Sweets for your Christmas Platter
What would the Advent season be without cookies, Christmas sweets and delicious desserts – especially if you prepare and enjoy them together with dear people. As the chefs of our partner hotels gave us some insights into their Christmas preparations, we can now present you some recipes from their kitchens to sweeten your Advent season.
Spitzbuben from the Berghotel Rehlegg
At Berghotel Rehlegg, classic Christmas cookies characterize the festive period. The hotel in the Bavarian Alps prepares Spitzbuben for its guests to enjoy the familiar taste of the popular Christmas specialty.
Ingredients:
300 g flour
200 g ground hazelnuts
250 g sugar
3 eggs
250 g butter
2 tbsp. vanilla sugar
the zest of one orange
redcurrant jam
Preparation:
1. Mix all ingredients – except of the jam – and quickly work them into a dough. Wrap it in foil and put it into the refrigerator for one hour.
2. In several portions, roll out the dough to a thickness of 2 mm between two sheets of baking paper and cut out round cookies, one half with and one half without a hole. Put the cookies on a baking tray covered with baking paper and bake them in the preheated oven on the lower rail at a temperature of 160 °C for 10–12 minutes until they have a golden brown color. Take them out and leave to cool on a cooling rack.
3. Spread jam on the cookies without holes and place the cookies with holes on top. Lightly dust with icing sugar and store in a jar between parchment paper.
Cardamom-Orange-Muffins from the Schwarzwald Panorama
At Schwarzwald Panorama in Bad Herrenalb, the scent of oranges and valuable spices fills the air during this time – due to these delicious Cardamom-Orange-Muffins:
Ingredients:
100 g dark chocolate couverture
200 g flour
1 package of pudding powder
3 tbsp. baking powder
150 g sugar
1 packet of vanilla sugar
200 g butter
3 eggs
100 ml milk
the zest of one orange
1 tbsp. cardamom
Preparation:
1. Roughly chop the couverture.
2. Mix pudding powder, baking powder and flour.
3. Add the other ingredients into the mixture (except of the couverture) and beat with a hand mixer or electric mixer until the dough takes on a smooth consistency.
4. Work approx. 2/3 of the couverture into the dough.
5. Put the dough into muffin cups and glaze with the remaining couverture.
6. Bake at a temperature of 160–180 °C for about 25 min.
Chocolate variation from the Wellnesshotel Seeschlößchen
At Wellnesshotel Seeschlößchen, guests are indulged with this delicious chocolate dessert. Its three components are served together at the hotel in the heart of the Lausitzer Seenplatte, but they also taste great individually.
White chocolate ice cream – small chocolate variation
Ingredients for 4 people:
100 ml cream 33 %
100 ml milk 3,8 %
10 g glucose (sugar)
18 g sugar
2 egg yolks
88 g white couverture
0,5 piece gelatin leaves or 0,6 g agar
14 ml white rum
Preparation:
1. Bring milk, cream and glucose to the boil. Mix sugar and egg yolk until it takes on a smooth consistency. Roughly chop the couverture. Heat the white rum in a pot. Soften the gelatin in cold water.
2. Put the hot milk and cream mixture onto the cold sugar and egg yolk mixture and stir until both components are combined.
3. Directly afterwards, put the couverture rasps into the mixture and allow to melt. Dissolve the softened, wrung out gelatin in the hot rum. Put the mixture into a metal bowl on ice and add the rum. Stir the mixture and the rum until it has cooled.
4. Put the mixture into an ice cream machine and churn until it takes on a creamy consistency or put it into the freezer and stir repeatedly until it takes on the desired texture.
Chocolate cakes – small chocolate varation
Ingredients for 4 people:
100 g dark couverture
75 g unsalted butter
44 g sugar
4 eggs
24 g flour
Preparation:
1. Chop the couverture. Melt the butter together with the couverture. Beat the eggs and the sugar until its volume has doubled.
2. Put both mixtures together, add the flower through a sieve and stir. Cool the mixture for 24 hours.
3. Grease small porcelain molds and sugar them. Fill 2/3 of every mold with the cooled mixture and bake it in the preheated oven at a temperature of 180 °C for 6–8 minutes according to the size of the molds.
Milk chocolate mousse – small chocolate variation
Ingredients for 4 people:
75 g Jivara Lactée couverture
100 ml milk
40 g sugar
75 ml cream
2 leaves of gelatin
Preparation:
1. Soften the gelatin in cold water. Chop the couverture. Beat the cream till almost stiff and put into the fridge.
2. Bring milk and sugar to the boil. Melt the chopped couverture in the milk. Add the softened and wrung out gelatin to the warm mixture and stir.
3. Put the mixture into the fridge and wait until it has set. Carefully add the cream to the mixture and put into the fridge to cool for at least 4 hours. If the portion is bigger, the cooling time has to be prolonged accordingly.
