For this year’s Christmas we’ve kept our tradition by preparing new self-made presents:

1. Vanilla salt (recipe found on lecker.de)

2. Honey-laurel vinegar (recipe found on livingathome.de, modified)

3. Spicy nut mix (recipe found on brigitte.de)

Chili peppers contain an alcaloid which is named capsaicin. This compound belongs to the capsaicinoids and is also the primary ingredient in pepper spray. When it comes in contact with mucous membranes, it gives you a burning sensation. Interestingly, it does not bind to taste receptors but to pain receptors in the mouth and throat.

And why is water not effective to clear this burning sensation? Capsaicin is not soluble in water.

300g flaky pastry

250g whipped cream

250ml milk

Marrow of a vanilla bean

1 package of vanilla pudding powder

2 egg yolk

50g sugar

Preparations

1. Mix whipped cream, 200ml of milk and marrow of vanilla bean and boil it up. Mix 50ml of milk, vanilla pudding powder, egg yolk and sugar and add it to the previous mixture. Boil it up again and then let it cool down to a lukewarm temperature.

2. Cut out 11 circles of flaky pastry (11cm Ø) and put them into pre-lubricated muffin forms. Then add the vanilla cream.

3. Insert them in the pre-heated oven (230°C) on the lowest rail for 20 minutes.

Annotation

This recipe is really simple. But beware of taking the cakes out of the muffin form. Of course they are hot and the vanilla content is quite fluid at this time. So beware of taking them out slowly or elsewise they could fall and all the vanilla content is gone

Annotation
Better drink it as soon as possible. Not only because of the vitamins It’s very sweet and delicious in the first place but when you wait a few hours it will taste bitter.

Chocolate hollow hearts filled with egg liqueur-poppy cream

In a two-day-course, Georges and i had the chance to learn how to create chocolate truffles. I’ve already tried it some years before at home but of course the result wasn’t that perfect. So we signed up for a course held by the VHS here in Vienna.

In a group of 9 people, we first created all kinds of truffle fillings. It’s surprising that in only 2 and a half hours you can prepare the fillings for butter, cream liquor, fruit, nougat and “canache” truffles.

On the next day, chocolate hollow balls filled with the diverse sins are closed up by – guess what – chocolate and are eventually decorated.

We’ve learned that creating chocolate truffles is not really difficult. You just have to own the appropriate material… and always check on the right chocolate temperature.