A: I want to pick a cake.
A: KUCHEN6*
A: kuchen
A: A cake that I like, but which one?
A: I can choose from three cakes which I think are tasty, and I finally pick one of them.
A: I prepare everything, I write down which ingredients I need. I look through my kitchen cabinets to see if I have everything at home or what is missing.
A: The recipe asks for sugar. So I check whether I have sugar at home, but find that I have none left. That’s why I write sugar on the list.
A: The second ingredient is flour.
A: After a quick search I find that I still have a little flour. But that probably won’t suffice so just to be safe, I write down flour so I’ll have enough.
A: The third item is eggs. I have those at home.
A: EI6A
A: ei
A: The recipe calls for butter. I don’t have any at home, so I write it on the list as well.
A: Also, I need a jar of cherries.
A: Of course I don’t have any/
B: What do you mean by that sign near you ear? [Doesn’t understand the sign CHERRY]
A: Cherries in a jar.
B: Ah, yes.
A: Anyway, I don’t have a jar of cherries, so I need one and write that down.
A: Below that, it says Z-I-M-T [cinnamon].
A: Z-I-M-T. Yes, that’s how I sign that, Z-I-M-T.
A: I have a spice jar with that, good.
A: GEWÜRZ1A*
A: gewürz
A: Next, it says baking powder in the recipe.
A: Hm, let me go and look. I rummage through my kitchen cabinet until I find a box.
A: I look through the box and find some. I’m relieved.
A: But I don’t have vanilla sugar, so I need to add it to the list.
A: Then, um, it says whip, no, um, whipping cream.
A: I need two sachets, I write that down.
A: I also need a sachet of cream stabiliser, so I add that.
A: I also need ground almonds and put those on the list as well.
A: MANDELN1A*
A: mandeln
A: And I need baking chocolate. I put it on the list.
A: Ok, so that’s all done. Now I’m off to go grocery shopping.
A: I walk there, get some fresh air.
A: I stroll along, enjoy the sun and the fresh air, and watch the birds fly. It’s so nice. I continue leisurely on my walk.
A: Then I reach the store and put what I need in my cart.
A: I keep checking my shopping list and when I put something in my cart, I check it off my list. This way, I work my way through the store until I’m at the checkout.
A: I put everything on the conveyor belt. Afterwards, I bag it all and pay for it.
A: Then I say goodbye and walk back home.
A: And I’m back home again. Now I can start with the preparations. I grab a few different things.
A: I take a bowl, put a scale next to it and a mixer.
A: I also prepare the cake pan and place everything in front of me.
A: I also line up the various ingredients from the recipe in front of me. Now I’ve got everything I need.
A: When I have everything in front of me, I double check the list, to see whether something is missing or if I forgot something.
A: Now I start.
A: First, I put a bowl on the scale and weigh the sugar.
A: I pour sugar into the bowl until I have enough. 80 grams of sugar. Good.
A: Then I add the eggs. I crack two eggs into the bowl.
A: EI8B*
A: AUFSCHLAGEN-EI1A*
A: Next is butter, 200 grams.
A: BUTTER2
A: butter
A: Then everything has to be stirred. I place the bowl under my food processor and let it mix the dough. The dough has to be very smooth.
A: When it’s ready/
A: I check if it has been stirred enough and the dough is ready.
A: Then I put the bowl back on the scale.
A: I add 300 grams of flour.
A: I also add the baking powder, half a teaspoon.
A: Then vanilla sugar, a whole sachet.
A: Um.
A: Next are the ground almonds.
A: MANDELN1A*
A: mandeln
A: I pour 150 grams of almonds into the bowl and set the rest aside.
A: Oh yes, the baking chocolate.
A: One bar is 200 grams, but I only need 100 grams. That’s why I cut it in half.
A: The chocolate has to be grated, so I take a grater and grate it by hand. I leave the other half for now.
A: My hands get very sticky from doing that.
A: I grate half of the bar until there’s almost none left.
A: Then I double check the weight. It’s not enough yet. Probably some of the chocolate melted because of my sweaty palms.
A: So a take a bit of the other half of the chocolate until it’s just right.
A: After that, I wash my hands.
A: Then I continue and put the chocolate in/
A: Yes, ok, now I continue stirring. It needs to become really creamy.
A: I try the dough with my finger. It’s tasty. Okay, good.
A: Now I take the cake pan/
A: Well, it is yummy.
A: I take the cake pan and grease it with butter.
A: $PROD*
A: ICH1
A: ich
A: MUSS1
A: muss
A: BUTTER2
A: butter
A: $PROD*
A: fetten
A: VORBEREITUNG1B*
A: vorbereiten
A: $PROD*
A: I also need finely milled flour. I move the flour around in the pan to spread it everywhere, then I turn the pan over and shake the excess flour off, so that only a fine layer of flour sticks to the greased pan.
A: This is so that the cake doesn’t stick to the pan. If you’re unsure, I recommend flour for that. It makes removing the cake from the pan easier. That’s better.
A: Okay, now I take the bowl and pour the dough into the pan. I scrape the last bits of dough out of the bowl. The pan is filled completely. Good.
A: Now I need the jar of cherries.
A: I pour the cherries into a sieve and let the juice drip off.
A: You can drink or save the leftover juice. Maybe you could make something from it for the kids, with other ingredients. You can try out some ideas and come up with something.
A: I spread the cherries on the dough.
A: You only push them into the dough a little. Good.
A: Now you put it in the oven.
A: Switch on the convention oven and heat it up to 175 degrees (Celsius).
A: Bake it for 45 minutes.
A: I leave the cake in the oven and clean up in the meantime. I leave the remaining ingredients out, but I clean and tidy up everything else. Done.
A: I’m thinking about what I could do with the cherry juice.
A: kirschsaft
A: KIRSCHE1*
A: SAFT1A
A: Ah, I will boil it a little to make G… [intends Grießbrei meaning semolina pudding], um, semolina pudding.
A: So I bring the juice to a boil, add sugar and a little butter and stir it.
A: Then I pour in the semolina and mix everything. It’s tasty. I also add cinnamon.
A: I give that to my children. They are very happy and can eat that for now.
A: When the cake is ready, I take it out of the oven.
A: It needs to cool off, so I leave it for a while.
A: When it ha cooled off, I/
A: I take the cream, add a sachet of cream stabiliser and whip it all.
A: When the cream is whipped stiff, it’s perfect. You have to be careful about it. If you whip it too long, you ruin it. It has to be just right.
A: The cream should not drip. If it drips, I have to continue whisking it. When it starts sticking to the mixer when I pull it out, it’s good. You have to pay close attention to see when it’s right.
A: Now I take the whipped cream and spread it evenly on the cake.
A: I like a mixture of cinnamon and sugar with it.
A: I mix them and sprinkle the mixture on the cake.
A: So, then I put the cake on the table.
A: It looks absolutely delicious.