Strawberry cream roll

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Finally, strawberries are back in season again. It felt like winter would never end this year. Not because this winter was particularly harsh (it snowed only two days) but because the dark, grey and rainy days seemed to last longer than usual. Which might be the reason why I am over sensitive for everything spring related lately. The longer days, the sun, the flowers and trees that bloom and blossom and most of all, the food that is back in season. Rhubarb, strawberries, asparagus, just to name a few. Spring is back y´all. Continue reading “Strawberry cream roll”

Rhubarb cake with streusel

Rhabarber-Streusel-Kuchen -2It´s been awfully quiet on this blog this last three weeks. You could basically hear a pin drop and see tumbleweeds flying by. Don´t worry, I am not planning on quitting this whole blog thing. I just caught up doing so much other stuff (university, work, chilling on the balcony) that I didn’t have time to focus on the important things. Aka cake. But here I am and I brought rhubarb-streusel cake with me.This cake is pretty much spring on a plate. It´s one of my favorites and very very typical for Germany. Which goes great with my cake-challenge. You can use any other fruit that it is in season but I love to make this cake during spring time. Rhubarb is just one of my favorites, mostly because it once rhubarb is in season, summer is not far away. Which means long nights, lots of sunshine and so much fruit. Continue reading “Rhubarb cake with streusel”

German Easter challah bread with cranberries and marzipan

Osterzopf-1My favorite excuse to ignore my university duties is „if I edit the pictures and write the blogpost today, I´ll have more time to completely focus on my essay tomorrow”. Yeaaaah…like that´s going to work. Anyone who knows me knows that tomorrow I´ll find another excuse to procrastinate. Like cleaning the bathroom, watering my herbs, cleaning out my closet or taking out the trash. All very important things that definitely need to be done, because then I can concentrate better. So this blogpost is brought to you by my politics essay which as of now is still unfinished. I´ll get to it tomorrow, I´ll promise. Continue reading “German Easter challah bread with cranberries and marzipan”

Chocolate-mascarpone-cake with pomegranate

Schokoladen-Mascarpone-Torte-1Developing new recipes for this blog kind of goes like this: I might be standing in the supermarket or sitting in class when out of the blue an idea hits me. Sometimes I see the whole recipe, sometimes it is just a flavor, color or ingredient to start with which ends up being the key factor in coming up with something new. From this point on I am obsessed and won´t rest until I have tried the recipe at least once…which might slightly annoy the people around me when I decide that Sunday morning or Wednesday evening is the perfect time to make cookies. Mostly I already have a set up in my head on how to style and design the recipe for the photos. The thing is that as awesome it can be in my head, it´s no guarantee that it will turn out that way. Something might go wrong with the recipe, the lightning might be dull or something just might be off with the overall taste and feeling of the cake/cookie/dish in question. It´s kind of like the first-pancake-phenomenon, you always have to throw out the first one before the good stuff happens. Continue reading “Chocolate-mascarpone-cake with pomegranate”

Pancakes with yoghurt and pomegranate seeds

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Soooo…how are your New Year’s resolution going? Have you been to the gym three times this week, eating only salad and green smoothies, cleaned out your closet, organized your desk and filed your tax return? No? Well, I´m not surprised. Most New Year’s resolutions are made known fully well that they are never to be kept anyway. Although sometimes having a goal can really motivate you, other times too many resolutions are just frustrating. You know, like when you got so much stuff to do, you decide to take a nap instead? I hear you!

Don´t worry, I am not here today to make you feel bad. Instead, I am here to tell you that you can have your (pan)cake and eat it too! Continue reading “Pancakes with yoghurt and pomegranate seeds”

New Year´s resolutions and my grandma´s Mohnstriezel

IMG_0527Happy New Year everybody! Did you have a good New Year´s Eve? I hope everyone had a great holiday, awesome New Year’s Eve party and can now start 2015 with a full belly, happy thoughts and without any stress. And without too many New Year’s resolution please!

I am not the biggest fan of New Year´s resolutions. Mostly due to the fact that I can never keep them. Just look at all the times I decided to get my lazy butt of the couch and start working out. The times I actually did go to the gym in 2014 are rather rare. So before I can get frustrated, I usually never make any resolutions.

This year however I do have one resolution regarding this blog. I´ve been thinking about this for quite a while now. It has to do with this blog, what inspires me and what I want to communicate and convey with it. Continue reading “New Year´s resolutions and my grandma´s Mohnstriezel”

Hot chocolate with a twist…

IMG_9272Christmas is almost here. Most of you are probably busy with the last preparations, buying groceries, packing presents and at least in our case, the tree still needs to be decorated as well. But once all the preparations are done, once the food is ready, the presents unpacked and the candles lit, then I hope everyone can find some time to relax and just enjoy the holidays. Let´s be honest, Christmas I never as cozy and peaceful as one would wish but actually…it would probably be pretty boring if it was. Continue reading “Hot chocolate with a twist…”

German Spitzbuben

IMG_9136It´s Christmas time again. Which means it´s time to relax, calm down, spend time with your family, drink Glühwein and eat tons of cookies. Or in my case, it means that you are totally stressed out while trying to combine work, university, Christmas shopping and baking all at once. I might need to work on my relaxation technique I guess. But I did manage to bake my favorite Christmas cookies already. I Also made baked apples and Feuerzangenbowle, so you could say my Christmas spirit is rocking! Continue reading “German Spitzbuben”

Homemade chocolate bars with nuts, dried fruits and pistachios

IMG_9055It´s that time of the year again. The Christmas lights are up, Christmas markets all over Germany are open and everybody is getting busy baking cookies, or as we call them Plätzchen. I made my first batch of cookies already but this post is more about the difficult situation I am facing each year: what kind of presents should I get for my loved ones? If you are anything like me, you either have an idea right away or you will be stuck thinking about finding something the whole December. And then get busy at the last possible moment and try to get all the presents two days before Christmas. Well, worry no more, because I got an idea for you. How about homemade chocolate bars? Continue reading “Homemade chocolate bars with nuts, dried fruits and pistachios”

Vanilla-chocolate-marzipan cake

IMG_8668I wouldn´t think of myself as the person who makes the fanciest cakes. I´ve made quite a few in my life which turned out not too bad but the things I am really good at are the good old basics. Like grandmas apple cake. Zwetschgendatschi or muffins in endless variations. I´m not too bad at desserts either. Crème brûlée? Mousse ou chocolat? Panna cotta? No problem. But when it comes to cakes and frosting and decoration, I get a little nervous. Nevertheless, sometimes I feel the urge to get in the kitchen and make one of those fancy-shmancy cakes that gets everybody’s attention. Frosting included! Continue reading “Vanilla-chocolate-marzipan cake”

Healthy breakfast carrot-cake muffins

Breakfast-carrot muffins 5It´s official. I moved! My new apartment is all set up and now it´s time to get to know life in the new city. Although I´m still bummed that I had to move at all, my new apartment kind of tries to make up for it. For starters I know finally have my own oven!! I know, it´s amazing. In my old apartment, I had to use the common kitchen for baking, which involved me running up and down all the time, panicking about whether I will get the timing right or everything might burn. I also have those huge windows that face west which means that I have a lot of light. I´m really excited to get behind my camera and experiment with all that light but until then I have a recipe for you that has been in put on hold for quite a while. I think it fit´s this October just right: carrot cake muffins! Continue reading “Healthy breakfast carrot-cake muffins”

Crema Catalana

IMG_7800Hi folks, I got another recipe in remembrance of my time in Barcelona for you. This is the last one though; the next weeks will fully be dedicated to fall again.
After learning how to make Spanish tortilla and arroz negro, it is now time for crema catalana. What better way to honor Catalonia?

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Crema Catalana is similar to Créme Brulée, the only difference is that the Catalans are a bit lazier and use corn starch instead of putting it in the oven for hours. All you need for this dessert is milk, eggs, sugar and lemon zest. It is easily prepared, which is great if you are hosting a dinner party. All you need to do is prepare the dessert in the morning, let it rest in the fridge and then you can surprise your guests with a perfect dessert at the end of the evening. Continue reading “Crema Catalana”

Red currant vanilla muffins

IMG_7384Do you know that feeling, when you got something carefully planned and then you end up doing something completely different? My original plan was to try this blueberry-peach galette recipe that I´ve been thinking about for a while. So I went to the famers market to get some fresh fruit and that’s when I saw those red currants. Red, juicy, beautiful red currants that were just waiting to be bought. Of course I couldn´t say no so I found myself buying them without a big recipe in mind. It was the first time I had them this year and they are not my typical go-to fruit but you got to admit that red currants are some of the sexiest fruit out there. Just look at them all cute and delicious. I ended up making the galette as well, while I was thinking about recipes that could use some red currants. The muffin recipe was a spontaneous idea, which turned out be even greater than the galette and deserves to be shown first.

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IMG_7376 Continue reading “Red currant vanilla muffins”

Raspberry coconut popsicles.

IMG_7240 Investing in popsicle molds was the best idea of this summer! We used to have some when I was little, filling them with orange juice or yoghurt but it wasn´t until I bought some for myself that I realized just how much fun you can have with them. There are so many different ways and flavors, it´s awesome. The only problem I am having is that my craving for new recipes kind of contradicts with the amount of ice cream one can eat. My freezer is full but I still have so many ideas. Yeah, the life of a foodblogger, it´s tough.

IMG_7241 Continue reading “Raspberry coconut popsicles.”

Panna cotta tart with fresh raspberries

IMG_7127Just around the corner of my apartment is farmers market. Every Saturday I take some time to stroll around, listen to people chit chat, the salesperson praising their fresh fruit, children playing and enjoy the smell of flowers and fresh coffee. I love it! During summertime it is especially wonderful, people just seem to be happier, take their time and enjoy life a little more. And all the fresh fruit is just amazing. I really have to contain myself every time I go there, so I don´t buy all of it. Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries or peaches are becoming cheaper and more delicious every week. Last time I just couldn´t help myself and bought a whole bunch of delicious looking raspberries, took them home and made this tart.

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Continue reading “Panna cotta tart with fresh raspberries”

Baked oatmeal with rhubarb and strawberries

IMG_7004 I´m a breakfast type of person. I do love dinner though. Actually, I think food is always great, regardless the time of day. But breakfast is very important to me. My Spanish roommates would always make fun of me when they saw me in the morning, eating my bread, eggs and orange juice. Then again, breakfast is not that big of a deal in Spain, typically consisting of coffee and a cookie. But here in Germany and in so many other places in the world breakfast is really important. I just can´t leave the house in the morning without a good foundation for the day. And I absolutely loooove me a good brunch. IMG_6980 Continue reading “Baked oatmeal with rhubarb and strawberries”

Raspberry vanilla cheesecake

IMG_5552As a blogger, I often find myself facing a difficult situation: who is going to eat all of the cake I am making? If it was up to me, I would be baking every day. But my understanding of a balanced diet tells me that this might not exactly be supporting a healthy lifestyle. That´s why I am often stuck between doing the thing I want and doing the thing I should. Life is tough I guess.
Anyway, by now I have developed some technics to get rid of all the tasty stuff I am making without gaining 5 pounds per blog entry. A very important part is played by the freezer. It´s awesome, I´ll just freeze those muffins and get one whenever I need. Another important factor is my family (whenever I am spending time at my parents), my friendly neighbours, my boyfriend and his roommates and my sister who is always there for me when it comes to eating cake and sweets. But by far my favorite way to make use of what I am baking is inviting friends to come over for coffee and cake.

IMG_5567 Continue reading “Raspberry vanilla cheesecake”

Very berry strawberry popsicles

IMG_5410I told you, we are going to need the strawberry syrup again. It is the not-so-secret-ingredient for these strawberry popsicles! Just two ingredients, strawberries and syrup, is all you need for this quick and easy recipe!

The summer fruit season is beginning and that means that strawberries are getting cheaper and more delicious each day. I love it! Of course I couldn’t say no, when I saw these babies at the farmers market. They looked so tiny and cute and tempting. So I bought a whole batch, went home and made some popsicles. And now my freezer is full of them. Good thing we are getting up to 30°C this weekend, I don´t think they will last very long to be honest.

IMG_5348The great thing about this recipe is that you can adapt it according to your taste and the season. Just switch strawberries for raspberries, blackberries, blueberries or a mix of different fruits. Add some syrup and you are good to go. Continue reading “Very berry strawberry popsicles”

Rhubarb and strawberry syrup

IMG_5336My internship is over and that means that I am back home, enjoying the lazy life of a college student. It also means that I have a lot of free time at my hands and this time needs to be filled with cake and ice cream. Since the rhubarb season is almost over I knew that I had to get a hold of the last ones at the farmers market. There are probably a billion delicious rhubarb recipes out there but I wanted to make some syrup. That way I can enjoy rhubarb even when the season is over. I´ll just make myself a summer drink. With some syrup, soda or sparkling wine. And fresh mint and strawberries. Also essential: the balcony or the garden and sunshine! Did I mention that I absolutely love summer??

IMG_5240 Continue reading “Rhubarb and strawberry syrup”

Breakfast muffins with walnuts and raspberries

IMG_5185I know, I know, there have been quite a few muffin recipes on this blog lately. But I just had to share this one with you. We are talking about breakfast muffins. That´s right: dessert for breakfast. Plus, these are guilt-free healthy muffins. Meaning they are made without wheat flour and sugar. Say whaaat? It´s a crazy world we are living in.

IMG_5144Usually, I am a bit skeptical when it comes to super healthy vegan, gluten-, sugar- and fat free desserts. Don´t get me wrong, I am a huge fan of eating healthy. I have at least 5 different types of flour in my kitchen, I love whole grain bread more than anything and I can´t go to the farmers market without buying tons of fresh fruit and vegetables. But when it comes to dessert I was always more of a “the more the better” kind of person. Life is too short to not eat dessert. And the best cakes are just the ones made with tons of butter, cream and chocolate. Also most of the super-healthy-low-carb-sugar-free recipes require a lot of ingredients that are (a) hard to get and (b) kind of expensive. That being said, I was very interested when I saw the recipe for breakfast muffins over at Green Kitchen Stories. They are made of things you usually have at home or can easily find at the supermarket, like walnuts, oats, bananas and dates. And the combination sounded really great. So I decided to give this whole healthy-baking thing a try.

IMG_5137The result was AMAZING. The muffins are soft and fluffy and surprisingly very sweet. They taste like a mixture between granola, oatmeal and pancakes. So they really are perfect for breakfast. The original recipe is with turmeric and blueberries. I adapted it a little by using cinnamon instead of turmeric and adding raspberries. I also altered the granola topping by adding some caramelized walnuts. Because things are always better when caramelized!
IMG_5161Makes about 18 muffins:
100 g walnuts
85 g rolled oats
130 g buckwheat flour, spelt flour or whole grain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tbsp freshly ground cardamom
½ tsp sea salt
160 ml buttermilk or plant yogurt
80 ml oil or butter
2 ripe bananas, mashed
5 fresh dates, mashed
3 large eggs
Raspberries, frozen or fresh
For the granola topping:
1/3 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp runny honey
1) Using a food processor or a blender, mix walnuts and oats into a coarse flour. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and mix with the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom and salt. With a blender or a food processor, mix buttermilk, oil, bananas and dates. Mix with the dry ingredients. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl for a minute before carefully adding them to the batter. Add raspberries.
2) Divide the batter among the muffin tins. For the granola topping, mix all the ingredients and let them caramelize in a pan. Add on top of the muffins. Bake the muffins in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes at 180°C.

Continue reading “Breakfast muffins with walnuts and raspberries”

Rhubarb muffins with a vanilla-mascarpone topping

IMG_5106Yay for rhubarb! You might have noticed that I really really like rhubarb. Which is why it should be no surprise that I am presenting you another rhubarb-recipe today. I mean, you gotta take advantage of the season. Soon enough it´ll be time for strawberries, blackberries, raspberries…Gosh I love the fruits of summer!

IMG_5084I started my baking career with muffins. When I was younger I would get together with friends and we would get baking. And anytime there was a birthday, fundraiser or any other occasion that required sweet treats, I would make some muffins. The good thing about muffins is that you can adapt them according to season. All you need is a basic batter and from there you can add whatever you like best. The batter is important though. Over the years I learned from a lot of mistakes and by now I know some tricks to make the fluffiest muffins. First of all, prepare the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, cocoa powder…) and the wet ingredients (eggs, butter, milk…) separate from another before mixing them all together. Use buttermilk or yoghurt instead of milk, it makes the batter softer. Stir only until the ingredients are well mixed, don´t keep stirring, otherwise the muffins will become dry. You can also put a little bit of water into one muffin cup. This will cause more humidity while baking and the muffins will turn out soft and fluffy.

IMG_5091Using rhubarb for muffins is kind of a genius idea. To make the whole thing even better, I mixed some mascarpone, yoghurt and vanilla bean and added that as a topping. With just a hint of homemade jam, each one of these muffins tastes like heaven. Seriously!

IMG_5119Makes about 12 muffins:
200 g rhubarb
275 g flour
3 tbsp. baking powder
1 tbsp. cinnamon
150 g sugar
1 egg
250 ml plain yoghurt or buttermilk
80 g butter

For the vanilla-frosting:
200 g plain yoghurt
200 g mascarpone
1 vanilla bean
50 g sugar

1) Wash the rhubarb and cut into little pieces. In a bowl, mix flour, baking powder, sugar and cinnamon. In another bowl, mix the egg, yoghurt and the melted butter. Add the flour mixture and rhubarb and mix well.
2) Place the batter into the muffin cups. Bake in the preheated oven at 175° C for about 20-25 minutes. Let cool completely.
3) For the topping, mix yoghurt, mascarpone, sugar and the core of the vanilla bean using an electric mixer or a kitchen aid. Spread the topping generously on the muffins using a knife or a piping bag.

Continue reading “Rhubarb muffins with a vanilla-mascarpone topping”

Cheesecake – after a family recipe

IMG_5052There are some dishes that just don´t taste right when using a different recipes or ordering them in a restaurant. For me, that is true for my mom’s lasagna, my dad´s pasta and this cheesecake. They are just such typical family recipes. I´ve tried different recipes but with what I knew from home in mind, I always ended up being disappointed. Therefore, when it comes to making any of these recipes, I just trust in the ones I have. They are foolproof. At least for me.

IMG_5027 Continue reading “Cheesecake – after a family recipe”

Carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese topping

IMG_4859Holidays are great. I never really appreciated them, If you are a lazy college student like me, it doesn´t really make a difference if it´s Tuesday or Sunday. But since I have to get up early every day to get to my internship I am really thankful for weekends and days off. I am using this long weekend to sleep in and get busy in the kitchen. We are having a big brunch with the family and I wanted to make an Easter recipe. I wasn´t exactly sure what to make though, I am no expert when it comes to traditional Easter recipes. I did however had a huge craving for carrotcake-cupcakes. And if carrots are good enough for the Easter bunny, they sure are good enough for cupcakes. So here we go!

Technically I am kind of cheating with this recipe because I have posted it before. But I love it so much and didn´t want to try a different recipe and be disappointed afterwards. Plus, the cream cheese topping is perfect. I have to admit, I think cupcakes are super cute but sometimes they are just to sweet and sugary. I am not a huge fan of the traditional topping made with butter and sugar but everybody is different. Feel free to try a different topping with this recipe and let me know how it goes.

IMG_4852Makes about 24 cupcakes:

375 g carrots (about 4-5)

250 g flour

3 TL baking powder

275 g sugar

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

Salt

250 g butter

1/2 TL cinnamon

4 eggs

100 g chopped almonds

100 g ground almonds

1) First, peel the carrots and grate them finely on a grater. In a bowl, mix flour, baking powder, sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon and salt. Add the butter and the eggs. Finally add carrots and almonds. Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each 3/4 full.

2) Bake the cupcakes in the preheated oven at 175° for about 25 minutes. Let the cool completely before adding the topping.

IMG_4906For the topping:

200 g cream cheese

2 tbsp. cream

100 g powdered sugar

1) Mix cream cheese with the cream. Add powdered sugar and mix well with a mixer until you get a fluffy topping. Spread the topping generously on the cupcakes using a knife or a piping bag.

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Rhubarb-strawberry jam

IMG_4766Spring is here. The weather was so great last week, warm and sunny; it almost felt like the beginning of summer. Everything is blooming and blossoming, there are just so many colors everywhere. And I did manage to get a light sunburn just from a picnic in the park. Today was the first day where the weather was grey and rainy so I decided to get me some spring in a jar. With rhubarb-strawberry jam!

I love when rhubarb come in season. It´s a reminder that winter is really over and it means that all the other wonderful summer-fruits are soon in season. I knew I wanted to make something with rhubarb this weekend but I wasn´t quite sure what. The idea to make jam was pretty spontaneous and since rhubarb itself tends to be a bit sour, I decided to add some strawberries as well. Continue reading “Rhubarb-strawberry jam”