German Archives - Page 2 of 2

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. For more recipes with plums, check this article.

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

Traditional German Cinnamon Stars with Video

Die allerbesten und einfachsten Zimtsterne

These are the easiest and simplest cinnamon stars! I know, I am posting this recipe pretty late, you probably are all done with your Christmas baking. The reason I am doing this, is because I posted an Instagram story with several tips for making these. You all asked which recipe I was using and why the recipe is not on my blog yet. For that reason I decided to post this traditional German Christmas cookie: cinnamon stars! The recipe is completely gluten-free and only contains a few ingredients. The dough can be a bit finicky, my German bakers know what I am talking about. Below you will find several tips how to make them and for the recipe to turn out great.

17/12/2019

Perfect Gingerbread for Houses and Christmas Tree Decoration

Perfekter Lebkuchen für Baumschmuck, Dekoration, Knusperhäuschen usw.

It was the end of November, we were living as poor university students at that point in Dresden, in the east of Germany. We had no clue what to do. Everybody around us seemed to be busy decorating the apartment with wood handcraft from the close Ore mountains. Nutcrackers, smoking manikins, “Schwippbögen”, these are usually showing the nativity, were unwrapped and placed throughout the apartment. We simply couldn’t afford German wood handcraft from the region and therefore only had bare walls to show. Our Christmas decorations? Nil, nada, inexistent. What to do if you can barely make ends meet? My solution was simple: gingerbread or German Lebkuchen. Gingerbread is perfect if you want to use it as decoration. Regardless if you wish to use it for a gingerbread house (or even village?), to decorate your Christmas tree with, or to make an advent calendar. Gingerbread was my solution to our Christmas decoration.

09/12/2019

German Nut Triangles

These German nut triangles are one of my favorite desserts from Germany. I just learned recently that you supposedly only serve them during Christmas season in some regions of Germany. However, I remember seeing them everywhere all year round, every bakery had them at least where we lived. Even the school kiosk offered them all the time and I happily ate them day in and day out.

04/10/2019

Creamy German Cheesecake with Strawberries

Creamy German Cheesecake with strawberries, that’s what you will get today. You may ask what German cheesecake is compared to American cheesecake? The main differences are that you use quark or curd cheese instead of only cream cheese and you have a pie crust to keep it all together and not your typical cookie crust. Do you want to give this cheesecake a try? The version you see below is the creamiest of them all. You can eat it plain or serve it, as I did, with a strwaberry topping. If you rather try some other, this is more traditional cream cheesecake with blueberries a no refined sugar, this one with apples and caramel, this one is the traditional Japanese, or a no-bake with limes. Continue Reading…

03/05/2019

Fluffy “Kaiserschmarren” with Rhubarb Compote

Fluffiger Kaiserschmarren mit Rhabarberkompott

Have you every heard of “Kaiserschmarren”? This is a giant pancake cut into small pieces, dusted with icing sugar and served with compote. It is very famous in Austria and the south of Germany. Since I recently moved from the north of Germany to the south, to Munich, I felt it was time I gave this traditional recipe another go. There is a whole war going on whether to include raisins or not, but I love the plain version, sorry. However, I decided to serve it with rhubarb compote. Normally you would serve it with a plum compote, but it is spring and I like rhubarb, so why not give this a little spin. So think a pancake cut in neat pieces, dusted with icing sugar and some nice fruit compote on the side and you get this Kaiserschmarren. Sounds good?

16/04/2019

Heidesand Cookies

Recipes with a story behind are the best in my opinion. This definitely holds true for these Heidesand cookies. For that reason I feel especially honored to introduce them here. The recipe was passed down from the lovely lady Mrs. P. Mrs. P was busy baking these cookies for her granddaugther when the handyman who was working at her place asked why it was smelling so nice in her kitchen. Mrs. P. replied that she was preparing Heidesand cookies as these were the favorite of her granddaugther and immediately handed a cookie to the handyman. He was so excited about the cookies after he tried them that he continued praising them as soon as he returned home. The girlfriend of the handyman listened to his story and immediately requested that he ask for the recipe the next day when he was about to return to Mrs. P’s house. He glady returned the favor and asked Mrs. P. for the recipe. She got very excited, immediately sat down and wrote down the recipe for him, which he then faithfully passed on to his girldfriend. And this is the point where the story takes a tragic turn. Because Mrs. P. passed away shortly after. But had passed on the recipe to the girlfriend, who has baked this recipe many times and now passed on the recipe to me. I will definitely hold it very dear in my recipe collection.

05/10/2018

German Stollen

I am excited to say that today I have the privilege of opening the first Advent door of the Advent Calendar, see further details here. Advent what? The Advent Calendar is a tradition that originated somewhere in Germany at the end of the 19th century. The basic idea is to make waiting for Christmas more bearable. For that reason between December 1 and 24 you get a daily tiny treat. It is common in German to say to “open the Advent door” to see what treat is found. Traditionally the calendar is filled with little chocolates, which are hidden behind tiny doors, but the Advent Calendar I want to introduce to you is a Food Advent Calendar. Every day one blogger will open their blog door and show us a new recipe they specifially created for this event. I named the calendar Food Advent Calendar “Spice It Up!” and requested for participating bloggers to use a spice, which is commonly used during the season. I picked the tonka bean and wanted to introduce you to the German Christmas Stollen. Let’s open Advent Door No. 1!

01/12/2017

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