My dear friend Su has come up with the fabulous idea to host a virtual tea party each month, indulging us with her wonderful photos of delicious food, beautiful china and great tea.
Honestly, if you’re given the choice between Armageddon or tea, you don’t say „what kind of tea?“
– Neil Gaiman
Which is why I’m serving you coffee today to go with my Italian hazelnut cake! 😉
Another no-flour recipe, even though I was able to buy a couple of pounds of flour in the weeks since our last virtual the party.
(Yay! Baking addiction saved! Although still no rye flour which drives me crazy since I need it for my sourdough starter that’s dying a silent death in my fridge.)
But I figured some people might still have trouble getting flour, or even if not then it’s always nice to have an alternative at the ready (in case you run out of flour and don’t want to ask your neighbor out of fear he or she might infect you).
I got this recipe from my late grandma and hers always tasted so much better than mine ever will. But it’s still nice and always reminds me of her, so I keep baking it.
The recipe is fairly simple and straightforward, all you need are:
- 300 gr ground hazelnuts
- 7-8 eggs
- 200 gr sugar
- icing sugar and lemon juice for the icing
To make the cake fluffy and spongy you have to separate the egg yolks from the whites, and whip the latter until stiff.
Mix the hazelnuts, egg yolks and sugar, and then gently add the stiffly beaten egg whites.
Bake for about an hour at 175 degrees Celsius.
Let cool before icing.
Et voilà – you have baked a delicious cake that will hold in the fridge for about a week (if it will take you as long to eat it, which I doubt 😉 ).
Apart from baking in the past weeks, I tried to develop new habits, like reading my Spanish newspaper subscription that appears once a month and that kept piling up on my desks without me reading it in the last – sigh – years. I do this now for half an hour after breakfast each day, and even though the news might be old, it’s still good for practicing my rusty Spanish.
By now the wearing, washing and disinfecting of my cotton face masks has become second-nature to me, but every time I go out to do the grocery shopping I still detect quite a lot of people not wearing them, even though it now has become mandatory to wear them at least in the shops and in public transports in Germany.
What’s also worrying is, that we have more an more demonstrations against the public restrictions, which I think it utter rubbish since Germany has lifted quite a lot of them recently and keeps lifting more with each week.
Still, people are sick of it – if not of the virus then of being told what to do – and reacting quite antiauthoritarian which is a normal, though dangerous, reflex.
By ignoring the 3 golden rules – keeping your distance, wearing a mask and washing your hands – these people risk to set a second wave of infections in motion, which would also result in stronger restrictions again.
But enough of me! How’s things with you?
Are you developing new habits? Healthy or unhealthy ones? 😉
Let me know about it in your comments!
Looks divine, Sarah!
I have shied away from hazelnuts because they seem to spoil so quickly here in Singapore (wondering if it is the heat & humidity). Do you have any tips for how to store them so they last longer?
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Thank you, Ju-Lyn! Mmh, I think the heat and the humidity might well be the problem when trying to keep hazelnuts fresh. I noticed that they get rancid quite fast in summer around here too, so I always make sure to use them up shortly after I bought them. Maybe putting them in the fridge would work?!
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You took such lovely photos of this cake Sarah. As I said on IG – it looks fantastic! And we have not been able to obtain flour for weeks despite numerous attempts. It appears for order on the supermarket websites but by the time our order has been picked it has always sold out 😦
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Thanks so much! 🙏💕 Oh no! Still no flour? That’s bad. 😦 I would send you a parcel but we talked about that already yesterday. 😉 Also the shipping cost would not justify it. 😂
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Apparently there is plenty flour in the country but no capacity for packaging in retail size bags. Two of our supermarket chains have now started bagging up the flour themselves as they buy bulk fir their instore bakeries. Fingers crossed for next delivery!😍
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That cake looks very, very, very good!
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Thank you, Liz! Would you like some coffee with yours? Or do you prefer tea?
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I think hazelnut goes best with tea. I’ll take tea, please. Strong and black.
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Tea it is! 😄
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Thank you very much!
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What fun! And everything looks so very good!
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Your cake looks utterly divine, especially on its lovely plate. I think it’s wonderful that you have a recipe passed down by your grandmother.
I’ve barely left the house even with the new “freedoms” but I guess I will have to face the world again sometime. I heard that yesterday the malls were full to bursting with all the New Zealanders who, now that they are full of take away food, absolutely need to go to the mall. I really do suspect I am from another planet. Sigh.
Thank goodness for good friends and good cake.
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Humph! All these people who can bake! I look at the recipe and think, well that looks simple enough… But I can still hear the voice of my cookery teacher expressing disbelief at my efforts. I haven’t really tried since. 😦 A small slice would be so nice, Sarah 🙂 🙂
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Doesn’t it look delicious. You’ve reminded me that the cookery teacher at my school was quite vocal in her denouncement of my culinary abilities. I seem to remember being sent to the headmaster because I’d been “cheeky” about her (pretty horrible) comments. Perhaps the rest of my life has been a bit of an “up yours” to Mrs Whateverhernamewas.
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Mrs. Starched Pinny 🙂 🙂
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You are so much more polite than I am!
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I wasn’t good at sewing either, and I never could get the seams right on the boring old apron we had to make 🙂 🙂
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That makes two of us. Yet, once I left school I started making clothes and got quite good at it. These days I confine my sewing to cushion covers and tote bags, but the basic skills are there. I wonder if it was just the classroom environment? I hated school.
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I was more academic than handy, and don’t even go there with maths and sciences! However did I make it out into the world? 🙂 🙂
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That reminds me a bit of the film ‘Toast’ with Helena Bonham Carter! 😀
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I haven’t seen the film, but I’ve read the book. I love Nigel Slater’s writing — and his recipes and devoured the book in one sitting.
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It’s the other way round for me – I still have to read his book! 😀
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I found it when we were staying with friends and had to stay up all night to read it because we were leaving g the next day. I really should buy a copy; I think it’s one of those books I could re-read again and again.
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Of course, Jo! And would you like some coffe or do you prefer tea?
Oh no, I really hate when that happens – teachers who discourage their students with stupid remarks. It can have such a long lasting negative effect. I was told I couldn’t sing and still have trouble singing when other people are around. Even though I’ve been told it’s not bad at all. 😂
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Coffee, please. Never drink tea 🤗💕
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Coffee it is! 😄💕
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The cake looks wonderful, Sarah, and the perfect compliment for coffee (or tea). I’ll bring lattes!
I worry about the pandemic here too and the way people are ignoring restrictions. Our infections are still on the increase and people don’t seem to care. It’s rather rude if you ask me. 😦 Be safe as you enjoy your new freedoms, Sarah. ❤
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Thank you, Diana! Oh, lattes would be perfect for this too!! 😀
Yes, I can only agree, it’s totally rude behaviour. 😦
Be safe too! And have a lovely weekend! ❤
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It looks absolutely delicious, Sarah, and on your mother’s hand-crafted plate, it is a work of art. I might be tempted to have my piece with plain yogurt. I’m a bit of fan of yogurt with anything that is sweet. A coffee too, please. Hazelnut and coffee go so well together. You obviously found eggs? 🙂
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Thank you so much, Tracy! Yes, finally I found some eggs!! 😀 And you’re welcome to have your slice with yogurt, I always have some in the fridge since I love it too. 🙂 ❤
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❤
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Mmm-mm, hazelnuts. This looks delicious, Sarah. I hope there is a slice left! I hear you about masks. Several stores have said both employees and guests are required to wear masks. Nope. People breeze right into the store without one. Do not even get me started on the demonstrations. Is it really absolutely killing them to not be able to go to the beach/bar/restaurant? Aggravating…. Anyway, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s eat!! 😀
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Thanks so much, Lois! Of course there’s a slice left, please have a seat! 😍
How awful that it’s the same for you with the masks – stupid people rule the world! 😦
It seems like it’s killing them not to be able to go to the beach/bar/restaurant, much more than a virus that is invisible and therefore non-existent in their minds.
But yes, let’s stop talking about that, there’s more important things – want a second slice? 😉
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What a lovely cake. Have you tried it with chocolate sauce? I’ve got into long walks and feel like I’ve missed out if I don’t go. I used to get magazines and never read them so they would pile up. Then I had to get rid of them which was also painful.
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Thank you! No, I haven’t yet but.chocolate sauce is always good so I imagine I’ll try it next time. 😉
Long walks are a really good new habit!!
I’m now through two of the newspapers – only a hundred or so more to go! 😂
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Looks yummy!
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Thanks so much! 😀
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Hmmmm….I’m not calling anything a habit because that would mean I consider it normal…so there you have it…
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Ha! 😀
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First, the cake looks and sounds delicious! How meaningful that it is your late grandmother’s recipe. What a wonderful way to keep her meomory alive. These tea parties make me want to buy a little oven and start baking! Especially this recipe–it sounds so easy! And I do love hazelnuts. 😀 As for the second wave… it definitely can happen. After finally reducing confirmed cases to single digits (and almost all of them imported cases from overseas) and daring to hope the end was near, one Covid positive person went to a club over the holiday. The spike in cases and aftermath of that outbreak has been dominating the news over the past week. It feels never ending.
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Oh also! Spanish as well! The question should be, which language do you NOT speak!? 😀
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Korean!!😂 (And quite a lot of others neither. 😉)
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Haha fair enough. 😁
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Thank you so much! 🙏💕 It’s so nice to bake for you all and not just myself, these tea parties I look forward to for weeks! 😄 I hope you’ll soon be able to bake this cake yourself, it’s really as simple as it sounds. 😀
I’ve heard about that new outbreak in Korea on the news, so awful after what has been achieved already. 😦
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I enjoyed my slice of virtual cake Sarah. I haven’t developed and more bad habits. Sorry I missed out on the tea party, just a bit busy. Next time for sure I’ll find something delish to contribute
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So glad you enjoyed your cake, Brian! 😀 No worries, I look forward to next time then! 😄 Happy weekend!
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Happy weekend indeed Sarah 🙂
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I love that baking this cake reminds you of your grandmother, Sarah. German Chocolate Cake reminds me of my Mamaw. 🙂 Thanks for sharing the recipe…it looks yummy! As for people not following the rules…sadly, those idiots will always be around. Have a great day!
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You’re very welcome, Jill! Hope you’ll maybe find some time and try it out? 😉 Recipes and cakes are a wonderful reminder I think. I also have a few recipes from my grandpa who loved to cook. ☺
Wishing you a lovely day too! ❤
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❤
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Ummmm, what time are you serving this????? It looks delish.
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How about now?! 😄 Thank you, Chris – wish I could beam a slice up to you!
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Me too!
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