Today I am offering buttery apple turnovers, which we will make with rough puff pastry. Yes, you read right, we will make the rough puff pastry ourselves, but I believe it is so worth it. It does require a bit of work, but definitely not as much as real puff pastry. Of course you are free to buy puff pastry if you believe it is too much work. I filled mine with buttered apples, which were spiced up with a few spices. Are you interested in the recipe?
We finally need another German recipe on the blog, for that reason you will get the typical Snow White Cake aka Donauwelle. But I am serving this classic with a twist, you will get it with strawberries instead of cherries. This cake contains a marbled cake base (another super German recipe) into which you press some cherries (normally), followed by a layer of German buttercream and topped off with a chocolate layer. Beside the Black Forest Cake this Snow White Cake is super German for me. But since I was not in the mood for canned cherries, I decided to use a lot of fresh strawberries, so my buttercream contains chunks of strawberry. The chocolate layer also has some strawberries tucked inside. Because why not?
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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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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?
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.
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!
