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?
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…
If hubby says after the first bite that this tastes exactly like in Colombia, you simply know that this is a winner. May I introduce Colombian mantecada aka pound cake (ponqué). The main difference between a regular pound cake and this one is that part of the flour is replaced with corn flour. This automatically makes the cake denser. However, nonetheless very delicious. In Colombia this cake is served for breakfast or as a snack. It is usually eaten plain without any glaze or other components, pure and simple.
And here it comes, a wintery cranberry cake with lemon sponge! Pshhhhht, this was the cake I baked for the 40th birthday of my husband and it was gone so quickly! This cake is tart and so perfect for a cold winter day. Yes, you can bake this cake also during another season in case you find fresh cranberries, however, I find it particularly refreshing in winter. So as stated, you will find airy lemon sponge cake combined with cranberry filling and a light mascarpone and cream frosting. So delicious!
The good thing when you get married to somebody from another country is that you can start your own traditions. I got married to a Colombian 12 years ago, but we have been living in Germany since the start. Christmas is traditionally something we have discussed extensively. I have explained the difference between Colombian and German Christmas in this blog post. Man, we have discussed so many things, should it be the traditional bird as is common in Germany or should we go for the many snacks Colombians like to serve for Christmas? Should we make tamales, which is corn, veggies and meat steamed in banana leaves and which require a lot of work? Should we focus on the gifts instead or spend hours on the food? One thing we have learned over the years is that what works best for us is to create new traditions. Traditions that are neither German nor Colombian, but just us. New traditions we like and enjoy.
When I showed you in my stories on Instagram how I made this strudel, so many of you asked for the recipe and how I did it, so this is it! A classic apple strudel with some streusel or crumbs. I know that strudel dough can be intimidating, it was also for me, but like with everything, practice makes perfect. My first strudel looked very different, it had a lot of thick parts and I had so many wholes in it. But one of the good things of strudel is that the main event is the filling anyway, so even if your dough is not perfect, it does not matter that much because the dough is so thin and only is there to hold together the fruit filling or whatever you are going with.
Brazilians love a proper and decadent dessert. This chocolate cake with Brigadeiro filling (this is a confect), is definitely a calorie bomb. A small woman would probably devour two days of calories or so if eating one piece. I don’t know, but I know that this ain’t healthy or low in calories. I made this cake originally for a birthday of a Brazilian. I used the smallest cake pan I had. Because you won’t be able to eat much more than a tiny piece. This is a cake for all chocolate lovers. Sweetened condensed milk is a staple in Brazilian cuisine, especially in any cake. Brigadeiro is a small ball, made of sweetened condensed milk, butter and other dairy products and cocoa or chocolate. The balls are rolled in chocolate shavings (see pictured below). This chocolate cake has a Brigadeiro filling and frosting. The only difference is that it is slightly looser so that you can use it as a filling or frosting. The whole cake had to be covered in chocolate shavings as well, of course.
Da ist sie, DIE Oreo-Torte! Ich war ehrlich überrascht, dass ihr zu 100% dieses Rezept haben wolltet, als ich euch auf Instagram gefragt habe. Wow, das freut und ehrt mich. Es gibt hier bereits eine vegane Oreo-Torte auf dem Blog, die letztes Jahr unter den Top 10 der beliebtesten Rezepte war. So war es mir ein Anliegen eine nicht vegane Version zu backen und ich scheine bei dem unten stehenden Rezept einen Volltreffer gelandet zu haben, Testesser haben mir bestätigt, dass diese Torte wie ein riesengroßer Oreo schmeckt – nur irgendwie besser.
OK, this simple one-layer cake may not look that pretty, but I am telling you, it is so delicious! We have a one-layer chocolate base, which is then topped with whipping cream infused with cinnamon and plums that are simmered for a while. You need to serve the cake immediately, otherwise you may see something similar as I did, mainly that the plums move towards the plate. But be it as it may, it may not look the part, but it is sooo delicious!
So I started school in Germany back in the days. And you may not know it, but it is super common to have a school cone on the first day. However, I didn’t. Because we had moved from Uruguay recently and were not familiar with the traditions for your first school day. At least I had a proper rectangle school bag, it was purple and I was so proud! Every summer break I would scrub it and make it shine. I used it for many years. But to get back, I didn’t have the famous school cone, which contains sweets and materials for your first day of school. So I had to make sure when it was my niece’s turn for her first day of school, that we would have a cake look like a school cone. She of course had a proper school cone. The below cake pictures the one I made for her. It is slightly different, but I decided to show the pictures to make you realize how versatile the chocolate cake actually is. And also how easy and simple. I swear, this cake is so easy to make, it really comes together quickly. The recipe below gives you an idea of how to fill it with a cream and cherry pie filling. I hope you will enjoy!
