SchwarzwaldKirsch Torte, pureed cauliflower, and German Christmas Cookies

German Christmas cookies

Ingredients:

Contessa cookies
Dominosteine
Printen
Lebkuchen

Directions: go to a German food store in your local area in mid November. Buy Christmas cookies. Eat.

Now, that wasn't so hard, was it?

OK, seriously folks. Here's the Schwarzwaldkirschtorte.

Cake:

6 eggs, separated.
1 cup sugar
5 tbsp hot water
3/4 cup cake flour (all-purpose flour will do, if that's what you have)
1/2 cup cocoa
1 tsp baking powder

Topping/frosting:

1 quart whipping or heavy cream
3-4 tbsp confectioner's sugar
1 packet plain gelatin
2 tbsp water
1 can cherry pie filling
rum or kirsch to taste
semi-sweet chocolate, shaved
maraschino cherries


Directions: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Put wax paper into bottom of springform pan. Separate eggs. Beat yolks with 3/4 cup of the sugar and the hot water until creamy and ribbony. Beat whites with 1/4 cup sugar until stiff. Sift together flour, sugar, cocoa and baking powder (and please note, baking powder isn't the same as baking soda!). Fold yolks very gently into whites, then fold in the flour mixture. Gently pour into springform pan. Bake for about a half hour, or until the cake springs back when pressed. Cool upside down on a cake rack. When cool, loosen the sides with a knife, then open the springform and turn upside down onto cake rake. Gently peel off the waxed paper. Slice cake across into three even layers.

For the frosting: sprinkle gelatin over water and let sit a few minutes until water is absorbed into gelatin, but no longer. Place in mixing bowl along with confectioner's sugar and cream, then whip cream until peaks form. Mix pie filling with kirsch and spread over bottom layer. Cover with a layer of whipped cream. Place another layer of cake onto the cream, then layer with whipped cream. Place top layer down and frost outside of cake and top with remaining whipped cream. Put shaved/grated chocolate in the center of the cake and spread around in the middle. Drain maraschino cherries and arrange around the rim. Done!

This recipe is courtesy of my mother, who has been indulging us for years with this amazing cake on our birthdays. She has told me it is the authentic, original recipe. Everything I've had in the US has been different, and not nearly as good, and one or two in Germany, while better than here, weren't the same. When we visited the Schwarzwald Haus, however, back in 1994, we ordered this cake and it tasted EXACTLY THE SAME! So I guess she was right.

I think you can make this gluten free very easily just by substituting gluten-free flour for the cake flour.

Cauliflower Puree

1 pound cauliflower, broken into small florets
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (Kraft will do as well)
1/4 cup whipping cream (may substitute whatever milky thing you want here, but it will be less creamy if you choose low fat versions)
1 tbsp butter (Take Control or Benecol will work here)
1/4 tsp coarse salt
freshly grated pepper to taste

Steam the cauliflower for about 18-20 minutes, until fork tender. Place the cauliflower and the rest of the ingredients in the work bowl of a food processor and process until pureed. Serve.

Leftovers of this heat really well in the microwave and are delicious repeatedly. I looooooovvvve this dish! It is almost actually better than real mashed potatoes, and better for you, as well. I got the recipe from The Ultimate Low-Carb Diet Cookbook, which has all kinds of really excellent recipes, including various pumpkin breads and cake rolls that are to die for. I'll probably try the spinach custard sometime soon, since it looks really delicious.

I see from the window that the snow has finally stopped, or at least slowed down a lot. May get to Narnia tonight after all. Guess I'll go out and shovel.