if i said i was working 12 hours a day ...

would you forgive me for not updating my blog? then there's children, and relationships, and friends and ... shopping?? :o) spring resolution - less work, more writing! :O) love, katrin.

Шоколад «Идеал» Chocolate from White Russia with Love!

Конфеты «Милая моя» and Шоколад горький с миндалем и цукатами апельсина

http://ideal.by/konfetyi-milaya-moya.html

http://ideal.by/gorkiy-shokolad.html

The candy line Milaja Moya and the bitter sweet orange in dark chocolate. Wonderful!

The Ideal chocolate company in Brest, Belaruß is getting stiff competition from the likes of German, British and American brands who have all set up production in Russia and are now exporting. The Ideal chocolate line, while not perfect, offers some amazing selection. Definetly a case of "you should eat home grown"! I hope the people in Belaruß grasp this before they lose a wonderful product.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Just about to leave work ... still to shop, and go to the market for a last few gifts, then to the train station to collect family ... it will be a lovely German christmas on the 24th - baking cookies and roasting duck with all the trimmings ... then traditional christmas for me on the 25th with turkey and the tree and presents and mince pies ... then off to Brest, Belaruß for New Years and Russian Christmas ... happy new year everyone! be nice to the young and the old and the less fortunate. I know we try to every day of the year, but often we forget.

:O) katrin

Recipes: Mum's Christmas Fruit Cake

i keep one christmas cake for the following thanksgiving ... slowly steeping in its' fruit and alcohol for an entire year. we opened the tin yesterday to a wonder - almost a pudding ... lovely crumb, beautiful texture and taste and aroma. we passed it around for the first quarter of an hour simply sniffing! :O) now I notice, dear readers, that I have left the recipe at home!! then tomorrow for the recipe. my mum always got the cake much denser, almost black ... llike the plum pudding ... but sadly she is gone and taken the secret with her into the clouds. poka! katrin

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fruit must be soaked a month in advance. you can add to it.
for two small (8 inch) cakes i use 2 kg of mixed fruit.
this is left in a sealed container to soak in molasses, brandy, rum, brown sugar, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg and orange juice - with just a splash of balsamic vinegar. :O) fruit and nuts are candied orange and lime peel, dried dates, apricots, prunes, half walnuts, half almonds. this is my own taste, so you could simply use one type of nut and one type of dried fruit as you will. i have made the cake simply with dried dates and almonds as well.

the cake pans are lined in brown paper which keeps the cake from sticking or burning and also means you can store the cakes in this paper wrapping for the length of time until you eat them. the cake batter is topped with a round of brown paper before it goes into the oven.

I do not use a bain marie in the oven to bake the cakes, though i used to. Oven temperature is 120 degrees celcius convection oven. Cakes are baked for 2 hours - until the toothpick is clean.

Ingrediants for cake:
4 cups sifted flour with 2 tsp baking powder.
12 eggs, 400 gram sugar, 400 gram butter.
beat together butter and sugar, add eggs one at a time, add wet mixture to dry.
then fold in fruit mixture to cake batter.
split between your two cake tins.

you can make the entire batter into one cake. cooking time would then increase to 3 - 3,5 hours depending on your type of oven.

when cool, place in tin and seal with tape until christmas, or next christmas, or next christmas ...

merry christmas! :O) katrin

wintersalon09 in vienna

Chocolate by Warren Laine-Naida, Photographed by Anastasia Abramova. Salon by Sylvie Proidl. Vienna. Eat at Treszenewskis Buffet. Wear Dorothy Strange. Tear out your heart and cover it in marzipan. The coffee’s to die for and don’t forget to bring back some chocolate …

Ms Abramova is a dear friend of mine. Her big green Russian eyes have captured hundreds of delicious moments, not only in her present home of Vienna. Hoping to see a coffee table edition of her photos in stores soon? I've been trying to convince 'Nastya of that for some time now. The photos are as beautiful and alluring as the photographer.

her facebook album(s):
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2031541&id=210100598&ref=mf