My love affair with Austrian desserts

If I asked you to picture delicious European desserts in your mind, most of you would probably start imagining some sort of mouthwatering French concoction: macaroons, crepes, Creme Brulee, etc.

However, there is a country in Europe that often gets overlooked when it comes to dessert, but is right up there in terms of decadence and deliciousness: Austria.

This is the country that gave us the the Sacher Torte, the Linzer Torte, strudel, and a whole host of other delicious pastries.

While I was in Austria, I devoured two very popular desserts: the Sacher Torte and Salzburger Nockerl.

Now I'm sure most of you have heard of Sacher Torte. It's the chocolate cake made famous by the Hotel Sacher in Vienna and whose recipe is a closely guarded secret. Many people have tried to imitate the Sacher Torte, but if you want the real thing, you must go to the Hotel Sacher in Vienna or Salzburg.

Well it just so happens that I was in Salzburg on my most recent trip to Europe and as you can see, an authentic slice of Sacher Torte was a necessary diversion in our sight-seeing schedule.

Now, as a rule, Austrian desserts are not as sweet as American desserts so when you look at the decadence of the Sacher Torte, just know that your taste buds are not going to be overwhelmed by sweetness. A Sacher Torte is a bittersweet chocolate cake with a thin layer of apricot jam in the middle. It is traditionally served with a generous dollop of unsweetened whipped cream on the side, some say to counter-balance the somewhat dry nature of the cake.

Now I am not a huge fan of chocolate, but even I will go out of my way to sit down and have a piece of this cake when I am in Vienna or Salzburg. Just make sure if you're ever in one of these two places that you have the ORIGINAL Sacher Torte and not an imitation.

Even Ninjas like Sacher Torte...

...And can make it quickly disappear

 The second dessert I inhaled while in Austria is not as well known as Sacher Torte, and is much more simple, but it is equally delicious: Salzburger Nockerl.

What is Salzburger Nockerl you ask? Well basically, it is a giant meringue that is cooked in the oven with a layer of fresh raspberries or fruit preserves like lingonberry jam. The Salzburger Nockerl my husband and I had at the Goldene Ente restaurant had fresh raspberries on the bottom. At first, Americans might balk at such a dessert because the sugar content is very minimal. In fact, as someone who often prefers salty foods to sweet, I kind of thought that the Nockerl needed a bit more sugar.

But as I think back on it, I think that more sugar would have perhaps masked some of the other exciting sensations happening inside my mouth while eating this dessert. The outside was crispy and golden brown and the inside was like eating a cloud. Then you have the tartness of the berries to add another layered dimension to the dish. Even though I kind of balked at the dessert while I was eating it, proclaiming the need for more sweetness, now that I look back on it, I can still feel the divine experience of  letting that light, fluffy meringue melt in my mouth and now I want to go in my kitchen and start whisking some egg whites.

To try your hand at making these desserts yourself, here are a couple recipes to give it a go:

Salzburger Nockerl: Epicurious
Sacher Torte: Wolfgang Puck

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Almond Buttercream

I have a confession to make: I'm a terrible baker. So I faux bake. I took a box of (gasp!) Duncan Hines red velvet cake mix and then I made my own buttercream. The results were pretty darn good.

Almond buttercream frosting
1 cup butter, room temperature
3 cups confectioner's sugar
1 tsp almond extract

Combine ingredients in stand mixer (or a large bowl with a hand mixer) until smooth. Frost cupcakes once cooled. Add toasted almonds to top.

Easy Peasy!

Of Fire, Ice, and Olive Oil

Two summers ago my husband and I visited New York City where we dined at Otto, one of Mario Batali's many restaurants. While just a mere pizzeria, a year and a half later I'm still talking about what an amazing meal we had at this restaurant. One of the reasons for my love of all things Batali was that it was there I tried olive oil gelato for the first time. When first met with the phrase "olive oil gelato" our first instinct is to recoil in disgust at the very thought of an ice cream tasting like olive oil. I am here, however, to tell you that it is one of the most wonderful surprises your mouth will ever experience.

Last year for my birthday my husband bought me an ice cream maker so I could try relive our dessert experience at Otto. While certainly not as perfect as our olive oil gelato initiation we experienced in New York City, I have managed to amaze and astound many of my friends and family who initially believed that olive oil ice cream would taste repulsive.

This weekend my husband and I attended a birthday party of one of those friends who first thought she would hate olive oil ice cream and is now telling everyone she knows just how amazing it truly is. So I decided that her birthday present should be a vat of olive oil ice cream.

After I made the custard, I realized that I had a little bit too much for the freezing canister so I decided to try a little experiment. If olive oil flavor is good as a dessert, how would it taste a creme brulee?

So I dusted off the ramekins in my cupboard, prepared a water bath, and cooked the custard for an hour on 300 degrees. After chilling the the refrigerator over night, I busted out the torch and helped myself to one of these bad boys for lunch this afternoon.

Even though the custard didn't completely set, I have to say that the subtle olive oil flavor was almost more enjoyable than a traditional vanilla creme brulee. And of course, who can resist that very first crack into the hard, caramelized exterior?



I definitely will be making this dessert again.


The end.