Arretjescake

The problem with having too many emails (four of them) and being on too many mailing lists (fewer now) is that when I get a personal email it tends to get lost until I finally get around to cleaning out my inboxes.  This recipe is a prime example of that.  I recently found this traditional Dutch recipe sent to me by a distant relative of Johannes.  So I want to formally thank you Ria, for the recipe and also to apologize for taking so long to do so. 

Ria was sweet enough to send me her Oma's recipe for Arretjescake.  I haven't had a chance to make it yet since my teenagers keep eating the animal crackers on me.  Hopefully, I can manage to keep the ravenous beast at bay long enough to make this soon.  It looks yummy!

Or in Ria's words: Lekker .... mmm .... herlich .... awesome!

Ingredients:

8.5 ounces cookies (I learned on the interweb that Animal Crackers work best)

9 ounces butter

9 ounces castor sugar (ground sugar, not confectioners sugar, would work well, just not ground too finely)

1 1/4 ounce cacao (or cocoa)

2-3 tablespoons milk

1 egg

Directions:

1. Melt the butter in the saucepan. 
2. Crush cookies into small pieces in a bowl. 
3. Mix sugar, milk, cacao and egg in another bowl and mix together.
4. Cover cake tin with foil.
5. Melt butter and mix gently into batter.
6. Add crushed cookies.
7. Pour mixture into the cake.
8. Refrigerate 24 hours. 

Schweineschnitzel / Weinerschnitzel

Since this blog is for BOTH of our heritages, I thought I should add something from my own Mom's native Germany - schweineschnitzel (breaded pork cutlet) and wienerschnitzel (breaded veal cutlet). This recipe is super easy!

Ingredients:

4 thin boneless pork chops or veal chops

1/2 c. oil (I use olive oil)

3/4 c. fine bread crumbs

2 eggs

salt & pepper

2 lemons

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet at medium high heat.  
2. Place each chop between two sheets of plastic and pound with the smooth side of a meat tenderizer until thin (1/4" - 3/8").  
3. Beat the two eggs in a bowl that is wide enough to dip the meat into.  
4. Spread the bread crumbs onto a plate or flat surface.  
5. Take each cutlet, season with salt and pepper and dip both sides of meat into eggs to coat.  
6. Then coat the entire cutlet with the bread crumbs.  
7. Place in hot oil and cook on both sides until golden brown.  It only takes about 1-2 minutes per side.  
8. Serve each cutlet with half a lemon on the side.  Some people go ahead and squeeze the lemon onto the schnitzel before serving.  

Serves 4