As promised here comes a new recipe of the first pie I made (very “desperate housewives”ish, as my friends say) –  a yummy cinnamon flavoured pear pie Can’t wait to have a piece for breakfast now and finally have some time to dye my hair:) (I am thinking of a more redish tone, Bree-inspired of course:)

Pie Dough (Paté Brisée) (for a 24cm double-crust pie)
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*300g all purpose flour
*1 teaspoon salt
*1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
*240 g chilled butter, cut into small pieces
*ca 80ml cold water
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In a bowl combine flour, salt and sugar and add the butter. Combine with a mixer or food processor, then add slowly the cold water. The dough should not be too wet and sticky. Divide the dough in 2 discs and wrap in plastic. Let chill in the fridge for 1 hour before using.
Then roll out one half of the pie and fit to the pie dish( on a floures surface), pressing the edges down and cutting the dough approx. 1,5 cm over the dish.
Roll out the remaining half of dough for the cover. Out of  the leftover cut some shapes, such as stars, hearts, leaves etc.

Pie Filing
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*150g chopped walnuts
*50g chopped almonds (peeled)
*950g pears –  peeled, cored and chopped into small pieces
*240g canned peaches, chopped into small pieces
*1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
*1 teaspoon salt
*90g brown sugar
*1 tablespoon butter, in small pieces
*2 tablespoons wheat starch, or instant tapioca
For the pie shell:
1 large egg whisked with 2 teaspoons of water
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In a large bowl  combine all the  filling ingredients and fill into the pie shell.

Brush the eggmix around the edges of the pie then transfer the cover on top of the pie and pres the edges down, cutting the excess dough off.
Cut some shapes out of the cover and place the shapes you’ve cutted out before. Brush the whole cover with the eggmix.
Sprinkle some sugar on top of the cover put the pie in the freezer for 30 minutes before putting in the oven.

Preheat the oven @ 200ºC and bake the pie for 20minutes. Then reduce the temperature to 175ºC and bake for another 40-45 minutes. The crust should be golden brown. Let the pie cool before eating and enjoy

Oh, I want to go there so badly! Once again, my favourite combination: fashion & baking:) In 2006 fashion model-turned-into-baker Taylor Foster Allen and photographer husband Joshua Allen opened this lovely bakery in this amazing Victorian house in Bovina, Catskills, NY, surrounded by nature and the smell of yummy organic baked goods. I can’t think of a nicer place to crave some organic muffins and a cup of good coffee than “heaven on mainstreet”

It’s too hot in Barcelona right now:( I needed some energy to survive the entertainment marathon I had these days, having some dear friends visiting. Having my roots in Germany I love Müsli, of course:), so I went for these easy to make and surprisingly delicious Müsli bars. Have a try

Müsli bars
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Ingredients:

*330g rolled oats
*100ml sunflower oil
*40g plain all purpose flour
*220ml liquid honey
*3 tablespoons peanut butter
*50g brown sugar
*40g dried ground coconut
*200g mix of nuts and seeds( I used chopped walnuts and almonds, sesame and pumpkin seeds)
*200g dried fruits ( I used cranberries and strawberries)

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Preheat the oven@ 160ºC and line a square baking pan with baking paper( I used a 35x25cm baking pan).
In a big bowl mix nuts and seeds, dried fruits, oats, coconut and flour and combine well.
Heat the honey( be careful not to burn yourself), then add sugar and oil and mix well.
Stir the liquid mix into the dry ingredients bowl and combine everything well.
Fill in the baking pan, making sure that the mixture is well pressed down and every corner is filled, than bake for
ca 35-40minutes.
After removing from the oven mark the bars carefully with a good knife, but don’t take them out, they will break if there still warm.
Let cool completely and enjoy

Nothing better than a relaxed sunday breakfast after a crazy, busy week. Lately I feel like wonder woman,
doing 100 things at a time:) – so last weekend I enjoyed these yummy warm cinnamon brioches while flicking through the new Vogue Nippon, adoring the wonderful editorial shot by Karl Lagerfeld…

Cinnamon Brioches (12 units)
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Ingredients:
*42g fresh yeast
*2 tablespoon sugar
*2 teaspoons cinnamon
*8 tablespoons milk
*300g flour
*a hint of salt
*3 eggs
*150g softened butter
*1 egg yolk
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Preheat oven @180ºC (convection oven).
Dissolve the yeast and sugar in 6 tablespoons milk.
Add flour, salt, 3 eggs, butter and cinnamon.
Knead well and let rest for 40 minutes( cover the bowl).
In the meantime butter a 12 units muffin pan and put in the fridge.
After 40 minutes knead the dough in flour and form 12 big and 12 small balls out of it.
Put the balls in muffins pan, the big one first, then the small ones on top. In a small bowl mix the egg yolk with the milk, then spread on top of the brioches. Let rest for 10 minutes before putting in the oven.
Bake for 15-20 minutes

It was my grand-grand-mothers 104th birthday – incredible isn’t it !?! Although I sadly couldn’t see her this time I made some poppy seed slices, similar to the ones she used to bake , when she had a Viennese pastry shop in the 1940’s.
One thing she always tells me is to mix the poppy seeds with semolina, as the taste is amazing and back then poppy seeds were really expensive. I tried and she’s right – It was absolutely delicious…
Thanks grand-grandma

Poppy Seed Slices
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Ingredients:
*1/2 liter milk(I used soya milk)
*4 tablespoons honey
*1 sachet of vanilla sugar
*200g poppy seeds
*100g semolina
*200g puff pastry
*2 egg whites
*120g powdered sugar
*100g  chopped almonds
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Preheat the oven @ 180ºC
Cook the milk together with the honey and vanilla sugar, then add the semolina and cook for 5 min, while stiring. Add the poppy seeds and let cook ’til the mixture gets thick – stir while cooking.
Line a small squared backing pan with baking paper and roll the puff pastry on it. You might need to grease the sides of the pan.
Spread the poppy seed mix on it and bake for 20-25 minutes.
In the meantime beat the egg whites with the powdered sugar until stiff and put on top of the poppy seed after baking. Spread some chopped almonds on it and bake again for 5min
Cut the slices in your favourite shape and let cool well before eating

little things that helped me make this Monday more enjoyable

mille fleur sneakers from Monki