter, soft, cut in small pieces
• 2 eggs
• 125 g raisins
• 2 tbsp Rum or Kirsch

-In a small bowl, mix together the raisins and the Rum. Set aside.

-In a large bowl mix together the flour, yeast and salt.

-In a small saucepan heat up the milk on medium/low heat, do not boil. Remove from heat. Stir in the honey. Making sure the milk is only lukewarm before adding to the flour. Add the butter. Whisk the eggs before adding to the flour mixture. Knead until soft dough forms.

-Cover and let rise at room temperature until doubled in size, for about an hour.

-Grease and flour a 2 l bundt/Gugelhopf form.

-Incorporate the raisins, knead the dough again, then fill into the prepared bundt form. Let rise again. The dough should “spill” slightly over the top.

-Bake in a 350F/180C preheated oven for about 45 minutes. Let cool before taking out of form.

-Dust with icing sugar.

-Serve freshly baked, but also tastes amazing the following days!

 

 

This would make a perfect treat for Sunday brunch or afternoon tea!

Enjoy! Have a wonderful weekend!

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Apple & Plum Crumble Bites

Now that the kids are back to school I really like to have some healthier treats on hand. The weekend is perfect to take some time and prepare all sorts of snacks, like cookies, muffins or these apple or plum crumble bites. The apple bites are from last week. We bought our first local apples for this season and there are still plums available. Even though the weather has been exceptionally warm, you can already see the first sings of fall. But for now I am enjoying these beautiful warm temperatures:)

 

 

Apple Crumble

Plum Crumble

 

Apple or Plum Crumble Bites

Yields: 12

Crumbs:

• 3 cups oat flour
• 3/4 cup spelt flour
• 3/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• dash of sea salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Apple Filling:

• 5 small apples, peeled and cut into small thin pieces
• 1/4  cup honey
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

 

-Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Grease a muffin tin or line with paper liners.

-For the apple filling combine all ingredients and set aside.

-In a medium bowl mix together the oat flour, spelt flour, salt and cinnamon, then add the coconut oil and maple syrup, stir until well combined.

-Fill muffin tins with about 1-2 tbsp of crumb mix, pressing down to cover bottom. Add about 1 tbsp of apple or plum filling, then cover the fruit with crumb mix, gently pressing down a bit.

-Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool completely. Store in a airtight container in the refrigerator for 1 week.

–The recipe is only intended to make either the apple or plum bites, double only the crumb mix ingredients if you like to make both.–

Plum Filling:

• 2 large plums cut into small pieces
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

 

–I just use regular oats and grind them into flour. Measure after grinding.–

 

 

Have a great weekend!

Enjoy!

Ursula

 

 

You can find me on Instagram: @littleswisslittlecanadian

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zucchini Brownies

It’s that time of the year again when kids and parents are getting ready for a new school year. Two month of summer break sound awfully long at the beginning but then it goes by so quick. My daughter is going to start her last year in high school, grade 12, and my son will be in grade 10. We’ll also use this long Labor Day weekend to make some healthy treats to go, like cereal bars and cookies…

Fall is definitely in the air, it’s been much cooler, especially during the night. We still have plenty of veggies to harvest in our garden, but I believe this was one of our last zucchini we’ve used for these fudgy, chocolicious, yummy brownies. These happen to be egg-free, dairy-free and refined sugar free (Feel free to use regular sugar). The chocolate frosting is optional but totally worth it!

 

 

Zucchini Brownies

• 2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups shredded zucchini
• 3-5 tsp water

-Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper.

-In a medium bowl mix together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, sugar and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and mix well, then fold in the zucchini. You may have to add some water at that point. The batter should be very thick for fudgy brownies.

-Spread into prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes. Top the warm brownies with the chocolate frosting if desired.

Chocolate Frosting

• 3/4 cup maple syrup, or more if you like it sweeter
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup coconut oil
• pinch of Himalayan salt

-In a small saucepan, over low heat, mix together the oil and maple syrup, add cocoa powder and salt and whisk until smooth.

 

 

I hope you’ll give it a try!

Enjoy!

Ursula

 

Follow me on Instagram: @littleswisslittlecanadian

 

 

 

 

 

 

Forest Berries Meringue Pie/Waldbeeren Meringue Kuchen

Happy weekend everyone!!

While growing up in Switzerland, we used to spend a lot of time in the forest. With family or with school. They have nicely looked after hiking trails. There is just something calming and peaceful about it. We would also often look for and find a lot of blueberries and strawberries! Now these are sweet memories:)

I’ve had a lot of raspberries and we are still picking some strawberries in our garden. We used to have blackberries but after getting hurt (scratched) a lot, we had enough and we dug the plant out…but I tell you that is a stubborn plant, it keeps on growing back…My brother in Switzerland has a thorn-less blackberry plant!!! That is the most amazing thing. Haven’t seen this here so far.

For this berry pie I used a mix of what I like to call forest berries (Waldbeeren): blueberries, strawberries, blackberries and raspberries. Deliciously melt in your mouth meringue filling! Totally worth trying out! Feel free to use your favorite pie crust recipe.

 

 

 

 

Forest Berries Meringue Pie

Pie crust:

• 200 g unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 100 g butter, cold, cut into very small pieces
• 2-3 tbsp honey
• 1/2 lemon, zest
• 1 egg

-Mix together flour and salt, add butter and with a pastry blender or your hands mix until crumbly.

-Add lemon zest, honey and egg. Knead only until it holds together. Wrap in plastic wrap and let rest in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

-Preheat oven to 375F/190C

-Grease a 9-inch pie form. Roll out dough to fit form. Prick dough with a fork. For blind baking I cover bottom with parchment paper, then as a weight I pour some legumes like dry chickpeas over paper. Bake for about 10 minutes then remove paper with legumes and lower oven temperature to 350F/180C and finish bake until golden brown.

Meringue:

• 3 egg whites
• 1 pinch of salt
• 150 g sugar (I used honey)
• 500 g berries of your choice (I used blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries)

-Beat egg whites with salt until peaks form, add half of the sugar, beat until shiny then add rest of sugar until stiff.

-Mix half of the meringue with the berries. Fill into baked pie crust. Then top with remaining meringue.

-Bake in 375F/190C oven for a few minutes until golden brown.

 

 

Hiking in the Swiss Alps 2016

 

 

 

Enjoy!

Wishing you all a happy weekend!

Ursula

 

 

 

 

You can find me on Instagram: @littleswisslittlecanadian

 

 

 

Peach Tart

Simple, rustic, delicious fruit tarts, in this case I used peaches. Niagara peaches are in season now and they are so yummy. Of course I had to make some kind of dessert!

This is how you make pies in Switzerland. It is the Swiss version of North American pies I guess;) I just like to call it a tart, rather. This is a very traditional “meal” in Switzerland, documents writing about tarts dating back to as early as 1556!

Easy pie crust filled with either fruit, veggies, cheese or meat. I slightly changed the usual crust, adding some ground almonds. We also add some ground nuts onto the crust before adding the fruit to absorb some juice while baking. And maybe the filling is different as well, a egg-milk-sugar filling.

 

 

 

 

Delicious Niagara Peaches

 

Peach Tart

Pie dough:

• 100 g unbleached all-purpose flour
• 100 g almonds, ground
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 85 g butter, cold, cut into small pieces
• 2 tbsp honey
• 4-5 tbsp cold water

-In a small bowl mix together flour, almond, salt and honey, add the butter and mix with your hands until resembles fine crumbs. Add the cold water and knead quickly until dough holds together. Wrap into plastic wrap and let rest in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Filling:

• 5-6 peaches thinly cut into slices
• 100 ml milk
• 1 egg
• 3 tbsp honey
• optional: cinnamon, vanilla sugar or extract
• 2 tbsp ground almonds or hazelnuts

-Whisk together milk, egg and honey.

-Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Grease a 8 or 9-inch pie form.

-Roll out dough and put into prepared form. Sprinkle the nuts onto the dough then add/layer the peach slices. Pour milk-egg-honey filling over the fruit.

-Bake for about 45 minutes or crust is golden brown and liquid is set. Enjoy warm with some vanilla ice cream or let cool completely.

 

 

Enjoy!

Have a great weekend!

Ursula

 

 

You can find me on Instagram: @littleswisslittlecanadian