Pascal Caffet - cake and chocolate shop in Troyes

While in Troyes we bought some chocolates from (apparently) one of the best dessert chefs in France, Pascal Caffet.

We tried only the chocolate, not the cakes but we were NOT impressed.

Trip to Donaueschingen, Germany

The only thing you can see here is the Danube source.

Potato stew with pork - recipe with step-by-step photos

Ingredients:

• 1 kg of potatoes
• 500 milliliters of (homemade) tomato juice 
• 500 grams of pork meat
• 200 milliliters of water
• 2 onions
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 spoons with sunflower oil
• 1 bell pepper
• a bit of paprika
• a bit of salt
• a bit of pepper
• a bit of bacon
• some parsley leaves

Cut the meat in small round portions.

Heat the sunflower oil and add the meat and the chopped bacon. Cover the pot and let it cook for 10 minutes. If the pork is not so tender, it will need more time to cook.

Uncover the pot and let the meat fry until it gets a bit yellow-brown on sides. Take out the meat and add the chopped onions and garlic. Let them fry for a few minutes until yellow.

 Add the chopped bell pepper and let it cook for a minute or two.

Add back the meat, the cleaned chopped potatoes, the salt, the pepper, the paprika and the water. Cover the pot and let them cook for 30 minutes at slow fire.

Add the homemade tomato juice and let it cook for another 20 minutes.

When everything is ready, add the chopped parsley and put the pot aside for a few minutes.

It can be served with pickles, homemade or not :)

Enjoy!

A quick snack In Szeghed, Hungary

We entered just because a lot of locals did and we thought it´s something good, but it wasn´t. The bakery is called  Lipóti Pékség .

The sandwich was OK, but the cake seemed to be industrially made, not homemade.

Hotel review - Windham Garden****, Donaueshingen, Germany

The room was small and the furniture was rather old. In the room was warm .

The breakfast was a disaster. The eggs were not real eggs, but some substitute used these days. The other things were salty and of poor quality, more adequate for a hostel than a 4-star they pretend to be.

The only thing you could eat was bread with butter and jam.

Eating out - Hotel Autentic Adler, Rasun di Sotto, South Tyrol, Italy

The food was a bit salty for our taste, but overall it was a discovery.

It´s nothing like the food you tried so far in Italy, because it´s with strong Austrian influences. The menu of the half-board basus was different every night of the week.

Hotel review- Alphotel, Innsbruck, Austria

The room was small, but for a one night stay we did not suffer.

A bit cold in the room, especially considering it was winter.

Free parking places, free wi-fi and good breakfast.

Trip to Monguelfo-Tesido, South Tyrol, Italy

Well, this is a decisive NO GO.

The Kronplatz, Italy

The largest ski area in the Dolomites.

Around Christmas / New Year's period, there is almost exclusively only artificial snow. However, the area is packed with snow blowers, so no reason to worry for skiers.

Homemade mint icecream - recipe with step-by-step photos

Ingredients:

• 250 milliliters of milk
• 130 milliliters of fresh cream
• 100 grams of sugar
• 100 mint leaves
• 2 egg yolks

Clean and boil the leaves for a minute.

Wash them in cold water for half of a minute.

Blend the leaves together with the fresh cream.

In a separate bowl beat the egg yolks with the sugar until they double the volume.

Add the milk and the strained mint/fresh cream composition and mix until well incorporated.

Put the ice cream in the freezer over night.

Enjoy!

Trip to Lago di Anterselva , South Tyrol, Italy

A frozen lake just at the border with Austria.

The area seems to be a paradise for cross-country skiing.

Trip to Sand in Taufers, South Tyrol, Italy

It's the largest village in the area, with a castle and a waterfall, Cascate di Riva, as well as a rather large aquatic centre.

Caramel peach cake - recipe with step-by-step photos

Ingredients for the dough:

• 100 grams of sugar
• 50 grams of crushed walnuts 
• 40 grams of flour
• 4 eggs
• 3 spoons with cocoa powder
• a bit of salt

Ingredients for the caramel:

• 200 grams of sugar
• 50 grams of salted butter
• 4 spoons with fresh cream
• 2 spoons with cold water

 Ingredients for the caramel filling:

• 200 milliliters of milk
• 200 grams of fresh cream
• 60 grams of sugar
• 3 egg yolks 
• 3 grams of gelatin sheets
• 1 spoon with flour 

Ingredients for the peach filling:

• 250 grams of canned peaches
• 200 grams of fresh cream
• 4 grams of gelatin sheets
• 1 spoon with sugar

Ingredients for the peach layer:

• 200 grams of canned peaches
• 4 grams of gelatin sheets

Ingredients for decoration:

• 150 grams of fresh cream
• 30 grams of crushed walnuts
• 2 spoons with sugar
• half of a canned peach

Prepare the dough:

Beat the eggs with the sugar for 10 minutes.

Separately mix the cocoa powder with the crushed walnuts, the flour and the salt, then add this mixture over the beaten eggs. Mix slowly.

Put the composition in a round oven pan (20x20) at 180 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes or until ready.

Let it cool! Divide the dough it in 2 layers.

Prepare the caramel:

Mix the sugar with the water and leave it at slow fire to caramelize.

When golden brown and while still on fire, add the butter and incorporate. Add the beaten fresh cream and incorporate.

Only now remove from fire and let it cool.

Prepare the caramel filling:

Beat the egg yolks with the sugar for 3-4 minutes or until they double the volume.

Add the flour and mix slowly.

Warm the milk.

Slowly incorporate the beaten egg yolks into the milk.

Put it at slow fire and mix from time to time until thick like a pudding. Let it cool! Hydrate the gelatin sheets. While still warm add the gelatin sheets.

When cooled add the caramel in the egg yolks/ milk filling and mix until well incorporated.

Beat the fresh cream and incorporate it in the filling.

Prepare the peach filling:

Let the syrup drain from canned peaches.

Put the gelatin sheets in cold water. Mash the peaches and put them on fire for a few moments. Remove from fire and add the gelatin sheets while the composition is still warm and mix.

Beat the fresh cream with the sugar. Mix it with the mashed peaches.

Prepare the peach layer:

Let the syrup drain from canned peaches.

Mash the peaches and heat them up. Hydrate the gelatin sheets and mix them in the peach composition.

Spread the mixture on a plastic sheet on a plate and keep it in the fridge until thickens.


Assembling the cake:

On a plate, in a round dettachable circle, add one layer of dough, then the peach filling, then the peach layer. Above the peach layer add the caramel filling and on top add the second layer of dough.

Cover the cake with the cream (beat the fresh cream with the sugar) and some walnuts. You can make a rose from half of a peach to look nicer ;).

Enjoy!