A German Quickie - part one: On the Road

It had been a few years since we last visited my german uncle. He seriously insisted on how welcome we would be - for a few days to a few weeks. My dad being off for the whole month of August , we packed a few things and drove down to Sankt Augustin, near Bohnn. The trip was way shorter than I remembered - two hours and a half - and much more enjoyable than taking the train. But the goods I had baked had probably something to do with it...

I really enjoy those occasions. Since I don't like to visit people empty handed and woke up too early on friday morning, I baked three different types of viennoiseries: milk rolls, cream de parisienne and brioches suisses aux amandes. I wanted softer milk rolls; I cut down 25 gr of flour of the original recipe. They were tasty but the texture and clear aspect didn't entirely satisfy me - I think playing around with the amount of milk will give better results. My cream de parisienne had different fillings: apricot or cherry jam, nutella, and an apple/cinnamon jelly. There should be a way to spread the fillings properly; they don't look evenly distributed after puffing up in the oven. My aunt liked them very much but would like them plain - she thought they were croissants briochés , similar to the ones you find there. That was an interesting comment; I had never considered them that way and it gave me the idea of rolling them with melted butter and sugar. : makes note for later :

The brioches suisses vere very germanic in flavor. The combination of lemon zest, caramelized almond topping and raisins was a overwhelming at the begining but rapidly became addictive. I saved ('hid' would be a better term : embarrased laughter : ) a few for myself, distributed a couple to my siblings and packed the rest. My aunt absolutely LOVED them - and actually thought I had bought them on the way :D