Jelly roll

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After my 2 ambitious and failed experiments, I decided to make something simple. And this is probably that last of my summer berry-licous posts! This time it is blackberries that I used. As usual, it can be replaced with any berry, even a frozen one. In fact, any kind of fruit preserve goes great here as well. A Jelly roll, also known as a 'Swiss Roll' or just a Roulade. Even though it is called a Swiss Roll, it isn't really a cake that originated in Switzerland - just happens to be one of those things where adding the word 'Swiss' would imply quality, precision and elegance. Not sure why we need them for a recipe as simple and quick as this!

Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees. Prepare the cake tin by lining it with aluminium foil and grease it with oil/butter/cooking spray. Use a larger than usual cake tin for this recipe. I used a cookie sheet because this cake needs to be thin and long.


Here is how I made it. You need
3 eggs
1/3 cup water
3/4 cups flour
powdered sugar
1 cup blackberries.
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar + 2 tablespoon for making the jelly (As usual, you may want to increase the sugar to 3/4 cup. I don't like it to be overly sweet.)
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar (Or vanilla extract if you have)
1 teaspoon baking powder

Sift the flour, salt and baking powder. Take a large bowl and begin adding the ingredients. First crack the eggs, and beat them so they are light and airy. Add in the sugar and continue beating. Now add the water and vanilla. Now slowly add in the sifted flour, salt and baking powder. Continue beating. Once it is all mixed in, pour it into your prepared cake tin. Bake for about 15 minutes. Once done, take it out of the oven. While still hot, take the cake out of the tin, and roll it up. I used a kitchen towel to hold the cake as I couldn't handle the hot cake. Once rolled, allow it cool for about 10 mins.
Prepare your jelly filling. Wash the blackberries, and add in the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Use a muddler to crush the blackberries until they are reach a slight jelly consistency and are spreadable.
Unroll the cake, spread your jelly evenly, and roll the cake again. Sprinkle some powdered sugar, and enjoy!

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Birchermüesli

Nothing can be as quintessential a swiss breakfast as a bowl of hearty Birchermüesli or simply Muesli. And those not all too familiar with the 'guttural CH' or the "gargled R" sounds of German, here is a bit of pronunciation course. Bir-kher-Mew-slee. And trust me, if you are not German, or Swiss German, you will NOT be able to pronounce it the way people here do. I was once told by a Swiss friend, that I should gargle and practice if I want to perfect it. Needless to say, I gave up right there!
For all you followers of the Quick Quaker Oats(or whatever it's called), this is my humble request to you. Just try this one out for once. It is almost as easy as getting stuff straight out of a box - just that you may need to open too many boxes :). And you need to pre-plan a bit.
This recipe was originally created by the physician Bircher-Benner, but has been now adapted to suit different tastes and lifestyles.



The kind that I made is just one variation. The traditional one uses apples - you could use whatever fruits you like or are in season. Also the choice of nuts is upto you. The important thing is to soak the oats the night before - or at least a couple of hours before serving. So here is how I made it.
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1/2 cup yoghurt
- Some chopped and/or flaked almonds
- handful of raisins
- 1 cup blackberries
Soak the oats in juice and yoghurt and refrigerate it overnight.
Before serving, add in a few blackberries per serving in a bowl and crush them. Mix it with the oats-yoghurt mixture until you get the colour you like. Now add in the nuts, raisins, and more blackberries if you like.
There you have a healthy, nutritious and easy breakfast.

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Muesli Bar

Oh the pressure of a new post on a new blog! I want to impress you all, follow the blog, give me comments(only good comments allowed ;-) .. ) spread it, quote it, appreciate it....yeah right! There goes my greedy self hungry again!
Let me just start with what is almost my weekly ritual. Nah not quite, I get bored too easily. But I do make it quite often. Mainly coz its easy, and better still, healthy. We here in Switzerland (no, I am not the "extremely smart, handsome, clever and bright person, who is just a little bit too perfect to be real" - also known as 'Swiss'. Dont believe me? Check the Urban Dictionary). Ok so the Swiss call it Muesli Bar. Maybe the Germans call it the same too. (wonder who's the copy cat?). So heres how I make it
2 cups rolled oats - I use the steel cut variety
1/3 cup each wheatgerm, pumpkin seeds/sunflower seeds, sesame seeds
some chopped dried fruit - dried apricot, figs, cranberries. Sometimes I use dates, but they are too sweet for my liking - at least in a muesli bar. All of this chopped to be about a cup and a half.
1/2 cup peanut butter. I have been meaning to make it at home, with good quality Extra virgin olive oil, but havent done it yet. Somehow I am never so sure about the oil used in peanut butter at the supermarkets. Anyways..
1/3 cup brown sugar. And if gets a little dry, (coz I havent measured the stuff properly), about 2 tablespoons honey.
The butter, sugar is melted in a heavy bottom pan. The dry ingredients mixed up. Then its time to get the hands dirty. Mix the butter and sugar gooey paste to the dry stuff, and lay it on the baking tin. You'd have to press it, coz the stuff is quite sticky and gooey. Bake it at 150 for 35-40 mins. Cool it, cut it, pack it, and snack on it. Share