Happy Easter 2016 !

Frohe Ostern 2016 !

This year there was a month distance between the catholoc and the Orthodox Easter celebration and this seemed to have diminished somehow the impatience and the excitement and even the cheerfulness in awaiting this celebration.  We were used to having them both in at most one week time, to celebrate together at the same festive table. 

I have tried to reconstruct a bit from my homeland atmosphere, the table full with Pasca, Cozonac and lamb based meals... even if I cannot tranfer here my most favourite moment of the festivity - the Resurection Evening at 12 midnight - how all candles gradually lit and the people start singing in the church yard, and then the thread of lights that go down Copou Boulevard, like a river of glow-worms.

Then, there is the home meeting with friends and relatives. They all sit at the table and tap painted eggs " Christ is Risen! Truly, He is Risen!"

Photo © Holger Berger

Warm and cold starters: Zucchini/ squash pie

Dobos from omlette with cheese cream

Lamb steak, Tomatoes stuffed with aubergine salad  

Pasca, cozonac, cakes

"Snow White" or the layered cake with lemon filling. Simple, white, refined and flavoured, with character notes that remind us of childhood. It is an old recipe , already in our culinary tradition, well known and preferred by our mothers and grandmothers. 

My recipe is from "One cake, two cakes" from 1976 - a children's book and their first attempts at cooking. In those times, I was just an assistant in my mother's kitchen and I could hardly wait to deal with the spreading of cream on the different layers and save generously most of the cream for myself since there was no room for it in the end.

I am mad about all cakes with butter cream, no matter how much cream they have, they can be abundently dipped in it and I subscribe to Julia Child's " you can never have too much butter" , "With enough butter, anything is good" or "every time you taste something that's delicious beyond imagining and you say "What is in this?" the answer is always going to be "butter". 

With all celebrations and festive dinners my favourites are layered cakes because they can be thoroughly prepared, long before the madness and the agitation from the day before. They can easyly be stored one on top of the other in the pantry and just before the event we spread the cream on the layers. 

Snow White – the book recipe

150 gr. powdered sugar , 30 gr. butter, 3 tbs milk , 1 tbs honey, 1 egg, 1 tbs baking powder with a little bit of lemon juice. All the above are beaten until a foam is obtained and then 450g of flour are sifted. The mixture is then baked on the back of an oven tray in 4 -5 layers. 

Cream

Cream I 200 gr. Butter, 150 gr. Powdered sugar, lemon juice and zest from a big lemon or two smaller ones are beaten until a fluffy foam is obtained. 

Cream II 200 gr. Milk, 2 tbs flour, are boiled then cooled and mixed with cream I. The mixture is spread on the layers and powdered sugar is sprinkled on top. 

... I may add here that the layers are easily spread no matter how thin they are if there are between sheets of baking paper; in the end it will stick to one of them, the margins are being cut straight and the scraps can be used for the following layer. 

Simple and delicious! Good Appetite!  

Photo © Holger Berger

Photo © Holger Berger

"Alba ca Zapada" sau prajitura cu foi si crema de lamaie. 

Simpla, alba, fina si parfumata- cu note de caracter care ne amintesc duios de copilarie.

E o prajitura veche, intrata deja in traditia noastra culinara, cunoscuta si preparata de toate mamele si bunicile noastre.

Reteta mea este din aceasta carte "O prajitura, doua prajituri" din 1976 – o carte pentru copii si primele lor incercari in ale bucatariei.

In acea vreme, eram doar pe post de asistenta in bucataria mamei, si asteptam cu nerabdare sa ma ocup eu de intinsul cremei pe foi, ca sa-mi rezerv la final o parte generoasa de crema.

Imi plac la nebunie toate prajiturile cu crema de unt, oricat de multa crema ar avea, si daca se poate si imbracate in crema din abundenta, si subscriu spusele Juliei Child ca "untul nu este niciodata prea mult", sau tot citat J.C. : "intotdeauna la o mancare delicioasa, daca te intrebi oare ce a pus in ea? Raspunsul este intotdeauna :untul".

La toate sarbatorile si mesele festive, preferatele mele sunt prajiturile cu foi, pentru ca se pot pregati in tihna, inainte de febra si nebunia din ajun.

Se pastreaza perfect una peste alta, in camara, in cutii, iar in ajun le umplem doar cu crema.

Alba ca Zapada – reteta din carte

150 gr. Zahar pudra, 30 gr. Unt, 3 linguri de lapte, 1 lingura miere, 1 ou, 1 lingurita de bicarbonat stins cu putina zeama de lamaie. Toate de mai sus se amesteca pana se fac spuma, apoi se adauga 450 gr. Faina, se framanta si se coc pe dosul tavii de la aragaz 4-5 foi.

Crema

Crema I 200 gr. Unt, 150 gr. Zahar pudra, zeama si coaja de la o lamaie mare sau doua mici se freaca spuma.

Crema II 200 gr. Lapte, 2 linguri de faina, se fierb, se racesc si se amesteca usor cu crema I. Se ung foile, iar deasupra se pudreaza cu zahar pudra vanilat.

....adaug aici doar ca foile se intind foarte usor si oricat de subtiri daca sunt puse intre doua foi de hartie de copt, la final ramane pe una din ele, se taie marginile drept, fasiile se folosesc la urmatoarea foaie.

Simplu si delicios ! Pofta Buna !

Photo © Holger Berger