Quaresimali Romani & Quaresimali Fiorentini (Italian Lenten Cookies) - Ital. Fastengebäck

Lent (Fastenzeit), or Quaresima as it is known in Italy, is the time from Ash Wednesday (Aschermittwoch) to Easter (Ostern). It is a period of six and a half weeks (or 40 days, not including Sundays) during which Christians remember the events leading up to and including the death of Jesus Christ. This year Lent began on Febrauary 17th and lasts until April 3rd. It is a time of reflection and asking for forgiveness, and when Christians prepare to celebrate Jesus’s resurrection at the feast of Easter, which comes at the very end of Lent and which is the most important day in the Christian calendar. Easter celebrations mark the resurrection of Jesus after his death at the cross, and are a celebration of his life.

During Lent, as a sign of sacrifice and to test their self-discipline, many people decide to give something up that they love or treasure – like meat, chocolate, sweets, alcohol or even using social media. Other people decide to take up something, like volunteering, sports, gardening, or a new hobby or project.

In the early centuries, fasting rules were strict, as they still are in Eastern churches. One meal a day was allowed in the evening, and meat, fish, eggs, and butter were forbidden. The strict law of fasting among Roman Catholics was dispensed with during World War II, and only Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are now kept as Lenten fast days. However, many Catholics still choose to observe a meatless fast on Fridays during Lent. 

Although Lent is generally seen as a time of sacrifice, Italians for example, have found a number of delicious ways to indulge in sweet treats during the Lenten season, and Quaresemali Romani (Roman Lenten cookies) are traditional cookies made without butter and with only egg whites (except, of course, for the optional egg wash), they are only one example of numerous recipes for Italian Lenten cookies.

Many regions, towns or families have a unique specialty, and Lenten cookies can be found throughout Italy. Apart from the Quaresemali Romani, there are, for example the cocoa meringue alphabet cookies that hail from the lovely city of Florence, called Quaresemali Fiorentini.

With respect to the recipe that I would like to present today, Quaresemali Romani are full of natural almonds, they are crispy on the outside with a slightly soft interior. The candied orange peel (either store bought or, even better, homemade) not only adds some chewiness (depending on how small you dice the peel) but also a nice warm citrus flavor. If you use store bought, it is a wonderful to use organic, as organic candied orange peel is often the most flavorful choice - I know that it can prove difficult to find certain ingredients but it is certainly worth a try, especially when a recipe has but a few ingredients. 

These cookies are quite similar to Biscotti – they are many variations of Biscotti, or Cantuccini as they are referred to in Tuscany. The famous twice-baked cookie is traditionally served alongside espresso or Vin Santo. The Vin Santo is a sweet Italian after-dinner wine. Although the traditional version of Biscotti is made with almonds, nowadays, more modern recipes call for other types of nuts, dried fruits, spices or chocolate. 

Quaresimali keep well when stored in an airtight jar or box and they are also perfect for dunking into afternoon espresso or tea.

Quaresimali Romani (Roman Lenten Cookies)

(yield: about 24 cookies)

Ingredients

• 300g natural almonds 
• 200g superfine (caster) baking sugar
• 16g pure vanilla sugar
• 65g white spelt flour OR use AP (plain) flour 
• ¼ tsp Ceylon cinnamon
• 40g candied orange peel, minced (if possible use organic or homemade as it has a more pronounced orange flavor)
• finely grated zest of 1 organic/untreated orange
• 1 egg (L), organic or free range (separate egg white and egg yolk)
• 1 egg white (L), organic or free range
• 1 tsp water

Preparation

1. Preheat your oven to 175°C (350°F) and line one baking sheet with parchment paper (or silpat mat).
2. Pulse the almonds in a food processor until chopped to a medium size or chop them by hand.
3. Transfer the chopped almonds to a bowl and add the sugar, vanilla sugar, flour, cinnamon, candied orange peel, and orange zest. Stir with a fork to combine well.
4. In a small bowl whisk together the two egg whites and add them to the almond mixture. Mix the ingredients until you have a sticky dough (best done with your hands).
5. Divide the dough in half, roll each portion into a log, place logs on prepared baking sheet.
6. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk with the water and brush the egg wash over the tops of the dough logs.
7. Bake until golden (about 20 minutes). Cool on baking sheet for about 10 minutes.
8. Using serrated knife, cut logs diagonally into twelve slices each.
9. Arrange slices, cut side down, in a single layer, on the baking sheet, and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes until dry. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool completely - you can store them in an airtight container.

Quaresimali Romani (Fastengebäck römischer Art)

(ergibt zirka 24 Stk.)

Zutaten

• 300g ganze ungeschälte Mandeln, grob gehackt
• 200g feinster Backzucker
• 16g Bourbon Vanillezucker (2 Pkg.)
• 65g Dinkelmehl (Type 630) oder Weizenmehl (Type 405)
• 40g Orangeat, sehr fein gehackt (am besten Bio-Qualität oder sogar selbst gemacht)
• Abrieb von 1 Bio-Orange
• 1 Prise feines Meersalz
• ¼ TL Ceylon Zimt
• 2 Eier (M), Bio od. Freiland – davon 2 Eiweiß und 1 Eigelb
• 1 TL Wasser 

Zubereitung

1. Den Ofen auf 175°C vorheizen und ein Backblech mit Backpapier auslegen.
2. In einer großen Schüssel die gehackten Mandeln mit dem Zucker, Vanillezucker, Mehl, gehacktem Orangeat, Orangenabrieb, Salz und Zimt mischen.
3. In einer kleinen Schüssel zwei Eiweiß verquirlen (am besten mit einer Gabel). 
4. In der Mitte der Mandelmischung eine Kuhle machen und die verquirlten Eiweiß hinein gießen. Dann alles mischen, erst mit der Gabel, dann mit den Händen, solange bis alle Zutaten gut durchfeuchtet sind.
5. Den Teig halbieren. Aus den zwei Teigstücken jeweils eine zirka 28 cm lange Rolle formen. Die Teigrollen im Abstand von 8cm auf das vorbereitete Backblech legen und leicht flach drücken.
6. In einer kleinen Schüssel ein Eigelb mit dem Wasser mischen und die beiden Teigrollen damit bestreichen.
7. Die Teigrollen im vorgeheizten Backofen auf der 2. Einschubleiste von unten zirka 25 Minuten vorbacken, aus dem Ofen nehmen und 10 Minuten abkühlen lassen. Dann mit einem Sägemesser schräg in etwa 1 cm dicke Stücke schneiden. Kekse mit
8. einer Schnittfläche auf das Backblech legen und noch einmal bei 175°C zirka 8 bis 10 Minuten goldbraun backen.
9. Die Kekse auskühlen lassen und in einer geschlossenen Blechdose aufbewahren.

Please note that this blog post is part of my series for a local/regional radio station, where, throughout the years, I present festive bakes that are closely tied to various holidays and seasons. If you are interested, have a LOOK & LISTEN (in German) HERE

The various recipes of my series can be found here:

• in January, for Three Kings Day (Dreikönigstag) two kinds of Galette des Rois (Dreikönigskuchen) (HERE)
• for Lent (Fastenzeit) Lenten Soup with Lenten Beugel (Fastenbeugel) (HERE)
• for Good Friday (Karfreitag) the delicious Hot Cross Buns (HERE)
• for Pentecost /Whitsun (Pfingsten) the fun Allgäu Bread Birds (Allgäuer Brotvögel) (HERE)
• for the beginning of the summer vacation, the lovely Sacristains (Almond & Sugar Puff Pastry Sticks) (HERE)
• for St Christopher's Day (St Christophorus), the energy-packed Müsli Power Bars (Müsli Energieriegel) (HERE)
• for Mary's Assumption Day (Mariä Himmelfahrt) my Tear & Share Herb Bread (Kräuterbrot) (HERE)
• for Mary’s Birthday (Mariä Geburt) some very pretty Mary’s Sweet Rolls (Süße Marienküchlein) (HERE)
• for Thanksgiving (Erntedankfest) a delicious and seasonal Thanksgiving Apple Tart with Frangipane (Erntedank Apfeltarte mit Mandelcreme) (HERE)
• for Halloween a Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake (Kürbis-Gewürzkuchen)
• for St Martin's Day (Martinsfest) the cheerful Sweet Dough Men (Weckmänner) (HERE)
• for St Andrew's Day (Andreastag) a classic Petticoat Tails Shortbread (HERE)
• for Christmas Day (Weihnachten) these Traditional German Gingerbread (Elisenlebkuchen) (HERE) 
• for New Year's Eve a New Year's Eve Pretzel (Neujahrsbretzel)
• for Candelmas Day (Mariä Lichtmess) some delightful Navettes de Saint Victor (HERE)
• for Carnival Season (Karneval) these lovely Carnival Doughnuts (Karnevals-Krapfen) (HERE) 
• for St Patrick's Day a traditional Irish Brown Soda Bread (Irisches Sodabrot)(HERE) 
• for St Joseph's Day a long-forgotten but thankfully re-discovered Sweet Cotton Bread (Baumwollbrot)(HERE) 
• for Palm Sunday (Palmsonntag) these very pretty Palm Pretzels (Palmbrezel) (HERE)
• for Easter Sunday (Ostersonntag) an Easter Brunch at Home with Tarte Flambée (Flammkuchen) (HERE)
• for the Month of May (Marienmonat Mai) these elegant Visitandines de Nancy (HERE) 
• for Pentecost/Whitsun (Pfingsten) festive Beignets (Heiliggeistkrapfen) (HERE) 
• for St John's Day (Johannistag) these sweet St John Cakelettes (Johannisküchlein) (HERE)
• for St Margaret’s Feast Day (Margaretentag)the delightful teacake called St Margaret’s Cake (Margaretenkuchen) (HERE)
• for St Hildegard's feast day these wonderful spice cookies called Cookies of Joy (Nervenkekse)(HERE) 
• for Michaelmas (Michaelistag) buttery Sablés du Mont-Saint-Michel (Buttergebäck)(HERE)
• for Halloween a moist and fruity traditional Irish tea cake called Barmbrack (Irischer Teekuchen) (HERE) 
• for St Martin's Day (Martinsfest) some Sweet St Martin's Pretzel (Süße Martinsbrezel)
• for Valentine's Day (Valentinstag) a festive Valentine's Day Linzer Tarte (Linzer Torte)
• for Lenten season (Fastenzeit) the delicious Quaresimali Romani (Italienisches Fastengebäck) (HERE) - more delicious treats to come very soon.

This Little Piggy - New Year’s Cookies l Glücksschweinchen - Neujahrsgebäck

A long standing custom in Germany is to exchange good luck charms (Glücksbringer) around New Year’s Day (Neujahrstag). Many traditional German lucky charms go back centuries and are often rooted in ancient pagan or early Christian legends. 

Germans have long relied on  'a little help' from pink marzipan piglets (Glücksschweinchen) or chocolate ladybugs wrapped in colorful foil (Marienkäfer), lucky cent (Glücks Cent, formerly Pfennig), chimney sweeps (Schornsteinfeger), horseshoes (Hufeisen) or four-leaf clover (Glücksklee).

Because so rare in nature, it is simply assumed that four-leaf clover brings good luck. A four-leaf clover is a universal symbol for good luck and is said to make secret wishes come true, but only if personally found, not bought. According to an old Christian legends, Eve took a four-leaf clover from the Garden of Eden, for nostalgic memories of paradise.

For centuries, pigs have been symbols representing wealth or prosperity. In old Nordic mythology, the wild boar was considered sacred, a pet of the gods and symbol of fertility. For ancient Greek, Roman and later cultures, owning  pigs meant privilege and affluence.  Nowadays, 'lucky piglets' (Glücksschweinchen) come in many different forms in Germany, there are those made from marzipan, chocolate or cookie dough, to those made from glass or porcelain – just think for example about all those 'piggy banks' (Sparschweine).

In this day and age, many people consider charms, tokens and such trinkets to be mere old-fashioned superstitions, but at least they don’t cause any harm. So, it certainly cannot hurt to try a few of  my New Year’s Cookies in the shape of little piglets or bake some clover leaves.

The recipe I use is another one of my traditional recipes for butter cookies. I always make sure to use white spelt flour for these (Dinkelmehl Type 630), then add pure vanilla and just a bit of lemony flavor from the grated zest of one lemon -  you can go all purpose flour instead and add orange or other citrus zest if you prefer, as long as your citrus fruit is organic and/or untreated.

For decorating my New Year's Cookies,  I chose pink and white colored sugar and heart shaped sprinkles for the piglets and green sugar for the clover leaves, of course, you can leave the cookies plain.

New Year’s Cookies l Neujahrsgebäck

Ingredients

For the dough

• 125g unsalted butter, room temperature
• 100g superfine baking sugar (feinster Backzucker)
• 8g pure vanilla sugar (Bourbon Vanille Zucker)
• 1 eggs (L), free range or organic
• 250g white spelt flour (Type 630) or use AP (plain) flour (Weizenmehl Type 405), plus some for the work surface
• grated zest of 1 organic lemon (or other citrus zest such as zest of 1/2 orange)
• a pinch of fine sea salt

To decorate

• 1 egg white (M or L), free range or organic
• 2 tbsp water
• 25g powdered sugar, or more as needed
• pink and white sprinkles, nonpareils or colored sugars for the piglets (use green if you make clover leaves)

In addition

• 2 cookie sheets
• baking parchment paper
• pig shaped cookie cutters (or use clover leaves) 

Preparation

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter with the sugar and vanilla sugar, add the egg and mix until well blended. 
2. Stir in flour, lemon zest and salt. Wrap well and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
3. When you are ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 180° C (356°F).
4. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
5. Divide the dough in half. On a lightly floured surface (or between two sheets of parchment paper) roll each half of dough to 0.5cm (0.2in) thick. 
6. In a small bowl, mix together the egg white with the water.
7. Cut into piggie shapes with cookie cutter(s) and place on prepared parchment lined cookie sheets – leave some space between the cookies but they will not spread much.
8. For the colored sugar border, whisk together the egg white with 1 tbsp water, brush the outline of the cookies and dip into colored sugar, shaking off the excess. 
9. Bake 7 to 8 minutes or until lighty brown.
10. Remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely.
11. For some of the cookies, mix together the powdered sugar with the remaining water and place a tiny drop of icing on some of the piggies and decorate as desired (or decorate your clover leaves with green colored sugar).

When rolling out sugar cookies, just lightly flouring the work suface is key or just roll the dough between two sheets of baking parchment paper. Try to cut the dough out with as little space between as you can, to minimize scraps. 

And if you want to decrease the chance of the cookies spreading too much while baking, it is also important to place the baking sheet with the cut-outs into the fridge for a few minutes before sliding them into the oven.

It’s important to keep the dough chilled, so work in batches as you roll the dough out. Cover the dough and refrigerate at least 1 hour before rolling. While rolling one half of the dough, keep the other in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Use a light hand when re-rolling dough scraps, gently pressing them together and rolling them out quickly. If the dough is overworked your cookies will definitely turn out to be tough.

"This little piggy went to market,

This little piggy stayed home,

This little piggy had roast beef,

This little piggy had none,

And this little piggy cried "wee wee wee" all the way home".

(English-language nursery rhyme and fingerplay)

So, as the old year ends and the New Year (Neues Jahr) gets off to what we all hope is a good start, I wish you Health and Happiness and, of course, as we say around here 'einen guten Rutsch ins Neue Jahr' (literally translated 'a good slide into the New Year')!

Merry and Sweet Christmas Wishes l Herzliche Weihnachtsgruesse und Frohe Festtage

Wishing all of you and your families a very Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

Ich wünsche euch allen ein frohes Weihnachtfest und besinnliche Festtage!

Sweet Christmas Pretzel with Almond, Pistachio, Coconut & Discodip l Süße Weihnachtsbrezel mit Mandeln, Pistazien, Kokos & Discodip

Every year around this time of the month, with only a few days until Christmas Eve (Heiligabend), I appreciate a simple cookie recipe for buttery cut out sugar cookies. Usually it starts with a long look at my rather extensive collection of cookie cutters. So many to chose from, so little time. This week the lovely Pretzel shaped cookie cutter caught my attention.

The recipe I use is a rather traditional recipe for butter cookies with almond flour, vanilla and just a bit of lemony flavor from the grated zest of one lemon -  you can go with orange or other citrus zest if you prefer, as long as your citrus fruit is organic and/or untreated.

For decorating and extra taste and crunch, I chose finely chopped almonds (no skin), unsalted pistachios, unsweetened shredded coconut and so-called 'Discodip' - these are fun sprinkles in happy colors, with an adorable name, from the Netherlands – you can opt for colored sugar or pearl sugar or leave the cookies unadorned. 

Sweet Christmas  Pretzel with Almond, Pistachio, Coconut &  Discodip l Süße Weihnachtsbrezel mit Mandeln, Pistazien, Kokos & Discodip

Ingredients

For the dough

• 125g unsalted butter, room temperature
• 250g superfine baking sugar (feinster Backzucker)
• 16g pure vanilla sugar (Bourbon Vanille Zucker)
• 2 eggs (S), free range or organic
• 250g AP (plain) flour (Weizenmehl Type 405), plus some for the work surface
• 100g almond flour
• grated zest of 1 organic lemon
• a pinch of fine sea salt

To decorate

• 1 egg yolk (M), free range or organic
• about 2 tbsp of milk (I use 3.5%)
• chopped almonds
• chopped pistachios
• shredded unsweetened coconut
• Discodip, sprinkles, nonpareils or colored sugars

In addition

• 2 cookie sheets
• baking parchment paper
• cookie cutter in the shape of a brezel (or any other shape)

Preparation

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter with the sugar and vanilla sugar, add the eggs and mix until well blended. 
2. Stir in flour, almond flour, lemon zest and salt. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
3. When you are ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 180° C (356°F).
4. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
5. Divide dough in half. On lightly floured surface (or between two sheets of parchment paper) roll each half of dough to 0.5cm (0.2in) thick. 
6. In a small bowl, mix together the egg yolk with the milk.
7. Cut into pretzel or other assorted shapes with cookie cutter(s) and place on prepared parchment lined cookie sheet – leave some space between the cookies but they will not spread much.
8. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the cookies with the egg wash and decorate cookies as desired with nuts, coconut and sprinkles or colored sugars.
9. Bake 7 to 8 minutes or until lighty brown.
10. Remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

When rolling out sugar cookies, just lightly flouring the work suface is key but there is also another way which I prefer with recipes like this one:  just roll the dough between two sheets of baking parchment paper and try to cut the dough out with as little space between as you can, to minimize scraps. 

And if you want to decrease the chance of the cookies spreading too much while baking, it is also important to place the baking sheet with the cut-outs into the fridge for a few minutes before sliding them into the oven.

It’s important to keep the dough chilled, so work in batches as you roll the dough out. Cover the dough and refrigerate at least 1 hour before rolling. While rolling one half of the dough, keep the other in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Use a light hand when re-rolling dough scraps, gently pressing them together and rolling them out quickly. If the dough is overworked your cookies will definitely turn out to be tough - if they do, thread a pretty ribbon through the cookies and use them as Christmas tree decoration.

For more sweet cookie Pretzel inspiration you can take a look at my Summer Pretzel with Cinnamon & Vanilla (Sommerbrezel mit Zimt & Vanille)  HERE – pictured above.

Christmas Market at Home: Sugar Roasted Nuts l Weihnachtsmarkt Zuhause: Gebrannte Nussmischung

At present, there are no Christmas markets (Weihnachtsmärkte) that we can visit during Advent season. I must admit that I miss walking past the wooden stalls and inhaling the many familiar smells of Christmas season. But there is no need to despair this year, as there is always the possibilty to make some of those much beloved Christmas market treats at home. 

Usually, there are quite a few treats to chose from. There is the ever present fried sausage (Bratwurst) in a roll with mustard, waffles, cotton candy, candied apples, mulled wine (Glühwein), potato fritters (Reibekuchen) with apple sauce or smoked salmon, and thick slices of Christmas Stollen with a generous layer of powdered sugar that will inevitably fly off and cover your dark winter coat with lots of white specks while you indulge. But one of our favorite treats are the Gebrannten Mandeln (literally translated as 'Burnt Sugar Almonds'). They are usually sold in colorful paper cones.

With as few as six ingredients, water, sugar, vanilla sugar, spices, salt, and nuts, most recipes out there for Christmas-market-style Sugar Roasted Almonds have only minor variations. Some cooks add only cinnamon, some even a bit of pepper, but I prefer a rather generous amount of Speculoos Spices and vanilla. For the Speculoos Spices, I sometimes make my own mix, other times, I add a trusted Speculoos Spice Mix  – both options will result in delightful caramelized nuts. If you need a recipe for making your own spice mix, take a look HERE. 

And btw Speculaas is the word the Dutch use, while Speculoos is the Flemish word - they both mean the same, though. And a classic Speculoos aka Speculaas Spice Mix will contain most of or all of the following warm spices: cinnamon, cloves, mace, ginger, white pepper, cardamom, coriander, anise, and nutmeg.

In previous years, I mostly used almonds (Gebrannte Mandeln) but this year I prefer a mix of almonds, hazelnuts and a handful of pumpkin seeds (Kürbiskerne). As far as the nuts are concerned, I should add that while it’s obviously okay to use regular nuts and seeds, I find that it makes a difference if you use organic produce – not only is the flavor superior but, of course, it’s better for all of us. But no matter what the origin of your ingredients, make sure they are fresh and their flavor is not off – nuts do tend to go rancid rather quickly. Storing them in a cool place and buying smaller quantities is therefore always a good idea. No need to take the skins off the nuts by the way.

As far as the flavoring is concerned, I should add that although this Christmas season it’s all about my Speculoos Spice Mix (Spekulatius Gewürz Mischung), you could also use a Pumpkin or Apple Pie Spice Mix, or Gingerbread Spice Mix (Lebkuchen Gewürz Mischung). The added salt is up to you – I like to add a pinch of salt to the caramel while cooking but it’s also very nice to sprinkle your favorite coarse sea salt on the still warm nuts once they have finished cooking, that way you can enjoy a mix of sweet and salty caramelized nuts. 

The trickiest part of the process is deciding when to remove the nuts from the pan. Ideally it’s a balance between the initial powdery white coating and the eventual crunchy hard caramel. You will probably have to try it a few times to get it perfect. 

Sugar Roasted Nuts  l Gebrannte  Nussmischung

Ingredients

• 125ml water
• 200g sugar
• 16g pure vanilla sugar (Bourbon Vanille Zucker)
• 1 tbsp Speculoos Spice Mix (Spekulatiusgewürz) ready made or homemade OR use 1 tbsp of your Gingerbread, Apple Pie or Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix
• generous pinch of sea salt
• 200g mixed nuts such as almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, peanuts, macademia nuts or pecans OR a mix thereof - I also like to add a few seeds such as pumkin seeds or some sunflower seeds (for a total of 200g)
• a sprinkling of coarse sea salt (entirely optional) to sprinkle on the Sugar Roasted Nuts while they are still warm

Preparation

1. Put the water, sugar, vanilla sugar in a medium pot. Without stirring, place over medium high heat and let the sugars dissolve. 
2. As soon as the mixture is clear and bubbling, stir in the nuts, then the Speculoos Spice Mix (or other spices you are using) and salt - this is best done using a wooden spoon.
3. Keep stirring, the clear sugar will first coat the nuts. As you keep stirring, the sugar will turn white and powdery. Keep stirring.
4. The sugar will then start to caramelize a little and again coat the nuts. Continue stirring as you want the caramel to be between golden and amber colored. This stage takes a little practice - if you feel like your pan is getting too hot, just take it off the heat.
5. Once the nuts are well coated with mostly shiny caramel, pour them out onto a parchment lined baking sheet and use two forks or spoons to separate them. Be careful, they will still be very hot. You don’t have to separate each individual nut, but just make sure there are no big clumps.
6. Leave them on the baking sheet and let them cool before you serve them - once they have cooled completely, you can store them in a cookie tin, glass jar or pack them up in paper bags and share them with your Knuffelcontact ....(this is the Flemish Word of the Year and means "hug buddy or cuddle contact" and has become a basic right for every Belgian during the corona crisis).

While you prepare these Sugar Rosted Nuts, you should remember that caramelizing sugar can be a bit dangerous. The caramel will be incredibly hot and it can turn from golden to black in a matter of seconds. Make sure to keep an eye on it at all times - especially with little persons around.

If you want to double the recipe, be aware that it will take longer for all the sugar to get powdery and then to caramelize. Just keep stirring, the sugar with get powdery and then caramelly eventually.

For more delicious inspirations for your Speculoos aka Speculaas Spice Mix, you might want to take a look at:

• Gevulde Speculaas - a traditional Dutch Christmas cake filled with amond paste (HERE)
• Kruidnoten - Dutch spiced cookies in the shape of nuts (HERE)
• Speculaas Muffins with Marzipan (Spekulatiusmuffins mit Marzipan) (HERE)
• Speculaas Biscotti with Almonds (Spekulatius-Biscotti mit Mandeln) (HERE)
• Speculaas Waffle Rolls (Spekulatius Eiserkuchen) (HERE) 

And for lots of pics and information about the origin and history as well as a recipe for those famous Speculoos Cookies, you might want to take a look HERE.

Tarte Flambée with Shallots & British Back Bacon l Flammkuchen mit Schalotten & Back Bacon

Having blogged about Tarte Flambée (Flammkuchen) before, I will not go into the details of its origin or history. But I will tell you that the Pizzawheels that I wrote about last week, aren’t the only fingerfood of sorts that we like to indulge in while spending a lot ot time at home these days.

Lately, Tarte Flambée (Flammkuchen) has become a new go-to dish for me. And just like my Pizzawheels versions (vegetarian, vegan or regular) are wonderful on their own, with just a side salad or a steaming bowl of soup, my interpretation of Flammkuchen is also quite delicious with just a salad – these days I usually go with lambs lettuce (Feldsalat). And should you be looking for a more substantial meal, a soup is also absolutely perfect with Flammkuchen – my current seasonal choice is a creamy German potato soup (Kartoffelsuppe) – the recipe will follow in one of my up-coming posts.

With this recipe, I somewhat veer off Flammkuchen tradition - with this version I like to roll out the dough not too thin, and I use shallots instead of onions as shallots are milder and sweeter with a less dominant onion flavor, but still very flavorful. And I love the look of rashers of bacon instead of cut-up cubed or thinly sliced bacon. If you cut the Tarte into 4 equal parts, everyone gets a nice slice of bacon with their piece. 

Overall, with the crème fraîche, the shallots and the bacon, this is a creamy, oniony, delicious Tarte Flambée that is easy to put together.

Tarte Flambée with Shallots & British Back Bacon l Flammkuchen mit Schalotten & Back Bacon

Ingredients 

For the Dough

• 250g (8 oz) white spelt flour (around here Dinkelmehl Type 630) OR strong white bread flour (around here Weizenmehl Type 405), plus extra for dusting
• 3.5g dried yeast (Trockenhefe)
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp mild olive oil (suitable for cooking)
• 6 tbsp cold water
• 1 tsp fine sea salt

For the Topping

• 200g crème fraîche (I use 30%)
• freshly ground black pepper and sea salt
• mild olive oil
• 1 tbsp freshly chopped chives
• 250g shallots, peeled and very finely sliced (I like to use the my mandoline for getting even slices)
• 8 slices of smoked bacon, speck or pancetta (I like to use British back bacon)

Preparation

1. Pre-heat your oven to 220°C (425°F).
2. Put 50g (2 oz) of the flour, the yeast, sugar, olive oil and 4 tbsp of the water in a bowl and mix together. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave to prove for about 30 minutes.
3. Add the rest of the flour, about 2 tbsp more water and the salt to the proved mixture and mix the dough.
4. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes (OR use the dough hook of your stand mixer and mix for about 10 minutes) until the dough is quite sticky and elastic.
5. Divide the dough in half and then roll out onto two floured baking sheets – either leave it a bit thicker (which is what I like to do OR roll it out as thin as possible).
6. In a small bowl, mix together the crème fraîche, freshly ground black pepper, sea salt, and chives – taste for seasoning (remember that the bacon is relatively salty, so make sure to go a bit easy on the salt).
7. Spread the crème fraîche mixture over the dough, sprinkle with thinly sliced shallots (at this point I like to add a good grinding of black pepper again but that is optional) and lay the slices of bacon on top of the shallots (go with 4 slices of bacon per Flammkuchen). 
8. Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 10 minutes or until nicely browned at the edges.
9. Sprinkle with additional chives and serve piping hot.

More Flammkuchen inspiration:

• Tarte Flambée with Purple Asparagus (Lila Spargel-Flammkuchen) (HERE) - pictured above
• Tarte Flambée with White and Green Asparagus and Prosciutto (Flammkuchen mit weißem und grünen Spargel und Prosciutto) (HERE) 
• Tarte Flambée with Goat's Cheese & Zucchini (Flammkuchen mit Ziegenkäse & Zucchini) (HERE) 
• Tarte Flambée Sucrée with Apples and Cinnamon Sugar (Süsser Flammkuchen mit Äpfeln und Zimt-Zucker) (HERE) - pictured below

And a 'Flambette' inspiration:

• Late Winter Comfort Food - Wholegrain Spelt Flour 'Flambettes' with a Topping of Caramelized Fennel (Flambette mit karamelisiertem Fenchel) (HERE)