Where it all began... The Omiarie

So, here we are. A new food blog… Why? There are already so many of them!
Well, when I discovered some blogs last year, I started to read them. Like, everyday. And I realized just how much you could share with others. And so, before I could notice, I found myself imagining what I could say about this last recipe I was trying. Or sharing this great trick I just learned. And, as my desire for this blog grew bigger, I just had to overcome my doubts (ok, my fears). About my writing. About my English level. And about my technical abilities. Or, should I say, inabilities… And I’m going to give it a try.

There was one subject where I had no doubt : the first recipe I wanted to tell you about. It comes from my German grand-mother. She was the baker in the family, and I remember her in the kitchen, preparing all these wonderful things like Black Forest cake, Apple Pie or Quark Kuchen (oh yes, we’ll talk about those later!). I guess that’s where I caught my love of baking, so it was all natural to start where it all began…

Therefore, last week-end, I prepared this post and made an Omiarie, for the greatest joy of all the family. It’s not a fussy cake, with people filled with admiration for how beautiful it is, and for how much time it probably took you to make, so you probably won’t think about it for great occasions. In fact, it’s quite simple. But it’s sooo good, you just can’t stop eating it. It’s the most tender cake, but with a great variety of textures. At your first bite, the crust, contrasting with the chocolate-melt-in-the-mouth-glaze… The soft yellow cake. And more than anything, the sweet, and somewhat crunchy, hazelnut-cinnamon filling. It’s got brown sugar in it. I mean, brown sugar + cinnamon? Always a winning combination, right? And here, the little twist comes from the marzipan bits. Depending on their size, they become soft and sticky, or caramelizing with the sugar.

I’m just wondering why I don’t bake this more often… And actually, someone just gave me this great baking form, which is the best for this type of cake. Mmmm [intense thought]. Would be a shame not to use it ;-)

Oh, by the way, I wanted to write this blog in English, even though I know I’m going to make some grammatical errors, because some of the people I care a lot about do not read French. However, the recipes are sometimes more technical, so after the English version (with the cup system) you’ll find one in French (in grams).

Omiarie
For 16 people

I think it’s more intended for a sweet afternoon break, but it’s moist and complex enough so you could serve it as a dessert. And if you’ve got some leftovers (even better if a little dry), it will taste like heaven dunked in your morning coffee.

For the batter :
2 ¼ sticks butter
1 ½ cups sugar
2 to 3 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
2 ¾ cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
7/8 cup whipping cream

For the hazelnut-cinnamon filling:
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 ¼ cups hazelnut powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup almond paste or marzipan (if you can, buy the one with 50% almond, and not only 33%)

For the chocolate glaze (optional):
2/3 cup dark chocolate

In the large bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla extract.
In a separate bowl, sift together flour and baking powder. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour to the batter. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl if needed.
Add the whipping cream, gradually increasing speed of the mixer as the liquid combines with the preparation. Beat at high speed for 5 minutes, the volume of the batter should increase.

In another bowl, combine brown sugar, hazelnut powder and cinnamon. Coarsely crumble the marzipan (it will be less sticky if you roll it in the hazelnut mixture while breaking it in small bits). Whisk well.

Preheat oven to 360°F.

Generously coat a bundt pan, preferably nonstick, with butter (or margarine). If you don't have any bundt pan, you could use 2 small loaf pan, or one angel food cake pan.

Pour one third of the batter into the prepared bundt pan. Sprinkle half of the hazelnut mixture, then another third of the batter, the rest of the hazelnut and finish with the batter. Gently swirl a fork through the batter in a up and down pattern in order to marble the cake.

Bake until tester inserted into center comes out with some moist crumbs still attached, about 1 hour. Cool cake in pan at least 30 minutes before inverting onto a rack to cool completely.

If you want to glaze the cake with chocolate, let cake stand at room temperature overnight. This way, the crust will be crunchier, in contrast to the chocolate.
Melt the chocolate (with 1 teaspoon water) in the microwave at lowest. Using a cooking brush, spread the glaze on the cake. Let cool 30 minutes before serving.

Bon appetit!

Omiarie

Pour la pâte:
250 g de beurre
1 paquet de sucre vanillé
300 g de sucre
2 - 3 œufs
350 g de farine
2 c. à café de levure
20 cl de crème liquide

Pour la garniture aux noisettes :
150 g de sucre brun
125 g de noisettes en poudre
1 c. à café de cannelle
30 g de pâte d'amande

Pour le glaçage au chocolat (optionnel) :
75g de chocolat noir, si possible de couverture

Dans le bol d’un mixer électrique, battez le beurre et les sucres jusqu’à obtention d’un mélange crémeux (environ 2 minutes). Ajoutez les oeufs un à un, en mélangeant bien après chaque pour bien les incorporer.
Mélangez la farine et la levure, et ajoutez les doucement à la préparation précédente, avec le mixer en position lente. Utilisez une spatule pour nettoyer les bords du bol si nécessaire.
Ajoutez la crème liquide en augmentant graduellement la vitesse du mixer. Laissez le batteur sur vitesse maximale pendant au moins 5 minutes, la préparation doit augmenter de volume.

Dans un autre bol, combinez le sucre brun, la poudre de noisette, la cannelle et la pâte d’amande grossièrement émiettée (elle collera moins si roulée dans la noisette lors de l’émiettement). Vous pouvez également la congeler de manière à la râper facilement.

Préchauffez le four à 180°.

Préparer le moule en le beurrant et farinant. Si vous n’avez pas de moule à Kougelhopf, vous pouvez utiliser un grand moule à cake (ou 2 petits, en réduisant le temps de cuisson).

Versez un tiers de la pâte dans le moule. Soupoudrez de la moitié de la garniture aux noisettes, puis d’un deuxième tiers de pâte, du reste de noisette et de pâte.
Pour marbrer le gâteau, mélangez délicatement à l’aide d’une fourchette, en faisant des vagues de bas en haut.

Enfournez pour environ 1 heure. La lame du couteau doit ressortir du gâteau avec quelques miettes dessus. Le gâteau doit rester moelleux. Laissez refroidir au moins 30 minutes avant de démouler et de laisser refroidir complètement.

Si vous voulez ajouter le glaçage au chocolat, c’est encore meilleur si l’omiarie est resté à l’air libre pendant plusieurs heures, de manière à former une croûte croustillante.
Faites alors fondre le chocolat au bain marie ou au micro-onde (dans ce cas, ajoutez une cuillère à soupe d’eau et utilisez la puissance minimale). Utilisez un pinceau pour répartir le chocolat sur le gâteau. Laissez le chocolat durcir avant de servir.