Flamiche with Leeks and Brie + Easter Brunch

When you're reading this, I'll be packing for my patisserie trip to Paris! I'm so excited already. Of course I will document the trip carefully! Another French recipe today, to get in the mood. I've been so busy with uni lately that I haven't gotten around to posting about Easter Brunch yet! We had brunch on Easter Monday, as my mom had to work on Sunday. This was only more convenient for me because it meant I had plenty of time to plan ahead and make this bake-a-palooza a success. I made the currant buns ahead and froze them on friday, then on the sunday I made the fougasses, the brioche dough and the shortcrust pastry for the flamiche of which I will share the recipe in this post. I got up at 9 on monday and baked everything left on the list. After all that I sure was hungry! 

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Orange-Above-All (Oranje Boven) Pie

Today is King's Day in the Netherlands! Last year queen Beatrix abdicated and her son Willem-Alexander took the throne, thus changing up the date on which we celebrate our monarch's birthday. The king's actual birthday is on the 27th but since that's on a Sunday this year, the celebrations were moved up a day. The traditions on King's Day (I still think it's weird saying that instead of Queen's Day) are manyfold, but the bottom line of it is that a bunch of Dutchies dress up in (preferably bright) orange and sell their stuff on the street or alternatively, roam the streets for bargains. As none of my friends were available today, I stayed in and baked myself a lovely orange pie! Oranje boven! ((Oh I guess I should explain that..Oranje boven translates to "Orange above all" with Orange referring to the House of Orange, which is our Royal Family's house. ))

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Dutch Currant Buns (Krentenbollen)

While pretty much the rest of the world was baking Hot Cross Buns today, I applied myself to the task of baking currant buns. They're not really that unlike Hot Cross Buns, just a wee less fancy - how Dutch. Although we do like our enriched breads when Easter comes around, I'm going to confirm a prejudice here and say that the Dutch are frugal. I'm Dutch so I'm allowed to! We religiously pack lunches for school and work, much to the desperation of foreigners, in particular foreign students. While packs of Germans and Spaniards are scouring university grounds looking for a decent (hot) meal in their lunch break, you'll see Dutchies munching on the sandwiches they threw together the evening before. Stale bread with cheese. Yum. At least you'll have that one addition to your lunchbox that still feels and tastes fresh, and that has survived the cold claws of the refridgerator: a currant bun (krentenbol) with butter. 

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Easy Lemon Loaf

Sometimes you just don't want too spend too much time on baking. Sure, a complex recipe is a lot of fun for enthusiastic bakers like me, but it certainly doesn't fit with everyone's time schedule. When you're a student for example, you'll spend your time on writing a thesis, reading, more reading and, unlike me, going out. In busy times, an easy recipe can really be a blessing, especially when it tastes as good as this one. This is perfect to bring to a picknick, as it's best eaten on the day it's made. What better than to eat a moist piece of cake in the midst of nature? 

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Fancy Easter Bunny Cake

Easter's almost here! During the mini blogger meet that I told you about in a previous post we also baked a lovely cake! Nadine's initial idea was to make a 3D easter egg, but since that didn't work out and so the creative wheels started turning. Mannin had a great idea at hand for an Easter bunny cake and so we ran with that. The result was a cake born truly out of teamwork! 

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Dutch Gevulde Koeken (Almond Rounds)

If you've ever been to the Netherlands, you can't have missed these almond filled pastries. Gevulde koeken, "filled cookies" or Almond Rounds as I prefer to call them, are as Dutch as it gets. You'll find them anywhere, from gas stations to vending machines to posh bakeries. Your Dutch grandma will always have these in her pantry. The cheaper ones are so sweet that your dentist cries at the sight of them, while these homemade ones aren't that bad really - they're sweet, but the lemon  zest really lifts them up. The butter-laden pastry is soft and the almond paste filling moist and appropriately almond-y. This recipe is by my favorite Dutch baker, Cees Holtkamp, using it will result in the most beautiful, golden brown pastries you'll ever see. Serve warm for a maximum "gezellig" feeling!

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Rustic French Baguettes

At the end of this month, I will be taking a trip to Paris! Yep, that's right: bread and pastry central. I've been to Paris before, to visit Disneyworld, but the quaint pastry shops and bakeries stocked to the brim with freshly baked bread were not on my itinerary back then. I can tell you, they sure are now! And what better to get into the mood than a quintessentially French bake: the baguette. In my opinion, it's one of the more difficult breads to bake, but its ingredients are quite simple: just flour, yeast, salt and water. 

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