German Recipes Archives - Jenny is baking

The Fluffiest Braided Bread

This fluffy and soft braided bread is traditionally served for breakfast on Easter in Germany. I made it the first time last year in 2020 when Europe was in heavy lockdown due to COVID19 and it was hard to get flour and yeast. I was grateful I always have active-dry yeast on hand, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to make this delicious bread. I have tried many different types of this bread, but this one is by far the fluffiest and softest and for that reason I am confident to present it here.

06/03/2021

Pfeffernüsse or German Spice Cookies from Grandma

Have you ever heard of Pfeffernüsse aka German spice cookies? I live in the south of Germany in the city Munich. Once I asked in a bakery whether they sold any and they look at me as if as were from Mars. So I checked, since there are so many German dialects, maybe they use another word in Bavaria, but no, I quickly learned that they are also called Pfeffernüsse here. However, they seem to be more common in the north of Germany, the Dutch and Danish also have similar versions. The handwritten recipe book from my grandma contains about ten different recipes. Many of her recipes contain peppermint extract and this one is closer to gingerbread or German Lebkuchen. Pfeffernüsse literally translates as “pepper nuts”, probably they are called “nuts” because they are the size of walnuts. At least the ones I grew up with are rather small.

27/11/2020

Quince paste or dulce de membrillo

Quittenpaste, Quittenbrot, dulce de membrillo, Martin Fierro

Have you ever heard of quince paste? Here in Germany it is usually cut into diamond shapes and rolled in additional sugar. It is then served as a sweet during Christmas season, as another cool addition on the cookie plate. Quince paste, however, is not only famous in Germany, it is also served in Spain and Latin America as a dessert with some strong cheese such as cheddar or in some regions in Spain with goat cheese. Usually it is called “dulce de membrillo”, or in combiation with cheese in Uruguay it is also called “postre Martín Fierro”. The same quince paste is accompanied by some savory component: cheese.

10/10/2020

Chocolate Bundt Cake with Pears

A very chocolaty and moist bundt cake with pears, this is what I have to offer today. Do you like chocolate as much as I do? Then you may understand why I decorated mine with some chocolate glaze and sprinkled it with walnuts. Take a slice and enjoy this wonderful fall season!

25/09/2020

Butter Cake with Apples and Caramel Sauce

Butterkuchen mit Äpfeln und Karamellsoße

Butter Cake! Today you will get a butter cake with lots of apples, almonds, and caramel sauce. I warn you, this is a yeast dough that requires you to start at least the night before and that needs a few hours of rising before you can actually bake it. But if you bear with me and go through all the hassle, I can promise you, this is an ultra fluffy yeast dough with a nice crunch at the same time. Think of baked apples and caramel sauce as the addition to this delicious cake and you will love this one.

26/08/2020

Plum Dumplings with Semolina

Is it a German thing to be so much in love with plums? I don’t know, but I have to say, I am so very happy I tried these plum dumplings with semolina, they are such a wonderful dessert. The first time I made them, we had them for breakfast. On a weekend, of course. When I tried them first, I was curious, how would they taste with semolina? I already posted a dumplings recipe with apricots previously. A recipe I already enjoy. How would this one do in comparison?

21/08/2020

Bavarian Zwetschgendatschi or German Plum Cake

Finally it is plum time! For that reason you get Bavarian Zwetschgendatschi or plum cake today. Since I have been living in Munich, the capital of Bavaria, for more than a year, I need to introduce some local traditions and one of them definitely is Zwetschgendatschi. There are a lots of fights about what is the most classic version of this iconic dish. You can either prepare it with yeast dough or a pie crust, you may wish to only serve it with plums for them to shine. I, however, am a huge fan of crumbs or streusel and therefore decided to go with the crumb version. If you don’t want to wait for the yeast dough to rise, you can also make this plum tart, which I like just the same.

07/08/2020

Classic Red Riding Hood Cake from Germany

Have you ever heard of the red riding hood cake we have here in Germany? Well, it is a cake with a very red glaze, smooth as glass. Its shiny color reminds you of the red riding hood and hence it got its name from this tale. The base of this impressive cake is like a marbled cake, which is dotted with cherries. The second layer consists of whipping cream mixed with quark and the third is a glaze made with cherry juice. Welcome to a German fairy tale!

19/06/2020

German Cheesecake with Apricots and Crumbs

Cremiger Käsekuchen mit Aprikosen und Streuseln

I asked you on Instagram and you all agreed, you wanted to get the recipe for ths cheesecake with apricots and crumbs. So here goes. I decided to make my favorite cheesecake with a pie crust (this is a very German thing to do) and fill it with lots of apricots (two layers) and sprinkle with some crumbs. Yes, I love crumbs on about anything. If you are not that much into crumbs, you can just leave them out, no problem.

12/06/2020

Apricot Sheet Cake just like from Granny

Aprikosen-Blechkuchen mit Streuseln wie bei Oma

My granny was the queen of yeast dough. I cannot recall a single time that her yeast dough was anything else but fluffy, soft, and most delicious. I will never forget her sheet cakes prepared with yeast dough. Complimented with lots of fruit and crumbs, they were always a highlight for me. In low German these sheet cakes are called “plautz” and they have always been one of my favorite. I especially liked trying the middle piece of any sheet cake. This piece gives you a lot of fruit, a lot of crumbs, with just about the right amount of dough. My granny didn’t mind giving me the middle piece of a sheet cake. Which I of course loved. I have been thinking about her famous sheet cakes for a while now. However, since she passed away recently, I knew I had to bake a cake since she was not going to. I inherited her recipe book, which I cherish. But unfortunately, I didn’t find a lot of yeast dough recipes. Probably because she knew it by heart.

15/05/2020

Older Posts