The New Year is starting off chilly and peacefully..

Before we drove back to Vienna, Irma and I went on a long stroll.

It was cold, but because of the fog very calm and peaceful. In these moments I miss the city very little..

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Happy New Year..

Vladimir had to work again on New Year’s Eve.

So I drove with Irma to my parents’; that way we wouldn’t have to celebrate alone.

When we arrived, spring was in the air. A blue sky and sunshine..

Yesterday the fog came in. Exactly the right timing to softly sway Irma  between rockets and fireworks. She slept like a log, and didn’t care one bit about the noise and excited people.

It was the first time after 20 years, that I spent New Years with my parents and I have to say it was unusual, but very cheerful! Especially the food was excellent and we may had a couple of glasses too much!

I was a little hangoverish today and Irma was well-rested and awake. She is very lucky, that she is so cute! And I am lucky, that my mom is helping me on this hangover day!

Happy New Year!

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Carrot hat for Irma..

Irma got a carrot hat from and knitted by my mom.

It’s so cute, that I HAD to show you.

She found the embroidery pattern in an super old weekly paper.

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Chocolate dream with chocolate mousse..

 

Swedish Kladdkaka (chocolatey and moist chocolate cake - mud cake):

2 eggs

1 cup fluffy beaten sugar

4 tablespoons cocoa powder

1/2 tablespoon vanilla sugar

1 pinch of salt

2/3 cup flour

1/2 cup melted butter

      1.     Beat sugar and eggs until fluffy

      2.     Add the rest of the ingredients and mix them together.

      3.     At the end slowly add melted butter into the mix to prevent the eggs from curdling.

      4.     Preheat oven at 347F and let it bake for 20min.

Filling - Choco mousse:

1 2/3 cups whipped cream

dark chocolate couverture

      1.     Heat whipped cream carefully in a pot and let chocolate carefully melt therein. - the mixture must not boil!

      2.     After the chocolate melted let the mixture cool down and stir every now and then.

       3.     After the cool down let it refrigerate (over night would be best)

Coating:

white couverture with red food coloring

white sugar pearls

1.     Spread cake with chocolate mousse.

2.     Cut out a couple of layers with a small, but high and square cake- cookie cutter, so it becomes a cake tower.

3.     Refrigerate the finished cake towers for a couple of hours.

4.     Spread jam on the little cakes and afterwards encase them with couverture and sprinkle them with sugar pearls.

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Hazelnut cake with macadamia creme and Uschi´s strawberry jam..

Hazelnut cake:

0.6 pounds flour

0.6 pounds sugar

120 ground hazelnuts

1/2 tablespoon backing powder

4 eggs

4 teaspoons chocolate powder

2/3 cup natural oil (colza oil or sunflower oil)

2/3 cup milk

1.     Mix all ingredients and put on a baking sheet  covered with baking paper. Spread out approx. 1/3”

2.     Pre heat oven at 347F and let it bake for 20 min

Filling:

1.     Layer

Macadamia creme (you can buy it in a grocery store, e.g. at Rapunzel or Spar Premium)

 2. Layer

Uschi’s strawberry jam

(for those who don’t have a Uschi, unfortunately you have to do it yourself or buy it)

Coating:

white couverture

turquoise food coloring

colorful sugar sprinkles and sugar deco

1.     Spread strawberry jam on one half of the hazelnut cake and the other one with macadamia creme.

2.     Alternately cut out layers of the cake with jam and the cake with macadamia creme with a small, but high and square cake- cookie cutter, so it becomes a cake tower.

3.     Refrigerate the finished cake towers for 1 hour.

4.     Melt the couverture and blend with food coloring.

5.     Spread jam on the little cakes and afterwards encase them with couverture. Sprinkle them with sugar sprinkles.

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