I’ve never been in Austria but Alex visited it twice and even managed to take beautiful pictures on his last trip. Also he brought an edible present — Sacher Torte — a famous dessert from the Vienna’s Hotel Sacher. It is only natural that I wanted to bake this cake to surprise and please my husband (I need to buy a new flash for my camera so the husband-pleasing part becomes essential for me at the moment 🙂 ).
Unexpectedly, two other dishes surprised and pleased my boys. Matthew knows and likes home style macaroni and schnitzel so he was pleased, ate everything and wanted the second helping. Eugene, on the other hand, is very suspicious of anything new and at first didn’t even want to take a bite, but when he did, he was really surprised that the dishes had “normal” taste i.e. there were no unfamiliar spices added. He cleared his plate.
| Käsespätzle — Austrian Mac & Cheese |
| The dough for the recipe is very simple and I suspect can be flavored with spices such as hot pepper or garlic to add more flavor to the macaroni. The real work is when you need to make macaroni from the dough. I tried to use a colander but failed so I cut the dough using knife directly from the bowl with the dough to the pot with boiling water. It took some time because my dough was on the runny side so I couldn’t figure out how to shape it properly. In the end, even though my macs didn’t look pretty they were delicious.I followed the recipe that I found on one of the Austrian websites. Here is my, just slightly modified, version.Ingredients 5 eggs + 1 egg yolk 1 cup of flour (you may need to add a little more flour if the dough is too runny) 2-3 tbsp water (if the dough is too stiff) 2 tbsp butter 5 – 7 oz (150-200g) cheese, grated (your favorite cheese) 1/2 tsp of salt (taste the dough before deciding if you need more salt)To prepare the onions: 3 tbsp butter 2 mid-sized onions cut in ringsCombine flour, eggs and salt in a large bowl. Mix well to ensure there are no lumps (add water if necessary). The dough should not be runny, but soft enough to gradually follow gravitation. Then set aside and allow the dough to rest for 20 to 30 minutes. Meanwhile heat the butter in a frying pan over low to medium heat, add onions, and let them slowly gain a golden brown color. Don’t let them get too dark, as they tend to become bitter. Drain on a paper towel and then set aside. Bring a large pot of water briefly to a boil, add a pinch of salt and then reduce heat. The water should simmer throughout the whole process. You can either cut and shape the spaetzle by hand or use a spaetzle maker or a colander which makes things easier. Cook the spaetzle for about 2-3 minutes until they float back to the surface, then remove them. When done, drain the water, melt 1-2 tbsp of butter and return the spaetzle to the pot. Shake the pot a few times to evenly distribute the butter, then add the grated cheese and mix well. Now simply add the browned onions on top and serve.
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| Chicken Schnitzel |
| They became our family favorites. They are very easy to make and the amount of salt and spices can be easily adjusted to accommodate individual tastes.Ingredients for 4 servings 4 pieces of chicken breasts (or tenderloins) 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 2 eggs, beaten 1 tbsp Dijon mustard 2 cups (or more if needed) panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) 1/2 tsp of garlic powder (or any other spices to add flavor e.g. I usually use Trader Joe’s 21 seasoning salute) black ground pepper to taste 1/2 tsp salt about 1/4 cups of sunflower oil (or any other vegetable oil for frying) 1-2 tbsp butterPlace the chicken breasts between 2 pieces of cling wrap and pound to a desired texture and thickness (I like thin schnitzels). Place flour on a plate and season it with salt, garlic powder, black pepper and/or spices.In another shallow bowl or plate, beat eggs with mustard.Place 1 cup panko in the third shallow plate, adding remaining 1 cup panko breadcrumbs, or more, to dish as needed throughout process. One at a time, dip each pounded chicken breast first into the seasoned flour mixture, coating thoroughly and shake to dust off excess, then dip into egg mixture, then carefully coat with panko, pressing panko gently to adhere to chicken. Transfer chicken on a baking sheet or countertop lined with waxed paper. Heat 1 tbsp oil and 1 tbsp butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place chicken in the skillet (two at the time), and brown for about 5 minutes per side (or cook until golden brown on both sides). Transfer chicken breasts to a paper towel-lined plate. Serve as soon as possible (while still hot).
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| Sacher Torte |
| I didn’t tell Alex that I was making Sacher Torte but when he tried it he immediately recognized that it tasted like one. He was so surprised (and of course pleased) when I told him that it is indeed the Sacher Torte (or a close copycat). Unfortunately my torte did not look as neat as theirs but the taste was there.Here is the copy of the recipe from the www.austria.info website (original is here).Ingredients: 150 g (5.2 oz./ ¾ cup) butter 150 g (5.2 oz./ ¾ cup) sugar 150 g (5.2 oz./ ¾ cup) chocolate, melted in a double-boiler 8 eggs, separated 120 g (4.2 oz./ ¾ cup) flour butter dry bread crumbs apricot jamIcing: 150 g (5.2 oz.) chocolate 1 tablespoon oil 200 g (7 oz./ 1 cup) sugar, divided 1/8 litre (½ cup) waterHow to make it: Beat the butter together with half of the sugar and the melted chocolate, adding the egg yolks one at a time, until thick and foamy. Sift the flour over the mixture. Beat together the egg whites and remaining sugar until stiff and mound on top of the flour. Fold everything together carefully. Pour the mixture into a springform pan that has been buttered and coated with bread crumbs and bake at 180°C (350°F) for about an hour. To cool the cake, turn it upside down onto a wire rack. After about 2 hours, remove it from the pan (you may want to cut the top side to make it level) and place it on a platter with the smooth torte base on top. Spread with a very thin layer of apricot jam and glaze with a chocolate icing. For a special treat, serve the Sacher Torte with whipped cream! Chocolate icing:
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