Chow Down to Eurovision 2015 - Germany

Our culinary journey through Eurovision 2015 has taken us to 36 countries (4 to go) and now brings us to Germany. 

After Vienna I did spend a couple of nights in Dusseldorf for research so I have some great ideas for future Chow Down to Eurovision food adventures......though I'm not sure if the poffertjes and chicken nuggets is a traditional German breakfast but it works for me!

This year Germany offers us a sophisticated take on jelly and ice cream with WINE! 

Rote Grutze would be a perfect eurovision party dessert as it needs to rest overnight in the fridge so you can make it add so as not to spend a second in the kitchen while Eurovision is on!

Rote Grutze
Ingredients

• 250ml cranberry juice
• 250ml red wine
• 750ml jar of cherries
• 230g sugar
• 250g mixed berries
• 250g strawberries quartered
• 50g cornflour (made into a paste with some water)
• 300ml Pouring cream

Method

• Add cranberry juice, wine, juice from the cherries and sugar to saucepan
• Bring to the boil and reduce for about 5 minutes
• Add cornflour and stir to thicken 
• Add all the fruit and stir through for a couple of minutes
• Pour into a bowl and leave in the fridge overnight
• To serve pour some cream into a bowl and top with a good helping of the rote grutze

While this doesn't look the best, ok a blood clot, the combination of the tart berries and the cleanness of the cream is bliss. 

Not every red carpet moment is a huge success, in my head I planed a "clever" tie into Ann Sophie's song Black Smoke.

The lyrics are "too hard to say three words" so my question was going to be "while its hard to say those three words...what 3 words do you want to hear at Saturday's final could it be Douze Points Germany?".....you can see in the video that is not what come out more like a raving jumble.

I did manage to employ that timeless technique when someone is not understanding you of just repeating the same thing just louder and faster!

My favourite part of the interview is when she turns away and says "I don't understand" which is fair enough she was probably thinking who is this raving bearded chap.....didn't he quite in the German national final?

Some people have said we look alike??

Photo of Andreas Kümmert source

Sadly no one did say Douze Points Germany and along with Austria they became the Zeros of our time.

Previous Germany Chow Down to Eurovision:

2014 German Farmer's Breakfast

2013 Beef Gulasch by Selin and friends

Let's Get Technical - Great British Bake Off Series 5 Cake Week

 

Firstly I should apologise for the title of this series because Let's Get Technical fits perfectly to ONJ's Let's Get Physical.....and will be stuck in your head for days.

 

Let me hear Mary Berry talk! (warned you)

 

The Great British Bake Off started again this week for a 5th series which means my obsession will be flamed for another 11 weeks.

 

Previously I've written about my love of the Bake Off in all it's international guises in these posts: My Own Private Bake Off, My Bake Off Birthday and 200 Odd Years And Still Pinching Bread.

The main reason for my enjoyment of Bake Off is that it is a show based on skill rather than personality, bitchy tactics, or relying on family tragedy to have a good enough back story so the audience can cry through and forget that you're actually a bit rubbish at cooking.

I have learnt so much just from listening to the judge's critics, the baker's explain their methods and seeing the successfully and sometimes not successful results.

Though the best way to learn is with practice so over the next few weeks I'm going to be baking the technical challenges that are in the show each week.

I of course have the massive advantage of seeing the show first, having the recipe, and not having a camera crew just waiting to see my every mistake. I will stick to the time limit that is allocated in the challenges and if you follow me on twitter @dbtsauce you will be able to follow the bake in real time. (Sunday afternoons)

I'll then photograph the result, good, bad or ugly, it will be honest but let's hope there's no major disaster...

The first challenge was Mary Berry's Classic Cherry Cake (recipe here)

I do love Mary Berry, but hate glace cherries though I soldiered on.

So with two hours on the clock all that was needed was for someone to yell:
On your mark, get set, BAKE! (ok I did it and I'm not ashamed either)

Oh Mary why?? ewwww I hate glace cherries, even just touching them.

I suspect I was a little heavy handed with greasing the tin which I think has made it darker.

 

It did just slide out of the tin though.....and almost onto the floor.

 

Those icing lines aren't even, Paul won't be happy!

It's all about your cherries being suspended....

 My nuts are quite large as I'd forgotten flaked almonds so flaked some whole almonds myself

 

 Well if I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it properly!

 

And amazingly my cake was ranked number one, ok it was the only one but work with me here.

 

The verdict is I'm quite happy with this as a first attempt at this cake. I think it's quite achievable in the time frame but would be so much better without those vile glace cherries!

 

So that's one technical challenge down, let's see what biscuit week brings??

 

Have you been baking this weekend? Have you tried Mary's Cherry Cake?

If you need more cake and well the answer to that is always yes,  Lucy at Supergolden Bakes is hosting My Great #GBBO BAKE ALONG

Chow Down to Eurovision 2013 - Russia

Russia has only been in the contest since 1994 but when the first entry they sent had a dress that moved every which way but loose you knew they were a country to watch out for. Historically Russia has pulled out some great Eurovision moments, Alsou and her butch jazz ballet backing dancers, Parliament the anti boy band, Dima Bilan with his ballerina stuffed piano and Olympic ice skater. The over hyped controversy of Tatu did little for the contest apart some mild childish comedy. If you listen to the Russian song as though they were singing in English it sounds like "how many guys in your brassiere, He was my boy scouts" I never promised to be high brow.



However in 2012 they struck Eurovision gold, by sending the Bashuski, the grandmas. Who doesn't love a grandma? I think it was just that they had those little faces you just want to squeeze. I know I shouldn't have a favourite, but I think Natalie was everyone's favourite, she even made it to onto our Christmas tree.

 

The act even featured baking!

 

 



I have based this recipe around the Rum Baba in Great British Bake Off: How to Bake: The Perfect Victoria Sponge and Other Baking Secrets by Linda Collister.

Don't you just want to eat that little face?

Vodka Babushka
Ingredients

• 60g black cherries (about 7)
• 1/2 cup of vodka
• 5 tablespoons of lukewarm milk
• 3 eggs
• 250g strong flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 table spoons caster sugar
• 7g dried yeast
• 100g soft unsalted butter room temperature

For the syrup

• 2 cups water
• syrup from the tin of black cherry
• 1 cup sugar
• Reserved vodka from the cherries

Method

• In a small bowl soak the whole black cherries in the vodka
• Into the bowl of a stand mixer add the milk, eggs, flour, salt, caster sugar and yeast.
• With a dough hook knead until smooth and elastic, scrap down the side to ensure that all the flour is mixed in. Should only take about a few minutes.
• Cover the bowl in cling wrap and let rise to almost double, about 1 hour. (I transferred into a glass bowl because I needed to use the mixer for something else)
• Grease and flour the babushka moulds or muffin tray. It is recommended that you chill the moulds after you grease them to stop the butter being absorbed into the batter. I didn't do it but it's a handy hint to know if you find things are sticking.
• Mash the butter with a fork to obtain a smooth consistency
• Beat the butter into the batter till it is incorporated and not showing through, no butter streaks.
• Drain the black cherries from the vodka, but reserve the liquid for the syrup.
• Finely chop the black cherries finely and stir through the batter.
• Fill the moulds half way, allowing room to rise. Less is more as they will grow, also spread the mixture out evenly so that you don't end up with a babushka with a bigger behind than the others, or have to deliver the terrible news that 1 babushka didn't make it.
• Let rise again for about 30mins till they have doubled.
• Bake at 200°C  for about 20 mins till they are golden and are a bit loose in the tin.
• When baked, remove from mould and let cool on a wire rack
• To make the syrup put the water, black cherry juice and sugar in a saucepan and bring to the boil for about 3 mins (it's a syrup, not a sauce so it's ok to boil on this occasion) Remove from the heat and add the reserved vodka.
• Soak each Babushka in the syrup before putting on a serving plate. You can give them a good soaking, I was frightened they would break up but it is amazing just how much vodka syrup one Babushka can hold.
• Serve with double cream and extra cherries

No Grandmothers this year but Dina Garipova will perform What If.

удача!