-Nutella Banana Bread-

We love Nutella and we love banana bread.
Combine both and you get a wonderful treat with your afternoon cup of coffee. Even the Minions would approve!

I always buy way to many bananas and often they end up uneaten and spoiled, unless I find time to turn them into delicious banana bread. Everyone knows that everything is better with Nutella and the same is true when it comes to banana bread. If I could I'd slather everything with Nutella.


Recipe For Nutella Banana Bread:

Ingredients:

    2 cups flour
    3/4 tsp. baking soda
    1/2 tsp. salt
    1/4 cup butter softened
    1 cup sugar
    2 large eggs
    1 1/4 cup mashed ripe bananas
    1 tsp. vanilla
    1/3 cup milk
    3/4 heaping cup Nutella


Instructions:

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Prepare a 8×4-inch loaf pan

- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda & salt.

- In a separate large bowl, beat sugar and butter with an electric mixer at medium speed until blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add banana, milk and vanilla. Beat until blended. Add flour mixture, beat at low speed just until flour is incorporated (don’t over mix).

- Spoon Nutella into a small dish and soften in the microwave for about 15 seconds. Add 1 cup of the banana bread batter to the Nutella and stir until blended well.

- Spoon Nutella batter alternately with plain banana bread batter into the prepared pan. Swirl batters together with a knife.

- Bake 50 to 60 minutes, it will seem a tiny bit under cooked but that’s what makes it good. Cool for at least 15 minutes in the pan, and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely

Enjoy

-" Vanillehörnchen" Homemade German Christmas Cookies-

Vanillehörnchen are my all-time favorite, traditional German Christmas cookies.
These cookies are quick and easy to bake. I'm sure they will become a family favorite and be gone in no time. Store the Vanillahörnchen in a tin, they will keep for about 3 weeks if you can keep your family from eating them in one sitting.

Ingredients for approx. 25 - 30 cookies

• 260g (2 1/2 cups) plain flour, sifted
• 2 tablespoons vanilla sugar
• 100g (1/2 cup) ground almonds or hazel nuts
• 1 egg yolk
• 200g (1 cup) soft butter
• 1 pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons icing sugar to dust the Vanillahörnchen

To make you own vanilla sugar

• Put 200g sugar into a jar with a lid, slice one Vanilla Bean, remove the pulp with a small spoon and cut the bean into 2 or 3 pieces. Add the pulp and the vanilla bean pieces to the sugar. Close the jar and let the vanilla sugar rest for a few day, shake now and then. This sugar is so much better than store bought, with lots more aroma and taste.

Directions
Mix the butter, salt, vanilla sugar and egg yolk in a bowl with a hand mixer.
Add ground almonds and flour and knead to a firm dough. 
Divide the dough into quarters and form four rolls, each one about 2 to 3cm (0,78 zo 1,18 inch) thick. Cover the rolls with cling wrap and place them in the refrigerator for about an hour.
Dust your counter top with some flour and cut the rolls into slices (about as thick as a finger) and form little crescents.
Put the Vanillahörnchen on a greased or parchment paper lined baking sheet,
Bake at 160°C / 320°F in a pre-heated oven for 12 to 15 minutes.
Remove the Vanillahörnchen carefully and place them on a cooling rack.
Fill the icing sugar into a small bowl and dust the Vanillahörnchen while they are still warm.

Let the cookies cool completely on a cooling rack and enjoy with a nice cup of coffee or a glass of Glühwein.



Thank you for looking

-Bienenstich Kuchen-

Today is my husbands birthday!
It's his birthday....it's also Saturday and a beautiful day. A really awesome day to be celebrated, but my poor guy has to work. However, sometime during the coming weeks we will take a long weekend and go somewhere nice in celebration of his big day.
To make today at least a little bit special for him after he comes home from work i baked him his favorite cake.

A Bienenstich Kuchen.....which translated means Bee Sting Cake.

The Bienenstich is a piece of German baking culture and a favorite. It's been said that this cake was invented 500 years ago in the German city of Andernach.

It is a bit of work to bake this cake, but believe me it is a little slice of heaven. If you love honey you will love this cake!

Bienenstich Recipe

For the Dough

• 3/4 cup warm whole milk
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast (from two 1/4-ounce envelopes)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, plus more for bowl and pan
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Topping

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup sliced almonds

 Cream Filling 

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 5 tablespoons honey, divided
• 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup very cold heavy cream

1. Cake: Combine milk, honey, and yeast in a liquid measuring cup, and let stand in a warm place until foamy, about 5 minutes. Combine milk mixture with flour, butter, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Mix together on high speed until mixture begins to form a ball and is smooth, about 4 minutes. Form dough into a ball using your hands. Place in a buttered bowl, and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until doubled, 45 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes. Punch down dough (but make and cool glaze first).

2. Topping: After dough has risen 30 minutes, melt butter and honey in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in confectioners' sugar and salt until smooth. Stir in almonds until well coated. Let cool.

3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan, and line with parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang on 2 sides. Butter parchment. Roll out dough into a 7-inch square on a lightly floured surface. Transfer to pan, and press evenly into bottom of pan. Spread glaze over dough (if it has congealed, reheat slightly, but make sure it's not hot). Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until dough is almost doubled and does not spring back when pressed, about 20 minutes. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes, rotating once. Let cool in pan 20 minutes. Lift out of pan using parchment, and let cool completely on rack, about 2 hours.

4. Pastry cream: While cake is cooling, mix together granulated sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Place egg yolks in a medium bowl, then whisk sugar mixture into egg yolks until smooth. Meanwhile, bring milk and 3 tablespoons honey to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Pour a small amount into egg mixture, whisking constantly. Gradually whisk remaining milk mixture into egg mixture; when thoroughly combined, pour back into pan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture thickens and begins to boil; continue to cook and whisk until mixture is very thick, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat, and whisk in butter and vanilla. Transfer pastry cream to a bowl, and cover surface with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until completely cold, at least 2 hours or overnight.

5. Whisk pastry cream in a medium bowl until smooth. Whisk heavy cream with remaining 2 tablespoons honey in a separate bowl until medium peaks form. Fold a third of pastry cream into whipped-cream mixture with a rubber spatula. Fold whipped cream mixture into remaining pastry cream in 2 additions.

6. Cut cake in half horizontally with a serrated knife. Spread pastry-cream mixture on bottom layer, leaving a 1-inch border to help prevent the cream to squish out over the edge. Place remaining cake half, almond side up, on top, and press gently to push cream out to the edges. Refrigerate until chilled through, at least 45 minutes and up to 3 hours. Slice with a serrated knife, and serve.
   
   
   Thanks for looking