The disappearing cake (a.k.a. easiest apple-cinnamon cake ever)

A lot of recipes claim they're quick and easy. Sometimes that's when I stop reading, simply because I get tired of everything these days having to be quick and easy. Cooking. Baking. Gardening. DIY projects. What ever happened to taking the time and learning to do something more difficult?

However, with two kids, a house, a job and my by now well-known to do list, sometimes I need just that: a quick and easy recipe. Especially if it has apples and cinnamon in it. And there is some glorious sunshine outside that makes you want to go outside looking for brightly colored leaves rather than bake all day.

Enter this recipe I saw at Apartment Therapy's The Kitchn the other day. Jogurt. Apples. And did I mention cinnamon? Yum. So I tried it out on Friday, after dropping off my stack of clothes to be sold and taking way too many pictures of Noelle.

So while my camera batteries were about to die and the back-up of course wasn't charge since I very rarely need it, I tried snapping some quick pictures of the process.

The changes I made to the recipe were

- using low-fat jogurt since that was all I had in these quantities (I didn't manage to make a fresh batch of my jogurt the day before)
- using some of this great apple seasoning a friend of mine gave me, because it also contains nutmeg and my nutmegs happened to be used up the night before. Oh well. Guess some allspice wouldn't hurt here, either.

- measuring some of the ingredients. I don't really get why you guys use cups for everything. I'm fine with measuring cups for olive oil, but seriously, flour? Messy and not precise, if you ask me. So for the record, I used 340g flour.
- adding another egg, since the ones I could get here were tiny. I only buy organic eggs and usually that means I need to buy the size that's available, no choice here.
- oh, and I used (organic all natural) vanilla sugar, lowering the remaining sugar accordingly, instead of vanilla extract, because that's just more widely availble in Germany.
- adding lemon zest. If I use an entire lemon on the recipe (and you guessed it, I buy organic ones...), I figured I might just as well add some zest.

None of this seemed to be a problem. The recipe is extremely easy to make, bakes well and comes out of the pan easily.

And it's soooooooo good. In fact, two tiny pieces is all that is left today. And I made the cake yesterday. So yes, it nice and moist and probably keeps well, but you're not likely to find out because it will all be gone.

Juicy apple pieces, the cinnamon sugar and light, moist texture from jogurt and olive oil. This one's a keeper!

What's your favorite apple cake?

Meet Noelle

She arrived this week. I'm so excited! Let me introduce you to Noelle. My brand-new mustard yellow scarf. Yep, that's right, my new scarf has a name. And she's sooooo soft. And warm. And did I mention mustard yellow? I got her here. And while I was at it, I got a cute little flower and a bird to keep her company.

I love scarves. I don't have that many shoes and I stick to one handbag for my kids days and another one for my work days. But I do love scarves. While looking through them and giving away stuff I no longer needed, I realized I needed a winter scarf.

You see, my winter coat is olive green. I love it, it's windproof, waterproof, warm and all those things you need when you're out with the kids. But when I got it, the combination of function and prettiness was still fairly new in winter coats, so color choices were limited. When I look at my closet after purging now, there is not exactly a lot of olive green. And my beloved kids days bag that came all the way from Greece to me is a dark denim. It has a name too, by the way: Elessa.

Anyway. I needed something to make it look a bit more intentional.

Enter Noelle. Warm, pretty and goes plays nicely with the green coat.

Coat? Check. Bag? Hmmm.... Soooooo I got this handmade flower to add some of the yellow and the green to my bag. And the yellow bird from one of my favorite sellers: snug. I always loved their brooches and gave several as presents but could never decide on a color for myself. And then they had a fall special: mustard yellow. Oh, I needed one.

Given that last year around that time I was wearing that coat with a too colorful, too long scarf that always got caught in the zipper and some cheap bag that didn't really go with anything, this really makes me happy:

Over the summer it was easier - the bag has a bright red lining and I have all sorts of red accessories and a navy jacket and shoes. But this makes me feel ready for fall and winter. And so excited that I posted way too many pictures. And took even more. Oh well. I also made a really, really great apple cinnamon cake today. Maybe I'll get a chance to post over the weekend, so if you're grocery shopping go pick up some apples and yogurt, because you'll love it. Trust me.

What's your favorite winter accessory? If you need one where you live, that is.

Swenja

Less is more

As I mentioned before, I still have a lot of decluttering to do. This time my wardrobe was the target. I actually do this frequently. I used to do it twice a year when I switched to summer or winter clothing. The extra clothing got stored in boxes or bags somewhere else. But I still kept too many things.

Things that don't look good on me. Things that I bought because - hmmm, why exactly did I buy them? Things that made me look frumpy.

This is the after, actually. Forgot to take a before shot. As usual. Sigh.

I was lacking a plan. For years most of my clothing was office wear, with a pair of jeans or two for weekends. Then I had kids. And more pairs of jeans. And maternity clothing and just-after-delivery clothing and all that. Not much time to shop, unless you care about shopping with a toddler running away and a baby screaming because they both, like their dad, hate shopping. I have no idea who these babies belong to that you see sleeping in the stroller while mommy tries on new outfits. Anyway, not my kids, so online shopping it was for me. You know, big Swedish store common here in Europe. Cheap. Modern. Stylish - if you're 15. If you're not 15, you eventually run into trouble if your wardrobe consists of mostly cheap, modern stuff. At least I did. Because I never ended up looking like those casual and put-together catalog images. I ended up looking frumpy.

Then Joanna started her Get in Style series. Now, while not all of that works for me, it was the wake-up call I needed to get started. I bought different things. I actually thought about what might go together and what I might need to complement exisiting pieces. What a novel concept. At least for me.

A clouple months later I am getting better at this. I know it's silly and the rest of the world has been doing this for ages, but I am still so excited every time I discover that outfits come together so easily when things match in style, when there accessories to hold it together. When you bag and your shoes and the scarf actually sort of match. And by match I don't mean same store, same collection, I mean same style or color family or pattern or whatever else ties them together. Like this scarf that I found and fell in love with, discovering much later that it makes all those gray and beige and brown things I have go together and work together.

This time I really cleaned out my closet, tossing everything I didn't really love. The result is four boxes of stuff that will be sold next weekend (wish me luck - any profits go towards my next shopping trip without kids). And there's another box waiting for Spring to be sold.

It feels so great.

All my off-season clothing fits into these two boxes at the top of my closet. As Rachel from Small Notebook says, It Is So Much Easier to Simplify Than Organize. Whatever I will be adding, I will be doing carefully. Wait to find the perfect piece. I keep a running list of things I need. And I try to think ahead if this really matches what I already have and my style. Haha, like I have a style already. Let's say the style I'm working to accomplish. I'm getting there.


What are your favorite pieces?

Swenja

What a gorgeous weekend. Not.

What a gorgeous weekend. Sunny after what felt like non-stop rain for two weeks. I got to go to Ikea on Saturday. We took the bikes to get pumpkins on Sunday. I could show you a few of the pumpkin photos and this would be an easy, happy, fluffy post.

What a horrible weekend. Honestly. Except for the pumpkin part, that really was nice and at least the weekend ended on a relaxed note. But until then?

It started wih a busy week. Three (!) evening events I had to go to, one for each kindergarten and one for big brother's elementary school which he'll go to next year. Me worrying about whether he'll make it in school next year. He'll be just six. His kindergarten teacher complained that he's not good at catching a ball. (might be due to a mommy who prefers reading a book or going to the playground to playing ball). Oh, and my husband being away for three days. And little brother having one of those magnet phases, you know, when all they do is be cranky and want mommy. All. The. Time. Especially at night. Or whenever you want to get something done. I think he's just caught a bad cold. Oh well. I did make it through the week. 

On Friday I read Greta's house tour over at Life Made Lovely. Oh. So pretty. And unique. And clean and organized and all that. I looked around. And I saw way too many projects waiting for me. And I looked at the toys that need purging and all the other things that need decluttering. Badly. I really think I have too much stuff.

And I can't do it all at once. I know that. I just sometimes refuse to admit that. And then I get antsy and cranky and try to get as much done as possible.

So anyway, on Friday big brother was driving us all nuts and the day ended with me yelling at him and having a bad migraine. Oops. Saturday I went to Ikea, the boys played happily upstairs and I was just going to get a couple of things for some really nice, creative and organized DIY projects, which of course I was going to get all done immediately and take pretty pictures and blog about.

Yeah. Not. At. All. By the time I got home from Ikea I was exhausted, again, and made the mistake of trying to get one thing done. Little brother didn't nap so he was even more exhausted. And sick. And needed mommy. So I finally gave in, sat on the couch snuggling with him and looked at the giant mess in my living room, nicely lit by the sunlight streaming in - you know, when you can see every tiny bit of dust somewhere. Oh that didn't help. At night the little one had a slight fever and I decided to skip the reunion I was going to go to, knowing full well that there was no way I was going to make another evening out that week. Little brother kept waking up until he finally ended up in my bed with me and some migraine medication.

I was beat. Exhausted.

And really, for no apparent reason other than a busy week and my perfectionism getting in my way, making me cranky for things I didn't get to accomplish instead of appreciating the things I had. Like sunshine. Healthy kids, except for some colds here and there. A husband who brought chocolates home for me from his trip and let me go to Ikea hoping I'd relax a bit.

We didn't really do much on Sunday. Taking the bike trip to go get pumpkins was nice. No yelling, no cranky brothers or mommies. No I did not take the perfect pictures. I've taken better ones, like last year, when the sun was just so. I still need to learn to really use my camera. But the goal here wasn't the perfect pictures for my annual photo book or for my blog. The goal here wasn't even pumpkins. Just some nice quiet time spent as a family enjoying each others company instead of thinking about what else didn't get crossed of the list yet.

We picked yellow pumpkins. No idea where that obsession with yellow came from.

We walked around the woods a little while daddy tried to fix his bike.

And we rescued a bug that crossed the street.

Later that night (after the kids had a bath and I ran around like a nutcase cleaning the upstairs, because that's on my to do list for Sundays and I didn't want to do it today because I wanted to edit photos and write instead) I read this post about Saying yes and no from Emily at Chatting at the Sky. There's a similar one from Rachel at Small Notebook who does Keep and Drop lists. Basically, it's a simple thing: your time is limited. For each thing you do, there are others you cannot do.

I'm obviously still learning. Practicing. Every day.

I am learning to keep only the things, the stuff I love or use. I need to learn also to keep only the to dos that I love, enjoy or need on my list.

Like hanging laundry on a bright sunny day and loving the smell of sheets that have being drying outside and not in a dryer.


What are you crossing off your list?

Swenja

Basement progress

I'm supposed to be downstairs, tackling the next basement room. Instead I'm sitting on the couch with a cup of hot tea, looking at the storm and rain out there. Too bad I have to go out there in half an hour to pick the kids up. That's right: I have to walk to kindergarten. For anyone who knows me that must come as a surprise. But you see, our road is getting done and for the next week or two, there is no way of getting the car anywhere near the house. Of course it started raining the minute the construction work began last week. Of course. Maybe the universe is trying to tell me not to get used to taking bikes, tricycles or walk so much?

Anyhow, today I'm just not feeling so well, so instead of making some actual basement progress, I'll just post about it. As I said in a previous post, my basement is one huge, big mess. Now I did finish the first room. There's still some stuff I need to get rid of and some stuff to sell, and yeah, I do have to reorganize the shelves, but given that eventually all the shelves will have to come down and everything will have to be taken out and put back again, this is just fine for now. Hey, I can see everything I have and I can find everything I have and most important: I use or love everything I have in there, or my mom does, for that matter.

Also, drumroll please, my husband actually finished putting the tile in the laundry room, so that makes it progress on two rooms down there. Yay! It looks soooooo much better than the concrete floor.

Still ceilings to finish and lots of painting to do, but the really messy and hard job for one of the biggest rooms is done. Ahhhhhh.... Now I actually like doing laundry. Really. That's why I have three baskets worth of it sitting on the washing machine while I'm taking a picture for my blog. Hmmmm....

Next up is the room where my husband wants to have a little work area and keep his tools and stuff. Currently is just one giant dumping ground for all things remotely home or tool related. "It's not that bad, it's just a few things standing around" he'll say. Yeah, right. I can't even reach the window anymore. But I'll show you another time.

Last days of summer

The last weekend was a gorgeous one here. Almost like summer, except that you can smell Fall in the air. The light has changed. It gets chilly when the sun goes down, and the sun goes down so much sooner now. Sigh.

It was also a busy weekend, involving me selling lots of outgrown baby clothes (buying a great big box of Lego along the way) and my husband finishing the tile in the biggest basement room (yay!). So as a treat we did Stockbrot one night: bread on a stick. A simple yeast dough, much like a pizza dough, that you twirl around a stick and roast over the open fire.

The boys had a blast. Much of the actual roasting was done by my husband and my dad, both for safety reasons but also because the kids though it required stitting still for way too long. They preferred running around the yard and eating the finished bread. Yum.

Summer is definetely over now. I'm glad we got to enjoy the last bits of it.

Almond Espresso Birthday Cake

My dad's birthday was last month, and I used that as an excuse to bake a non kid-friendly cake. When I saw the recipe months ago I knew I was going to make this for my dad's birthday. It has an almond cake base topped with an espresso-flavored mascarpone cream. It had to be great. And it was. I made this late in the morning for the same afternoon, and although it should be chilled longer, it was still good. And pretty:

It's also fairly easy to make, altough it does leave your kitchen looking like a mess. Oh well. I wish I had taken more pictures, but my dear husband called when I was just cracking the first egg. He had an appointment to have one of the company cars looked at (for German readers: TÜV. You don't mess with them :)) and of course forgot to take the papers with him. So off I went, starting my cake sometime later that morning, and in a hurry to get it done and into the fridge by noon before cleaning up the kitchen mess and running out the door to pick up the kids. So no time to take pics. Just some of the finished cake, not very good ones I admit since you can hardly try to get a really great cake shot while you keep the one having his birthday waiting...

Anyway, the recipe is based on this one from German magazine Essen & Trinken, they call it an Almond Mascarpone Torte. I'd rather call it an Almond Espresso Cake since the espresso flavor is obviously much stronger than mascarpone. The use a funny technique, cutting parts of the almond cake base off, cubing it and adding it in pieces with the toppingto the cake. Hmmmm.... I guess you could also do this as a layer cake, although you might want to make slightly more of the topping then. But it might be prettier.

Also, the recipe used sheet gelatin (most common form of gelatin in Germany), but I did some research and according to this article on Epicurious, four sheets of leaf gelatin equal one package of powdered gelatin. I also made some modifications to the recipe along the way, such as transferring the almond base to a cake platter when cooled and taking it from there.

Almond Espresso Cake

Almond base:
6 eggs
1 vanilla bean
50 g sugar
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
200 g ground almonds
salt
100 g confectioners sugar (sifted)

Mascarpone Espresso Topping
3 sheets gelatin (white)
5 egg yolks
100 g sugar
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
200 g mascarpone
150 ml espresso
2 El Amaretto (almond liquor)
3 egg whites
Salt
50 g slivered almonds (I actually left those out)
100 g dark chocolate


Zubereitung

1. Separate the eggs and put the egg whites in the fridge. Split the vanilla bean in half and scrape out the seeds. Add vanilla with sugar, orange zest, cinnamon and egg yolks to a mixer bowl and beat for at least five minutes or until very fluffy. Add almonds and mix briefly. Beat eggwhites with a bit of salt until stiff. Slowly add powdered sugar and beat until you get a thick, white and shiny meringue.

2. Fold one third of the meringue under the egg yolks, then add the rest. Cover the base of a 28cm springform pan with baking parchment, add the egg mixture and bake at 180 degrees Celsius for about 40 minutes (mine took only about 30).

3. For the mascarpone topping soften the gelatin in cold water. Mix the egg yolks with 40g sugar and instant espresso in a standing mixer for at least five minutes or until fluffy and pale. Add mascarpone. Heat two table spoons espresso and one tablespoon Amaretto, do not cook. Add the gelatin and dissolve. Add three tablespoons of the egg mixture to the espresso gelatin mixture, stirring, then add the gelatin mixture to the rest of the egg mixture. Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff, slowly adding the remaining sugar. Add one third to the egg mixture, then carefully fold in the rest.

4. Remove the springform pan, peel off the parchment paper and place the almond cake on a cake platter. Cut one third off and cut into large cubes. Mix the remaining espresso with 1 tablespoon Amaretto, drizzle half of the mixture over the almond cake. Spread five tablespoons of espresso topping on the base, then add the cubed almond cake. Drizzle with remaining espresso. Add remaining topping and smooth. Chill at least four ours or overnight. Shave chocolate on top and serve.

Enjoy!