Danish for morning coffee

Today I had my brother inlaw come over and help me install a water heater to replace my old leaky one. I thought to myself what could I do for a snack to go with the Latte's I was going to make ? I remembered that I had some raw unbaked danish in the freezer which I had made the week before and only baked half of them. I took them from the freezer and put them in the fridge.

First thing in the morning I took them out , layed them on a sheet pan to rise and put a steaming mug of hot water on the pan and a layer of plastic on top of that. After a couple of hours they were ready to bake. I topped them with some different flavored jams that I had in the fridge and baked them for about 15 minutes. I glazed them with a simple water and powdered sugar glaze and that was it!

Oh yea! it's that easy. At least I think it's easy. As long as you do a little thinking ahead, you can save yourself a lot of steps.

Let me know any tips or trick that you use for last minute treats or pastries!

Mike the Bakerman

simple pastry for afternoon coffee break

I visited my parents today and being the old fashioned German folks that they are she almost panicked when she realized she did not have anything to go with afternoon coffee. Now normally she would be prepared but she has had to deal with cancer and Chemo therapy lately so she has not had the energy to do all she used too.

Being the good baker son that I am =) I asked what she had in the freezer. We found some puff pastry dough and some frozen blueberries. I decided to make a blueberry Strudel, here is what I did.

I did a quick thaw of the pastry dough and layed it out. I brushed the edges with some egg. Then I took the blueberries and tossed them in some sugar and cornstarch ( which I didn't measure ) and placed them in the middle of the puff pastry dough and folded one side over to the other side and pinched the dough down to seal the edges. With a good sharp paring knife I cut slits along the top and brushed the top with egg and sprinkled it with sugar. Bake it in a 390*F oven for about 30 minutes.
Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream and wow.

Mom and Dad were very happy to have such a delicious pastry for afternoon coffee.

My favorite coffee cake recipe

My Dad called this "Schlupfkuchen" I think it means "slipcake" or "slidecake", because the fruit that is put on top of it slips or slides into the batter as it bakes.

It's a very simple recipe , great for that last minute dessert (ok so it takes about 45 minutes to bake).

8 oz softened butter
8 oz sugar
8 oz all purpose flour
3 eggs
1/2 tsp baking powder
optional vanilla

blend in your mixer for about two minutes on a medium speed with the paddle attachment
pour into a 10" cake pan spread an even amount of fresh or frozen fruit on the top, just enough so that every bite has fruit in it.
place in a preheated 350*F oven and bake for approxamately 45 minutes.
check it at the 30 min mark to be safe.
it is done when the center of the cake feels ready.
turn the cake out onto a flat plate and flip back over so the berries are up.
Sprinkle with sugar or powdered sugar and there you go.

hope you enjoy this recipe

dat waskewy wabbit

Here is a picture of my brother and I at Easter time making little sweet dough bunny rabbits. Circa 1977 or 78? not sure exactly. I still make these once in a while. They are actually quite fun to make and while they don't look like any easter bunny you have ever seen they are really cute.

I will be making some this Easter and will post a picture and an easy recipe to use.

Mike the bakerboy

Keepin it real!

I've been a baker all my life... I know what your thinking "how can he have been a baker all of his life?". Well, I grew up in my Dad's bakery in Ferndale, WA. On my Mom's side there are bakers back at least 4 generations that I know of starting with my maternal grandfather. I really started when I was 6 (that's when my Dad bought the Bakery in Ferndale. I swept floors, cleaned dishes, made streusel and whatever else my Dad could think of for me to do. Of course I had to stand on a bucket to reach the work bench at that point.

My Dad being a baker from Germany with a Masters degree in Baking taught me all he knew about baking. Eventually I wanted to learn more and so much of what I know is either self taught or I learned from correspondence courses that I have taken. I went on to take over the bakery. I wish I still had it now but it was long hours and hard work so that part I don't miss.

I now work for a bakery supply company but I still love to get my hands into the flour and make bread at home, or make my kid's birthday cakes, or make desserts for family gatherings.

I find that a lot of baking books and recipes make things more complicated than necessary so that is why i am writing this blog. To take the mystery out of how baking works and give some hints and trick to making things just a little easier.

Let me know what you think!