[:de]Creme de Cacao – Klarer Kakaolikör[:en]Homemade Creme de Cacao[:]

[:de]

Ihr wisst ja sicherlich bereits, dass ich für mein Leben gerne Cocktails süffle. Dafür muss man aber natürlich nicht vor die Tür gehen. Einen Abend kann man auch wunderbar zu Hause mit einem selbstgemachten Cocktail ausklingen lassen, das ist wirklich kein Hexenwerk. Mit der Zeit benötigt man aber immer mehr Zutaten, schließlich will man ja auch Abwechslung. Creme de Cacao ist eine dieser Zutaten, die man nicht so einfach bekommt und dann ist es meistens eine obskure Mischung aus Alkohol, Zucker, Farbstoff und Aromen. Nicht gerade das was ich mir unter einem guten Lebensmittel vorstelle. Also heißt es mal wieder: selbermachen!

Creme de Cacao ist kein Cremelikör, sondern ein klarer Kakaolikör. Im Handel gibt es ihn in dunkel und hell (sprich durchsichtig). Der helle ist praktisch für Cocktails, die hell bleiben sollen. Zuhause habe ich nicht die Vorraussetzungen einen weißen Likör aus dunklem Kakao herzustellen. Aber ich kann damit leben, dass mein Cocktail dann eben nicht schneeweiß sein wird.

Mit Creme de Cacao lassen sich wirklich ganz famose Cocktails mixen! Ich bin ja ein großer Fan von cremigen Cocktails, mmmh lecker! Für den Likör braucht ihr übrigens nur gehackte Kakaobohnen, klaren neutralen Alkohol (z.B. Korn), Zucker und ein bisschen Zeit, fertig!

Creme de Cacao - Klarer Schokoladenlikör

Vor einem Jahr: Zitronengelee

Vor zwei Jahren: Amaranthporridge mit karamellisierten Bananen und Pekannüssen

Vor drei Jahren: Brunnenkressesuppe

Vor vier Jahren: Focacciaschnecke mit Käse, Rucola und getrockneten Tomaten

Vor fünf Jahren: Hefekuchenkranz mit Nuss-Schoko-Meringue-Füllung

Vor sechs Jahren: Schokoladenmacarons mit Himbeerfüllung


[:en]

You might already noticed that I love cocktails! But there is no need to go in a bar for that purpose. You can easily end a day at home with a homemade cocktail without any magic involved. But with time and experience and curiosity you need more ingredients. Creme de cacao is one of those ingredients, which aren’t easy to come by and than it’s an obscure mixture of alcohol, sugar, colouring agents and artifical flavours. Not quite exactly what I imagine as good food. That means again: we make it ourselves!

Creme de cacao isn’t a creamy liquor, but a clear cocoa liquor, which appears in dark and clear (without any colour). The clear one is good for cocktails that should have a pale colour. But I don’t have the conditions at home to make a clear liquor of darf cocoa. But it’s ok for me that my cocktails will never be bright and pale with my homemade chocolate liquor.

It is possible to mix so many delicious cocktails with creme de cacao! I’m a sucker for creamy cocktails. The chocolate liquor is an easy one, since you only need cocoa nibs, clear neutral alcohol (I prefer korn), sugar and time!

Creme de Cacao - Klarer Schokoladenlikör

One year ago: lemon jelly

Two years ago: amaranth porridge with caramelized bananas and pecans

Three years ago: watercress soup

Four years ago: rolled focaccia with cheese, arugula and dried tomatoes

Five years ago: yeasted meringue coffee cake

Six years ago: chocolate macarons with raspberry filling

[:]

Das kleine 1×1 des Cocktailmixens und Kaffeelikör101 of Mixing Cocktails and Coffee Liquor

Irgendwann muss es ja mal raus: Wir sind große Cocktailliebhaber und -trinker! Wir setzen uns gerne auch mal in eine Bar dazu, aber da uns das außerhalb der Happy Hour dann doch zu teuer ist für ein bisschen Saft und einen Schuss Alkohol machen wir die Cocktails gerne selbst. Das ein oder andere Cocktailbuch findet sich also auch bei mir zwischen den vielen Kochbüchern. Nun braucht man zum Cocktailmixen doch einige Grundzutaten daheim, sonst gibt man schnell wieder frustriert auf.

So ist es hilfreich einen kleinen Vorrat an Saft zu haben. Mit Orangensaft, Ananassaft, sowie Zitronensaft und Limettensaft kommt man fast immer ans Ziel. Zitronen- und Limettensaft gibt es auch in der Flasche und die halten auch geöffnet im Kühlschrank sehr lange.

Dann kommen Sirups bzw. Liköre. Ich versuche einiges davon selbst herzustellen, denn wenn ich auf die Zutaten von vielen Sirups oder Likören schaue wird mir schlecht. Viele haben die Frucht höchstens mal aus der Entfernung gesehen und bestehen nur aus Zucker, Wasser, Aroma und irgendwelchen Stabilisatoren und Konservierungsstoffen. Fruchtliköre kann man oft auch sehr gut selbst machen. Erdbeerlikör und Pfirsichlikör mache ich z.B. jedes Jahr auf Vorrat.

Wir tauschen die beiden auch gerne mal aus im Rezept, da beides süß ist und der Alkoholgehalt von einem Likör nicht so ins Gewicht fällt, wenn nur 2 cl ins Glas kommen.  Außerdem gehen wir auch nicht immer streng nach Rezept: steht da Himbeerlikör, dann nehmen wir halt Erdbeerlikör stattdessen, weil wir kein Himbeer haben und am Ende sind es doch alles Beeren ;).

Kaffeebohnen

Zum Schluss braucht man dann noch diverse Alkoholika, außer man macht einen alkoholfreien Cocktail, is klar. Wodka, Gin, Rum, Weinbrand/Brandy/Cognac, Tequila, mit diesen 5 kommt man ziemlich weit. Bitte kauft nicht den billigsten Stoff, außer ihr steht auf Kopfweh am nächsten Tag (oder schon davor). Es muss aber auch nicht das teuerste sein.

In vielen Cocktail wird nach Triple Sec oder Curaçao (oder Cointreau oder Grand Marnier) verlangt. Das sind Liköre mit 40 Volumenprozent Alkohol mit dem Geschmack von Bitterorangen, die zur Familie der Triple Sec/Curaçao gehören. Nun merkt ihr schon, wenn das eine Familie ist, dann ist das ja alles das Gleiche. Es ist natürlich nicht 100% das Gleiche, aber wenn man sich etwas frei macht von genauen Vorgaben und nur einen Cocktail genießen möchte, dann ja! Daher gibt es bei uns eine Flasche Grand Marnier und das wars (den gibt es übrigens in der einfachsten gelben und günstigsten Version bei A.ldi). Steht im Rezept Curaçao oder Triple Sec, dann nehmen wir Grand Marnier und die Sache hat sich. Im übrigen ist auch der Blue Curaçao nur ein Triple Sec mit viel blauem Farbstoff. Örks. Da ich nicht auf unnatürlich blauen Farbstoff stehe, ersetzen wir diesen auch durch Grand Marnier.

Mögt ihr sahnige Cocktails macht es Sinn Sahne (am besten ohne Carrageen) und Kokosmilch im Hause zu haben.

Und dann gibt es diese Liköre, die man nur dem Namen nach kauft, aber eigentlich nicht weiß was da drin ist. Oder, dass man sie auch pipifax einfach selber machen kann und dabei noch viel Geld spart. Dazu gehört Kahlúa und Tia Maria, beides Kafffeeliköre. Steht aber nicht drauf. Mit Kaffeelikör kann man vor allem köstliche Cocktails mit Sahne mixen.

Heute gibt es das Rezept für den Likör und demnächst das Rezept für einen Cocktail damit. Also ab in die Küche mit Euch, damit ihr bald den Cocktail genießen könnt!

Kaffeelikör

Vor einem Jahr: Vanille-, Zitronen- und Orangenextrakt

Vor zwei Jahren: Toastbrot

Vor drei Jahren: Rhabarber-Streusel-Kuchen

Sometime it just had to be said: We are huge cocktail lovers and drinkers! We like to sit in a bar for that reason, but beyond happy hour it’s just too expensive for some juice and a shot of booze. So we like to mix them ourselves. Few books about drinks and cocktails are sitting on my shelves between my cookbooks. But for mixing cocktails you need some main ingredients at home, otherwise you will give up soon.

Therefore it’s helpful to have some juices at home, like orange, pineapple, lemon and lime juice. You can also buy bottled lemon and lime juice, they are just alright for mixing and they have a long shelf life in the fridge after opening.

Then you need syrups and liquors. I’m trying to make some of them myself at home, because taking a closer look at the ingredients of many syrups and liquors makes me sick. Most of them have seen the fruit only from the distance and mainly consist of sugar, water, artificial flavours and some stabilizers and preservatives. Mostly, fruit liquors can be easily made at home. I’m making peach and strawberry liquor every year in bulk.

We also like to substitute liquors with syrups and vice versa, since both are sweet and the alcohol content of a liquor doesn’t carry much weight, if you use only 2 cl. Moreover, we don’t follow instructions very closely: if the recipe says raspberry liquor, we take strawberry liquor instead, as we don’t have raspberry and in the end, they are all made from red berries ;).

Last but not least you need some booze, unless you’re preparing an alcohol free cocktail, of course. Vodka, gin, rum, brandy/cognac, tequila, that are my five to go. Don’t buy the cheapest stuff, unless you prefer a headache on the next day. But it also hasn’t to be the most expensive stuff.

A lot of cocktails require triple sec or curaçao (or cointrau or grand marnier). These are liquors with 40 percent alcohol by volume with the taste of bitter oranges and they belong to the family of triple sec/curaçao. You see, if it’s a family, it’s mostly the same. Mostly of course, not 100 %, but if you make yourself free from the exact thing and just enjoy a cocktail, well then yes! Therefore we only own one bottle of grand marnier and that’s it (in Germany you can buy the yellow and cheapest one at A.ldi). If the recipe requires curaçao or triple sec, we just use grand marnier, that’s it. By the way, blue curaçao is the same stuff just with blue artificial colouring. Yuck. As I prefer my cocktails without artificial colours, we replace this also with grand marnier.

If you like creamy cocktails, it makes sense to have some whipping cream (best without carrageenan) at home and some coconut milk.

And then there are these liquors you buy because of the name/brand, but you really don’t know exactly what’s in it. Or that it’s so so easy to make them at home and save a lot of money, too. Kahlúa and Tia Maria, are two of these kind. They are coffee liquors, but the bottle doesn’t say it. And with coffee liquor you can make a lot of delicious cocktails, especially with whipping cream.

So today I’ll give you the recipe for the liquor and soon the recipe for a scrumptious cocktail. Let’s go to the kitchen and prepare some liquor!

Kaffeelikör

One year ago: vanilla, lemon and orange extract

Two years ago: toast bread

Three years ago: rhubarb streusel cake

 

Erdbeerlikör, Basilikum-Olivenöl & HolunderblütenessigStrawberry Liquor, Basil Olive Oil & Elderflower Vinegar

Update: Für die deutschen Rezepte  nach unten scrollen.

These beauties are my latest experiments.

Strawberry Liquor, Basil Olive Oil & Elderflower Vinegar

 This is the first time I’ve mixed them up. But I’m sure,  they will turn out great. Because how shouldn’t liquor, oil and vinegar with these ingredients turn out great?!

I’ve made liquor before. With elderflower or peaches. I made the elderflower one this year again. It’s perfect. So if you can still lay you hands on elderflowers, pick them immediately and make something special! We wanted to make even more, but the season here is already over.

 

Strawberry Liquor, Basil Olive Oil & Elderflower Vinegar

But so has the season of strawberries and basil begun.

Yesterday we went picking strawberries on a huge field. The fruits were delicious and we bought over 2 kilos for 6,50 Euros.

After coming home, I dived into the kitchen, ready to make jam and liquor. What a feast!

And so I’m looking forward to the raspberry season in 3-4 weeks. I can’t wait for them and even more jam!

Strawberry Liquor, Basil Olive Oil & Elderflower Vinegar

Vor einem Jahr: Zitronen-Rosmarin-Kekse

Strawberry Liquor, Basil Olive Oil & Elderflower Vinegar

These beauties are my latest experiments.  

Strawberry Liquor, Basil Olive Oil & Elderflower Vinegar

This is the first time I’ve mixed them up. But I’m sure,  they will turn out great. Because how shouldn’t liquor, oil and vinegar with these ingredients turn out great?! I’ve made liquor before. With elderflower or peaches. I made the elderflower one this year again. It’s perfect. So if you can still lay you hands on elderflowers, pick them immediately and make something special! We wanted to make even more, but the season here is already over.  

Strawberry Liquor, Basil Olive Oil & Elderflower Vinegar

But so has the season of strawberries and basil begun. Yesterday we went picking strawberries on a huge field. The fruits were delicious and we bought over 2 kilos for 6,50 Euros. After coming home, I dived into the kitchen, ready to make jam and liquor. What a feast! And so I’m looking forward to the raspberry season in 3-4 weeks. I can’t wait for them and even more jam!  

Strawberry Liquor, Basil Olive Oil & Elderflower Vinegar

One year ago: Lemon-Rosemary-Cookies

Strawberry Liquor, Basil Olive Oil & Elderflower Vinegar

Eierlikör & LebkuchenEggnog & Gingerbread

Update: Für das deutsche Rezept nach unten scrollen!

Last week I told you about some Christmas gifts I will make. Today I present you two of them. I highly recommend both. Either as a gift or just for yourself. Both recipes are made in no time and are very easy.

Eggnog & Gingerbread

 Although I bake and cook almost everything myself, I never made gingerbread or lebkuchen, as we call them in German (gingerbread is confusing for me, as the lebkuchen doesn’t contain any ginger…). I come from the lebkuchen city of Nürnberg, so I know the very good ones from the lebkuchen bakeries (not the cheap ones from the supermarkets) and I never had the guts to bake them myself. But then two things happened.

First I didn’t had the chance to buy or eat any lebkuchen from home, since there was no opportunity to be there. Second I bought a really wonderful book (sorry for all the English speakers). The book contains so many recipes for Christmas gifts (or gifts at all), Christmas cookies and even recipes for your Christmas dinner. It was love at first sight! There I discovered a lebkuchen recipe. They looked really good. A smaller version of my beloved ones from home. So I gave them a try. They are just perfect. No need to buy them anymore (ok, except the really good ones from the bakery). They are even better with chocolate icing. Or sugar icing. And they get better from day to day. It’s actually recommended, that you prepare them 1 to 2 weeks ahead. But then, you have to be careful, that you have some left for the gifts on Christmas.

Eggnog & Gingerbread

 It’s almost a tradition to make eggnog, as a gift for my grandmother for Christmas. There are not many things, that a 90-year-old-woman desires. But we all know she loves eggnog, so at least my aunt and me are giving eggnog as a gift to her. This year I tried a new recipe (which I also adapted from the book, I recommended above). And it is a hit! It balances perfect between the sweetness, the vanilla and the alcohol. It’s not too thick and not to thin. Just the right consistency. There is no sharpness of the alcohol in this eggnog. This is how I love it. I used normal corn schnapps, instead of the high-proof alcohol, listed in the recipe. With the right amount of the other ingredients, this was the key of the perfect eggnog.

Give your beloved ones a treat with those wonderful gifts or at least yourself and your family.

Happy baking!

Eggnog & Gingerbread

Last week I told you about some Christmas gifts I will make. Today I present you two of them. I highly recommend both. Either as a gift or just for yourself. Both recipes are made in no time and are very easy.

Eggnog & Gingerbread

 Although I bake and cook almost everything myself, I never made gingerbread or lebkuchen, as we call them in German (gingerbread is confusing for me, as the lebkuchen doesn’t contain any ginger…). I come from the lebkuchen city of Nürnberg, so I know the very good ones from the lebkuchen bakeries (not the cheap ones from the supermarkets) and I never had the guts to bake them myself. But then two things happened.

First I didn’t had the chance to buy or eat any lebkuchen from home, since there was no opportunity to be there. Second I bought a really wonderful book (sorry for all the English speakers). The book contains so many recipes for Christmas gifts (or gifts at all), Christmas cookies and even recipes for your Christmas dinner. It was love at first sight! There I discovered a lebkuchen recipe. They looked really good. A smaller version of my beloved ones from home. So I gave them a try. They are just perfect. No need to buy them anymore (ok, except the really good ones from the bakery). They are even better with chocolate icing. Or sugar icing. And they get better from day to day. It’s actually recommended, that you prepare them 1 to 2 weeks ahead. But then, you have to be careful, that you have some left for the gifts on Christmas.

Eggnog & Gingerbread

 It’s almost a tradition to make eggnog, as a gift for my grandmother for Christmas. There are not many things, that a 90-year-old-woman desires. But we all know she loves eggnog, so at least my aunt and me are giving eggnog as a gift to her. This year I tried a new recipe (which I also adapted from the book, I recommended above). And it is a hit! It balances perfect between the sweetness, the vanilla and the alcohol. It’s not too thick and not to thin. Just the right consistency. There is no sharpness of the alcohol in this eggnog. This is how I love it. I used normal corn schnapps, instead of the high-proof alcohol, listed in the recipe. With the right amount of the other ingredients, this was the key of the perfect eggnog.

Give your beloved ones a treat with those wonderful gifts or at least yourself and your family.

Happy baking!

 

Eggnog & Gingerbread