Apple Cake (Riemchenapfel)

This cake is known in the Rhineland as "Riemchenapfel", and every bakery sells it. The filling can vary; in addition to apple sauce apricot or plum jam is also used. When using unsweetened apple sauce this cake is very healthy (for a cake): the yeast dough contains little sugar, and the filling only contains the sugar from the fruit.

Ingredients:

Springform, 26 cm (10 inches) in diameter

Some grease or parchment paper 

250 g all-purpose flour 

125 ml milk, lukewarm 

25 g butter

75 g sugar 

1 package active dry yeast 

1 pinch salt

700 g apple sauce, unsweetened 

2 tablespoons apricot jam 

Preparation:

1. Prepare yeast batter: sift flour into a bowl, mix with 25 g sugar, then make a little dent into the flour. Sprinkle 25 g sugar around the rim on the flour. Heat milk until lukewarm. Add 25 g sugar and yeast, stir; pour milk with yeast and sugar into the well in the flour. Cover bowl with a towel. Let yeast rise for about 30 minutes in a warm place or until bubbly.

2. Using the knead hooks of an electric hand mixer mix ingredients in bowl. Add salt and butter and work the dough until it starts pulling back, pulling away from the bowl, and forming a ball. Remove dough from the hooks and the side of the bowl. Sprinkle some flour over the dough, so that it won't stick to your hands.

3. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 F). Line the springform bottom with parchment paper or grease. Roll out 1/3 of the dough and put on springform bottom. Take another 1/3 of the dough, make long tubes and line the inner edge of the springform. Push the tubes flat against the edge, about 2 cm  high, and connect the edge with the springform bottom.

4. Add apple sauce to springform. Spread evenly. Take the remaining 1/3 of the dough, roll it out flat into a circle with the diameter of the springform. Using a pizza or a pastry wheel cut out thin strips. Put the strips in a crisscross pattern over the applesauce.

5. Bake cake for about 30 min at 180 degrees Celsius (350 F).

6. Stir apricot jam until smooth. Remove cake from oven and brush the top with the apricot jam. Remove springform edge, let cake cool down before serving. 

Comments:

1. The cake is best when served with freshly whipped cream.

2. The sugar for the yeast batter can be further reduced (25 g).

Espresso Chocolate Cake

When I saw a photo of this cake I was intrigued by its looks, and what can be wrong with chocolate and coffee?!

Ingredients:

Deep baking sheet 

Parchment paper 

For crust:

125 g all-purpose wheat flour 

1/4 teaspoon baking powder 

15 g cocoa powder 

50 g sugar 

1 package vanilla sugar or some vanilla extract 

80 g soft butter

2 tablespoons water or milk

For sponge cake:

4 eggs 

80 g sugar 

1 package vanilla sugar or some vanilla extract 

80 g all-purpose wheat flour 

1/2 teaspoon baking powder 

20 g potato or corn starch 

Filling:

200 g dark fruit jam/spread

600 g whipping cream 

100 g dark chocolate 

5-6 teaspoons instant espresso powder 

Decoration:

Shaved chocolate, espresso beans, mini chocolate bars

Preparation:

1. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Pencil a circle of about 22 cm (9 inches) in diameter. Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius (375 F).

2. Prepare crust: sift flour, baking powder and cocoa power into a bowl and mix, then add all remaining ingredients. Using an electric hand mixer mix batter until crumbles have formed. Put crumbles into the circle drawn on parchment paper. Press crumbles together with the back of a tablespoon. Bake cake for about 15 minutes, the remove crust from hot baking sheet.

3. Line baking sheet with a new piece of parchment paper. Prepare sponge cake: whisk eggs until fluffy. Add sugar and vanilla sugar or vanilla extract and whisk for an additional 2 minutes. Sift flour, baking powder and starch, add mixture to batter and briefly mix. Spread sponge batter onto parchment paper and bake at 200 degrees Celsius (375 F) for about 9 minutes. Remove sponge cake from hot baking sheet and let cool upside down on a second piece of parchment paper.

4. Prepare filling: In a stovetop pot melt chocolate into the whipping cream at low heat stirring frequently. Add espresso powder to taste. Remove cream from heat, and chill in refrigerator until cold.

5. Spread 2 tablespoons jam or fruit spread onto the pie crust. Remove parchment paper from sponge cake and cut sponge lengthwise into four strips of equal width. Spread remaining jam or fruit spread onto sponge strips.

6. Whip chilled cream unto stiff. Spread 2/3 of the stiff cream onto the sponge strips. Roll up the first sponge strips like rolling up a jelly roll. Put the rolled up strig with one open end on the pie crust. Now take the next sponge strip. Where the first strip ends start rolling the second strip around the cake. Do the same with the remaining two strips. Spread the remaining cream on top and around the sides of the cake. Remove any extra crust that is bigger than the actual cake. Decorate the cake with remaining chocolate cream, shaved chocolate and espresso beans. Chill cake in fridge for about 1 h before serving.

Date Cookies

This recipe uses oats, so these cookies can be eaten by people who are sensitive to gluten.

Ingredients:

Baking sheet 

Parchment paper 

100 g oats

250 g (fresh) dates

For the batter:

50 g soft butter

3 tablespoons maple syrup 

2 eggs 

50 g hazelnut flour

1 teaspoon baking powder 

Preparation:

1. Roast oats at low heat in a pan without oil; pour onto a plate and let cool down. Pit dates and mince into fine pieces.

2. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 F). Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

3. Add butter and maple syrup to a bowl. Blend until smooth using an electric hand mixer. Add eggs, one at a time and mix for 1/2 minute per egg.

4. Mix hazelnut flour with baking powder; add to batter. Lastly, add minced dates, and briefly blend.

5. Using two tablespoons put a walnut sized amount onto parchment paper. Leave some space in between cookies.

6. Bake cookies for about 15-20 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius (350 F).

7. Remove baking sheets from oven, pull cookies and parchment paper off the baking sheet. Let cookies cool down, then store in an airtight box.

Comments:

1. The original recipe uses a blender to purée the dates. I had a hard time with this, so I cut them into small pieces. If you decide to blend then you might have to soak the dates in water to soften them. Or use very fresh and ripe dates.

2. Oats do not contain gluten, so you can make these cookies if you are sensitive to gluten. However, oats and wheat are often processed in the same plant. To avoid issues caused by cross contamination make sure to buy certified gluten free oats.

3. The original recipe bakes these cookies for 30 minutes, but mine would have been burned if I had baked them that long.

Rum Sponge Cookies

Ingredients:

Baking sheet

Parchment paper

For the batter:

3 eggs

120 g sugar

1 pinch salt

3 tablespoons rum

150 g all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

Filling:

Nutella or some other soft chocolate filling

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 F). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Whisk eggs with an electric hand mixer for about 1 minute until fluffy. Add sugar, salt and rum and whisk until sugar has dissolved.

3. Sift flour into a separate bowl. Add flour in two portions to batter. Remove about 4 tablespoons of the batter; add cocoa powder to the removed portion and make sure cocoa is mixed in well. Transfer cocoa batter into a ziplock bag, then cut a small corner.

4. Using two teaspoons add small portions of the yellow batter onto parchment paper. Leave some space between the cookies. Squeeze the cocoa batter in a spiral pattern on top of yellow batter.

5. Bake cookies for about 10 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius (350 F). Remove cookies from oven, let cool down by removing the parchment paper with the cookies from the baking sheet.

6. Once the cookies have cooled down, take one cookie and spread some Nutella on the flat back edge. Take a second cookie and press its back against the Nutella.

7. Store cookies in an air-tight box.

Cherry-Yoghurt Cake with an Eggnogg Topping

Fruits are much more limited during fall. Apples, pears, and oranges are abundant, but other fruits are more scarce. Thus, fall is a great time to use other ingredients like chocolate or my favorite, jarred sour cherries. In Germany these cherries are known as "Schattenmorellen". Trader Joe's imports them and sells them as Morello Cherries.

Ingredients:

9x13 inch (30x40 cm) Pyrex dish or deep baking dish

Some grease

Batter:

4 eggs

125 g sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

125 ml vegetable oil

150 ml sparkling water

250 g all-purpose flour

3 leveled teaspoons baking powder

1 jar sour cherries (Dark Morello Cherries from Trader Joe's or Schattenmorellen)

Yoghurt Topping:

400 g (1 pint) whipping cream

3 teaspoons powdered sugar

400 g Greek Yoghurt (Fage)

Eggnogg Topping:

250 ml (1 cup) Eggnogg (with alcohol)

1/2 package non-cook vanilla pudding (JELL-O)

Preparation:

1. Drain sour cherries very well. (You can drink the juice; it's really tasty as a spritzer with sparkling water). Grease Pyrex dish or baking dish. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 F).

2. Whisk eggs, sugar and vanilla extract with an electric hand mixer for about 1 minute or until fluffy. Add oil and sparkling water and whisk briefly.

3. Mix flour and baking powder and sift into a separate bowl. Add flour mixture in two portions to the batter, whisk after addition of each portion. Pour batter into. Pyrex or deep baking dish, bake at 180 degrees Celsius (350 F) for about 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

4. Remove cake from oven and let cool down. Spread drained sour cherries on top of cake. Whip cream with powdered sugar until stiff. Briefly stir yoghurt until smooth. Carefully fold whipped cream under yoghurt. Spread yoghurt-cream topping on top of cherries. Chill for a while.

5. Whisk eggnogg and JELL-O for about 2 minutes. Pour eggnogg mixture on top of yoghurt topping and spread evenly. Chill cake for a couple of hours or overnight before serving.

Comments:

1. The eggnogg brand I remember from Germany, probably because of their memorable ads, is Verpoorten advocaat. That one is rather expensive in the USA, so I used Pennsylvania Dutch.

Apple Cake with a Marzipan Topping

Ingredients:

9x11 (30x40 cm) Pyrex or deep baking dish or 12 inch (28 cm) springform

Some grease

Pie Crust:

220 g all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

75 g sugar

110 g (1 stick) soft butter or margarine

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 package vanilla sugar

2 tablespoons milk

Filling:

750 g or 1.5 pounds apples

Topping:

100 g marzipan

4 tablespoons calvados

75 g soft butter or margarine

75 g sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 package vanilla sugar

150 g sour cream

100 g sliced almonds

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven so 180 degrees Celsius (350 F). Grease bottom of baking dish or springform.

2. Mix flour and baking powder, then sift into a bowl. Add remaining ingredients and using the knead hooks of an electric hand mixer until a dough has formed. Chill in refrigerator until ready to use.

3. Peel apples, cut into quarters and remove core. Cut apples into thick slices.

4. Use 2/3 of the pie crust batter and put on bottom of baking dish or springform. Form a long rod of the remaining batter and line the edge of the baking dish or springform about 2 cm or 3/4 inch high.

5. Put apples on top of bottom and bake for about 25 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius (350 F).

6. Topping: Whisk marzipan and calvados until smooth. Add butter or margarine, sugar, vanilla sugar and sour cream and keep whisking. Lastly, stir in almonds and spread on top of hot apples.

7. Bake cake for an additional 15 minutes of until toothpick comes out clean.

Comments:

1. The original recipe uses 1 egg in the batter for the pie crust. I prefer to leave it out; the batter is less crumbly without it.

2. I didn't have any calvados, so I used amaretto instead.

Blueberry Cake With Two Batters

I love blueberries, and I remember harvesting them in the woods when I was a child. They were quite rare, and precious. When I saw this recipe I was intrigued - it combines a blueberry pound cake and a German-style cheesecake.

Ingredients:

Pyrex or deep baking dish (9x13 inches or 30x40 cm)

Some grease

300 g blueberries

Cake Batter:

200 g (2 sticks) soft butter or margarine

150 g sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 eggs

300 g all-purpose flour

3 leveled teaspoons baking powder

Cheesecake:

2 eggs, separated

1 pinch of salt

80 g powdered sugar

200 g sour cream

200 g Greek Yoghurt (Fage or Chobani)

Preparation:

1. Grease Pyrex or deep baking dish. Wash blueberries, drain well. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 F).

2. Prepare batter: Whisk butter or margarine with an electric hand mixer until soft. Add sugar and vanilla extract until blended. Add eggs, one at a time, and whisk for 1/2 minute per egg.

3. In a separate bowl mix flour and baking powder. Sift, and add in two portions to the batter. Pour mixture into the baking dish and bake for 20 minutes at deep baking dish at180 degrees Celsius (350 F).

4. In the meantime prepare the cheesecake topping: Whisk egg whites with salt until stiff. Slowly add the powdered sugar. In a separate bowl blend egg yolks, sour cream and Greek yoghurt. Carefully fold the egg white mixture into the sour cream blend.

5. Remove cake from oven and add 2/3 of blueberries on top. Spread cheesecake topping over blueberries, sprinkle the remaining 1/3 of blueberries on top.

6. Return cake to oven and bake for an additional 45 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius (350 F) or until toothpick comes out clean.

7. Remove cake from oven and let cool down before serving.

Comment:

1. I used fresh blueberries, but you can certainly use any time of berry!

2. Instead of using two sticks of butter I only used 1 stick of butter and 1/2 cup (125 ml) buttermilk.

Chocolate-Pear Cake

This cake is a little variation on a traditional apple cake (Apfelkuchen sehr fein). The batter contains cocoa and chocolate chips, instead of apples this cake uses pears.

Ingredients:

Springform (28 cm or 11 inches in diameter)

Some grease

3 pears (ripe and soft)

200 g all-purpose flour

2 leveled teaspoons baking powder

100 g sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon rum

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 pinch of salt

100 g (1 stick) butter or margarine

4 eggs

50 g oats

2 tablespoons milk

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

100 g chocolate chips

Decoration:

Powdered sugar

Preparation:

1. Cut pears into quarters, remove core and peel.

2. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 F). Grease bottom of springform.

3. Sift flour into a bowl, add baking powder and mix. Add vanilla, cinnamon, rum, salt butter or margarine, eggs, oats, milk and cocoa. Whisk ingredients until soft and smooth batter has formed.

4. Pour batter into springform, put pears on top (push pears a little into the batter), and bake cake at 180 degrees Celsius (350 F) for about 1 h or until toothpick comes out clean.

5. Remove cake from oven, remove springform edge and let cake cool down. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

Comments:

1. Use ripe and soft pears! Alternatively, canned pears work well, too.

2. I used oats in the cake, but hazelnut flour is a great substitution. It'll give the cake a nutty flavor.

Blackberry Tarte

This cake resembles a sweet quiche, with an eggy sauce that is poured over the filling (blackberries) and baked until the egg is cooked.

Ingredients:

Pie dish (30 cm in diameter) or springform (28 cm or 12 inches in diameter)

Some grease

Pastry dough:

50 g powdered sugar

200 g all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

50 g ground hazelnuts or almond flour

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 package vanilla sugar

1 pinch of salt

100 g (1 stick) soft butter or margarine

Topping:

25 g plain and unseasoned bread crumbs

600-900 g fresh blackberries

Sauce:

3 eggs

90 g powdered sugar (with starch) or 75 g powdered sugar (no starch) and 20 g corn or potato starch

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 package vanilla sugar

100 g sour cream

150 g whipping cream

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease pie dish or springform. Wash blackberries and dry on a paper towel.

2. Sift sugar into a bowl. Add flour and baking powder and mix. Add remaining ingredients and using the knead hooks of an electric hand mixer until a smooth pastry dough has formed.

3. Roll pastry dough out flat and line bottom and edge of pie dish or springform. Poke holes into the pastry dough with a fork. Sprinkle breadcrumbs on pastry dough, then add blackberries on top and bake for 10 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius. Remove cake from oven and let cool down while preparing the sauce.

4. Whisk eggs for about 1 minute. Add sugar (and starch if necessary), vanilla extract and sour cream and whisk for another minute. Lastly, add whipping cream and pour sauce over blackberries.

5. Bake tarte for 35 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove tarte from oven and let cool down. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

Poppy Seed Waves

This cake is a variation on the Danube Wave I made in 2013. It also is made with a German buttercreme, which is much lighter and less sweet than the American version.

Ingredients:

9x13 inch (30x40 cm) Pyrex dish or deep baking sheet

Some grease

For the batter:

150 g poppy seeds

250 ml milk

250 g all-purpose flour

3 leveled teaspoons baking powder

150 g sugar

4 eggs

150 g butter or margarine

150 g sour cream

For the topping:

3 tablespoons rum

1 package vanilla puddings (or JELL-O Cook and Serve)

4 tablespoons sugar (only for German pudding powder, JELL-O already contains sugar!)

500 ml milk

150 g soft butter (at room temperature)

150 g sour cream

Glaze:

200 g chocolate

1 tablespoon coconut or other vegetable oil

Preparation:

1. Add poppy seeds and milk to a stovetop pot. Bring to a boil while stirring, then let simmer or remove from heat until seeds have softened and the milk has evaporated.

2. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 F). Grease Pyrex form or baking dish.

3. Mix flour and baking powder, then sift into a bowl. Add all remaining ingredients except for the poppy seeds and using an electric hand mixer whisk until a smooth batter has formed. Lastly, stir in the poppy seeds.

4. Pour batter into Pyrex dish or baking sheet and bake at 180 degrees Celsius (350 F) for about 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. While cake is still hot, soak cake with rum.

5. Prepare vanilla pudding according to the manufacturer's instructions. To prevent a milk skin from forming, put a sheet of plastic wrap directly on top of the pudding's surface. Do not refrigerate!

6. To prepare the buttercream make sure that butter and pudding are both at room temperature. If one of the two is too cold the butter will curdle, Whisk butter until soft. Slowly add pudding to butter, one tablespoon at a time. Make sure the pudding has been mixed in before adding another tablespoon. Lastly, stir in sour cream. Spread buttercream evenly on cake and chill for at least 30 minutes.

7. Chop chocolate, add oil and slowly melt chocolate in a bowl on top of boiling water. Spread chocolate on top of buttercream. Refrigerate cake until ready to be served.

Comments:

1. I use semisweet chocolate for the glaze. Preheat the knife with hot water to prevent the chocolate glaze from cracking!

Plumcake with a Cream Top

Plums are in season! Here's one twist on a plum cake.

9x13 inch Pyrex dish or deep baking sheet

Some grease

Cake batter:

4 eggs

200 g sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 package vanilla sugar

125 ml (1/2 cup) vegetable oil

150 ml Orangina or some other sparkling lemony drink

250 g all-purpose flour

3 leveled teaspoons baking powder

Topping:

2 pounds of plums

1 pint whipping cream

3 tablespoons powdered sugar

1 pound Greek yoghurt (Fage or Chobani brand)

Some cinnamon-sugar for decoration

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 F). Grease Pyrex dish or baking sheet.

2. Add eggs, sugar and vanilla extract or vanilla sugar into a bowl and whisk with an electric hand mixer for about 1 minute until fluffy. Stir in oil and Orangina.

3. Mix baking powder and flour, then sift into the batter and whisk until blended. Pour batter into Pyrex dish or baking sheet and bake at 180 degrees Celsius (350 F) for about 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

4. Remove cake from oven and let cool down.

5. Prepare plums: Wash and pit plums, cut into pieces and add to a stovetop pot. Bring to a boil and let simmer until the plums are very soft. If the plums are not very juicy you may have to add some water. Also, add sugar and cinnamon to taste. When plums are soft, remove from stove and let cool down.

6. Whip cream with powdered sugar until stiff peaks appear. Fold the stiff cream into the Greek yoghurt.

7. Spread the plum mixture on top of the cake, then spread the cream layer on top. Chill overnight in refrigerator. Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar before serving.

 

Comments:

1. To cut a little bit of sugar I used lemon-flavored sparkling water instead of Orangina.

2. I cooked the plums with a little water, but didn't add any extra sugar as they were very sweet.

Strawberry-Rice Pudding Cake

Great cake to use up some leftover rice pudding!

Ingredients:

9x13 inch (40x30 cm) Pyrex form or deep baking dish

Some grease

Pie Crust:

125 g all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

50 g almond flour

75 g sugar

2 tablespoons cold water

75 g butter or margarine

Topping:

500 g (1 pound) strawberries

Glaze:

250 ml (1 cup) water or apple juice

1 tablespoon sugar (if using water)

1 teaspoon arrowroot starch

Rice pudding topping:

225 g arborio rice

3-3.5 cups milk (750-825 ml)

25 g sugar

1/2 - 1 pint (400 g) whipping cream

Some powdered sugar

Decoration:

Extra strawberries

Chocolate shavings

Mint leaves

Preparation:

1. Prepare rice pudding: Add arborio rice, milk and sugar to a stovetop pot. Bring to a boil, remove from heat and let simmer until the milk has been completely absorbed by the rice, stirring occasionally.

2. Prepare pie crust: Preheat oven to 325 F (200 degrees Celsius). Mix flour and baking powder, then sift into a bowl. Add all remaining ingredients and using the knead hooks of an electric hand mixer blend until a smooth dough has formed. Add more flour if dough is sticky. Grease Pyrex form or deep baking dish. Flatten pie crust in baking dish. Using a fork punch several holes into the pie crust, then bake at 325 F (200 degrees Celsius) for 15 minutes.

3. Remove cake from oven, let cool down. Wash and clean strawberries, then cut in half and put on top of pie crust.

4. Prepare glaze: In a stovetop put bring water and sugar or apple juice, and arrowroot starch to a boil while stirring constantly. Remove liquid from stove, and brush strawberries with glaze.

5. Whip cream and powdered sugar until stiff peaks are visible. Carefully fold rice pudding into the whipping cream, then spread on top of the strawberries. Refrigerate cake overnight.

6. Decorate cake with strawberries, chocolate and/or mint leaves before serving.

Comments:

1. For a vegetarian-friendly version I didn't use gelatin. To make the rice pudding topping thicker, dissolve gelatin in 2 tablespoons of water in a stovetop pot, let sit for 5 min, gently heat up to dissolve gelatin, then add two tablespoons whipping cream, pour gelatin-cream mix slowly into whipping cream and whip stiff.

2. I used arrowroot starch to prepare the glaze. You can also use "Tortenguss", a (in Germany) commercially available powder and prepare it according to the instructions.

Mocha-Cream filled hazelnut cake

A bundt cake (Gugelhupfform (Ø 18 cm)) form or a 9x13 inch Pyrex bread pan (Kastenform)

Some grease

Some all-purpose flour

Mocha Cream filling:

200 g whipping cream

50 g semisweet chocolate

2 TL Instant-Espressopowder, unsweetened

Cake batter:

100 g ground hazelnuts

100 g (1 stick) soft butter or margarine

100 g brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 package vanilla sugar

3 eggs

75 g all-purpose flour

2 leveled teaspoons baking powder

Decoration

100 g semisweet chocolate or

1/2 teaspoon Dutch processed cocoa powder

Preparation:

1. Mocha-Cream: Chop chocolate into pieces; in a stovetop pot melt chocolate pieces and Espressopowder in whipping cream. Chill chocolate cream at least 3 h, best overnight.

2. Roast ground hazelnuts in a coated pan without adding oil. Remove nuts from heat and let cool.

3. Grease bundt cake form, the coat with all-purpose flour. Preheat oven to 180°C (350 F).

4. Using an electric hand mixer whisk butter or margarine until smooth. Add sugar and vanilla extract or vanilla sugar and whisk until well blended. Whisk in eggs, one egg at a time, for about 1/2 minute per egg.

5. Mix flour and baking powder in a separate bowl; add flour mixture to cake batter and whisk until blended, then fold in nuts.

6. Pour batter into greased baking pan and bake at 180°C (350 F) for about 35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

7. Remove cake from oven, let cool for 10 minutes in baking pan, then remove cake from pan and let cool down entirely.

8. Cut cakes twice: Cut the bundt cake diagonally or the bread-shaped cake horizontally. You need to have three cake pieces.

9. Whip mocha cream to stiff peaks. Spread 1/2 of mocha cream on bottom piece, then put middle cake layer on top of cream. Spread the remaining mocha cream on top of the middle cake layer, then put the top cake layer on top.

10. Dust cake with cocoa powder or coat with melted chocolate.

Comments:

1. Instead of hazelnuts toasted walnuts can also be used.

Wake-me-up Cake or the True Coffee Cake

Ingredients:

9x11 inch (30x40 cm) Pyrex dish or deep baking sheet

Some grease

A bowl with a lid

Batter:

100 g (1 stick) butter or margarine

150 g all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

100 g powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

100 g hazelnut flour

2 eggs

125 ml very strong coffee

Decoration:

50 g powdered sugar

50 g semi-sweet chocolate

Preparation:

1. Prepare a very strong coffee.

2. Grease Pyrex dish. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 F).

3. Melt butter or margarine in a microwave-safe dish or stovetop pot. Pour melted fat into a bowl and let cool down a bit.

4. Add all remaining ingredients into the bowl, close the lid and shake the bowl until all ingredients are well blended. Alternatively, you can mix the ingredients with a wooden cooking spoon.

5. Pour batter into Pyrex dish or deep baking sheet and bake at 180 degrees Celsius (350 F) for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

6. Remove cake from oven and let cool down. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top of cake, and decorate with melted chocolate.

Comments:

1. Coffee: I prepared a strong drip coffee, but you can certainly use instant coffee.

2. The original recipe calls for hazelnut flour. I didn't have hazelnut flour, and used almond flour instead. Walnut flour will be another good substitute for the hazelnut flour.

3. The coffee flavor is surprisingly weak. Next time, I might add some instant coffee to the batter to increase the coffee flavor.

Madeleines

This is a French specialty, but I love these sweet, little treats, so I couldn't resist making them.

Ingredients:

Madeleine pan

Some grease

125 g (1 stick) butter

100 g sugar

4 eggs

Zest from one lemon

125 g all-purpose flour

1 leveled teaspoon baking powder

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 F). Melt butter at low heat in a stovetop pot. Remove from heat to cool down.

2. Whisk eggs until foaming lightly. Add sugar and lemon zest and whisk further.

3. While whisking slowly pour in melted butter.

4. Lastly, mix flour and baking powder and sift on top of batter. Whisk until flour has been taken up into the mixture.

5. Grease Madeleine pan, add batter into wells (1-2 teaspoons depending on the size, each well should be filled to about 2/3).

6. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius (350 F) until done and golden on top (about 15 minutes)

Quick Beesting Cake

I've prepared a Beesting cake in 2013, but this version is easier and faster. While the original Beesting cake is a yeast dough filled with a custard-buttercream, this one is prepared from a yellow cake catter and filled with a quick custard.

Ingredients:

One springform (26 - 28 cm or 10 - 11 inches in diameter)

Some grease

A small stovetop pot

Cake batter:

150 g all-purpose flour

2 leveled teaspoons baking powder

125 g sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 package vanilla sugar

150 g (1.5 sticks) butter or margarine

4 eggs

Topping:

50 g (1/2 stick) butter

40 g sugar

3 tablespoons whipping cream (remove from cream for filling)

1 teaspoon honey

100 g slivered almonds

Filling:

1 small package JELL-O vanilla (no cook) or 1 package Paradiescreme vanilla

400 g (1 pint) whipping cream 

Preparation:

1. Grease springform bottom. Preheat oven to 180°C (350 F).

2. Prepare topping: Melt butter, sugar, honey and whipping cream in a small stovetop pot. Bring to a brief boil, then stir in the almond slices. Let mixture cool down stirring occasionally.

3. Prepare batter: Mix flour and baking powder in a bowl. Add all remaining ingredients and whisk with an electric hand mixer for about 2 minutes until batter is smooth. Pour batter into springform and spread evenly.

4. Bake cake for about 20 minutes at 180°C (350 F). Remove cake from oven, then spread almond topping evenly on top of the cake. Bake for another 15 minutes.

5. Remove cake from oven, take off springform edge. Let cake cool down. Cut cake horizontally in half. Cut top half into 12-16 slices.

6. Prepare filling: instead of using milk prepare filling with a little less than 400 g whipping cream. Spread cream evenly on bottom half of the cake. Put almond slices on top and slightly push into the cream filling. Chill cake until ready to be served.

Chocolate Granola Squares

Ingredients:

9x13 inch (30x40 cm) Pyrex dish or deep baking sheet

Some grease

For the batter:

125 g (1stick) butter or margarine

75 g sour cream or creme fraiche

100 g sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 package vanilla sugar

1 pinch salt

3 eggs

180 g all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

20 g cocoa powder, unsweetened

For the topping:

75 g all-purpose flour

50 g sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 package vanilla sugar

75 g sour cream or creme fraiche

150 g granola

Preparation:

1. Add butter or margarine and sour cream to a bowl and whisk until soft and smooth. Whisk in sugar, vanilla extract or sugar and salt. Add one egg at a time and mix for about 30s per egg.

2. Mix flour, baking powder and cocoa powder and sift into batter. Whisk until ingredients are well blended.

3. Pour batter into Pyrex dish and spread evenly. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 F).

4. Prepare topping: Mix flour, sugar, vanilla and sour cream and whisk briefly. Stir in granola and spread topping evenly on top of cake batter.

5. Bake cake at 180 degrees Celsius (350 F) for about 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

6. Remove cake from oven, let cool before serving.

Sour Cream Cookies

These cookies are very fast to prepare, and one can either make them sweet or savory. Just make sure to read the comments because I'd tweak the recipe next time!

Ingredients:

Baking sheet

Parchment paper

150 g all-purpose flour

100 g (1 stick) butter

75 g Creme fraiche or sour cream

Some cinnamon sugar

Topping:

2 tablespoon milk

25 g cinnamon sugar

Preparation:

1. Sift flour into a bowl, add butter and sour cream. Using an electric hand mixer whisk ingredients until well combined.

2. Flour a surface, the knead dough quickly and shape two long rods (1 inch or 2.5 cm diameter). Roll rods in cinnamon sugar, wrap into plastic wrap, and chill overnight in refrigerator.

3. Cut 1/2 cm or 1/5 inch slices and put on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush cookies with milk, then sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top.

4. Bake cookies at 200 degrees Celsius (375 F) for about 12 minutes.

5. Remove cookies from oven, let cool and serve.

Comments:

1. These cookies are not sweet at all. To make them sweet I'd add 50 g sugar to the batter. I decided to glaze them with powdered sugar to give them some taste.

2. For a savory version I'd add some herbs and salt (optional) to the batter and sprinkle cheese on top.

Chocolate-Marshmallow Cake

These chocolate-covered marshmallows (aka chocolate kisses) are very versatile. You can eat them straight out of the box or heat them briefly in the microwave and pour eggnog on top. Or you can use them for a cake...

Ingredients:

9x11 inch (30x40 cm) Pyrex form or deep baking sheet

Some grease

18 chocolate-covered marshmallows (see picture, 450 g) or some wafers and 200 g marshmallow fluff

Cake batter:

200 g all-purpose flour

3 leveled teaspoons baking powder

75 g sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 package vanilla powder

1 pinch salt

3 eggs

75 ml lemon soda (Sprite)

100 g soft butter or margarine (1 stick)

1 jar cranberry sauce (or Preiselbeermarmelade)

For the topping:

250 g mascarpone

250 g Greek yoghurt (Fage or Chobani brand)

1 tablespoon corn starch

Preparation:

1. Remove wafers from chocolate-covered marshmallows, set wafers and marshmallows aside.

2. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 F). Grease Pyrex form or deep baking sheet.

3. Mix flour and baking powder and sift into a bowl. Add sugar, vanilla, salt, eggs, lemon soda and butter and whisk using an electric hand mixer until a smooth batter has formed.

4. Pour batter into Pyrex form or baking sheet. Put wafers on top of batter, the put 1/2 - 1 teaspoon cranberry sauce on top of each wafer.

5. Bake cake at 180 degrees Celsius (350 F) for 20-25 minutes (or until toothpick comes out clean). Remove cake from oven and let cool down. Cut cake into pieces (1 wafer = 1 piece).

6. Blend mascarpone, Greek yoghurt, and corn starch, then fold marshmallow fluff into creme. Transfer creme into a ziplock bag; close the bag, and cut off a small corner of the bag. Squeeze creme out of bag on top of each wafer, decorate with more cranberry sauce.

7. Chill cake until ready to serve.

Lime Rum Cake

Well, maybe not the typical German cake in that combination, but I just couldn't resist this cake. It fits the soccer championship in Brazil so well...

Ingredients:

9x11 inch (30x40 cm) Pyrex form or deep baking sheet

Some grease

Batter:

250 g all-purpose flour

2 leveled teaspoon baking powder

1 package Cook and Serve Vanilla JELL-O (2 packages vanilla pudding)

200 g sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla aroma or 2 packages vanilla sugar

3 tablespoons rum

Zest of one lemon

4 eggs

250 g butter or margarine

For the topping:

Zest and juice from three organic lemons

125 g powdered sugar

2 tablespoons rum

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 F). Grease Pyrex form or deep baking sheet.

2. Mix flour, baking powder and JELL-O/pudding and sift into a bowl. Add remaining ingredients, and using an electric hand mixer whisk all ingredients until blended (about 2 minutes).

3. Pour batter into baking form/dish, level, and bake at 180 degrees Celsius (350 F) for about 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

4. Remove cake from oven and let cool down.

5. Wash limes well and towel dry. Zest limes, then squeeze and collect the juice. Mix lime juice, lime zest, rum and powdered sugar until a thick liquid has formed. Brush topping over cake, and serve when the topping has hardened.

Chocolate-Mint Cake

Yet another summer cake, although it was quite a challenge to whip butter in my apartment that had a temperature of 30 degrees Celsius at night!

Ingredients:

9x11 inch Pyrex dish or deep baking sheet (30x40 cm)

Some grease

For the batter:

100 g peppermint chocolate (I used some without a soft center)

175 g (1.5 sticks) butter or margarine

150 g sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 package vanilla sugar

1 pinch salt

3 eggs

200 g all-purpose flour

15 g cocoa powder

1.5 leveled teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon milk

For the topping:

200 g (1/2 pint) whipping cream

30 g powdered sugar

200 g plain Greek yoghurt (Fage or Chobani brand)

For decoration:

Some fresh mint leaves

Peppermint chocolate (soft center filled) like After Eight or Thin Mints

Preparation:

1. Cut peppermint chocolate into small pieces. Put aside about 25 g. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 F). Grease Pyrex form or baking sheet.

2. Whisk butter or margarine until soft. Add sugar, vanilla and salt and whisk until sugar stops being crunchy. Add eggs, one at a time, and mix for 1/2 minute per egg.

3. Mix flour, cocoa and baking powder and sift. In two portions add flour to batter alternating with the milk. Lastly, stir in chocolate pieces.

4. Pour batter into Pyrex dish and spread evenly in pan. Bake cake at 180 degrees Celsius (350 F) for about 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove cake from oven and let cool.

5. Gently stir remaining chocolate pieces into the Greek yoghurt. Whip cream with powdered sugar until stiff peaks are visible (you should be able to hold the bowl upside down without the cream sliding out). Gently fold the whipped cream into the yoghurt (do not stir!).

6. Spread cream on top of cake. Using a spoon make some wave lines into the cream layer and chill cake for at least 1 h before serving. Decorate cake with mint leaves and chocolate pieces.

Comments:

1. A little helper to whip cream stiff is starch (potato starch). In the US powdered sugar already contains starch, so I do not use Sahnesteif (Whip It), which essentially contains starch and a little sugar. If you have access to Sahnesteif you can use two packages to prepare the whipped cream, just add it to the liquid cream before starting to whip it.

2. The original recipe uses only whipping cream. I find the cake quite heavy, and like the sour yoghurt taste, so it used equal amount of yoghurt and cream.

Apricot-Crumble Cake

It's apricot season in CA, so this is a perfect cake. However, if apricot season is over or you cannot get fresh apricots you can use canned apricots, too. I like the fresh apricots a lot because they give this cake a refreshing tartness. However, you can make this cake with other fruits, too (see comment below).

Ingredients:

9x11 Pyrex form or deep baking sheet (30x40 cm)

Some grease

For the batter:

100 g (1 stick) butter or margarine

100 g sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 package vanilla sugar

1 pinch salt

2 large or 3 medium eggs

200 g all-purpose flour

1 leveled teaspoon baking powder

1 can apricots, drained (480 g) or 1 pound fresh apricots (washed, pitted, cut into halves)

For the crumble topping:

175 g all-purpose flour

25 g ground almonds

100 g sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 package vanilla sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

100 g soft butter or margarine

Preparation:

1. Drain canned apricots or wash fresh apricots, cut into halves and remove the pit.

2. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 F). Grease Pyrex form or baking sheet.

3. Whisk butter or margarine until softened. Add sugar, vanilla extract or vanilla sugar, and salt, and whisk until sugar doesn't crunch anymore.

4. Add eggs, one at a time, and whisk for 1/2 minute/egg. In a separate bowl mix flour and baking powder and sift. In two portions add the flour mixture to the batter and mix well. Add batter to Pyrex dish or baking sheet and spread evenly.

5. Lay apricot halves with the outside facing up on top of the batter.

6. To prepare the topping mix flour, almonds, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Add butter or margarine and whisk until crumbly. Spread crumbles on top of the apricot halves until covered.

7. Bake cake at 180 degrees Celsius (350 F) for about 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove cake from oven, let cool, then cut into pieces and serve.

Comments:

1. For people with nut allergies: This cake can be made without almonds. Just leave out the almonds and add 25 g of flour.

2. Plums are a great substitute, but you can also use canned peaches, fresh peaches with their skin removed, or apple sauce!

3. Margarine is cheaper, but this cake tastes a whole lot better if you use butter to prepare the crumbles.

Lemon yoghurt cake

This cake is a really nice summer cake. The tartness from the lemons makes it very refreshing. It takes a little more practice, but with a little decorating you can make it look really fancy!

Ingredients:

11x9 inch Pyrex dish (30x40 cm) deep baking dish

Some grease

For the cake batter:

100 g (1 stick) butter or margarine

100 g sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla sugar

Zest of one lemon or 1/3 teaspoon powdered lemon peel (I use Penzey's)

3 eggs

200 g all-purpose flour

2 leveled teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

200 g (1 container) Greek lemon yoghurt (I use Chobani or Open Nature)

For the topping:

400 g (2 containers) Greek lemon yoghurt (I use Chobani or Open Nature)

50 g powdered sugar

200 g (1/2 pint) whipping cream

1 teaspoon agar-agar or a package gelatin

For the decoration:

1 lemon

50 g semi-sweet chocolate

Optional: 1 package JELL-O pudding and pie filling lemon

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 F). Grease Pyrex form or baking dish.

2. Whisk butter or margarine until smooth. Add sugar, vanilla or vanilla sugar, and lemon zest or peel, and whisk until sugar has dissolved (no crunch). Whisk in eggs, one egg at a time for 1/2 minute per egg.

3. Mix flour, baking powder and baking soda in a separate bowl. Add flour mixture to batter and whisk until smooth. Lastly, briefly stir in lemon yoghurt.

4. Pour batter in greased Pyrex dish and bake at 180 degrees Celsius (350 F) for about 20 minutes.

5. Remove cake from oven and let cool in baking dish.

6. For agar-agar: dissolve 1 teaspoon in about 100 ml boiling water. Put the bowl with dissolved agar-agar in a bowl containing boiling water. Boil for about 5 minutes.

    For gelatin: Put gelatin in a small stovetop pot. Add 2-3 tablespoons water and let sit for about 5 mintes. Slowly heat gelatin and stir until dissolved.

7. Stir 2 tablespoons of yoghurt into dissolved agar-agar or gelatin, then add the remaining yoghurt and mix. Put yoghurt in refrigerator.

8. In the meantime, beat whipping cream with powdered sugar until stiff peaks are visible (you should be able to put the bowl upside-down, and the cream should stay in the bowl.

9. Gently fold the whipped cream into the yoghurt, the spread mixture evenly on cooled cake. Refrigerate for at least 1 h or better overnight.

10. Peel the lemon and remove all of the white layer. Cut the lemon into thin slices, and put the slices on the cake.

11. Prepare the JELL-O lemon pudding according to the instructions, then pour some of it into a small plastic bag. Cut one edge off, and decorate the cake.

12. Melt some chocolate in the microwave or over boiling water in a heat-resistant bowl. Pour chocolate into a plastic bag, cut one corner off, and sprinkle chocolate over the cake.

Comments:

1. You can use the lemon zest for the batter and the lemon slices for the decoration. Just be gentle when zest ing the lemon to avois squeezing it too much.

2. Each Greek Yoghurt container is 170 g, so I used a little less than the German recipe calls for, but it worked out fine.

3. The baking soda was not in the original recipe. I added it because the batter contains a rather acidic yoghurt. With the extra acidity the baking soda should help the rising better.

4. After previous disasters with yoghurt cakes (I tried to make these cakes without gelatin to make them suitable for vegetarians) I experimented with agar-agar. I think it worked well, but I am not quite sure how much to use. This was a first trial, let me know if you have any experience with agar-agar as a gelatin substitute.

Tigercake

Ingredients:

9x11 inch Pyrex form (30x40 cm deep baking dish)

Some grease

Batter:

150 g (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter or margarine

125 g sugar

1 pinch salt

3 eggs

200 g all-purpose flour

1.5 teaspoons leveled baking powder

Topping:

100 g orange marmelade

200 g sour cream or creme fraiche

250 g whipping cream

1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Decoration:

100 g blueberry jam

50 g sour cream

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 F). Grease Pyrex form or deep baking dish.

2. Whisk butter or margarine until soft and smooth. Add sugar and salt and whisk until sugar is blended in (no crunchy sound remains). Add one egg at a time and whisk for 1/2 minute per egg.

3. In a separate bowl, mix flour and baking powder, and sift. Add in two portions to batter and mix until blended.

4. Spread batter evenly in baking dish, and bake at 180 degrees Celsius (350 F) for about 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

5. Remove cake from oven and let cool down.

6. Briefly mix orange marmelade and sour cream. Whisk whipping cream with powdered sugar until stiff. Fold orange cream into whipped cream and spread topping on top of cake. 

7. Blend blueberry jam and sour cream, and transfer into a small ziplock bag. Cut one corner of the bag and decorate the cake with tiger stripes. Refrigerate cake for at least one hour or better overnight.

Coconut squares

This cake sounded nice when I read the recipe. I was intrigued by the addition of coconut milk to the whipping cream, and wanted to try that out. I am quite curious how this one will turn out because it seems such a complex mixture of textures (coconut and chocolate in the batter) and tastes (coconut, chocolate, orange marmelade, and coconut cream on top).

Ingredients:

Pyrex dish or other baking form (8x8 inches for a higher or 9x13 inches (30x40 cm) for a flatter cake

Some grease

8 Almond Joy (remove almond) or Bounty fun size bars

125 g (1 stick) butter or margarine

50 g sugar

3 eggs

1 package vanilla sugar or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

150 g flour

2 leveled teaspoons baking powder

30 g chopped semisweet chocolate

2 tablespoons coconut milk

Orange or apricot jam

200 g whipping cream

200 ml coconut milk (chilled)

30 g powdered sugar

Some shaved chocolate

Some toasted coconut flakes

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350F). Grease 30x40 cm (9x11 inch) baking dish. Chop bars into small pieces, 

2. Using the beaters of an electric hand mixer beat butter or margarine until soft. Add sugar and vanilla sugar or vanilla extract and whisk until batter is smooth. Add one egg at a time and whisk in for 1/2 minute per egg.

3. In a separate bowl mix flour and baking powder. In two portions stir in flour alternating with bounty bars, chocolate pieces and coconut milk.

4. Scrape batter into greased baking dish and bake for about 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean at 180 degrees Celsius (350F).

5. Remove dish from oven and let cool down. Glaze top of cake with jam (Orange will give it a little bitter taste, but I prefer it because it gives the cake an interesting twist).

6. Whisk whipping cream, coconut milk and powdered sugar until stiff. Spread cream on top of cake, and chill overnight in refrigerator.

7. Toast coconut flakes at 180 degrees Celsius (350F) for about 10 minutes or golden while stirring frequently. Decorate cake with chopped chocolate and shaved coconut before serving.