This is the perfect cake for Valentine’s Day, a moist and decadent strawberry chocolate cake. Who would like to get a piece of this deliciousness? The cake is made of a devil’s food cake, the filling is made with real strawberries and since it is not the season yet, we will use frozen strawberries. The final touches are a chocolate drip and fresh strawberries dipped in chocolate. Who wants a piece?
Today I am going to reintroduce an old recipe anew: choux pastry in the form of hearts with a raspberry filling. This is an airy and light dessert. Don’t be intimidated by choux pastry. I have discovered a new recipe which never fails me. Below I piped the choux pastry to hearts, but you are free to also make traditional profiteroles or eclairs if you wish. The raspberry filling is not too sweet, more on the tart side and very fruity. I reduced the amount of butter and cream cheese in order to make is really taste like raspberries.
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.
Featured photo and this one from baby photographer Chen Reissl Continue Reading…
Today we have a Mexican cake from the north called “mostachón de fresas.” Its base is a nut-based meringue (including crackers) a cream-cheese topping and of course strawberries. I learned that you can basically decorate with any kind of fruit. In Mexico mangos are pretty popular, but I figured since we have strawberry season and strawberries are also popular for this cake, I would stick to the traditional version. It may sound like a strange combination, especially the salty crackers, but my husband and me loved it.
When Meghan Markle and Prince Harry got married in May 2018, the combination of lemon and elderflower were all the rage. Yes, I also made a mini three-tiered elderflower lemon cake. Today, I decided to give this combo another chance. This year elderflowers are in full bloom at the moment, so you may even have the chance to make the cordial yourself. The new version of this royal combination contains moist lemon sponge cakes, lemon curd and a heavy cream and mascarpone filling infused with elderflower cordial. My cake only has one tier and I decided to decorate it with dried flowers and some fresh elderflowers. However, it is up to you how you want to decorate your cake.
May 20th is the worldwide Bee Day. For that reason I decided to publish a recipe with honey, today you will get a honey lavender bundt cake. In addition, I am giving away 1x honey jar from Münchner Honig, which was produced by the bees you see pictured here, 1x set of bee wax papers from Little bee fresh and 2x seeds to make a tiny meadow on your balcony to give the bees some flowers to take nectar from. How to be part of this, I explain below.
Did you know that working bees only live for six weeks? During that time they produce about a teaspoon of honey. Next time you complain about the price of honey, you know why. Considering that bees need to fly three times around the earth in order to produce one jar of honey, I would say honey is pretty cheap, don’t you think?
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Finally strawberry season is upon us. I thought I would introduce cute little strawberry cupcakes to you guys shortly before Mother’s Day. They are easily prepared and would be such a sweet gift. If you transport the cupcakes without the forsting, you can even travel a bit. I recommend swirling on the frosting shortly before serving. I mean, who wouldn’t love a lemon cupcake with strawberry-jam filling and whipped cream that is infused with freeze-dried strawberries?
Pavlova, a meringue nest with whipped cream and mango filling, who wants a piece? I am going to introduce this recipe from Australia/New Zealand to you. Reason for this being my hubby, who requested pavlova for our 12-year anniversary. There is a similar recipe in Colombia, called merengón with berries, whipped cream and meringue. No wonder that he wanted something similar. Pavlova is, compared to meringue, slightly different. You do have a crunchy outside, yet since you fold in a bit of cornstarch and vingear, the inside remains creamy (see picture below) which is similar to marshmallows. Does this sound like something you are into? Then you should give pavlova a try.
Finally, today I am going to show you a basic yeast dough recipe, this is a raspberry yeast wreath, which is a wonderful treat for breakfast or if you want something nice with your coffee.
It’s about high time for another sponge roll. This time I am offering a refreshing lemon sponge roll, which is perfect for winter days. The vanilla sponge contains lemon zest as well as lemon juice and obiously the same holds true to the filling as well. For the extra kick, we will brush the roll with some lemon syrup.
