lime cardamom applesauce in the slow cooker

My friend Nina inspired me to make applesauce in the slow cooker, which is super easy. We just got a bunch of apples from our farm share and I wanted to try some new variation. (Mid-winter apples are not the best...starting to get a bit mealy.) This variation, with cardamom and lime, was tangy and delicious.

ingredients:
4 apples
3 cardamom pods
1 piece star anis (or cinnamon)
juice of 1 lime
optional: sweeten with a bit of maple syrup

peel apples and add to slow cooker with juice of 1 lime, 1/2 cup water, 3 cardamom pods and 1 piece star anis. Cook on High about 2 hours, or until apples are soft. Remove cardamom pods and anis, then mash with a potato masher until desired consistency. (Or blend in blender if you want it really smooth.)

five-minute vegan chocolate cake

I do have lots of excuses for not posting this last month...lots of good ones that include hiking in the alps and sitting in a diary archive. It's actually a tragedy that I am missing the best months of summer produce by not cooking, and being en route to somewhere all the time. I'm currently touching base in Ann Arbor for less than 36 hours before heading on a road trip to Minnesota... and last night a friend cooked for me, and tonight friends are cooking for me, so I thought I would whip up a dessert to bring along. This recipe sprung to mind because I made it for Katie and Peter once before and Peter really liked it. You can't really go wrong with chocolate cake, and I didn't need to go to the store. :)

There are lots of variations of this cake recipe on the internet. I discovered it once and really loved it. It's almost as fast as buying cake mix, you probably have all the ingredients in your cupboard - no egg needed (it happens to be vegan!). Super easy, super moist and tasty - can't go wrong!

All you do is mix together the dry ingredients (whisk them to mix well), mix together the wet, and then add wet to dry. Because of the vinegar it will fizz a bit. Then pour it in a cake pan (9-inch springform is my favorite) and bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes. You can frost it, or top with just a dusting of powdered sugar.

dry ingredients: 
1 1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa (unsweetened)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
*other variation: add a dash of cinnamon, or add a tiny dash of cayenne for "mexican chocolate cake"

wet ingredients:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup water
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp cider vinegar

Apfelkuchen mit Mandeldecke - German apple cake with caramelized almond topping

This one is another total winner German cake recipe. I've already posted a rhubarb Kuchen and a Mohnkuchen - poppy seed cake. It was time for a good Apfelkuchen. It's not fall, but really, apple cake is good year round, right? I also figured out a way to make it go quickly cutting the apples on my mandoline. You will probably not believe me that this took 30 minutes, but it is really fast and easy.  This would also be good for Thanksgiving as an alternative to the more traditional apple pie.

Also, I noticed that my posts on German cakes get about 5 times as many views from the internet than my other posts. :) So it seems there is a demand for German recipes in English. Not sure. But I'm taking requests if any silent blog viewers out there have any suggestions...

Klara's Mohnkuchen: German poppy seed cake

Summertime just makes me want to sit out at a café in the sun with a nice slice of Kuchen. Or, on rainy, drizzly days like this one, inside a cozy cafe with a hot coffee. I know, it sounds super extravagant to have cake in the afternoons. But this is the tradition of German Kaffee und Kuchen. Okay, maybe not every day...but weekends, for sure. And when company comes over. And for special occasions, holidays and birthdays. And then you get multiple slices. :) It's my favorite thing about Germany, really. In the US I tend to have a scone or a croissant when I need a little afternoon sugar, but in Germany it's always Kuchen.

A few weeks ago I made a classic Rhabarberkuchen, a German cake with rhubarb and meringue. (And by the number of post visits, it's already my most popular post...so I guess people need English-language German recipes!) Another classic kind of German "cake" (Kuchen) has a thick layer of poppy seed in the middle. Sometimes I have had visitors from the US think it's chocolate, while looking in the bakery window. Nope - poppy! This cake recipe has a filling of poppy seed and vanilla pudding - so delicious. Klara made it once for her brother's birthday while I was visiting her in Hamburg, and she passed along the recipe to me. Danke Klara!  Also, it looks complicated but it is very easy.

This kind of pudding-poppy filling is used in a lot of German pastries, too. Another favorite of mine is the Mohnschnecke, like a cinnamon roll with a poppy seed filling. I will have to make that at some point as well.

you can't tell from the outside what deliciousless awaits inside...

classic german rhubarb cake (Rhabarberkuchen) for Hannah

Rhabarberkuchen is one of my favorite cakes to have in Germany. Ideally out in the sun, in front of a cafe, with a cup of coffee. Of the traditional German cakes, this is my favorite in the spring and summer, and Zwetschgenkuchen (plum cake) is my favorite in the fall. :) This recipe has a base layer, a layer of rhubarb, and a sweet, fluffy meringue topping. It is really quick and easy, and tastes delicious! Perfect for rhubarb season!

My friend Hannah is off to Berlin for the year, so I made this for her farewell party. (Which is also the launch party for the new issue of the harlequin creature - an awesome artistic journal, of which Hannah is one of the editors!)

German cake is quite different from what we think of as cake in the US. Kuchen is usually a base layer of dough with some kind of fruit, and maybe a streusel, gelatin fruit, or a meringue topping. It is distinguished in German from Torte, a cake with layers of buttercream (closer to what we think of as cake). And in Germany Kuchen/Torte is usually served with a napkin and a Kuchengabel (cake fork) sticking out it. A Kuchengabel has three prongs, and sometimes the third prong is slightly thicker, knife-like, so you can better cut your cake. :)

cherry-ginger oatmeal cookies with pecans for Nic

Oh yes, I was thinking about this combination for a long time, and it did not disappoint: candied ginger plus cherries...mmm...The opportunity presented itself when my friend Nic hosted a "dessertavaganza" celebration of being done with his exams this week. Congrats, Nic! :)

frohes Neues! happy new year!

I have decided to start the new year off with -- like so many of us -- some new goals and the best of intentions of keeping them. Cooking is one of my true joys in life, bringing balance to my life and making me healthier and happier. So why not start documenting some of the meals worth documenting?

I got several new cookbooks for Christmas and can't wait to cook my way through them. I'm mostly a follow-the-recipe cook, inspired by some of my favorite cookbook authors and bloggers (see the list in the sidebar). I try to incorporate seasonal and local ingredients, and am a member of a CSA, which forces me to eat more vegetables.

Oh, and the name of the blog? Zweites Frühstück. In Germany after your early "first breakfast" there is sometimes a second...what we might call a "mid-morning snack." It's for people who get up early and are so productive they're hungry before lunch. :) I love how some cultures have these other meal traditions...in Germany it's not only the second breakfast but also the mid-afternoon Kaffee und Kuchen, one of my favorite things about that country which has become a second home to me. So aside from the cookbooks I read like novels before bed, and the recipes I find online or from friends, my cooking is also inspired by my time spent abroad and the meals I've had there.

I hope you enjoy!

K.