Honiglebkuchen (German Gingerbread Honey Cake), also called Honigkuchen is a type of Lebkuchen (Gingerbread) where, at least half of the sweetener, is honey. This type of dough can be used as a basis to make classical Lebkuchen or other traditional Christmas gingerbread type of sweets like: Domino Steine (lit. Domino Rocks: a layered German Christmas…
What is rhubarb? Rhubarb is a vegetable belonging to the Rheum genus, in the family Polygonaceae. The scientific name of the culinary Rhubarb is Rheum rhabarbarum. The plant is perennial which means that you plant it once and it comes back every year. Although it is a vegetable, thanks to its sour taste with a…
3 Ingredients Cookie Dough! I have recently seen a lot of posts and videos about this and couldn’t help but smile. This super simple recipe is no other than the basic recipe of Mürbeteig: German Shortcrust Pastry. This is a very old recipe and is present in cookbooks and textbooks for learning the bakery and…
What are Elderflowers? Elderflowers are the flowers of the elderberry shrub, also known as Elder (Holunder in German) or by its scientific name, Sambucus nigra. Although there are a lot of other varieties, only the ones called Sambucus nigra are eddible. When can you harvest Elderflowers or Elderberries? The Elder usually blooms in Germany at…
Asparagus (Spargel in German) is one of the staple foods in Germany. Germans love it so much that they dedicated a whole season to it, Spargelzeit. You can even buy a special pot for boiling it (an Asparagus steamer). When is Asparagus season in Germany? Asparagus season (Spargelzeit) in Germany usually starts at the middle…
What is a sponge cake? A sponge cake is a light cake made with eggs, flour and sugar. Usually it is leavened with beaten eggs, so no additional baking powder is needed. It is used as a base for Torte (layered cake), usually cut in 3 slices. The ratio for a basic sponge cake: 1…
One of the baking basics is yeast dough but how it’s made depends a lot on the desired final product. Yeast dough for pizza, bread, or bread rolls is slightly different than the one for tray cakes. And did you know that German Stollen also uses a type of yeast dough? There are mainly 3…
What is a sponge cake? A sponge cake is the basis of any Torte (layered cake) so it needs to be perfect every time. In Germany, this type of base is called Biskuitmasse/Biskuitteig/Biskuitboden or, simply, Biskuit, and consists of eggs, sugar, and flour which is sometimes mixed with starch to get a lighter cake flour….
What is Waldmeister (sweet woodruff)? Waldmeister is the German name for sweet woodruff, literally translated to master of the woods. It is also known as sweet-scented bedstraw or, simply, woodruff. The scientific name is Galium odoratum, sometimes also called Asperula odorata, and belongs to the family of Rubiaceae. This is a perennial plant (lives for…
Csipetke is a variety of traditional Hungarian noodles used in goulash, stews, and soups. They are made by pinching small pieces of dough, therefore the name (csipet means to pinch in Hungarian). I love having them in Pörkölt – Hungarian Goulash. Ingredients for Csipetke – enough for a big goulash, stew or soup (6-8 servings):…
Tiramisu is a classical Italian dessert that consists of layers of ladyfingers (savoiardi) flavored with strong coffee (espresso) and a cream made of egg yolks, mascarpone, and sugar, topped with cocoa powder. In modern versions, alcohol is added to the coffee before dipping the ladyfingers, usually Marsala wine or Amaretto. Original tiramisu didn’t have added…
