3. Roll out the dough on a floured work surface to a thickness of 1 cm/3⁄8 in, cut out the fritters with a special fritter cutter or use 2 teaspoons. Lower the fritters into the hot oil a few at a time, and fry until golden yellow. Take them out of the oil with a skimming ladle, drain on kitchen paper and coat in sugar while still hot.
PASTRIES FRIED IN FAT
113 | Rheinische Muzen (Rhenish fritters)
Traditional–Seasonal (about 80 pieces)
Preparation and baking time: about 90 minutes
For frying:
frying oil
For the pastry:
40 g/11⁄2 oz (1⁄3 cup) icing (confectioner’s) sugar
2 medium eggs
3 drops vanilla essence in 1 tablespoon sugar
250 g/9 oz (21⁄2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
2 level teaspoons baking powder
4 teaspoons rum
For dusting:
4 teaspoons icing (confectioner’s) sugar
Per piece:
P: 1 g, F: 2 g, C: 3 g, kJ: 145, kcal: 35
1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan or deep-fryer to a temperature of about 180 °C/350 °F so that bubbles form round the wooden spoon handle lowered into it.
2. For the dough, sift the icing sugar, mix together with the eggs and vanilla sugar in a mixing bowl and stir for 3 minutes with a hand mixer with whisk at the highest setting. Mix together the flour and baking powder, sift, add the rum and stir quickly into the mixture at the lowest setting. Roll out the dough very thinly on a floured work surface and cut out diamond shapes about 7 cm/23⁄4 in long.
3. Put the muzen in the hot oil a few at a time, and fry until golden brown on both sides. Take the fritters out of the oil with a skimming ladle, drain thoroughly on kitchen paper and dust with icing sugar while still hot.
PASTRIES FRIED IN FAT
114 | Rum and apple doughnuts
Popular (about 12 pieces)
Preparation and baking time: about 60 minutes
frying oil
For the cake mixture:
150 g/5 oz (11⁄3 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
4 level teaspoons baking powder
40 g/11⁄2 oz (4 tablespoons) sugar
3 drops vanilla essence in 1 tablespoon sugar
1⁄4 teaspoon rum essence
1 pinch salt, 75 g/3 oz curd cheese (low fat)
50 ml /11⁄2 fl oz (3 tablespoons) milk
50 ml /11⁄2 fl oz (3 tablespoons) cooking oil
For the apple filling:
1 large apple
1⁄4 teaspoon rum essence
For the custard filling:
16 g/1⁄2 oz (11⁄2 tablespoons) custard powder
250 ml/8 fl oz (1 cup) milk
For dusting:
some icing (confectioner’s) sugar
Per piece:
P: 3 g, F: 14 g, C: 17 g, kJ: 882, kcal: 211
1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan or deep-fryer to a temperature of about 180 °C/350 °F so that bubbles form round the wooden spoon handle lowered into it.
2. For the dough, mix together the flour and baking powder and sift into a mixing bowl. Add the other ingredients for the dough and stir with a hand mixer with kneading hook, first briefly at the lowest setting, then at the highest setting to make a smooth dough. Do not knead too long because this would make the dough sticky. Then cut the dough into 12 pieces of similar size.
3. For the apple filling, peel, quarter and core the apple, then cut each quarter into 3 pieces. Sprinkle the pieces of apple with rum essence and leave a few minutes to draw. Wrap one piece of apple in a piece of dough and press the dough firmly around the apple. Put the doughnuts in the hot oil, a few at a time, fry until golden brown and drain on kitchen paper.
4. For the custard filling, make the custard following the instructions on the packet but using only 250 ml/8 fl oz (1 cup) milk and leave to cool a little while stirring. Put the custard in a piping bag with a small nozzle and pipe into the lukewarm doughnuts. Finally, dust with icing sugar.
Tip: These doughnuts taste best when eaten lukewarm.
PASTRIES FRIED IN FAT
115 | Eberswald fritters
Popular (about 25 pieces)
Preparation and baking time: about 90 minutes
For frying:
frying oil
baking parchment
some fat
250 ml/8 fl oz (1 cup) water
50 g/2 oz (4 tablespoons) butter or margarine
150 g/5 oz (11⁄3 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
30 g/1 oz (3 tablespoons)
cornflour (cornstarch)
25 g/1 oz (2 tablespoons) sugar
3 drops vanilla essence in 1 tablespoon sugar
5–6 medium eggs
1 level teaspoon baking powder
For the icing:
300 g/10 oz (2 cups) icing (confectioner’s) sugar
about 2 tablespoons lemon juice
hot water
Per piece:
P: 2 g, F: 6 g, C: 19 g, kJ: 592, kcal: 141
1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan or deep-fryer to a temperature of about 180 °C/350 °F so that bubbles form round the wooden spoon handle lowered into it. Cut the baking parchment into squares (about 10 x 10 cm/4 x 4 in) and grease.
2. For the dough, bring the water to the boil together with the butter or margarine. Remove the pan from the heat. Mix together the flour and cornflour, sift and add all at once to the hot liquid. Stir into a smooth lump of dough, then continue cooking for 1 minute stirring continuously and transfer to a mixing bowl.
3. Incorporate the sugar and vanilla sugar into the dough with a hand mixer with kneading hook at the highest setting. Beat the last egg and add just enough to the dough to make it shiny, and also so that it hangs from the spoon without dropping off. Only add the baking powder when the dough is cold.
4. Put the dough, in small amounts, in a piping bag with a large star-shaped nozzle and pipe onto the squares of baking parchment in the shape of small wreaths. Loosen the wreaths by dipping the baking parchment square into the fat and fry until golden brown on both sides.
Remove the fritters from the oil with a skimming ladle, drain on kitchen paper and put on a rack to cool down.
5. For the icing, sift the icing sugar, stir in enough lemon juice to make a thick mixture and coat the fritters with it.
ADVICE
Christmas pastry
Baking several batches of biscuits
If you only have one baking sheet but you need to bake a larger amount of biscuits, you can solve the problem as follows. Cut several pieces of baking parchment the size of the baking sheet. Place the cut-out or hand-shaped dough on the baking parchment. Slide the baking parchment with the dough shapes onto the flat side of the baking sheet. In this way you can prepare all the biscuits at the same time; they do not slide about and they can be baked in batches, one after the other.
Roll out the dough on a floured work surface and cut out the shapes for the biscuits. To achieve an even thickness, flour the rolling pin lightly to prevent the dough from sticking.
Baking stollen
Bake the stollen on a baking sheet lined with three layers of baking parchment, to prevent it getting too dark underneath.
Storing
Biscuits
Remove all the biscuits from the baking sheet and put them immediately on a rack to cool down. They can only be stored when they are completely cold. Biscuits should be stored in a cool, dry place. Biscuits that are to remain crisp must be stored in airtight containers. Biscuits that remain soft should be left uncovered until they feel cool to the touch and then stored in a container with a loose lid.
Several kinds of pastries of a similar type can be stored in the same container, separated by aluminium foil or baking parchment for practical reasons. However, spicy biscuits should be stored separately.
Stollen
Put stollen on a rack and when completely cool, wrap imm
ediately in aluminium foil, then in a plastic bag, for instance a freezer bag.
Stored in cool, dry conditions, stollen will remain fresh for 4 weeks and the aroma of the fruit and spices will permeate the whole cake.
Stollen is also suitable for freezing.
Fruit cakes
Fruit cakes can be stored in the same way as stollen.
Meringues and macaroons
Meringues and macaroons will remain crisp if stored in airtight containers, but they are not suitable for freezing.
Elisen ginger cake, advent calendar cake, honey cake, mulled wine cake or spiced nut cake are best left wrapped for a few days before eating them so that the flavours can develop fully.
CHRISTMAS PASTRY
116 | Cinnamon stars
Classic (about 40 pieces/2 baking sheets)
Preparation time: about 60 minutes
Baking time: about 25 minutes per baking sheet
For the baking sheet:
baking parchment
For the pastry:
whites of 3 medium eggs
250 g/9 oz (13⁄4 cups) icing (confectioner’s) sugar
3 drops vanilla essence in
1 tablespoon sugar 1–2 drops almond essence 1 level teaspoon ground cinnamon
about 400 g/14 oz unblanched ground almonds or hazelnut kernels
In addition:
some icing (confectioner’s) sugar
Per piece:
P: 2 g, F: 5 g, C: 7 g, kJ: 354, kcal: 85
1. Preheat the oven and line the baking sheet with baking parchment.
2. For the dough, whisk the egg whites with a hand mixer with whisk at the highest setting until they form stiff peaks. Sift the icing sugar and stir in little by little. Reserve 2 well-heaped tablespoons of whisked egg white to spread on the stars.
3. Add the vanilla sugar, almond essence, cinnamon and 150 g/5 oz of the almonds or hazelnuts to the whisked egg white and stir carefully with the hand mixer at the lowest setting. Using your hands, incorporate enough of the rest of the almonds or hazelnuts into the mixture so that the dough hardly sticks.
4. Roll out the dough on a work-surface dusted with icing sugar to a thickness of a good 5 mm/3⁄16 in. Cut out the star shapes, put on the prepared baking sheet and cover with the reserved whisked egg white. The egg white must be soft enough to be spread flat on the dough; if necessary, add a few drops of water. Put the baking sheet in the oven.
Top/bottom heat: about 140 °C/275 °F (preheated),
Fan oven: about 120 °C/250 °F (preheated), Gas mark 1 (preheated),
Baking time: about 25 minutes per baking sheet.
5. The biscuits should still feel a little soft underneath when you take them out of the oven. Slide the baking parchment with the stars on top off the baking sheet and put on a rack to cool down.
Tip: It is easier to cut out the stars if the cutter is dipped regularly in water while using it.
The stars will remain moist if they are stored in a well-sealed container.
To whisk the egg whites, the bowl and whisk must be completely free of fat, and the egg white must contain no trace of egg yolk.
CHRISTMAS PASTRY
117 | Bethmännchen
As a gift (about 30 pieces)
Preparation time: about 45 minutes, excluding drying time
Baking time: about 15 minutes
For the baking sheet:
baking parchment
For the pastry:
125 g/41⁄2 oz (7⁄8 cup) icing (confectioner’s) sugar
white of 1 medium egg
200 g/7 oz blanched ground almonds
1 level teaspoon cornflour (cornstarch)
For coating and covering:
yolk of 1 medium egg
4 teaspoons water
50 g/2 oz blanched almonds
some milk
Per piece:
P: 2 g, F: 5 g, C: 5 g, kJ: 284, kcal: 68
1. Line the baking sheet with baking parchment.
2. For the dough, sift the icing sugar. Whisk the egg white with a hand mixer with whisk until very stiff. Mix together the almonds, icing sugar and cornflour and add to the whisked egg white, stirring briefly with the mixer. Make 30 walnut-sized balls from the mixture. Beat the egg yolk and water lightly and coat the dough balls with this mixture using a pastry brush.
3. Press 3 almond halves on each ball so that the balls look as if they are pointing upwards. Place them on the prepared baking sheet and leave them to dry overnight.
4. The next day preheat the oven. Brush the pastries with a little milk and put the baking sheet in the middle of the oven.
Top/bottom heat: about 180 °C/350 °F (preheated),
Fan oven: about 160 °C/325 °F (preheated), Gas mark 4 (preheated),
Baking time: about 15 minutes.
5. Remove the Bethmännchen from the baking sheet together with the baking parchment and put on a rack to cool down.
Tips: You can also add 1 tablespoon of rosewater to the mixture if desired.
Use bought ready-ground almonds for the Beth-men because almonds ground at home would not be fine enough and would add too much fat to the mixture, causing it to collapse.
Store in well-sealed containers.
CHRISTMAS PASTRY
118 | Ginger biscuits
Popular (about 100 pieces/3 baking sheets)
Preparation time: about 50 minutes
Baking time: about 8 minutes per baking sheet
For the shortcrust pastry:
250 g/9 oz (21⁄2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
2 level teaspoons baking powder
175 g/6 oz (7⁄8 cup) sugar
3 drops vanilla essence in 1 tablespoon sugar
1 pinch ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground cloves
1 pinch grated nutmeg
3 drops lemon essence
100 g/31⁄2 oz runny honey
yolk of 1 medium egg
4 teaspoons milk
125 g/41⁄2 oz (5⁄8 cup) soft butter or margarine
40 g/11⁄2 oz (41⁄2 tablespoons) chocolate flavoured custard powder
4 teaspoons chopped almonds
125 g/5 oz ground hazelnut kernels
For finishing:
white of 1 medium egg
sugar crystals
chopped hazelnut or walnut kernels
chopped blanched almonds, finely chopped candied orange or lemon peel
Per piece:
P: 1 g, F: 2 g, C: 5 g, kJ: 164, kcal: 39
1. Preheat the oven and line the baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. For the dough, mix together the flour and baking powder and sift into a mixing bowl. Add the other ingredients for the dough and stir with a hand mixer with kneading hook, first briefly at the lowest setting, then at the highest setting to make the dough. Shape into a roll with your hands.
3. Roll the dough out thinly on a lightly floured work surface. Cut out biscuits with cutters of the shapes desired, put on the prepared baking sheet and brush with the beaten egg white.
4. Sprinkle sugar crystals, hazelnuts or walnuts, almonds or finely chopped candied orange or lemon peel on the biscuits. Put the baking sheet in the oven.
Top/bottom heat: about 180 °C/350 °F (preheated),
Fan oven: about 160 °C/325 °F (preheated), Gas mark 4 (preheated),
Baking time: about 8 minutes per baking sheet.
5. Slide the biscuits with the baking parchment off the baking sheet and put on a rack to cool down.
CHRISTMAS PASTRY
119 | Vanilla crescents
Classic–Popular (about 90 pieces/3 baking sheets)
Preparation time: about 60 minutes
Baking time: about 10 minutes per baking sheet
For the shortcrust pastry:
250 g/9 oz (21⁄2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
1 pinch baking powder
125 g/41⁄2 oz (5⁄8 cup) sugar
3 drops vanilla essence in 1 tablespoon sugar
3 yolks of medium eggs
200 g/7 oz cold butter or margarine
125 g/5 oz blanched ground almonds
For dusting:
about 50 g/2 oz (scant 1⁄2 cup) icing (confectioner’s) sugar
3 drops vanilla essence in 1 tablespoon sugar
Per piece:
P: 1 g, F: 3 g, C: 4 g, kJ: 186, kcal: 44
1. Preheat the oven and line with baking parchment.
2. For the dough, mix together the flour and baking powder and sift into a mixing bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients for the dough and stir with a hand mixer with kneading hook, first briefly at the lowest setting, then at the highest setting to make a smooth dough. Then shape into a ball with your hands.
3. Roll out the dough into cylinders the thickness of a pencil and cut into pieces 5–6 cm/2–21⁄2 in long, then roll out the ends a little thinner. Place the crescents on the prepared baking sheet and put the baking sheet in the oven.
Top/bottom heat: about 180 °C/350 °F (preheated),
Fan oven: about 160 °C/325 °F (preheated), Gas mark 4 (preheated),
Baking time: about 10 minutes per baking sheet.
4. Remove the crescents from the baking sheet with the baking parchment and put on a rack to cool down. Sift the icing (confectioner’s) sugar, stir in the vanilla sugar and sprinkle on the crescents while they are hot. Leave to cool down.
Tips: If the dough becomes too soft during the preparation, put it in the refrigerator for a little while.
Instead of sprinkling the crescents with icing sugar they can be rolled in caster sugar.
CHRISTMAS PASTRY
120 | Spritzgebäck (biscuits)
Traditional (about 140 pieces/4 baking sheets)
Preparation time: about 60 minutes
Baking time: about 12 minutes per baking sheet
For the baking sheet:
some fat
baking parchment
For the pastry: