Last spring, I recommended the delicious Elisabeth-Rhabarber Törtchen from the E.Knapp & R. Wenig Bäckerei (bakery) in Munich; today I have another cake recommendation from this bakery. I was eying an apple cake in the bakery window display for weeks and weeks but I did not buy the cake since there was too much cookies and cake leftover from Christmas that had to be eaten. A few days ago, I finally bought the Bratäpfelchen cake (baked apple cake) and I was not dissapointed by this delicate looking apple cake. In fact, the cake was so delicious that I had to write an impromptu cake recommendation for you. It makes me happy that there are still bakeries and pastries stores that value high quality produce and that are clearly not a mass product which unfortunately, becomes more and more the norm.



Similar to the Elisabeth - Rhabarber Törtchen, the apple cake consists of a crispy shortcrust pastry shell - which is excellent -  and the cake is filled with almonds, raisins, of course apple cubes and decorated with a slice of apple. It is a classic, rustic apple cake which could not be better. The shortcrust pastry in crispy and the apple almond raisins mixture is perfect balanced out. The cake is also not too sweet. Eating this Bratäpfelchen cake was such a cake pleasure and recreating this delicious cake is on top of my list that I want to make.
If you happen to be in Munich, visit the Knapp & Wenig Bäckerei which located in the city center, just a few minutes from Marienplatz. It is truly a beautiful tiny bakery.
Address:
E. Knapp & R. Wenig Bäckerei
Neuturmstraße 3
80331 München
(The bakery is a ten minutes walk from the Marienplatz. It is next to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and the Hofbräuhaus is around the corner, too.)
Opening Hours: 
Monday to Saturday: 7:30 am to 7:00 pm
Sundays: closed
I mostly share posts that involves a recipe on my blog but I want to switch things up and I would like to share more often other baking related topics such as my favorite bakeries and pastry stores, pastry chefs that I admire, talk about produce and baking equipments that I am using for baking.  
Today I have a cake recommendation for you: it is a rhubarb cake from the bakery E. Knapp & R. Wenig in Munich. I always visit this bakery whenever I am buying flour at the flour store which is next door to the bakery (in fact the bakery and the flour store belong to the flourmill which is located in the same building) and I treat myself to a pastry, cake or a pretzel. It is a beautiful tiny bakery which offers traditional breads, buns and cakes. The bakery uses mostly local produce and one can be sure that only high quality products are used for their baked goods. It is always such a joy visiting this bakery. The bakery itself deserves a post of its own which I will prepare very soon. 


A few weeks ago I tried the "Elisabeth-Rhabarber Törtchen" ("Rhabarber" means rhubarb, "Törtchen" means little cake and I assume that the cake is named after Elisabeth Knapp who was the wife of the baker Rudolf Wenig and the bakery is named after the couple) for the first time. I really liked this rhubarb cake and if you know me than you know that I am very picky when it comes to cake. Ever since I ate the cake a couple of times and every time I think to myself " it's such an utterly delicious cake". The bottom half of the cake consists of a delicious crispy shortcrust pastry shell which is filled with a rhubarb compote and the cake is topped with a meringue swirl. This rhubarb cake is probably one of the best rhubarb cakes that I have ever bought. And isn't the cake adorable looking.?
If you happen to visit Munich in the spring time ( I am afraid that you won't find the cake outside of the rhubarb season) pay a visit to the E. Knapp & R. Wenig Bäckerei and treat yourself to this scrumptious rhubarb cake.

Address:
E. Knapp & R. Wenig Bäckerei
Neuturmstraße 3
80331 München
(The bakery is a ten minutes walk from the Marienplatz. It is next to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and the Hofbräuhaus is around the corner, too.)
Opening Hours: 
Monday to Saturday: 7:30 am to 7:00 pm
Sundays: closed

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Last month I spent a few days in Paris. In the last minute I found myself travelling by myself which I made me sad. I made the best of it and it gave me the opportunity spending far too much time in cookware shops and visiting countless pastry stores and bakeries. One of the bakeries that I visited was the Vandermeersch Boulangerie which is situated at the outskirts of Paris and this was the perfect opportunity to pay a visit to this bakery. Years ago I read about Vandermeersch excellent kouglofs and I was very eager to try Vandermeersch's kouglof. So one morning I hopped on the subway and 45 minutes later ( I stayed in Montmarte) I arrived at the bakery and I found a beautiful display of kouglofs in the bakery. There were different sizes of kouglof available. I opted for two petite kouglofs - although I was tempted to buy a big kouglof - but there was no way that I could finish one big kouglof myself. The small kouglofs from Vandermeersch are sprinkled with granulated sugar whereas the bigger ones are sprinkled with powdered sugar and decorated with almonds but apart from the size I do not think there is difference between the kouglofs.
After my successful kouglof purchase I hopped back on the subway and went to the Marais ( it is just about 20 minutes from the Vandermeersch bakery away) and I sat down on a park bench in the Square Georges-Cain park (it is next to the Swedish institute with a lovely cafe with Swedish pastries) in order to have my kouglof breakfast. I literally devoured one of the kouglhofs, not because I was starving, but because it was so good. It was the very BEST kouglof that I have ever eaten in my entire life. It was fluffiest, moistest, airiest yeasted kouglof with a hint of orange blossom water. It really blew my mind. I really did not expect. It was truly one of the best breakfast that I had in a long time and I was glad that I bought two kouglofs (I saved my other kouglof for my dinner). Writing this blog post about Vandermeersch excellent kouglof is such a torture, my mouth is watering and I do not know when I have the next chance to eat a Vandermeersch kouglof. I have to find a way recreating these unbelievable delicious and mouthwatering kouglofs but I doubt is that I am able to make such delicious kouglofs. If you are in Paris and have some time left on your hand visit the Vandermeersch boulangerie. I promise that you won't regret it!
The Marais district is a part of Paris that I particular like. The "Place des Vosges" is an incredible beautiful square but there are so many beautiful little corners to discover in the Marais district. Do not miss the Victor Hugo Museum which is a beautiful museum, located next to the Place des Vosges (as a bonus the museum is free of charge).






Address: 
Vandermeersch Boulangerie 
278 Avenue Daumesnil, 75012 Paris
 Opening Hours: Mondays and Tuesdays closed, 
 Wednesday to Saturday 7 am to 8 pm, 
 Sunday 7 am to 4 pm. 
Subway station: Porte Dorée (line number 8); 
 it is a two minutes walk from the subway station to the bakery.
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One day I want to have a selection of recipes that includes all my favorite and traditional Swedish baked goods. Whenever I am in Sweden and step a foot into a bakery - in particular in my mom's hometown which has many beautiful bakeries and cafés - I feel I am at home. It is such a cozy and wonderful feeling. The shelves of the bakeries are filled with kanelbullar, prinsessbakelse, budpestbakelse, wienerbröd, mazariner and other delicious treats which I grow up with and I truly love. I love visiting bakeries and pâtisseries around the world - Paris is probably the greatest place and you know how much I admire French pâtisserie - in order to get inspired but I do not have this feeling of home. I only have this feeling in Swedish bakeries which is wonderful and maybe it is the place where I belong. I always find it uncomfortable when people asking me where I am from because I do not feel that I belong to one place.

Skurna chokladkakor which simply means sliced chocolate cookies are one those baked goods that you will always find in a Swedish bakery and it is a classic Swedish cookie that my grandmother enjoyed, my mom likes and I am very fond of this sligthly crispy chocolate cookie, too. 
Traditionally, these chocolate cookies are topped with pearl sugar. The other day I was retesting my cookie recipe and topped half of the cookies with chopped almonds and it was such a brilliant idea. It never crossed my mind using anything else than pearl sugar; I got probably caught up in tradition! 
If you cannot find pearl sugar - an ingredient that is often used in Swedish baking, for instance Swedish cinnamon rolls are always topped with pearl sugar - or if you don't like pearl sugar use roughly chopped almonds or nuts. It is such a great alternative and I think it taste even better with almonds and nuts but shhh, don't tell anyone.
Makes about 50 cookies

INGREDIENTS

  • 200 g  / 7/8 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 200 g  / 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 egg (large)
  • 1 tablespoon of vanilla sugar *
  • 300 g / 3 cups of all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon of baking powder
  • 35 g / 1/4 cup of unsweetened raw cacao powder
  • Pearl sugar, roughly chopped almonds or chopped hazelnuts
  • 1 egg (small), beaten
* You can make your own vanilla sugar (it is very common in Europe) which is very simple: Splitt one vanilla been into two halves and remove the seeds with the help of a knife.  Fill a jar with granulated sugar, add the vanilla seeds and the used vanilla bean. Let the mixture age for two weeks. Voilà, you have your own homemade vanilla sugar.

DIRECTIONS

  • Preheat the oven to 200 °C / 400 °F.
  • Prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add egg and vanilla sugar.
  • Sift flour, cacao and baking powder in a separate bowl and mix well.
  • Add flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir with a wooden spoon.
  • As soon as the dough comes together, transfer the dough to a floured surface. Knead the dough until it is smooth (it gets a little bit messy). If the dough is too sticky, add a little bit more flour.
  • Divide the dough into four parts. Roll each dough into a log (2 cm / 0.8 inch Ø ). 
  • Place two logs on each baking sheet. Make sure that there is enough space between each log. Flatten each log slighty until it is about 4 cm / 1.5 inches. 
  • Brush the logs with a beaten egg and sprinkle with pearl sugar, chopped almonds or hazelnuts. 
  • Bake the logs for 12 to 15 minutes.
  • Let the cookies cool for one minute. Take a sharp knife and cut diagonally into 2 cm / 0,8 inches slices. The cookies will be soft but will harden when cooled. Let the cookies cool completely on a wire rack. 
  • Store the cookies in an air-tight container up to two weeks.