Yay, I finally found a pumpkin pie recipe I like and I am happy to publish it here. I don’t know if you are going to kill me, but I made it with butternut squash. Somehow this is classified as a pumpkin in Germany. I decided to roast the squash in the oven. This gives it extra flavor and makes it so much easier to work with. I like butternut squash much better than hokkaido pumpkin, which is basically the main pumpkin here in Germany used for cooking and baking. I find the flavor milder, nuttier, and with a touch of caramel. I also like the fact that the color is so much brighter. It makes it more fun to take pictures of the pie. So finally I got to introduce the traditional pumpkin pie here on my blog!
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Today you get a classic: American apple pie, this one, however, with caramel. We will use the caramel in the filling, but have enough to also serve some on the side. This is an updated version of my apple pie recipe I published five years ago. I simplified the recipe a bit and finally am a proud owner of a pie form. Finally my pies look how they are supposed to look. Obviously they are delicious, anything made from scratch is always so much better!
In the U.S. you will find desserts that contain a layer of fruit covered with some type of crumbs. They are called cobbler, crumble, or crisp. I brought today a rhubarb crisp and wanted to explain briefly what the similarities are and what are the differences. They all need relatively few ingredients and can easily be made by beginners. Would you like to give this dessert a try? I am sure it will miraculously disappear as quickly and easily as possible, there is only the two of us, however, it was gone so quickly. It really is addictive!
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Can I confess something? I am not a huge fan of German cheesecake known as Käsekuchen and usually prepared with a large part of quark. American cheesecake, on the other hand? Say no more, happy to have a large helping or even two. Confessing this as a German is close to committing a crime. But I can’t help myself. Probably because I don’t like quark. I mean, I do like quark in many things, but not necessarily in a cheesecake. I think I like the creaminess of cream cheese, quark on the other hand? Not so sure. I also like the fact that cheesecake is often served with a sauce. Well, as a huge fan of anything fruity, I am all in!
Berry pie, today it is triple berry day. How to make a pie crust I explain in this blog post. This pie is filled with at least three types of berries. I had a lot of blueberries, some raspberries, and blackberries. You may also use strawberries, or, if you want to go crazy, even cherries. This pie is another summer pie, feel free to check out my cherry pie, peach pie, strawberry pie, or these blueberry hand pies. The trick for a proper set filling is here that you cook half of the berries first with some cornstarch and then add the fresh berries for additional texture. This is so delicious, I promise.
Finally I got to make one iconic dish from the US, cinnamon rolls or cinnamon buns. Yes, I have made them before, but not the classic and traditional version with cream cheese frosting. But finally I got round to it and made the full deal, no extras, but also no substitutions. These are very moist and fluffy cinnamon rolls, we will need to make a tangzhong, which means boiling flour, water and milk, so that the flour can gelatinize. This will help for the rolls to stay extra fresh. Yes, you will add five more minutes of work, but I believe it is so worth it.
Banana pudding from the south is a layer dessert, you will have vanilla wafers (basically vanilla cookies), custard, bananas, and meringue on top. Usually this dessert is served in a casserole. However, since it is only the two of us and because I had never made this dessert before, I decided to serve this pudding in dessert glasses. I also reduced the amount and ended up liking a recipe for only four dessert glasses. If you like a creamy dessert with bananas, this is a recipe you should try. Of course we are going to make the custard ourselves, it is really not as hard as you may think.
Old-fashioned rhubarb pie! Guys, I am ashamed to say, but this pie was polished within two days and it is only th two of us! If you love rhubarb, this pie is for you. It is a very simple, very plain pie, a buttery pie crust holds together: rhubarb. Yeah, duh, I decided to go for no further adornments, no additional spices, no egg, no custard, no nothing, just loads and loads of rhubarb. It is sweetened with sugar and tapioca starch will serve as the binder, but that’s it. I enjoyed mine with a dollop of whipping cream. Feel free to serve with ice cream or just eat plain!
I actually don’t think I have taken pictures of anything this fast. I believe I gave this eggnog three minutes on my balcony. It was about -3 and during the shot it was snowing heavily. But then, when I could get inside and enjoy a nice cup of eggnog, it was all worth it. Eggnpg is a mix of cream and/or milk, alcohol, eggs, and spices. This eggnog is prepared with raw eggs, so be sure that they are fresh. It is aged over time, thus you will not need to heat anything. With age it matures in flavor. The original recipe says to start two to weeks prior consumption, so this is the perfect time if you want to enjoy it for Christmas.
After a long break I am going to do another “how to” tutorial. This is geared towards German people and non-Americans because I am going to talk about pie. What exactly is a pie? The most traditional pie has a dough base (pie crust) and a filling, it may have a second pie crust it is covered with. It was already popular among the American pioneers as it didn’t contain any leavener and could all be done by hand. It usually contains few ingredients such as flour, sugar, butter, egg, and milk and/or fruit or meats and has reached popularity also outside of the U.S. The most traditional pie is probably the apple pie, pumpkin pie or pecan pie is another classic you will find everywhere for Thanksgiving. In Germany pie is not that popular, even though the Europeans brought their different pies and tarts to the U.S. in the first place before it became so popular in the U.S.

















