Cake-baking in Switzerland...

[Wuxiapian]

I want to make DP a birthday cake surprise.

I can't find an 8" cake-baking tin - have a loose-bottomed 9" tin. Tut. Will that, lined, do?

No luck finding vanilla essence - will a pod-scrape suffice?

Does anyone know if I can find evaporated milk, or of an equivalent?

Oh, and dark brown sugar - does this exist in GVA??

Is my Milk Chocolate cake doomed to failure?

Much thanks in desperation!!

Hi Wuxia - you are always baking cakes!

For specialist things like that I would suggest the American shop(in Cologny, I think) or there is a British/Asian shop near Cornavin or Jim's (the British shop in France but probably too far out). Or Manor maybe?

In French supermarkets there is a 'world' food aisle and it always makes me laugh when I see marshmallows, evap milk etc there.

Or you could go out and get a swiss cake recipe book, as sometimes tailoring a foreign recipe, even if it is one you have known all your life, can be hard to make work with "foreign" ingredients.

I do enjoy baking (and devouring) the sweet stuff, juststrudel!

Hmm. Thanks for suggestions. They are a tad far out, but noted for future reference!

There is a small ethnic type shop down the road, I'll pop down in hope!

I've heard of Jim's. We'll have to nip down and get a car-load of stuff, methinks.

Now scouring the 'net for a swiss recipe... COCOA POWDER! Something else I've yet to stumble upon!

This chocolate cake not looking likely, is it?

There's also a British on-line 'supermarket' but don't know what it is called but could save you trekking out to Jim's.

you cant find cocoa powder?

Is it a question of you not speaking the language and have problems navigating a swiss supermarket?

I was shopping with my sister who lives in Spain, and still managed to find these kind of items, even if I dont speak Spanish.

I did, however, NOT find them in India.

I cant believe swiss supermarkets dont stock basic baking paraphernalia and ingredients!

There is certainly cocoa powder in the Coop and Migros, as I have bought it many times. However, have yet to find evaporated milk.

Have you time to order online? I will look up the link for britshop.

goodness, it REALLY should not be necesseray to find a british online shop to buy ingredients for baking, in EUROPE!

I am in Norway, and I have had to compromise a little, people here dont use self raising flour, so any brit recipe containing this needs to be altered, by adding baking soda and salt to regular flour. There is no icing, aside from straight out icing sugar, so need to make all icing from scratch, or order from Blue Ribbon, but I cannot believe you should need to order cocoa powder or vanilla essence from the uk.

Maybe you could try and melt milk chocolate into your basic vanilla sponge? I have done that with great success.

Quint - calm down, Wuxia is new to Geneva and still finding her way round she was just asking for suggestions.

Welcome to Geneva.
Sorry if I appear brusque! I dont mean to be!

www.britshop.ch

QuintessentialShadow - yes of course you CAN compromise and just use local ingredients. But sometimes it's nice to have a taste of home. Britshop wouldn't exist in Switzerland if so many brits didn't miss self-raising flour and carnation milk.

Evaporated milk is Kafeesahne in german speaking supermarkets, look for it next to the tea and coffee.

You can get cocoa powder from any good supermarket. "Kakaopulver" in german. Should be in the baking ingredients area.

Dark brown sugar is hard to get outside the UK - I have found it in France, and also in Germany, but only at a few supermarkets. You might have to substitute Demarara, which is common.
In French, its Sucre Roux de Canne, extra fin, en poudre, and the one I got is Bio (organic), from teh Philippines, from SuperU.

But I think your best investment might be a Swiss baking book from your local english speaking bookshop!

Just thought, I may be wrong about Kaffeesahne (it may be single cream, or some unholy mixture), but I have def seen evaporated milk in the same section, ie for drinking with coffee. Cant remember what its called though. I dont buy the stuff myself!

Hi Wux.

Have a look for Vanilla Sugar Vanillin or a vanille pod. Add a packet of Vanillin instead of vanilla essence.

I think that evaporated milk is this stuff that they use for putting in coffee.

Cocoa powder - I would use Nesquick or similar.

You should get dark brown sugar here too. Look for this

Sorry that those links are in German, but it easier to search in the language that I speak.

I do know what you mean, Quint. I spent 15 years in Germany and gave up on baking British recipes as it was so difficult to find the ingredients. Here in Geneva and neighbouring France it is easier to find the ingredients, or their equivalents and I must admit to being so pleased to be able to bake a little piece of home.

And does anyone in Geneva fancy coffee next week?

for cocoa powder you could use caotina or another drinking chocolate (sp?) and reduce the sugar..

night, I think the kaffeesahne is evap too.

I do feel your pain OP. We are lucky in Zug to have two, yes two, english food shops. I don't do a lot of baking due to oven issue, but when I wanted to make dd a cake for her birthday a couple of years ago it was a nightmare. I ended up buying a cake mix. Keep looking, you'll eventually find what you need.

you can also use vanille Aroma (it comes in small glass vials that look like the UK perfume samples, stapled to a bit of card.

Migros (at least the larger ones) sells this vanilla paste (click on link and then choose click on link to vanilla bean paste to see a picture) which works well instead of vanilla essence (also good stirred into natural yogurt)

Dark brown sugar - I've not found it here in Basel. I just use caster sugar for pretty much everything not and it's all's been fine. Different but fine.

8 inches is 20cm right? I have one I bought here somewhere. I bought a 26cm tin in Migros on Saturday and they had loads of sizes so there must be one there. (although personally I'd just use the one you have!!)

ooh, this thread just reminded me of baking a cake when Aupairing in Switzerland - the bloody thing was as flat as a pancake, guess it could have been the altitude, was in Champery so pretty high up (or my crap baking skills! )

Bubble
not your crap baking skills. The German/Swiss baking powder is different to ours so your cake would not rise.

If you want British style fluffy cakes you need British baking powder. Now available in Migros, Manor and Coop.

Ahh, that could be it! Cost me a weeks wages to buy all the stuff as it was - soooo expensive to live on a measly Aupair wage over there!

Ok, back from my mini-mission!

I have cocoa powder! Was looking in completely the wrong ailes in t'shops (or the floor managers don't know their arse from their elbows). Tut.

I'll give the sucre vanilline a go!

Will certainly be ordering from BritShop, thanks, Heading4 home!!

Until then, I'll have to risk using regular coffee cream as a substitute for evaporated milk.

Also have better sized tins. Nay. Trays, but they'll do for now!

Thanks to all for responses and, sorry to those I may've inadvertantly upset by my inferior local knowlegde

you are going to have to post a pic of the finished article after all of this!

LOL.

Indeed, 120. Fingers crossed it'll give a standing beam!