the red kitchen

Apple Pie of Death, Part II

 

 

 

A couple of days ago I tried to recreate The Apple Pie of Death that Manuela and I ate one ill-fated morning in Amsterdam. Unbeknownst to us, we had stumbled upon perhaps the best apple pie in Amsterdam. Ok, that morning it did us no favours, but I did insist even in my heightened state of discomfort that on any other day that piece of apple pie would totally rock - it had just the right combination of chunky, softened (but not dissolved) buttery cinnamony apple pieces, encased in really delicious short pastry (so short it was almost like a crumble base). And warm! And fresh! That warm apple pie smell was wafting out the door and into the market outside - no wonder we were drawn in.

So I did a little research and found a few recipes, one of which I followed loosely (thanks Lynn from The Amsterdam Files!). I had a little trouble with the self-raising flour issue - Switzerland doesn't have it, so I just added one tsp of baking powder and (bad move) 1/2 tsp of salt per cup of flour - that was too much salt.

Verdict: it all turned out perfectly, except the pastry was strangely salty - doh! However, it actually wasn't too bad, the combination of salty and sweet :) At least, that's what Bruno said...

I think next time I would reduce the cooking time as my pie was a bit drier than Cafe Winkel's, and I remember what I loved about Winkel's pie was that it was beautifully tender and short. Oh, and reduce the salt in the pastry. Otherwise - love it. Also looks quite impressive - there weren't any complaints from the neighbourhood crew when I served it for dessert on Wednesday (they probably all dashed off home for long tall drinks of water, though).

Update: today I baked the last of the gigantic amount of pastry (the recipe made a huge amount) for a strawberry tart. Reduced the cooking time and didn't let it cool completely uncovered (so it didn't dry out too much). Perfect! Made up for the awful sushi I made...:)

PS. On the topic of Amsterdam - if you are looking for a nice place to eat in Amsterdam, try Toscanini's. It was delicious (thanks, Andy!).

On birthdays, a surfeit of cakes, and tight pants

This week finds me becoming increasingly well-acquainted with my oven, and my trusty Edmonds cupcake recipe.

In the last two days I've two double batches of cupcakes - one lot for Max's birthday celebration at kindy (yes, he continues to celebrate his birthday, a full two weeks after the event), and the other for Lola's birthday (which is today, happy birthday sweet little Lolly!)at the Chinderhuus. Max requested chocolate cupcakes with vanilla icing and red flowers, and Lola got vanilla cupcakes with pink vanilla icing and white flowers (no photos, as I was too busy trying to fend the kiddies off the cupcakes, but trust me, they were delicious, even though I forgot to put the proper quantity of baking powder in one lot).

Cupcakes are a Good Thing when it comes to these kindergarten-type birthday thingies, because they a) look cute; b) do away with the need for plates; and c) do away with the hassle and mess of cutting and distributing. But, when it comes time for the big birthday bash, I think a proper whole cake is still nice.

Last night I also made a quince and almond cake, cos few people have asked me for the recipe and I didn't want to post the recipe without some pics. This weekend we are having a joint birthday party for Max and Lolly, so guess what I'll be up all night making! Another cake!!! Still haven't decided if I will attempt a shape (last year at Mum and Dad's in Oz we had a dinosaur park and a pink pigcat - it was meant to be a pink pussycat but was decidedly pig-like) or just do a big, round confection with sprinkles, candles, lurid piped icing, ringing bells and whistles, and maybe some fireworks for good measure.

Now, I love a good butter cake but taking this weeks' cake bonanza and last weeks' chocolate chipper fest (I made up a quadruple batch) into consideration, I think I have overdone it, and have the tightening pants to prove it. Oh well, there's my winter layer of blubber.