Before becoming parents, Nadja and Arthur Kammerer were competitive ballroom dancers. “When we met, he was an ice hockey player,” says Nadja. “I told him that if he didn’t learn how to dance, I’d find myself another!” Arthur obliged, they got married, had two kids, and moved from Stuttgart to Beijing nearly two years ago. Arthur currently works for Daimler while Nadja teaches part-time at the German Embassy Kindergarten. At their apartment in Park Avenue, Nadja and the kids – Alicia and Valentin, now 5 and 2 respectively – showed us how to make her grandmother’s crumble cake recipe.
“We always make this when we have unexpected guests,” says Nadja. “It’s great because everyone has cans of fruit in the kitchen. I don’t like to cook but I like to bake; I’ve been doing it with the kids since they were babies.” While Alicia earnestly followed her mother’s instructions, Valentin wriggled out of her grasp to dip his hands in the batter, indiscriminately licking egg whites, flour, and large gobs of butter off his fingers. The photographer and I stuck around to enjoy the rich, crumbly creation – Julia Child would approve.
Ingredients 配料
For the cake 蛋糕:
150g softened butter 150克温黄油
150g sugar 150克白糖
250g flour 250克面粉
2tsp vanilla sugar (can be found at City Shop) 2汤匙香草砂糖(城市超市有售)
2tsp baking powder 2汤匙发酵粉
1tsp lemon juice 1汤匙柠檬汁
4 eggs 4颗鸡蛋
1/2tsp salt 1/2汤匙食盐
2 cups of pitted cherries OR 3-4 apples, thinly sliced OR 1-2 cans of peaches 2杯去核樱桃或3-4个苹果切成薄片,再或者1-2罐桃子
For the crumble 蛋糕碎屑:
150g flour 150克面粉
100g cold butter 100克冷黄油
75g sugar 75克白糖
2tsp vanilla sugar 2汤匙香草砂糖
1. First, make the cake by combining the softened butter, sugar, and vanilla sugar in a large mixing bowl. Nadja and the kids used an electric mixer, but a bit of elbow grease is just fine. 先做蛋糕,拿个大碗混合温热黄油、白糖、香草 砂糖。Nadja和孩子们用的是电动搅拌器,用手搅拌费点力气也没问题。
2. Add the eggs, salt, lemon juice, flour, and baking powder. Mix well. 放入鸡蛋、食盐、柠檬汁、面粉和发酵粉。充 分搅拌。
3. Using a spatula, spread the cake batter onto a baking tray lined with wax paper. Lay the desired fruits on top. 烤盘上放张蜡纸,用铲子把蛋糕面糊放在烤盘中铺平。面糊上点缀些喜爱 的水果。
4.To make the crumble, combine the remaining flour, sugar, vanilla sugar, and cold butter in another bowl. Knead the mixture with your hands until crumbles form. 在另一个碗里放入:剩下的面粉、白糖、香草砂糖、冷的黄油,然后用手揉捏,碎屑越来越多。
5. Sprinkle the crumbles over the cake batter and bake in the oven for 25 minutes at 180°C. 把做好的蛋糕碎屑零星撒到蛋糕面糊上,烤箱里180度烤25分钟。
Photos: MITCHELL PE MASILUN
This article originally appeared on p30-31 of the beijingkids May 2014 issue. Check out the PDF version online at Issuu.com.