Edena Sheidon - CUISINE SCENE . THE FESTIVE evening of Dec. 1 last week heralded (for myself, and a baker's dozen students) the official opening of the Christmas “geason. The event? A Yuletide cooking class. over -at the Dubrulle French , Culinary School with Master ‘:Pastry Chef Kurt Ebert. - We arrived to a-welcoming bow] of icy eggnog,.candlelight,. and fresh-cut cedar boughs. Christmas cookies and chocolaie truffles were served, and then we all followed _ Chef Ebert as he led us (like a ‘bunch of workshop elves) into the . professional kitchens. To set the stage, a bit about this master pastry. chef himself. Formerly executive pastry chef at -the prestigious Four Seasons Hotel, this talented artist hails from Heidelberg, Germany. He appren- ticed at the world-famous Spruengli “Pastry Shop in Zurich, Switzerland ‘(where I have left quite a few Swiss Francs myself). ; “,° Training in London, Belgium ' and Munich followed before he eventually landed in Vancouver. And the Dubrilie French Culinary School now boasts Herr Ebert on its professional curriculum to hone “students” skills in the fine art of petit fours, chocolate fantasy pro- ductions, and lavish cakes gilded with gold leaf and marzipan flowers ~ before turning them out into the professional! world of baking as graduates, But back to the cooking class I attended as part of the "special event" classes. Sipping some more of that superlative eggnog, Chef Ebert discussed what we would be preparing that evening. He gave us ample. recipes to carry us through this holiday season, with gift ideas for giving and with dessert prob- ‘lems solved. :/ . -” - A classic German stollen, with -_- Ebert proclaiming, "I dread making ’ Christmas stollen each year in the traditional yeast method ... this one is so easy!" And he proved his ‘point by showing us just how sim- ” ple it was. .A.tray of traditional German _ -lebkuchen, (gingerbread) followed . (my own personal favorite from -years living in Germany), to cut ‘into bars or diamonds. A lesson on sugar glazing and chocolate dipping -followed, with an old wives’ tale: “thrown in for good measure: "To keep this type of gingerbread cook- ie moist in the cookie tin, my moth- er used to tuck in a slice of rye bread or lemon peel!" My own tip here: Add a slice of raw apple to re-soften chewy cook- ies such as gingerbread! We went on to Ebert’s own _ Christmas cookie dough, his buttery Christmas shortbread, and a zany chocolate salami (a fun gift to make for friends). Interspersed throughout the evening were tips from the master. sday, December 8B, 19 - 61 NEWS photo Nell Lucente DUBRULLE FRENCH Culinary School's master pastry chef Kurt Ebert showcased his skills at last week's Yuletide Baking Cooking Class to delighted participants. A great kick-off to the Christmas season. Delicious, too! » Salted butter (in Ebert’s opinion) doesen't even exist! Use only unsalted (swect) butter. * When using chopped candicd peel, dried fruits, or nuts - top first with some flour to dust evenly. This will prevent fruits and nuts from sinking to the bottom of the dough or batter during baking. ¢ Never, ever use raw nuts for bak- ing. Toast them first, to bring out their flavor (325°F oven/8-10 min- utes) before using. Try Ebert's recipes for your own family and friends. Dust the won- derful stollen with icing sugar, tie up with crisp cellophane and pretty ribbons and tuck in some holly. Bake his cookies, and give to some lucky seniors or hungry children in pretty baskets or festive tins. And try that crazy chocolate salami recipe of his (1 know I will); wrap it up in cheesecloth or pretty cello- phane and tie with string at both ends (like a real salami) to surprise friends. : i Have fun, most of all. And from Chef Ebert - his wish for a Frohe Weinachten! From me too. CHRISTMAS STOLLEN Ebert demonstrated this super simplified version of a classic stollen from his native Germany. Not based on the traditional yeast method, this quick dough produces a supeid result. Ai! the fun with no worry. Best baked several weeks before Christmas, to age in flavor and tex- ture, Serve dusted liberally with confectioner's sugar in 1/2-inch () cm) slices. NOTE: Metric measurements are given in weights, the preferred _ method of any good pastry chef. Ebert advises to “ask for a good kitchen scale on your Christmas wish list!" Christmas at THE THREAD BEAR featuring © $200-300 off ail regular priced modets ¢ 10% off Fabrics for 6 months with machine purchase Use our lay-away plan Free giftwrapping with fabric 2440 Marine Drive, West Vancouver (Dundarave) 922-0308 “ Makes one 3 Ib (1.5 kg) loaf, or -two 1-1/2 Ib (750 g) loaves. 3-1/3 c. (.5 kg.) all purpose flour 1 Tbsp. (15 mL) baking powder 3/4 c. (180 g.) sugar 2 large eggs 1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla 2 Tbsp. (30 mL) rum 1 lemon, juice and grated rind 1/2 tsp (2 mL) almond extract 2/3 c. (120 g.) cold unsalted . butter, cubed : 1-1/4 c. (250 g.) cream cheese _ 1-1/2 ¢. (200 g.) golden raisins or sultanas 3/4 c. (200 g.) currants 1-1/2 c. (150 g.) ground almonds (no skins) 1c. (100 g.) candied mixed *~.peel, finely diced (citron or orange peel) EDGEMONT VILLAGE Coiner of Edgemont Biv. + Queens 1/4 c. (50 mL) melted unsalted butter 3/4 c. granulated sugar 1 Tbsp. (15 mL) cinnamon - 1/2 c. (125 mE.) confectioner's (icing) sugar Sift flour and baking powder together into a large bowl. Make a well in the centre. In an electric mixer, whip together the sugar, eggs, vanilla, rum, lemon juice, grated lemon rind and almond extract. Beat until creamy smooth and light. Add egg mixture to the flour in bow], working until incorporated. (dough may be completed from this point in an electric mixer, outfitted with a heavy dough hook attach- See Versatile page 63