56 replies to this topic

[anisette]

What a great tip regarding freezing them!  Do you freeze them before or after boiling them?  And then how do continue once you defrost them?

We freeze them just as soon as they are made, so before boiling. We roll them in extra flour and place them on a cookie sheet well separated (think IQF). Then freeze until frozen solid and transfer to air tight freezer bags. When you want to cook them, you simply cook them from frozen (do not defrost or they get gummy) - have the water boiling and plop them in making sure not to crowd them. I usually cook up 4 or 5 at one time, so they lay in an even layer on the bottom of my saucepan, stirring frequently so they don't stick to the bottom of the pot. Once the water comes to a boil again, turn the heat down slightly to maintain a boil, but not so much that your pot boils over. Cooking time is about 15 minutes, but I always go by visual cues - once they float (usually after about 10 minutes of boiling), you cook them for another 5 or so minutes, fishing out any that have burst or ruptured. You don't want any of that plum juice to go to waste!

[azurite]

I made the Orangentorte (Orange Torte with Orange Cream Frosting) on Monday and most of it has been eaten. The three people (not including me) who've tasted it. all said they liked it alot. I cut down on the amount of sugar in the frosting--so it was, perhaps, a bit tangier than it might otherwise have been but I like tangy. The recipe calls for almonds, I didn't have enough almonds so I made up the difference w/hazelnuts. Didn't blanch either nut(s). Tasters remarked on the nice contrast between creamy, tangy and the tastes of the nuts. One person liked the textural contrast between the ground nuts in the cake and the creamy frosting.

This is the first torte I've ever made---although I can't remember the first time I ate Sachertorte. When I was small, there was a wonderful Viennese coffee/pastry shop called Eclair down the block from my grandparents's apt. in Manhattan. Every time we visited, my grandmother would go to Eclair, buy some petit fours, some Sachertorte, whatever people wanted. My mother's family comes from Vienna.

I'm happy because I didn't find the recipe difficult (for some reason, I thought Viennese pastries/cakes would be very difficult to make), it turned out well, and everyone who tried it, liked it. It was pretty too, once the frosting chilled, it was a very very pale yellowish orange, with bits of orange zest showing through the frosting and providing some more color. No photo because I don't have a digital camera (yet) and don't yet know how to download photos if I had them.

I'm not sure if I feel ready to try some of the more ornate cakes in Kaffeehaus but I certainly enjoy looking at Ludja's photos! Something to work towards . . .

azurite

[ludja]

I made the Orangentorte (Orange Torte with Orange Cream Frosting) on Monday and most of it has been eaten.  The three people (not including me) who've tasted it. all said they liked it alot.  I cut down on the amount of sugar in the frosting--so it was, perhaps, a bit tangier than it might otherwise have been but I like tangy.  The recipe calls for almonds, I didn't have enough almonds so I made up the difference w/hazelnuts.  Didn't blanch either nut(s).  Tasters remarked on the nice contrast between creamy, tangy and the tastes of the nuts.  One person liked the textural contrast between the ground nuts in the cake and the creamy frosting. 
...
I'm happy because I didn't find the recipe difficult (for some reason, I thought Viennese pastries/cakes would be very difficult to make), it turned out well, and everyone who tried it, liked it.  It was pretty too, once the frosting chilled, it was a very very pale yellowish orange, with bits of orange zest showing through the frosting and providing some more color.  No photo because I don't have a digital camera (yet) and don't yet know how to download photos if I had them. 
..

Thank you for sharing your detailed comments on the Orangentorte (Orange Torte with Orange Cream Frosting), azurite!

I've been eyeballing that recipe for Easter or another spring menu perhaps and your description of the pale orange frosting makes it sound like it would look wonderful. I also like the flavor combination of ground almonds (and/or hazelnuts) with orange and the filling/frosting combination sounds very nice. Namely, orange curd for the filling and whipped cream/orange curd frosting for the outside of the cake.

I think these recipes can be a little intimidating, in general, just because some of techniques/ingredients can be a little different from traditional American cakes or even French cakes. and in some cases like the dumplings it is a less known dish as well. In this recipe, for example, finely ground bread crumbs are used instead of flour. The base techniques though of grating nuts so that they aren't oily, beating egg whties or yolks and folding methods are basic baking skills so once one has those down it is not that bad. And again, Rodgers gives more detailed descriptions than some other Austrian/Hungarian cookbooks that I have.

This is the first torte I've ever made---although I can't remember the first time I ate Sachertorte.  When I was small, there was a wonderful Viennese coffee/pastry shop called Eclair down the block from my grandparents's apt. in Manhattan.  Every time we visited, my grandmother would go to Eclair, buy some petit fours, some Sachertorte, whatever people wanted.  My mother's family comes from Vienna.   

What a nice memory! I didn't grow up with a pastry shop like that in my neighborhood but my Mom (from Austria) loves to bake some of these cakes and desserts so I had exposure to them. When I was still at home we also would stay with my grandparents in Austria (Graz) some summers and there we *would* have nice pastry and Kaffehaus's around the corner for an afternoon "Jause" or sweet snack. There isn't really a patisserie for Central European desserts that I know of in the Bay Area either so I need to make them if I want them!

[ludja]

...

I'm not sure if I feel ready to try some of the more ornate cakes in Kaffeehaus but I certainly enjoy looking at Ludja's photos!  Something to work towards . . .

azurite

Hey, *you're* the first one on the thread to report on a recipe out of the officially-named "Fancy Cakes" section! Although the Esterhazy Pastries from anisette are also definately of the fancy genre while not technically a torte!

The items I've posted so far are in general, "easier" although the Kastanienschnitten (chestnut slices) might also be classified as on the fancy side.

Edited by ludja, 29 March 2007 - 04:38 PM.

[ludja]

I forgot to mention another dish I've made out of the book because I didn't have my digital camera yet. I tried the Indianerkrapfen or Chocolate-Covered "Indian" pastries from the chapter on "Slices and Other Individual Pastries". I want to try these out again because they did not rise as highly as I would have liked.

Rodgers describes these as

chocolate-glazed orbs of spongecake filled with a swirl of whipped cream

They are baked in a special pan which has round indentations in it so that you get the 'round orbs". (He suggest a Danish ebelskiver pan as a perfect substitute.) The top half is glazed with chocolate on the outside and with apricot glaze on the inside. The combination of dark chocolate glaze, apricot, pastry and whipped cream is very nice. I'll report back on these after I try them again. They are very pretty; there is photo on p. 128.

Edited by ludja, 29 March 2007 - 04:39 PM.

[BettyK]

Someone on another website (now defunct) raved about "Burgtheatretorte."
What kind of cake is it? And has anyone made this?

[ludja]

Someone on another website (now defunct) raved about "Burgtheatretorte."
What kind of cake is it? And has anyone made this?

Haven't tried a Burgtheatertorte, eating or baking, yet. Here is Rodger's description:

At Vienna's esteemed Demel, those who who want a sweet that isn't too sweet might choose a slice of Burgtheatertorte.  Bakers never let anything go to waste, even cake crumbs, and they are used here to make a moist chocolate-almond cake dotted with candied orange peel.

You need 4 cups of crumbs so he suggests that most home bakers would likely need to expressly bake a chocolate sponge cake to generate the crumbs. He gives a recipe for this as well.

The basic recipe description is to cream butter, add confectionary sugar and eggs and flavor with cinnamon. Stir in almonds that have been finely ground with cocoa powder, the chocolate cake crumbs and minced candied orange peel. Bake in a buttered springform pan. Split baked cake in half and layer with warm red currant glaze. Top cake with confectioner's sugar and make a crosshatch design in the sugar with a sharp knife.

In the backstory of the cake, Rodgers describes how the torte was created by Demel (a famous Konditorei (patisserie) in Vienna that is still one of the best places to visit for pastry and tortes) in the late 1880's on the occasion of the rebuilding of the Burgtheater (Austria's Royal Theater on the Ringstrasse). Demel was a K&K ("Kaiserlich und Koeniglich" or royal) bakery and designed the torte to be served at intermission breaks at the theater. I wonder if it is still served then? I wouldn't put it past the Viennese to still have cake available at intermissions!

Thanks for pointing this torte out, BettyK! It wasn't on my "radar" and in reading the recipe it sounds very good as well as simple to make. Interestingly, I've made an American Southwestern-inspired cake with grated chocolate, ground almonds, orange peel and cinnamon; it's a very nice flavor combination.

I'm also curious as to anyone's experiences with it.

[DanaG]

First of all, can I just say I'm so glad I inquired about this book? I'm so glad this thread has taken off! I have been so busy at work that I still haven't had a chance to bake from it, but at least I know what book I'll be baking from when life settles down!

And I've had some chocolate cake crumbs in my freezer that I desperately need to use up... Now I know what to do with them!

[BettyK]

Someone on another website (now defunct) raved about "Burgtheatretorte."
What kind of cake is it? And has anyone made this?

Haven't tried a Burgtheatertorte, eating or baking, yet. Here is Rodger's description:

At Vienna's esteemed Demel, those who who want a sweet that isn't too sweet might choose a slice of Burgtheatertorte.  Bakers never let anything go to waste, even cake crumbs, and they are used here to make a moist chocolate-almond cake dotted with candied orange peel.

You need 4 cups of crumbs so he suggests that most home bakers would likely need to expressly bake a chocolate sponge cake to generate the crumbs. He gives a recipe for this as well.

The basic recipe description is to cream butter, add confectionary sugar and eggs and flavor with cinnamon. Stir in almonds that have been finely ground with cocoa powder, the chocolate cake crumbs and minced candied orange peel. Bake in a buttered springform pan. Split baked cake in half and layer with warm red currant glaze. Top cake with confectioner's sugar and make a crosshatch design in the sugar with a sharp knife.

In the backstory of the cake, Rodgers describes how the torte was created by Demel (a famous Konditorei (patisserie) in Vienna that is still one of the best places to visit for pastry and tortes) in the late 1880's on the occasion of the rebuilding of the Burgtheater (Austria's Royal Theater on the Ringstrasse). Demel was a K&K ("Kaiserlich und Koeniglich" or royal) bakery and designed the torte to be served at intermission breaks at the theater. I wonder if it is still served then? I wouldn't put it past the Viennese to still have cake available at intermissions!

Thanks for pointing this torte out, BettyK! It wasn't on my "radar" and in reading the recipe it sounds very good as well as simple to make. Interestingly, I've made an American Southwestern-inspired cake with grated chocolate, ground almonds, orange peel and cinnamon; it's a very nice flavor combination.

I'm also curious as to anyone's experiences with it.

Thanks for the description, Ludja. I think I will have to buy this book.

[ludja]

I recently saw an article mentioning the 175th birthday of the Original Sacher Torte from the Hotel Sacher in Vienna. I linked to the article in this earlier thread on Sachertorte in the Pastry and Baking thread: click

Has anyone tried either of the two Sachertorte recipes that Rodger's gives in the book?

I think I would be tempted to use the second recipe he gives that is attributed to a Viennese professional baker, Leschanz. In this version, the cake is cut into 3 layers. Each layer is filled with apricot glaze as is the outside of the cake before it is coated with the chocolate glaze. Rodger's says the extra layers (3, as opposed to 2 in the Sacher version and 1 in the Demel version) yield a taller cake and more moistness from the addition of the extra apricot glaze layer. Sounds good to me. This cake is on the dryer side and while whipped cream is indeed a happy requirement alongside I think I would still like the extra apricot layer.

Any other new experiments to share from the book?

[DanaG]

Has anyone made the cherry almond coffeecake? If I can't find good cherries...do you think frozen cherries would work?

[DanaG]

Oh my god!  Those desserts look fabulous.  I completely forgot that I own this book...maybe my husband's right..I do have too many cookbooks!  I don't think I've made even one thing from the book but I know I've drooled over it several times.  I'm inspired!  I'll make something this weekend.

jb

Your post, Jean, this thread and a couple of bananas that were turning soft inspired me to try the Banana Gugelhupf this weekend. As Rodgers mentions, the Austrian Gugelhupf, from which the American Bundt cake descended, is typically flavored with lemon, vanilla and raisins (sometimes rum-soaked) but this newer version has mashed bananas instead of raisins in it.

The texture of this cake is wonderful, slightly dense and moist. Unlike modern American banana breads/cakes that often use in excees of a cup of oil to achieve richness and moistness this one uses instead 1/3 cup of heavy cream. I think the flavor and texture are much better; I'll be making this easy cake often. It keeps well for at least five days if wrapped well in plastic and stored at room temp. We've been enjoying it for breakfast with coffee.

Well, I finally got around to making the banana gugelhupf! Ludja, you were right about the lemon -- it's subtle, but it gives the cake a different, more mysterious flavor profile than the typical "American" banana cake or bread. It's really delicious, and the texture is divine! I'm glad I finally got around to making it :).

(ETA: The photos above are Ludja's. My gugelhupf pan isn't nearly as nice!!)

Edited by DanaG, 20 June 2007 - 06:23 AM.

[currypuff]

I think the raspberry molded rice pudding is wonderful. The first time it came out a big hit, the second time... not sure what I did differently?

I most recently made the hazelnut and currant snails and froze what I couldn't eat. They were so good. ... butter and flaky but not too sweet. Sort of like an upscale cinnamon bun, but not really...

My boyfriend said we would make a killing if we could sell them!

[foolcontrol]

I have owned this book since it was released. I guess I will have to look into making some of this stuff.

[azurite]

Because of the praise on this thread for the banana gugelhupf, I made it yesterday. I agree with the previous posts. Definitely good. A friend tried it, she liked it too. She remarked that she could not smell any banana and couldn't taste it that much either. I wasn't quite sure how to take her comments--I don't know if she doesn't like how bananas smell or what. As long as she liked it . . .

Am thinking of sending some to my mom by priority mail--maybe she'd enjoy an updated taste of Vienna. : )


azurite

[BCarroll05]

I come back to this cookbook again and again, trying to relive my summer of '05 hitchhiking around Hungary and tasting lots and lots of delicious pastries. Have made:

Hungarian Walnut Roulades - wonderful
Apricot Coffee Cake - so so
Apple Strudel - with fresh picked apples, this was great
Hazelnut Roulades with Mocha Cream - excellent, despite making it during a thunderstorm with the power going out midway through preparing
Berry Meringue Slices
Diostorte (Walnut Torte with Walnut-Custard Buttercream)
Chocolate banana slices
Farmer's Cheesecake (Topfentorte)
Gerbeaud Slices (Gerbeaud Szelet) - by far my favorite and as good as I remembered
Hungarian Chocolate Mousse Squares (Rigo Jancsi)
Chocolate-Orange Cake
Chocolate Cherry Roulade (Schokolade Kirschenroulade)

-Brendan

[currypuff]

I also made the banana gugelhopf (I got all sorts of grief from the boyfriend about buying a gugelhopf pan... "How often are you going to make gugelhopf?" well not often with that attitude!)

Anyway it was a very good cake... light and fluffy and not too sweet at all despite using rather ripe bananas. I put it in a 9x9 pan and it cooked a bit faster than the recipe had indicated. I'd recommend it to anyone.

[DanaG]

Tried the Linzertorte tonight -- another success! The addition of cocoa powder adds another layer of complexity to the dough. We tore into it before I could grab a photo, but it turned out exactly like the photo in the book. Excellent recipe!

[MelissaH]

Along the same lines: has anyone found anywhere that Rick Rodgers says how much a cup of flour weighs, as measured by him? In the notes in the back of the book, he bemoans the fact that Americans measure by volume, not mass. This little piece of information would help immensely. (I've sent an e-mail via his Web site, and will report back if I get a reply.)

MelissaH

[MelissaH]

And the answer is:

I assume 5 ounces per cup of flour.  I measure by the scoop and sweep method.  The spoon and sweep method would yield 4 to 4.5 oz per cup, depending on the flour.  But as I tested the KAFFEEHAUS recipes by volume measurement only, I cannot vouch that converting will work.
[...]
There are cooks out there who go back and forth from volume to weighed measures, and that wreaks havoc. There are many places on the web to find conversions.  And as the vast majority of my readers do volume measurement, I'd better fall into one camp.

MelissaH

[lisa_antonia]

I adore the banana gugelhupf. It's one of the better cakes i've made lately.

[mukki]

Any recent baking from this book? I've made the Ischl Tartlets several more times. They are delicious and always a hit. I haven't even moved past this recipe, I like them so much. As I mentioned before, I decrease the liquids in the chocolate glaze by 1/2. This prevents cracking from occurring later on.

Ludja -- did you try the Indianerkrapfen again? I was thinking about making those after buying a new non-stick abelskiver pan (my current one is cast iron and everything sticks).

I'm also interested in the Gerbeaud Slices. This wouldn't necessarily be a recipe I'd pick on my own, but I've heard so many good things about the originals.

[rickster]

As part of my Christmas baking, I made the chestnut "potatoes" confection. Not receommended. They took an inordinate amount of time to make, most in peeling the nuts, and the result was very bland.

The vanilla crescents were a hit last year at Christmas, but for some reason did not come out as well this year.

[mukki]

As part of my Christmas baking, I made the chestnut "potatoes" confection. Not receommended. They took an inordinate amount of time to make, most in peeling the nuts, and the result was very bland.

The vanilla crescents were a hit last year at Christmas, but for some reason did not come out as well this year.

This reminded me that I tried the Vanilla Crescents last week. Kind of disappointing and not worth making again. I also made the Krapfen a while ago, but the results paled compared to the Sufganiyot recipe I use (from Martha Stewart Living, no less!).

[DanM]

Thanks for the food porn! This has definately caught my attention. Too bad the recipes are volumetric though.

I have added this book to my Amazon wish list.

Dan

[FoodHacker]

I can't for the life of me seem to find an errata sheet on this book (the link posted earlier in this thread comes up being not found)

I have this book and so far have really enjoyed it but if there are mistakes in the book I would like to find the corrections for them.

[mukki]

Ischl Tarts with lingonberry jam... delicious! Perfect combination of delicate pastry, tart jam and sweet chocolate.