French Fridays with Dorie - Orange-Scented Lentil Soup

Today the recipe for the French Fridays with Dorie Group is Orange-Scented Lentil Soup.

Dorie suggests lentils du Puy for this soup, a small slate-green lentil with a delicate blue marbling.

Puy lentils have enjoyed a big comeback lately and as this delicious and nutritious soup shows, with good reason. Puy lentils are considered by many to be the best lentils because of their unique peppery flavor and the fact they hold their shape during cooking. They are the only lentil to be identified by area of cultivation, grown in the Le Puy region of France.

Serve the Puy lentils hot or cold as a salad starter or as an accompaniment to poultry, meat or fish dishes, or use them in soups (as for this recipe) or casseroles.

However, I think that the Puy lentils could also successfully be replaced by Green lentils. They also retain their shape well during cooking and their mild flavor and soft, mealy texture make them suitable for many dishes such as soups, casseroles, vegetable bakes and stuffed vegetables. Green lentils are the ones that I choose when I cook my traditional German version of lentil soup, the "Linsensuppe".

These days, lentils grace the menus of many high-end restaurants. But still we do not seem to use them enough. They are cheap, nutritious (protein, carbs, fibre, vitamin B and iron) and versatile and very tasty. In my house, I will use them at least twice a month. They are especially valuable in winter, when fresh homegrown vegetables are not so abundant.

The building blocks of Dorie´s lentil soup are onion, celery, carrots, chicken stock (preferably homemade), orange peel (organic, of course), black peppercorns, coriander seeds, a clove, and some fresh ginger. This lentil soup is very comforting with all those warming spices that are given a delicious lift by a topping of some nice and thick Greek yogurt or some sour cream or crème fraîche.

The mouth-watering, crisp bacon slices that you should serve alongside the soup by placing them on the rim of the soup bowl, also make a wonderful addition. Hearty and delicious, this Orange-Scented Lentil Soup will warm you up from head to toe.

 Dorie states in her recipe that the soup should be (partially) puréed but I would never purée my lentil soup completely, only a very small portion of it because we love our lentil soup, be it French or Italian or German, with lots of chunks of vegetables.

The last thing before serving the soup is the above-mentioned dollop of crème fraîche, the bacon slice and some organic orange rind…

….and together with a loaf of good crusty sourdough bread you will have a full meal.

Warming and substantial, this makes a very satisfying meal and to see how this hearty Orange-Scented Lentil Soup was prepared by the other members of the French Fridays with Dorie group, please click here.

Sources:

• Soup bowl with deer design  from “Jet by Ter Steege” (http://www.worldofjet.com)
• Deer figurines called "Rothirsch" (red deer) and "Rothirschkuh" (red doe) from "Schleich" (http://www.schleich-s.com)
• Checkered tablecloth  from "Dille Kamille" ( http://www.dille-kamille.nl)
• Silver soup spoons, wooden platter, wooden napkin rings all "vintage" and part of my collection

Rose Petits Fours - Rosen-Petits-Fours

About a year ago I started blogging and there does not seem to be a better occasion than this first blogiversary to feature these wonderful and delicate Rose Petits Fours (Rosen-Petits-Fours).

Petits Fours are small French fancy biscuits or cakes often served at the end of a meal. Strictly speaking they are oven-baked little cakes ("four" is French for "oven") and were classically made with choux pastry or flan pastry. However, a selection of Petits Fours these days covers a wide variety of sweet things not necessarily cooked and made with meringue, marzipan or chocolate.

These Rose Petits Fours are wonderful and delicious layers of sponge cake, marzipan, and rose jelly all in a mouthful.

These delicious rose-scented little cakes have a bit of rose water (Rosenwasser) or rose syrup (Rosensirup) in the icing and rose jelly (Rosengelee) in the filling. And although they seem to be a bit of a fancy and decadent treat, they are wonderful any time of the year.

Rose water is a flavored water made by steeping rose petals in water. It has been used as a flavoring for centuries in Middle Eastern, Indian and Chinese cuisines and it can be added to jellies and syrups, and it is often sprinkled over cakes and puddings.

When using rose water or rose syrup in baking you have to make sure to use a high quality product, otherwise the cake will not have a delicate taste of roses but will  be overpowered by their flavor. I found a manufacturer in Bavaria that uses only roses that they planted themselves to produce a whole range of delicious rose products such as rose jelly, rose sugar, rose salt, rose syrup, and rose liqueur to name but a few.

Recipe for the Rose Petits Fours
(Rosen-Petits-Fours)

Ingredients for the Sponge Cake

• 4 eggs (M), free range or organic if possible
• 50 grams superfine white sugar 
• 80 grams AP(plain) flour
• 20 grams potato starch
• 3 to 4 tbsp orange liqueur (for example Grand Marnier, you can substitute orange juice)

Ingredients for the Filling, Icing and Decoration

• 100 grams rose jelly (I used a rose jelly/"Rosengelee" from "Bergler-Fischer")
• 150 grams marzipan 
• 250 grams powdered sugar
• juice of one lemon
• a few drops red food coloring or alternatively a few drops of raspberry juice (which is what I like to use)
• a few drops of a good quality rose water or rose syrup (I used a rose syrup/"Rosensirup" from "Bergler-Fischer")
• about 75 grams  white chocolate (I used white Lindt chocolate called "Lindor Weiss")

Equipment

• baking sheet (30x40 centimeters)
• parchment paper
• plastic wrap (clingfilm)

Preparation of the Cake

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. In a large bowl, using the whisk attachment of your mixer, whisk the eggs with the sugar for about five minutes or until light in color and fluffy 
4. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour and starch.
5. Using a spatula, carefully fold the flour mixture into the egg mixture.
6. Spread the dough in an even layer as possible onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for about fifteen minutes.
7. Take the cake out of the oven, turn onto a clean kitchen towel covered with some powdered sugar, peel off the parchment paper – taking care not  to tear the baked sponge cake. Let the cake cool completely.
8. Drip some orange liqueur over the entire cake.
9. Cut off a third of the cake. 
10. Spread the rose jelly on the remaining piece in an even and thin layer.
11. Knead the marzipan with about 50 grams of the powdered sugar and roll out between sheets of plastic wrap to a 2 mm  thickness – the rolled out marzipan should have the same size as the cut cake.
12. Take off the plastic wrap and carefully place the rolled-out marzipan on top of the jelly.
13. Now cut the cake into two pieces and place one third on top of the other third and place the piece that you cut off earlier on top – you will now have three layers.
14. Cover the cake layers with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for about one hour (if you want you can place a plate on top of the cake pieces to “weight them down” a bit while cooling.
15. Take out of the fridge and cut the cake into squares.
16. For the icing, mix together the remaining powdered sugar and the lemon juice plus a few drops of food coloring or red juice (if using).  and the rose water (if using) and stir until smooth. If the mixture is too thick, add a few drops of warm water to 16. Cut the cake into equal sized squares and place them on cake racks.
17. Cover the cake squares with the pink icing and let it dry. .
18. Cut the white chocolate into small pieces using a serrated knife and melt in a water bath. Fill into paper cones and decorate the Rose Petits Fours as desired – you could also just decorate with some white powdered sugar icing.
19. Place organic dried roses on top of the white chocolate and let set completely before serving.

These dainty Petits Fours require patience and a bit of a steady hand but they are certainly well worth the effort.

Serve these pretty Petits Fours with coffee at the end of a dinner party, or as special tea time treats.


Sources:

• Rose jelly (Rosengelee) and rose syrup (Rosensirup) from “Bergler-Fischer” (http://www.bergler-fischer.de)
• Chinese tea with rose petals (China Rosen Tee)  and dried organic roses (Rosenblütenknospen BIO) from “Tee Gschwendner” (http://www.teegschwendner.de)
• Cake platter with rose design  from “Jet by Ter Steege” (http://www.worldofjet.com)

A rose is a rose is a rose...

(1913 "Sacred Emily", Gertrude Stein)

French Fridays with Dorie - Cheesy Crème Brûlée

Today the recipe for the French Fridays with Dorie group is Cheesy Crème Brûlée, a savory version of a French classic sweet dessert - little pots of deliciously creamy cheesy custards topped with fabulous broiled and melted cheese.

Traditionally, Crème Brûlée is a classic bistro dish of chilled creamy custard under a layer of crackling burnt sugar. It is an an important dessert for pastry chefs to master. Dorie´s version, however, has a somewhat different cooking method and the ingredients are savory rather than sweet.

Dorie´s recipe calls for a total of five ounces (140 grams) of cheese, a combination of Parmigiano Reggiano (a hard, granular cheese, cooked but not pressed, named after the producing areas near Parma, Italy) and Comté (a French cheese made from unpasteurized cow's milk in the Franche-Comté region of eastern France), fresh heavy cream (I used 35%), whole milk, and three large egg yolks, plus salt and freshly ground nutmeg and pepper. The Comté cheese is often referred to as the French equivalent of the Swiss Gruyère cheese and it can be found at every good cheese store around here – I always appreciate an excuse to go to my favorite cheese store and marvel at the display while I am waiting to get served – the promise of a delicious Cheesy Crème Brûlée was indeed a fabulous reason to stand in line at the cheese store.

For the baking of these cheesy custards, you will need some shallow ovenproof dishes or  brûlée dishes or large/wide ramekins. And unless you use the broiler in your oven, you will also need a mini blowtorch to brown the cheese on top of the custard. After you lined the brulée dishes with very small cubes of cheese (actually I ended up grating the two cheeses instead of cutting minitaure cubes), you prepare the custard, fill it into the dishes, bake the custard for about fifty minutes, let cool, sprinkle grated cheese on top and either brown the tops using a mini blowtorch or run the custard under the broiler.

The two cheeses used in this recipe taste wonderful together - I often use Comté and appreciate the fact that it melts so nicely for example in a cheese fondue. But I think that Swiss Gruyère would also be perfect in this custard as well. Dorie also suggests Cheddar cheese as an alternative, a cheese not often used around here and since I can easily find good French cheeses, I opted for a fabulous Comté AOC Bronze.

Predictably, I had some Comté and Parmigiano Reggiano left over. So I decided to bake a few savory Cheesy Palmiers. Those pastries are thought to have originated in France around the turn of the 20th century. Around here they are known as "Schweineöhrchen" which can be literally translated as "pig's ears".

Palmiers are made from puff pastry, a laminated dough similar to the dough used for Croissants but without the yeast. Since I am still “recovering” from the two day task of baking the Croissants for the TwD group, I decided to use store bought all butter puff pastry. For the Cheesy Palmiers, you simply roll out the pastry and coat it with grated cheeses of choice, a tiny bit of sea salt, and freshly ground pepper and nutmeg to taste. Then the two sides are rolled up together so that they meet in the middle, making a roll that is best frozen for a good thirty minutes and then simply cut into about 1/4" (0.6 centimeter) slices and baked until nicely browned and really crisp.

For a fun presentation, very carefully thread a nice ribbon through the top of the Cheesy Palmiers and place together with the serving spoon on top of some pretty napkins.

Except for the youngest taste tester (who is all but four years of age), this cheesy creamy custard with the slightly browned cheese top was very well received at our house. And they all happily munched away on those Palmiers. The Cheesy Crème Brulée will certainly be a wonderful dish to serve to guests and I really appreciate the fact that the custards can be baked well in advance, kept in the fridge and quickly be ran under the broiler just before serving. A wonderful and elegant recipe to keep in mind for example at Easter time.

To see how delicious the Cheesy Crème Brûlée made by the other members of the French Fridays with Dorie group turned out, please click here.

Sources:

• Crème brûlée dishes from "TCM" (http://www.tchibo.de) 
• Linen napkins (checkered, dolka dot and mushroom design) and checkered ribbon from "Butlers" (http://www.butlers.de) and "Depot" (http://www.depot-online.com)
• Cutlery and spoons with fairy tale designs from "WMF" (http://www.wmf.de)

Tuesdays with Dorie - Croissants

Today´s recipe for the Tuesdays with Dorie group is for buttery Croissants. The recipe for these traditional French Croissants was contributed by baker and teacher Esther McManus. Basically, a Croissant is made of a simple yeast-risen dough, layered with butter, cut into a triangle and rolled up like a scroll so that the center bulges and the ends taper out. Traditionally, the unbaked Croissant was then curved into a crescent shape, though nowadays Croissants are often left straight.

I decided to make miniature Croissants (crescent shaped),  filled some of them with dark chocolate (66% cocoa solids) and left some of them plain…

….and to make some miniature Pains au Chocolat (rectangular shaped).

To start off the baking of these French pastries, you will need to prepare a croissant dough made of fresh yeast, plain flour, sugar, salt and whole milk. Fresh yeast is readily available and I had no trouble whatsoever finding it around here, I almost always use fresh yeast when baking cakes and breads that call for a yeast dough. For the flour,  I chose to use an all purpose white flour from an artisan flour mill that I visited two weeks ago.

The dough gets an overnight rest in the refrigerator along with 510 grams (4.5 sticks) of unsalted good quality butter – the dough and the butter have to have the same temperature the next day so you will be able to incorporate the butter properly into the dough. After the first rest, the dough needs many more rests and turns and folding and chilling before it can be rolled out and cut and made into delectable Croissants and Pains au Chocolat.

This recipe proves that a warm, buttery Croissant or Pain au Chocolat for breakfast is really one of life’s little pleasures, and you certainly do not need to live above a Parisian Pâtisserie to enjoy them. These French pastries are notoriously laborious to make properly. They require quite some patience and lots of folding and rolling, so you may need to supervise. But it will be worth it once your family is sitting down to Le petit Déjeuner of homemade Croissants, Pains au Chocolat, big bowls of Café au Lait, and French honey and apricot preserves.

Homemade buttery croissants, freshly baked, are a real triumph. And you can feel proud when you succeeded in making them.

This rather labor intensive recipe lives up to all the expectations! A good freshly-baked croissant should be flaky and crisp on the outside, and tender and moist inside with all the dough aerated and evenly baked. There should be no layers of unbaked dough, and the crust should leave very little buttery oil on the fingers.

If you have any leftovers (which we did not) you can store the Croissants at room temperature in a paper bag, to avoid condensation and retain some crispness. For longer storage, you can easily freeze the Croissants, then bake from frozen.

I really enjoyed the experience of baking these Croissants and we loved the way they tasted but next time I might try my hand at a recipe that is a little less time consuming, even if it is just to see and taste the difference.

To see the other Croissants as prepared by all the other enthusiastic members of the Tuesday with Dorie group, please do click here.

The recipe can be found at Amanda´s blog – Girl+Food=Love- "Thank you for hosting today´s recipe, Amanda"!

French Fridays with Dorie - Chicken Breasts Diable (Poulet à la diable with Homemade Wholegrain Mustard)

Today´s recipe for the French Fridays with Dorie group is Chicken Breasts Diable (Poulet à la diable). Low in fat and quick to cook, skinless chicken breasts are an easy option for a simple supper and this recipe is no exception. The dish gets its “devilish” name from the addition of mustard to the cream based sauce. Mustard is a bit the “unsung hero” of the kitchen cupboard, adding some heat and a depth of flavor to a huge range of dishes. It is actually made from nothing more than mustard seeds and some flavoring ingredients.

Dorie´s recipe calls for sautéeing chicken cutlets and making a pan sauce with shallots and garlic, white wine, cream, and mustard – she suggests that it is best to use either a Dijon mustard (used for example also in salad dressings and marinades) or a wholegrain mustard (prominently used for example also in salmon gravalax sauce and honey glazes for hams).

To round out this chicken with the cream sauce, I bought some fresh spinach and sautéed it in some olive oil with some new spring garlic…

…and made the new “family favorite”, namely Roesti (Rösti) - albeit this time, I made mini versions.

Since I like to make cream based sauces for my chicken or pork every so often, I thought that it was time to make the preparation of this kind of sauce a bit more interesting. I decided to make my own wholegrain mustard to be added to this sauce “à la diable”.

Mustard is available in many different styles and from any shop that sells food. Artisanal mustards have become quite the rage around here recently and we will be visiting an artisan “mustard mill” during the Easter break, but for now, I realized that it could not be easier to make your own mustard. The advantage being that you can make the mustard exactly how you like it and you will have a certain sense of satisfaction that you get when you succeed in making something that tastes better than the store bought variety.

Mustard is made by setting off a series of chemical reactions. The mustard seeds itself are not inherently pungent, they need some grinding and water to spark the distinctive kick, which then needs to be held in place by vinegar and preserved with salt. You can add whatever you like to make it your own, such as some local honey, dried herbs (maybe from your garden), some spices, or even chili. The homemade mustard needs a day or two to mellow. So here is the recipe for a basic mustard that can be adjusted to a whole variety of different tatses.

Recipe for Homemade Wholegrain Mustard

Ingredients for the Mustard

• 6 tbsp mustard seeds (I used 5 tbsp yellow mustard seeds and 1 tbsp brown mustard seeds)
• 2 tsps fine French sea salt
• ½ tbsp mustard powder (I used Colmans mustard powder)
• 6 tbsp white wine or cold water (I used the same French white wine that I also used in the cream sauce)
• 3 tbsp vinegar (I used a Riesling vinegar from our local oil and vinegar manufacturer)
• honey to taste (I always use local honey in all my cooking and baking)
• some dried herbs, turmeric, ginger, or cloves (entirely optional)

Preparation of the Mustard

1. Grind about half the mustard seeds in a pestle and mortar or coffee grinder until fine. It is best to do this in stages.
2. Then add the rest and give them another quick grind. The resulting mixture should be smooth and rough at the same time (some powder, some cracked seeds, a few whole seeds)
3. Transfer the mustard seed mixture to a bowl and stir in the salt and mustard powder. 
4. If using, add one of the optional ingredients now as well.
5. Then pour in the wine or cold water . The mustard can be made a bit more mellow if you substitute warm water at this stage.
6. Stir in the vinegar.
7. Pour into a sterilized glass jar and refrigerate for at least 12 hours before serving. NOTE: You can keep the mustard for a few months in your fridge.

Once you have prepared the chicken breasts for this recipe and prepare the “sauce à la diable”, you can add about three tablespoons of your homemade wholegrain mustard together with the white wine, cream and the other ingredients. Quite delightful!

We all loved this recipe for “Poulet à la Diable with Homemade Wholegrain Mustard”, the sautéed spinach with new garlic and the mini Roesti (Rösti). What a wonderful weekday dinner!

To see how the Chicken Breasts Diable were prepared by the other members of the French Fridays with Dorie group, please do click here.

Baking Cakes with Potatoes III - Potato-Lemon Cake

This is Part III and therefore the third cake that I am featuring in my February/March series "Baking Cakes with Potatoes". Todays´s cake is a moist and citrusy Potato Lemon Cake (Kartoffel-Zitronen Kuchen). This is a wonderful, flourless cake - the flour is replaced not only by mashed potatoes but also with blanched and ground almonds. The sweetness of the ground almonds truly works well with the sharpness of the lemons. And the addition of the ground almonds and mashed potatoes gives this cake a very interesting and delightfully moist texture.

This recipe has never failed me and it is really quite simple and quick to make. The cake is not overly rich and has an amazing lemon flavor. The lemon drizzle topping makes it even a bit more lemony.

Recipe for the Potato Lemon Cake
(Kartoffel-Zitronen Kuchen)

Ingredients for the Cake

• 50 grams (5 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
• 200 grams (7 ounces) superfine (caster) white sugar
• 4 eggs (L), free range or organic whenever possible
• 225 grams  (8 ounces) ground almonds (skins off)
• 2 tsps baking powder 
• 250 grams  (9 ounces) cold mashed potatoes
• finely grated zest of 2 lemons and juice of 1 (see Note at the end of this post)
• some crème fraîche for serving (optional)

Ingredients for the Glaze/Syrup

• juice of 2 lemons and zest of 1 lemon (see Note at the end of this post)
• 5 tbsp superfine (caster) sugar

Equipment

• one 26 or 28 centimeter (10- or 11- inch) round springform pan
• unbleached parchment paper (baking parchment)
• pastry brush

Preparation of the Potato Cake

1. Heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degress Fahrenheit).
2. Line the base of the pan with baking parchment.
3. To make the cake, whisk together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
4. Gradually beat in the eggs, adding 1 tbsp ground almonds to prevent curdling between additions. 
5. Now fold in the baking powder and remaining ground almonds. 
6. Gently fold in the mashed potatoes, lemon zest and juice, then pour into the prepared baking pan and level the top with an offset spatula.
7. Place the pan on a baking sheet in the centre of the oven and bake for about 45 to 55 minutes.

Preparation of the Syrup

1. Place the lemon juice and zest, and sugar in a small pan and simmer gently for about one minute.
2. Remove the cake from the oven, prick the surface all over with a skewer and spoon over the hot syrup until it is all absorbed. 
3. Cool in the pan for about one hour before turning out to cool completely. 
4. Serve, perhaps with a dollop of crème fraîche and garnish with a few strips of lemon zest. NOTE: keep it simple though, a few strips of lemon zest is all you need for garnish. You can use a zester or a potato peeler to remove fine strips of zest from the surface of the lemon, taking care not to remove any of the white pith along with it, as it tends to be very bitter.

Lemons

Lemons can be bought waxed or unwaxed. Waxed lemons are fine if you are just using the juice of the lemons. But you should definitely choose unwaxed lemons if you are planning to use the zest, or give your waxed lemons a good scrub with a vegetable brush to remove the wax. I know that some cooks even use a bit of alcohol to rub off the wax on the rinds.  Remember though that although unwaxed lemons are more expensive as their shelf life is not as long, their flavor is definitely superior.

Whenever I buy lemons, and especially when I know that I will be using some of the aromatic rinds, I try to find organic unwaxed lemons.

Tip for the Syrup

Poking holes into the cake to help the syrup sink in, as recommended by most recipes, does seem to give a good, even distribution – although more important is adding the syrup while the cake is still warm. Bear in mind it will always seem like more liquid than the cake could possible absorb, but do not worry, it will turn out just fine. Take your time when spooning over the syrup. This way, it will be gradually absorbed throughout the cake for a delicious, moist, citrusy cake

This is truly a very tasty, light and moist cake .It is simply lovely and moist but not too moist either. Just what you might be looking for in a cake at this time of year!

Sources:

• Round springform pan from "Kaiser" (http://www. springform-pan.kaiserbakeware.com)
• Cake plate from "Kaiser Porzellan" (http://www.kaiser-porzellan.de)
• Linen napkins from "Butlers" (http://www.butlers.de)
• Dessert plates and forks are from my "vintage collections"

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Baking Cakes with Potatoes I - Potato-Raisin Gugelhupf

Baking Cakes with Potatoes II - Potato Crumb Cake with Cherry Jam

Baking Cakes with Potatoes III - Potato-Lemon Cake

Part IV of my "Baking Cakes with Potatoes" series will feature a lovely, moist Potato Pear Cake (Kartoffel-Birnen Kuchen).

Baking Cakes with Potatoes II - Potato Crumb Cake with Cherry Jam

The second cake that I am featuring in my series "Baking Cakes with Potatoes" is a so-called Potato Crumb Cake with Cherry Jam (Kartoffel-Krümel-Kuchen mit Kirschmarmelade). A delightful cake, perfect with that afternoon cup of tea or coffee. This simple cake certainly has that "old world charm" that I like so much in my baking.

Recipe for the Potato Crumb Cake with Cherry Jam
(Kartoffel-Krümel-Kuchen mit Kirschmarmelade)


Ingredients for the Crumb Cake

• 300 grams (10.5 ounces) plain/AP flour
• 2 ½ tsps baking powder
• 125 grams (4.4 ounces) waxy (russet) potatoes - cook the potatoes with the peel on.in unsalted water, let them cool, then peel and grate them on the small grates of your box grater. Or peel the potatoes while they are stiill warm and push them through a potato ricer and then let them cool them completely.
• 50 grams (1.7 ounces) old-fashioned oats 
• 150 grams (5.2 ounces) superfine white sugar
• 1 egg (L), preferably free range or organic, room temperature
• 2 tsps of homemade vanilla sugar (you can also use 1 package pure vanilla sugar or 2 tsps pure vanilla extract instead)
• one pinch fine salt (I used fine sea salt)
• 75 grams (2.6 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature
• a few tablespoons cherry jam or any other jam of your choosing (preferably homemade)
• a bit of dark rum (optional)
• a bit of powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

Equipment

• one 26 or 28 centimeter (10- or 11- inch) round springform pan
• unbleached parchment paper
• pastry brush

Preparation of the Crumb Cake

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Butter the springform pan, line with unbleached parchment paper, butter and flour parchment paper, knocking out any excess flour.
3. In a large bowl, either using your hand mixer or a pastry cutter, mix together all of the ingredients just until they come together as a crumb mixture.
4. Take half the crumb mixture and put it into the springform pan in an even layer a possible. Press lightly to even out the crumbs a bit.
5. With an offset spatula spread the jam on the crumb mixture. NOTE: you can add a bit of dark rum to the jam and heat it slightly before you spread it on the crumb mixture.
6. Cover the jam layer with the remaining crumb mixture.
7. Bake for about forty minutes, transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely before slicing. You can also dust  the baked cake with a bit of powdered sugar before serving. 

Serving some lightly whipped cream would be wonderful with this cake. As the Potato-Raisin Gugelhupf, this cake can be stored for a few days, just make sure to wrap it well.


Sources:

• Round springform pans from "Kaiser" (http://www. springform-pan.kaiserbakeware.com)
• Cake plate and dessert plates from "Bunzlau Pottery" (http://www.ceramicboleslawiec.com)
• Cake forks from "Butlers" (http://www.butlers.de)

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Baking Cakes with Potatoes I - Potato-Raisin Gugelhupf
Baking Cakes with Potatoes II - Potato Crumb Cake with Cherry Jam
Baking Cakes with Potatoes III - Potato-Lemon Cake