Clockwise from top: Raspberries, Blueberries, Strawberries, Blackberries

The filling is a sweetened mascarpone cream, to which you add egg yolks and lemon juice.  It is then lightened with stiffly beaten egg whites.  I added a packet of vanilla sugar as well, as I adore vanilla.  (In Australia I'd substitute vanilla extract or the seeds of a vanilla pod).

Not being able to find graham crackers or McVitie's digestive biscuits here, I chose the similar-looking "Biscuit Fibre", which seemed to have a bit of heft to them.  (I've previously tried Butterkeks, Marie biscuits and Arrowroot biscuits for cheesecake bases, but those biscuits, with their white-flour smoothness, don't seem to absorb enough butter and give an unsatisfying, slightly soft result.)

With no food processor here, I substituted a cocktail muddler to crush the biscuits.  Phew, it was hard work!

As we didn't have a loose-bottomed tart tin, I used a 26cm springform tin, and made a flat base.  I think it would probably be a bit of a struggle trying to press the crumbly biscuit base up the sides of a fluted tin!

Then it's simply a matter of piling the cream onto the base, and spreading it out in a rough fashion.



My favourite part was arranging the berries over the base!  It felt very extravagant tumbling the berries with such gay abandon, hehe.

And here is the tart, sprung from its springform-ed captivity!

We left the redcurrants on the stem for some photos, and then pulled them off the stem to serve.


I cannot overemphasize how wonderful this tart is!  There was a lovely contrast between the tart and juicy berries, the soft and sweet cream, and the crunchy base.  It was kinda like a cross between soft-set cheesecake and berries & cream: a dessert of pure awesomeness.


We ate it straight away, although I think a little stint in the fridge would make it easier to slice.  Good luck waiting though!

So, on Friday, we took a little drive down to France.  To Strasbourg, to be precise - the once German, now French, capital of the Alsace; tourist magnet; and seat of the European Parliament.


With no particular plans, we parked on the outskirts of the Old Town and spent the day walking and seeing the sights.


We stopped for lunch at a touristy (yet delicious) little restaurant, where we enjoyed €5 colas (*ahem*), and hearty meals.

Veal Cordon Bleu

Entrecôte with Chanterelle Sauce

I'd initially thought I'd get a choucroute, but after the epic farmer's lunch, I just wasn't in the mood for more Sauerkraut and Schweinefleisch.  A perfectly cooked entrecôte steak, with a creamy chanterelle mushroom sauce, fit the bill nicely.

Although the meal was incredibly expensive, the food was delicious, portions were generous, and we got free sides.

Apart from the massive bowl of fries, there was a fresh green salad, and a surprisingly tasty, winey red cabbage.


La Cure Gourmande makes other treats as well, including chocolate and nougat, but y'all know I was only interested in one thing: the biscuits!  You're meant to grab them yourself, and glove and bags are provided.  I ended up spending about €20 on biscuits and a pretty tin.  The biscuits are priced at €32 a kilo, and I found it impossible to stop at just a few!  I was a bit peeved, though, when the lady at the register refused to put the biscuits in the tin I'd bought - oh well, it was quite busy!

I wonder if a shop like La Cure Gourmande would do well in Australia, or if the price point would simply be too high to attract enough customers to be profitable.  Hmmm... food for thought.

We did a little more walking around the city, and then it was time to head home.  Whilst I thought Strasbourg was gorgeous, I must admit I was more than a little relieved to leave such a touristy and busy city at the end of the day!


And once home, we brewed a pot of tea and got stuck into the biscuits.  I'm a sucker for pretty packaging!

And a pretty tin!  I plan to keep tea in it once I'm back in Melbourne.

I got a range of biscuits.  Clockwise from top left: Mendiants (butter biscuit with raisins, orange and nuts); Petit palet nature underneath; Mantecaos Chocolat, Fourré aux Framboises; Mantecaos Amandes; Navette au Chocolat and Navette aux Amandes.

I've yet to try them all, but the plain butter biscuits are my favourite.  All the biscuits have a lovely texture, and none are overly sweetened, which I appreciate.  I do have to say, however, that I find that all of the almond biscuits taste very strongly of almond essence - would definitely avoid those in future!  Apparently there are a couple of La Cure Gourmande stores in Paris, so I'll be able to pick up some more biscuits next week when I visit.

Krümmel Monster!!

...however, there's a decent sized restaurant on the left, and a small farm shop on the right.  The farm shop sells thing like fresh fruit and vegetables, different milks and cheeses, and, of course, meat and smallgoods!

Being located in a nondescript residential area, I didn't think that there'd be many customers, and assumed that the patrons would all be locals.  However, the restaurant was full, and looking at the licence plates of the line of cars parked down the street, I could see that people came from loads of different cities to eat at the farm - Mannheim, Ludwigshafen, Worms, Darmstadt and even Heidelberg!


You can either sit outside, under pretty yellow umbrellas, or inside, in the farmhouse.  We sat inside.  I should note, it was super-dark inside the restaurant, but our new compact camera (a Canon Powershot S95) seems to be doing really well in low light, without flash.  (We bought it at the start of this trip).  What do you guys think?

Beer - 0,5l - 1,80 €

When you order from the Schlachtfestkarte, you can get a free bowl of Metzelsuppe.  Metzelsuppe is very much an acquired taste - after the slaughter, they cook the various sausages (liver sausage, blood sausage etc.) in boiling water, and it is this water that forms the base of the soup.  They also slice open a few of the sausages to thicken the soup, and make some little noodle/dumplings to make it a little more substantial.

I actually loved it!  Although I must add that it was very rich, and I certainly couldn't eat it every day.  There are a few different farmers on the street, and the local residents all have their favourite farmer for Metzelsuppe.  The flavour of the soup also changes week to week depending on what the farmers have cooked.  When we tried it it was nice and spicy, but occasionally it can be bland.  Luck of the draw, I guess!

As for the meals, we all ordered Bratwurst or Wellfleisch.  Each came with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes.

Ein paar Bratwürste mit Sauerkraut, Kartoffelpüree oder Brot - 6,00 €

Bratwurst, sauerkraut and mashed potatoes.  Simple, yet perfect.  The sausages were quite strongly spiced, and had a nice texture to them.  Why don't sausages taste like this in Melbourne?!

I ordered the Wellfleisch - different cuts of boiled pork.

Wellfleisch gemischt mit Sauerkraut, Kartoffelpüree oder Brot - 6,00 €

The Wellfleisch comprised a few slices of boiled pork belly, and a piece of pork cheek.  I was advised to sprinkle salt and pepper on the side of the plate, and dip the meat into each before eating.  Fabulous.

Can you believe each massive plate of food only cost 6 euro?  You can also get a "seniors' portion" for 2 euro less.  Love it!

Another thing you can do at the farm is bring a big pot for them to fill with Metzelsuppe.  I've heard that some farms do this for free (it is, essentially, a waste product), but Kreuzhofbauer charges 1€ for each portion you want to take with you.  We took a pot home for dinner, (and also bought a loaf of Bauern Brot - Farmer's loaf) as we didn't want to have anything too filling after that massive lunch!

Farmer's bread - like a light rye

...or "A series of pictures of poisonous mushrooms".


Yesterday morning we took an invigorating walk through the Lorscher Wald (Lorsch Forest) to pick some mushrooms!  With our trusty steed Cora the Labrador, and Sandra's mushroom-expert uncle Reiner, we were on the lookout for Maronenpilze and Steinpilze. Unfortunately though, there didn't seem to be huge quantities of mushrooms growing, and we mainly found poisonous ones!  Even though the weather here has been cooler and wetter than usual, Reiner said it still must have been a bit early in the year.  But still, it was nice to take a walk in the beautiful forest, and I found it fascinating to see all the different types of mushrooms.  We may go again in a few weeks' time!

This should go without saying, but this post is not intended as a guide to wild mushrooms, but just some pictures of the ones we found.  There are quite a few poisonous species of mushrooms which happen to look just like edible ones to the inexperienced eye.  Don't go mushroom picking unless you have an experienced guide with you, and unless they are 100% super-duper sure, definitely do not eat any!

And here are some phrases that might help you out if you happen to be mushroom picking in Germany.

Kann man das essen? = Can you eat that?
Das ist giftig. = That's poisonous.
Das ist tödlich. = That's deadly.

Ok, let's go.  There were lots of different types, and Reiner didn't know the names of all of them, but you gotta admit, they look pretty cool!  Unless specified, these are all poisonous.

Knollenblätterpilz

Apparently, the stripy underside of the cap is an indicator that the mushroom is poisonous.  See the difference between the one above, and the one below, which is actually edible.

Maronenröhrling

Above we have Maronenröhrling, or chestnut mushrooms!  We found a grand total of four of these during our three hours in the woods.  (Wahey!)  However, it's important to remember that you can't just eat any mushroom with a non-stripy underside!  We only knew these were edible because Reiner recognised the species.



We saw loads of funky-looking Baumpilze (tree-mushrooms), which grow on the sides of trees or logs.

Baumpilze

Another type of Baumpilz.  I love how this looks like a giant pair of lips!  Apparently when these get dry, you can break them up and use them as kindling.


And below we have a Fliegenpilz.  These pretty red-and-white polka dot mushrooms are the type that adorn the covers of children's fairy tales, but they're actually hallucinogenic!  They're called Fliegenpilz (flying mushrooms) because they "make you fly" if you eat them.

Fliegenpilz

Another massive Baumpilz.  It looks kinda like a creature from the deep!

This one looks like a champignon, but I'm pretty sure it's poisonous.

This one is a Hexen-Röhrling, or "witch mushroom".  (Incidentally, "Hexen" is a word I already knew, from listening to the German cast recording of Wicked so many times.  Wicked: Die Hexen von Oz!)

Hexen-Röhrling

To the untrained eye, this one might look edible, with its non-stripy underside.  But - and the name is a dead giveaway - the witch mushroom is poisonous.

Another way you can tell is by slicing the stem crosswise.  If it turns blue on contact with the air, it's poisonous.  Und zum beispiel...

Kartoffelbowist

We did bring two of our chestnut mushrooms home, with the intention of eating them in scrambled eggs.  But you know what, even though they were the youngest edible mushrooms we found, they still weren't that fresh, so we thought it would be best to leave them.


Hopefully our next mushroom picking expedition (or trip to the market, haha), will yield more mushrooms!  A big danke schön to Reiner for a fun and informative morning!