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birthday

Chocolate Zucchini Cake for my Birthday

This chocolate zucchini cake was served for my birthday a few days ago. Of course I made it myself. Everybody who knows me is aware that I am a huge chocoholic. There is a reason I have a separate chocolate category on my blog. For my birthday I wanted a rich and decadent chocolate cake. Since it is zucchini season right now, why not make a chocolate zucchini cake? However, this time I decided against combining chocolate with a fruit. The most traditional of course being with raspberries. It does not surprise me that the raspberry chocolate cake has been clicked on more than 220,000 times. I have also another popular banana chocolate cake on my blog. If you are interested to learn what I have made for previous birthday check this out. Spoiler: each year I try something different and almost always it is going to be with chocolate. This year I wanted chocolate flavor, so I decided to fill this cake with a chocolate frosting. So creamy and so good, I think it is worth each and every calorie!

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How to Make a Heart Cake out of a Round Cake

You don’t have a heart-shaped cake pan, but you would like to make a heart-shaped cake either for Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day? I got you covered. How you can make a round cake into a heart-shaped cake with minimal loss of cake is explained in this blog post. We are going to cut the cake and cover everything with buttercream. I will show this process with photos. In addition, I will list 14 different cake recipes, which may serve as the base of your heart. The recipe for the pictured raspberry chocolate heart is also part of this article.

How to transform a round cake into a heart-shape cake without a heart-shaped cake form

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Two Recipes for a Smash Cake

Have you heard of the tradition of smashing a cake for the first birthday of a baby?  It is called “cake smash” and the tradition was established in the United States. Now it has become popular in Germany as well. I have to say, I am quite a bit jealous. Even as an adult I wouldn’t mind smashing a cake, you know. So being allowed as a baby to do that and being photographed, well, what is not to like? Today I am going to give you two recipes for a smash cake. Since babies are smaller, I would recommend going for a 15-18cm/6 inch cake instead of a 26cm/9inch one. One of the most crucial aspects of a smash cake is the frosting. You want to be sure it holds up nicely and it is something pleasant for the baby. The recipe below is for a vanilla cake with strawberry filling. You will also see a chocolate cake pictured, which contains a lot of zucchini to make it somewhat “healthier”. I included both recipes for your convenience. Below you will also find some tips on what is relevant for a proper cake prepared for a smash.

Rezept für einen Smash CakeFeatured photo and this one from baby photographer Chen Reissl Continue Reading…

Today I am turning 40!

Bam, so I am turning 40 today, wow. I am old, suddenly all these terms pop up, such as middle-aged, half time, mid-life crisis, not very encouraging, don’t you think? But I can’t change the fact that I am 40 now. So I figured, OK, so be it, I guess I will have to deal. When we were on holiday in Spain end of July, I asked my in-laws if we could pre-celebrate my birthday, they complied. We had paella, which was prepared by my brother-in-law (thank you again!) and since we couldn’t decide for a flavor, we went for paella mixta, so it had it all,  rabbit, chicken, and seafood. I was responsible for dessert (of course) and decided to make tarte tatin with apricots. We drank wine, which is a given in the wine region, we had a wonderful scenery with vineyards and a river, it was just so wonderful! Thanks to my in-laws for this wonderful experience: fue un placer, muchísimas gracias!

Featured picture and above picture by Daniel Cuervo

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Pup Cake for a Pup’s Birthday

Hund isst Geburtstagstorte

Today you will get the recipe for a pup’s cake as our Australian Shepherd Hazel turned 1 recently. She gobbled up this birthday cake within minutes, I was quite surprised. I will never forgot how in August 2021 we picked her up from the breeder. It was a hot day. At the beginning having a puppy is quite demanding. It’s like having a mobile baby, she didn’t know when she simply needed to sleep and got all naughty and grumpy. By now we have figured out how to get along with each other. It takes a while to understand and communicate properly. Currently she is a teenager, just like a human teenager she is a bit rebellious and we need to show her her boundries again. But compared to the first months, I am sure we will get through this as well. But now back to the cake. Our dog loves strawberries and whipping cream. I know that some dogs have problems digesting airy products, so before you make this cake, be sure to check whether all ingredients can be eaten by yours.

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Chocotorta from Argentina

Chocotorta aus Argentinien

Chocotorta is a cake from Argentina that is typically served on birthdays. Usually it does not require for you to turn on the oven as it basically contains store-bought cookies (called “chocolinas” in Argentina), the caramel cream dulce de leche, and cream cheese. If you have these ingredients at hand, you can already prepare a simple chocotorta. I included a chocolate ganache on top of this, but that is optional. However, my recipe below also includes making the cookies from scratch and for that reason we are going to turn on the oven after all.

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Pink Raspberry Champagne Cake

Today you will get a pink champagne raspberry cake, with no artificial food coloring, but a lot of alcohol. You may also use your favorite rose wine. I decided to use a traditional white cake as the base and put a lot of reduced champagne in it. These cake layers are then brushed in reduced champagne for extra flavor and also to keep the cake moist. The filling, on the other hand, is prepared with raspberries as I find their tart and acid flavor to combine nicely with the alcohol. Let’s celebrate with this pink champagne raspberry cake!

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Pink Raspberry Birthday Cake

Pinke Geburtstagstorte

Did you have fancy birthdays when you were a kid? I mean, I do know that we celebrated, but I feel back in the days there was much less hassle. Today everything is planned and thought of, be it the invitation, the decoration, the cake, and of course the gifts. I don’t know which one is better, but I do know that I would have like a very pink birthday cake on my birthday as a girl. Since I love raspberries, I for sure would have liked a very pink raspberry cake. I do not recall ever getting such as cake, but why not make it now? With this blog post I also have the pleasure as giving these sweet little cake toppers away you see on the cake. They are from the talented Ellen Martens.

Pinke GeburtstagstorteCake topper from Ellen Martens

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My Favorite Raspberry Chocolate Cupcakes

Schoko-Himbeer-Cupcakes

Do you love raspberries with chocolate? Then these raspberry chocolate cupcakes are for you. Since my raspberry chocolate cake became the runner-up in 2020 and has already more than 100 reviews, I decided to give this flavor combination another chance. What better option than to ygo for cupcakes? Cupcakes usually require less time and are wonderful for any events, parties, or even for Valentine or a birthday. My version contains my favorite chocolate cupcake, a tart raspberry filling and buttercream bursting with raspberry flavor. No artifical food coloring required.

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Healthy Melon Cake for a Summer Party

Gesunde Melonentorte ohne backen für die Sommerparty

You don’t want to turn on the oven, but would like to impress your guests with a two, three, or even four-tier cake? If possible, it should be healthy and nice to look at? Look no further, you need to try this melon cake! Yes, this is basically serving fresh fruit, but not just a salad or simply on a plate, no, here you stack melon onto each other and produce a tiered cake! So here you have it, a tiered cake with no gluten, refined sugar, and completely vegan. This is something for health-conscious people. And it is nice to look at and definitely a show-stopper. No matter if you make this in a large size or as I did in a smaller version, I am sure that your guests are going to be impressed.

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