Update

'Koek & Cake' has new features including a photo gallery of some of my projects of the last couple of months. Check it out on the right hand side of the homepage.

 

Need a cake, cupcakes, cookies, bars .... for a special event 
or just because you feel like it (Austin,Tx). 

or

Is there a topic you would like me to write about?

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Heavenly mud

'Heavenly mud'.....that might make you think of a pigs instead of a dessert, but things aren't always what they seem. Heavenly mud ('Hemelse modder') is the Dutch variety to Mousse au Chocolat.  

If you are in France, no matter which region, no matter where you eat, you will most likely be offered the divine French dessert Mousse au Chocolat. The word “mousse” is a French word that means foam. When mousse first hit the culinary scene in 1894 it was reserved for savory dishes like fish and vegetables. Then in the early 1900’s the famous French artist Toulouse Lautrec had the brilliant idea of mixing in chocolate to the graceful and airy invention. Doesn't everything taste better with chocolate.

You can find hundreds of different versions of the original recipe for this chocolate delight in cookbooks world wide. Some boast fancy ingredients like alcohol, peppermint, oranges or even marshmallows. In my opinion, the key to a great dessert is simplicity and the finest ingredients, such as dessert chocolate.

In this variety I leave out the eggs (as it is still over 100 degrees outside) and use whipped cream to create the foam. 

Hemelse modder

For chocolate lovers, check out: http://www.zchocolat.com

Graduation

Last weekend we had a graduation including cap and gown ceremony for our dog Lila. A great opportunity to explore how to decorate cookies.

Cookies for the trainer

I baked lemon sugar cookies that I glazed and than decorated. As I'm new to cookie decorating I have been surfing on the web and found this great website full with great ideas: http://www.sweetsugarbelle.com/. Sweet Sugar Belle uses royal icing to decorate her cookies. So far I have only used royal icing to decorate cakes and cupcakes. I'm looking forward to trying it out on cookies. Keep you posted!!

Back to school

In the last half-century, peanut butter & jelly has become an American icon. In fact, the average American will have eaten 1,500 peanut butter and jelly (PB&J) sandwiches by the time they graduate high school! Now that it's the back to school season I decided to make Peanut Butter and Jelly bars, instead of the traditional sandwich ;-)

Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars

A little bit about the History of the Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich. Food historians do not know exactly when the peanut butter and jelly sandwich was first prepared, and there have been no advertisements or mentions of PB&J before the 1940s.

Peanut butter wasn't invented until 1890, and it became a hit at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis. During the 1920s and 1930s, commercial brands of peanut butter such as Peter Pan and Skippy were introduced. Around the same time, pre-sliced bread became common in the U.S. However, there's no mention of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches before the 1940s.It is known, however, that both peanut butter and jelly were on the U.S. Military ration menus in World War II, and some have suggested that the GIs added jelly to their peanut butter to make it taste better. It was an instant hit and returning GIs made peanut butter and jelly sales soar in the U.S.

Dutch apple pie

The Dutch don't let a birthday go by without a piece of apple pie (appelgebak, appeltaart). Recipes for Dutch apple pie go back centuries. There exists a painting from the Dutch Golden Age, dated 1626, featuring such a pie.
A family tradition in our home as well and my mom always takes the effort to bake them herself. I remember being a little girl helping her by cutting the apples in little pieces and mixing in the cinnamon and sugar. The dough on the other hand was always a secret to me.

Dutch Apple Pie

Now that I have moved far from my moms kitchen I felt the need to share a Dutch apple pie with my American family and friends. No more crumble topping, store bought crusts, but REAL Dutch apple pie. Last week, with the help of my friend Dana, I made 3 of them with a crust just like my mom makes.

The meaning of Koek

The American name for cookie is derived from the Dutch word koek or (informal) koekje, which means little cake and arrived in American English through the Dutch immigrants in North America. 

Cookies appear to have their origins in 7th century Persia, shortly after the use of sugar became relatively common in the region.They spread to Europe through the Muslim conquest of Spain. By the 14th century, they were common in all levels of society, throughout Europe, from royal cuisine to street vendors.

With global travel becoming widespread at that time, cookies made a natural travel companion, a modernized equivalent of the travel cakes used throughout history. Cookies came to America in the early English settlement (the 17th century). (reference http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koek)

Now that I'm settling in Austin, Texas. History repeats itself. Koek is brought to the USA.

Home baking @ Austin Texas

I'm a big fan of baking and learned lots of new tricks taking Wilton cake decorating classes and trying out new recipes the last couple of months. As per September 1st 2011, HOME BAKERIES in Texas are legal, giving me the opportunity to turn this hobby into a way to share my baked goods with the world! Sort of speak....

The blog Koek & Cake has been brought to live to keep you up to date on my home bake adventures in the kitchen and from now on:

 

 Need a cake, cupcakes, cookies, bars .... for a special event 
or just because you feel like it (Austin,Tx). 

Let me know!

P.s. For more information on the Texas Cottage Food Law go to: http://texascottagefoodlaw.com/Home.aspx