The Tale of A Galette Des Rois Frangipane!

This is the time of year where the French bakeries are full of the amazingly delicious seasonal pastry Galette des Rois, which is made to celebrate the Epiphany holiday. Unlike last January I am not in France, which calls for new culinary challenges. I was a bit nervous for how the dough would turn out; It is a quite time consuming task and difficult to succed with, but in the end it turned out great and was approved by two Frenchmen.

First Flour, water and a bit of salt.

After a beating the dough is set and need to be cut with a cross and rest for 30 minutes in a cold place.

Then it is ready for its first round of folding.

First spread out the corners of the cross,

then a lot of butter is added

and then wrapped

until you have a little package.

Then it is time for the first and roll.

and then folding.

This is a process which is repeated several times with an half hour interval.
Here is the last roll.

And finger print to mark how many times it has been folded.

Then the dough is finally ready

and the frangipane filling is added.
Not to forget a little thing inside to determine who will be the king.

and it is closed of

and brushed with egg to make it golden.

and whoopti out of the oven. (a bit exploded in one side)

and ready to eat. Bon Appetit.

Speaking about New Years Resolutions.

This morning when I took an early walk through the almost empty streets of Berlin I noticed something new on one of my favorite walls and I wondered if it could be someones new years resolution written there in blue and yellow.
It made me think about my own new years resolutions. Not that I really have any, or remember if I had any for this year. If I did I am sure I did not fulfill them. Two years ago my resolution was to restart making my own humus, which I did. I like to keep things simple; stick to something that is manageable. The best resolution I ever had, was to give a compliment to someone else every day, because that was something that made both me and others happy.
For this year I have not had time to think about resolutions, but I have many hopes for the year to come. Many of which I shall not reveal right now, but one thing I can say is that first of all I hope that the last six months I will spend in London are gonna be great, exiting, busy and unforgettable.

The Last Of 2013!

On the last morning of the year the sky was orange, the day was sunny but cold. I took a last walk and drank a good cup of coffee in a newly discovered cafe. The sun remained throughout the day and before dusk the sky again turned orange.
It was a nice last day.
Happy New Year to you all, enjoy all the fireworks.

Sunny Return!

And the first day back in Berlin was sunny and cold, and we went for a walk and with the rest of the world to the supermarket.

Dyrehaven!

After all the heavy Christmas food, it is nice to go for a walk in the forest and get some much needed exercise.
This was a lovely day in Dyrehaven, foggy and sunny at the same time.

Christmas Days!

As usually - in my family - Christmas is centered around a well made table, and doing the Christmas days we stuff ourselves with things we don't really eat the rest of the year.
Some of my favorite seasonal food is risalamande with cherry sauce (this year I helped picked the cherries) and gode råd. I also enjoy the fact that this one time a year it is okay to eat potato chips with dinner.
We had a great and hyggelig Christmas I hope it was the same for you.

Sunday Sushi!

Before all the heavy Christmas eating it is nice with something light and fresh.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas.
Hope you are spending this evening somewhere nice.