Saturday, December 21, 2013

Modern Lardy Cake with the BBB - Moderner Schmalzkuchen

While poking around in Jamie Schler's wonderful blog Life's a feast, I stumbled across a blog entry : Modern Lardy Cake and Bread Baking Babes challenge. My interest was piqued. I read a bit farther, the Bread Baking Babes have a monthly thing going on to all bake the same bread one of the members chooses for that particular month. I think that's a cool idea. Though, I obviously can't became a babe, I can become a baking buddy when trying out the named recipe, posting and mailing it to the babe who is the hostess for that baking round, which for December is Lien.



A lardy cake is a bread, made with dried fruits and warm spices, like nutmeg and cinnamon, and lard, of course. The modern version substitutes butter for lard. I made a couple small changes to the recipe. Because, I'm a fan of lard and get real, good, homemade lard at the Mexican grocer here, I decided to make at least the dough of the cake/bread with lard. I also used a bit more salt, as some of the babes did. The dried fruit for the filling, in my case golden raisins and dried cherries, I soaked in rum overnight. I love doing that with dried fruit, it's a real flavor boost. And i changed the shape of the bread and baked it in a ring mold, (normally used for a German cake, called Frankfurter Kranz ) to get closer to the shape of a wreath cake.

The cake ( or is it more of a bread ? ) was a big hit. Everybody liked it,either for Kaffeetrinken ( eating cake and drinking coffee in the afternoon ), or for breakfast, lightly toasted and smeared with strawberry jam ...

Some things I will try out the next time will be adding more filling, maybe 1/3 more and adding ground nuts, like walnut or hazelnut, to the mix. otherwise, i'm happy. Thanks for that great recipe, Bread Baking Babes :D

Beim Blog Stöbern in Jamie Schler's wunderschönem blog Life's a feast bin ich auf einen Artikel gestossen, bei dem es um die Bread Baking Babes und einen ' Lardy Cake ' - Schmalzkuchen ging. Das hat natürlich mein Interesse geweckt. Die BBB suchen sich jeden Monat ein Brot aus, das alle backen und das danach nachgebacken werden kann, womit man ein Baking Buddy wird. Das Brot dieses mal, eher schon ein Kuchen, wird in einer modernen Version, mit Butter statt Schmalz gebacken und mit getrockneten Früchten und warmen Gewürzen, wie Zimt oder Muskat, gefüllt. Ein paar Sachen im Original Rezept habe ich geändert, so habe ich natürlich Schmalz für den Teig verwendet, die getrockneten Früchte die Nacht vorher in Rum eingeweicht, und das Brot nicht in einer Rechteckform, sondern einer Ring Form gebacken. Uns allen hat es prima geschmeckt, auch wenn ich das nächste Mal etwas mehr Füllung verwenden werde und vielleicht auch ein paar Nüsse mit in die Füllung einarbeite.

Spreading the filling on the rolled out dough - Die Füllung ist auf dem ausgerollten Teig verteilt.


After the second fold - nach dem zweiten Umschlagen


The final rise in the ring mold - Der endgültig gegangene Teig


The Modern Lardy Cake


-=========  REZKONV-Recipe - RezkonvSuite v1.4

     Title: Modern Lardy cake
Categories: Baking, Bread
     Yield: 1 Loaf

============================= DOUGH =============================
    375     grams  Strong white flour ( KA AP )
  1 1/2     teasp. Active dry yeast
      1   tablesp. Sugar
  1 1/2     teasp. Salt
     35     grams  Lard, soft
    200        ml  Milk, + 1 tb, warmed

============================ FILLING ============================
    112     grams  Butter ( 1 stick ), softened
     75     grams  Soft dark brown sugar
      1     teasp. Ground cinnamon (or a pinch more)
    1/4     teasp. Freshly grated nutmeg (or a pinch more)
     75     grams  Raisins and dried cherries, soaked in rum
                   -- overnight, drained
                   Beaten egg, to glaze
     24        cm  (9 in) round cake tin (I used a round mold, 10
                   -- inch diameter

============================ SOURCE ============================
            http://notitievanlien.blogspot.it/2013/12/a-december-
            bread-for-bread-baking-babes.html
            -- Edited *RK* 12/17/2013 by
            -- Ralph Knauth

Put all the dough ingredients in a large mixing bowl and knead
(preferably with a dough hook in a heavy duty mixer) until smooth
and supple. Bring the dough together in a ball and return to the
bowl. Cover with clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm place until
doubled in size.

To make the filling butter, sugar and spices together until creamy.
Knock the risen dough back and re-knead it briefly. Roll it out to a
rectangle about 50 x 25 cm (20 x 10 in). Spread the filling evenly
over two-thirds of the dough sheet, leaving one outer third empty
and about 4 cm (1 ½ inch) on all sides. If using, sprinkle the dried
fruit over this and press down to embed. Fold the empty third over
the middle third and the remaining third over this. Pinch all the
edges well to seal the filling in. Cover with a sheet of clingfilm
and leave to rest for about 5 minutes to relax. Give the parcel a
quarter turn and roll it into a rectangle about 30 x 15 cm (12 x 6
in). Fold into thirds again and leave to rest for 5 minutes. Repeat
this procedure three more times, turning the dough by a quarter turn
and rolling and folding. If you find you are losing too much filling,
omit the final turn. This is a delicate, difficult and messy work as
the filling oozes out in weak spots. Patch them up as good as you
can and continue to work. All the oozing bits will caramelize nicely
as the cake bakes. But you don't want to lose too much filling as
the laminating effect. Grease the tin and put the dough packet in it,
then flatten it with your hand to fit it in as well as possible.
Cover with clingfilm and leave it to rise until almost doubled.

Meanwhile preheat the oven to 180ºC (350ºF).

Brush the dough with beaten egg, then lightly score a cross-hatched
pattern onto the surface. Don't cut into the filling. Bake for 25-30
minutes or until brown. Remove from the oven, but leave in the tin
for about 5 minutes. Carefully release the clip and turn the cake
upside down on a wire rack. Remove the bottom of the tin, which will
probably still be attached to it, and leave to cool further. Eat
lukewarm or cold, cut into wedges or slices.

(source: "Warm Bread and Honey Cake" by Gaitri Pagrach-Chandra)

Ralph. I raised the heat for the last 10 min to 375°F for a total
baking time of 33 minutes.

=====

==========  REZKONV-Rezept - RezkonvSuite v1.4

     Titel: Modern Lardy cake
Kategorien: Backen, Brot, Suess, Ofen
     Menge: 1 Brot

============================= DOUGH =============================
    375     Gramm  Mehl
  1 1/2      Teel. Trockenhefe
      1      Essl. Zucker
  1 1/2      Teel. Salz
     35     Gramm  Schweineschmalz
    200        ml  Milch, + 1 EL, warm

============================ FILLING ============================
    112     Gramm  Butter ( 1 stick ), weich
     75     Gramm  Rohrzucker
      1      Teel. Zimt, gem.
    1/4      Teel. Muskat, gem.
     75     Gramm  Rosinen und Kirschen, getrocknet, über Nacht in
                   -- Rum eingeweicht
                   Ei, verschlagen, zum Glasieren

============================ QUELLE ============================
            http://notitievanlien.blogspot.it/2013/12/a-december-
            bread-for-bread-baking-babes.html
            -- Erfasst *RK* 17.12.2013 von
            -- Ralph Knauth

Alle Zutaten für den Teig zu einem glatten Teig verkneten. Zu einem
Ball formen, an einem warmen Ort verdoppeln lassen.

Für die Füllung die Butter, den Zucker und die Gewürze schaumig
schlagen. Den gegangenen Teig flach drücken, und zu einem 50*25 cm
Rechteck ausrollen. Die Füllung gleichmäßig über die ersten 2/3 der
Teigplatte verteilen, dabei einen 4 cm Rand lassen. Die Früchte über
der Füllung verteilen. Nun das freie Drittel Teig über das
Mitteldrittel klappen, dann das untere Drittel darüber klappen. Die
Enden fest zusammendrücken, abdecken und 5 minuten ruhen lassen.

Dann den Teig ein Viertel drehen und wieder zu einem Rechteck
ausrollen. Wieder in Drittel falten und 5 Minuten ruhen lassen.
Diesen Vorgang 3 Mal wiederholen. Das Ganze ist eine etwas klebrige
Angelegenheit. Sollte nach dem Dritten Durchgang zuviel Füllung
herausquellen, kann man den letzten Durchgang auch weglassen. Die
Kuchenform ( im Original eine quadratische Backform, ich habe eine
Frankfurter Kranz Form genommen ) gut einfetten, den Teig
hineingeben und nochmals gehen lassen, bis er sich verdoppelt hat (
bei mir 40 Minuten ).

Ofen auf 180ºC vorheizen.

Den Teig mit dem verschlagenen Ei einpinseln, leichte Einschnitte
auf der Oberfläche machen und etwa 30 Minuten backen, bis er schön
braun ist ( ich habe die letzten 10 Minuten die Backtemperatur etwas
erhöht ). Aus dem Ofen nehmen, ein paar Minuten in der Form
auskühlen lassen, dann stürzen. Vollkommen auskühlen lassen.

=====

10 comments:

  1. Na, ja die Norddeutsche an sich versteht unter Schmalzkuchen etwas anderes :-)
    Prima, du bloggst wieder, habe ich bei meinem Arbeitsstress überhaupt nicht mitbekommen.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Danke, Ulrike ! Muss mich an den blog erst wieder gewöhnen ( hatte gar nicht richtig gemerkt, das du kommentiert hast :( Was wäre denn ein nord deutscher Schmalzkuchen ?

      Delete
  2. Hi Ralph, Your bread looks beautiful. I'm totally in love with the ring shape for this bread, it even seems more festive somehow! Thanks for baking with us.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks, Lien, for picking such a great recipe. I really like the taste of the bread, it's not too sweet, like many other baked goods here in the States. I'm ready for the next challenge ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love that you made a real lardy cake, using lard! And what a great idea to soak your dried fruit (dried cherries... my favourite!!) in rum overnight. Brilliant. Many thanks for baking with us. I can't wait to see your take on January's bread!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Elizabeth, Thank you ! I had a lot of fun and I am ready for the next challenge :)

      Delete
  5. Wow I am thrilled and honored my little blog had such an effect! I am overjoyed you are a buddy this month (be careful, because January I am hosting!) and look how fabulous and perfect yours came out. Exciting that you made it with lard and the ring mold idea is something I want to try now. I am so happy you made and enjoyed this, Ralph! Thank you again for the shout out and baking! Happy Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Jamie ! I'm always happy to have an excuse to cook / bake, so I really like this BBB challenge. Can't wait for yours :) And a happy New Year to you, too. May it be filled always with yummy smelling fresh baked bread :)

      Delete
  6. Great shaping Ralph and just lovely looking bread!
    Thanks tremendously for baking with us.
    I am totally envious of your Mexican butcher. I so want to make this with lard and even duck fat.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Tanna ! I had a lot of fun. You don't need a Mexican butcher, btw. Making your own lard is very easy, just get some fat back, cut it in little cubes and render it, very slowly. Drain through a sieve, and you got fresh lard. I do it all the time, with suet, too, when I need it for baking :)

      Delete