"LIKE old family recipes, fairytales are also handed down from one generation to the next," writes author and passionate baker Christin Geweke.
Her new book Fairytale Baking: Recipes and Stories combines her love of traditional storytelling and her passion for producing exquisite cakes and delicacies.
"For centuries, wide-eyed children have been sitting on their mothers' and fathers' laps and holding hands with their siblings or grandparents, being entranced by fantastic, exciting stories about poor stepdaughters, courageous orphans, despotic kings and rebellious princes.
"What makes these ancient tales so beautiful is not just that they invariably have a happy ending, but that they keep being told and read from one generation to the next, creating closeness and warmth through shared excitement.
"And delicious baking can delight the senses just like a good story regardless of people's age. Baking together can be a beautiful, harmonious experience...."
Having discovered a love of baking as a little girl not yet four-years-old, Christin's culinary journey takes you through magical bakes that make you dream of fairytale forests and are guaranteed to be liked by the fussiest of cake eaters, just like the princess of the Princess and the Pea fame.
Here are recipes and exquisite photographs of forest berry ice cream cake, mini gingerbread kuglofs, marzipan chocolate rolls, dreamy peach rose cups.
If you never heard or read the story of Snow-white and Rose-red, Hansel and Gretel, Mother Holle, the Star Money and the Princess and the Pea, here's your chance to catch up with these children's classics as you wait for a delicious creation to finish baking.
Delicious baking can delight the senses just like a good story regardless of people's age. Baking together can be a beautiful, harmonious experience
- Christin Geweke
If you like to bake and create wonderful sweets and desserts for family and friends, or you know someone who does - this book is a must.
Who could resist a raspberry sour cream cake or Christin's recipe for tiramisu cake, cream puffs with berry compote, or strawberry chocolate tartlets with pine nuts, marbeled cheesecake or blackberry ganache tartlets (recipe follows).
Christin presents more than 200 pages of mouthwatering recipes accompanied by glorious photography by Yelda Yimaz, herself a lover of cooking and baking; and creator of the Hamburg Food Swap, where people from all walks of life come together over a shared dinner to taste and exchange recipes and home-made delicacies.
Here she shares a recipe for Blackberry Ganache Tartlets.
Blackberry Ganache Tartlets
(Makes 12)
Ingredients
- 13/4 cups (250 g) plain flour
- 1/3 cup (80 g) sugar
- 1/4 cup (55 g) vanilla sugar
- 1 pinch ground cinnamon
- 1 pinch salt
- 1/2 cup (125 g) cold butter
- 1 egg yolk
For the filling:
- 200 g (7 oz) dark chocolate
- 50 g (13/4 oz) milk chocolate
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) single (pure) cream
- 11/2 tbsp sugar
Also:
- Butter, for greasing
- Flour, for dusting
- 2 cups (250 g) blackberries
- Icing (confectioners') sugar, for dusting
Method
- Combine the flour, sugar, vanilla sugar, cinnamon and salt in a mixing bowl. Dice the butter and rub into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and knead everything quickly until well combined. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Butter a 12-hole muffin tin and dust with flour. Invert the tin and tap lightly to get rid of excess flour. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface until 3 mm (18 inch) thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut out twelve 10 cm (4 inch) discs. (You can use a tartlet tin to cut the discs and create fluted edges.) Carefully line the muffin holes with the dough and gently press in the edges. Bake for about 15 minutes. Leave to cool completely before carefully removing the tartlet shells from the tins.
- For the filling, coarsely chop both types of chocolate. Combine the cream and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to the boil, then simmer briefly until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat. Gradually add the chocolate and stir into the hot cream to melt. Set the ganache aside to cool and thicken. Once cooled, spread 3 teaspoons in each tartlet shell.
- Gently pick through and wash the blackberries and pat dry. Top each tartlet with three blackberries. Serve dusted with icing sugar.
About the author
Christin Geweke is a freelance cookbook editor, writer and passionate baker who is quite happy to spend any free time she has in the kitchen, trying out new recipes. She lives in the countryside near Celle, in Germany with her husband, daughter, son and cat.
Fairytale Baking (Murdoch Books) $39.99 murdoch books.com.au
Eileen Wood
I'm a senior news journalist at The Senior newspaper, the leading publication bringing targeted news on issues affecting older Australians. We cover NSW, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, SA and WA. If you have a story idea I would love to hear it. You can email me: eileen.wood@thesenior.com.au or phone The Senior 02-4355-5000, mob. 0487 495 805
I'm a senior news journalist at The Senior newspaper, the leading publication bringing targeted news on issues affecting older Australians. We cover NSW, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, SA and WA. If you have a story idea I would love to hear it. You can email me: eileen.wood@thesenior.com.au or phone The Senior 02-4355-5000, mob. 0487 495 805
