Spiced Chocolate-Date Cake

Today I have an easy-to-make chocolate lover's cake for you. I added dates which makes it wonderfully moist, even after a few days. Spices such as cinnamon and gingerbread spice make it perfect for Christmas time. Since it doesn't contain flour, it is also gluten-free.

Raspberry-Almond Tart

Rarely have I made a recipe I saw on another blog immediately. This one I even made twice on the same week. It is just so good. It looks like a regular raspberry tart, but the almond cream makes all the difference. The buttery crust, the sweet frangipane and the creamy pastry cream make the perfect bed for fresh picked raspberries. What a dream! I was fortunate enough to have lots of raspberries from our garden. Even if you don't, go to the farmers market and make this tart. You'll love it.

You can also make tartlets from this recipe, which will give you about six 8 cm (3-inch) round pieces.

Zimtsterne (cinnamon stars) and a Merry Christmas!

Zimtsterne (Cinnamon-Stars) are a form of traditional treats that are associated with Christmas. You will find it in almost every household in Germany around this time of the year. It is a relatively simple and fun recipe, and the ingredients are also quite easy to obtain. Baking them is a good reason for a family to gather and celebrate the holidays.

Speaking of which, we have reached yet another year. Thank you all for reading my blog (and, of course, continue support). I hope you enjoy your Christmas and New Year holidays.

Amarena Cupcakes

The cupcakes I have made for you today, are a real treat. Amarena cherries are very popular in Germany, especially the amarena ice-cream sundae is a favorite flavor in gelaterias. Here I combined the cherries with almonds, as those two really complement each other, since Amarena cherries are soaked in Amaretto, an almond liquor. The topping is made with heavy cream instead of buttercream, which makes it a little bit lighter. These cherries can be bought either in the supermarket, or you can make them yourselves, when cherries are in season.

Strawberry-Almond Tartlets with Sour-Cream and Chocolate Topping

I hope you are having a great summer weekend. I have the perfect treat for a lazy sunny afternoon for you today. Strawberries, chocolate and cream - all combined in some wonderful tartlets. The tartlet shells contain both ground almonds and chopped almonds, and can be prepared in advance. The topping uses both heavy cream and sour cream, which gives it a nice tang. Enjoy!

Cherry Cake with Florentine Topping

I love florentines. These caramel based almond biscuits are dipped in dark chocolate, sometimes with dried fruits. This makes them crunchy yet chewy. This cake uses the plain florentine as topping, supported by a fruit layer made of cherry, and a vanilla cake base.

This recipe was for a big cake, but I only made half the portion. However, the cherry layer was still a little moist when I took it out of the oven. Maybe the oven was too hot, or I misjudged the baking time with the reduced portions. But it was still good, so next time a big one is in order.

Pear Almond Tart with Black Currant Jam

If you have ever been to Vancouver and are into sweets chances are you have heard of Thomas Haas. He is quite a famous pâtissier in the city and makes the most wonderful chocolates. He also creates my favorite cakes and pastries in Vancouver. There are two store locations, but you can also find his chocolates at several food stores. I am also proud to say that he is a fellow German. One recipe which was all over the internet were his chocolate sparkle cookies, named as one of the best chocolate cookies from the LA Times. They are wonderfully moist and very chocolatey.

For today I made his pear and almond tart with black currant jam. It is a wonderful tart for the fall season. The almond cream is so rich and buttery that it melts in your mouth. The tart has a few steps involved, but is totally worth the effort. The recipe was for one 9-inch tart, but I had enough to fill three more little tartlet forms. And on a side note, I wish all my American readers a very Happy Thanksgiving today.

Apple Cake with Almond "Bee-Sting" Topping

Apple pie or cake is one of our familie's favorite Sunday treats. Luckily our apple trees were bursting full of nice apples. So, besides a lot of pies we made some juice, compote and also dried them for snacking. Most apples can also be kept for several month, if stored in a cool dry place, like a basement.

I often make apple pie with a streusel topping, this time I changed it to a "bee-sting". A bee-sting is a caramelized almond topping, with butter and cream. It is similar to a florentine cookie, and very delicious. For the apples I would suggest to use a mix of tart and sweet apples. Boskop and Elstar are some good choices.

Apricot Tartlets

Seems like quite some time I haven't been here, but a lot has happened over the last month. We finally went on our honeymoon after 9 months of marriage. It was worth the wait, as we went half way around the world to Hawaii. My husband also got a new job, so we are in the process of moving to south Germany. Not much time for baking, but I already really miss it.

If you still have access to fresh apricots, these are some great little tartelettes. Otherwise you can also use canned apricots. Apricots always go well with almonds, here you have three different kinds, ground almonds on the crust, slivered almonds on top and some amaretto in the filling. I also put some wild peaches in the middle, but that is of course optional.

Cherry Clafoutis

A Clafoutis is a french dessert, which is made with a pancake like batter poured over cherries and then baked in the oven. Cherries are the traditional choice of fruit, but it can be made with a wide variety of fruits like for example plums, apricots, peaches, apples or raspberries. This batter is made with ground almonds, which pairs very well with the cherries. Some recipes use cherries with their pits, or leave a few pits in, since the pits will also release an almond flavor.

We have beautiful cherries in our garden right now, both sweet and sour ones. Usually I use sour cherries for baking and jam making and sweet ones are just eaten off the tree. But this year there are so many, that I also tried a few dishes with them. I have to say they are equally good for baking, you just need to use less sugar.

I am also happy to announce that I have won first place at this month' DMBLGIT contest with my picture of the burger-style macarons. Thanks to Charline from Charline cuisine for hosting this month event and congratulations to my fellow winners. Check out the beautiful entries on Charlines blog.

Daring Bakers: Baklava & Phyllo Pastry

For this month the Daring Bakers challenged us to make Baklava with homemade Phyllo Pastry. I have never tasted baklava before, because I always thought it is overly sweet. The real challenge was making the phyllo pastry dough, and rolling it out paper thin. I am always up to making all kinds of challenging doughs, like puff pastry, fresh yeast dough or crossaint dough, but this one was really difficult.

I managed to roll out the dough really thin, but it took a lot of arm strength. Then I made the mistake of waiting a little to long to continue making the baklava and the dough got stuck together. I thought I had floured it enough, but I had to re-roll at least a third of it. I never got it as thin as before. It was great to learn how to make phyllo, but this is one dough I will prefer buying at the store in the future.

For the filling I made a mix out of almonds, pistachios and milk chocolate, flavored with lemon and cinnamon. Since I wanted it to taste fresh but not too sweet, I made a mint sirup with some lemon zest, and only a little bit of honey. It tasted quite good, and the sweetness was okay. I have to say this will never be one of my preferred desserts, but it was a good experience.

Erica of Erica’s Edibles was our host for the Daring Baker’s June challenge. Erica challenged us to be truly DARING by making homemade phyllo dough and then to use that homemade dough to make Baklava.

Daring Bakers: Chocolate Marquise on Torched Meringue with Spiced Almonds and Caramel Sauce

It's Daring Bakers time again, and this month's challenge was a "Chocolate Marquise on Torched Meringue with Spiced Almonds and Caramel Sauce". Quite a mouthful, and intimidating to make on the first look, but if you plan ahead and make each component early enough it comes together quite easy.

I really loved this month's challenge. Many delicious components, beautifully plated. But I think I could do without the torched meringue next time. The marquise was definitely the best chocolate mousse I have ever made. So silky and smooth, everybody loved it. I made them in little Half Sphere Molds instead of the suggested cubes.

The nuts were very tasty, but it was a lot of work to get them out of the coating. I also needed a much shorter baking time, since they were already getting very dark on the bottom after 20 minutes. I mixed almonds and walnuts. Next time I would only use almonds, since the walnuts were hard to identify in the sugar covering.

The caramel sauce was delicious, the added rum made the sauce really stand out. I think I will try this again with grand marnier one day.

The May 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Emma of CookCraftGrow and Jenny of Purple House Dirt. They chose to challenge everyone to make a Chocolate Marquise. The inspiration for this recipe comes from a dessert they prepared at a restaurant in Seattle.

Amaretti-Apricot Cupcakes

If you like boozy baked goods, this cupcake is for you. They have a good amount of amaretto in it, combined with crunchy amarettini. Since those two ingredients are almond-based, they pair perfectly with apricots, which are also in the dough and the frosting. Of course you can use apricot juice instead of the amaretto.

I haven't made cupcakes for a while, since I often find the frosting too heavy. This one is made with mascarpone, which is by no means light, but the fruit puree gives it a bit of an airy taste.

Daring Bakers: Honey Panna Cotta and Ginger Florentines

Creamy and crunchy was this month's theme of the Daring Bakers. We were asked to make Panna Cotta and Florentines. I made panna cotta many times before, and really like it for its creamy consistency and easy preparation. As I usually make the original vanilla version, I was looking for something new. I found inspiration at Alice Medrich's Pure Dessert, which has three different versions of panna cotta. I thought the version with honey would go well the florentines, which also consist of honey.

I always wanted to make florentines. I went with the original version with sliced almonds instead of the ones with rolled oats from the challenge recipe. I added crystallized ginger instead of the typical candied orange or lemon. They tasted amazing, especially after dipped in dark chocolate. I will definitely make them again.

The February 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and Nestle Florentine Cookies.

Apricot Jam and an Apricot-Almond Sheet Cake

Apricots are now the peak of their season in Europe. I especially like the apricots from France, because they are firm, and yet sweet and juicy, so they are perfect to put on a cake. They are also good for making jams, and I made a batch of apricot-vanilla jam last week. It's one of the most versatile jams for baking. It tastes great as a glaze on fruit tarts, danish pastries and as filling in cakes like a Sacher torte. I will be using my apricot-vanilla jam for glazing for my recipe today, and I recommend you to make some for yourself whenever you find some nice apricots.

Apricots also goes very well with almonds, since they have similar taste profiles. Sometimes apricot kernels are used to make persipan, which is a cheaper alternative to marzipan, which is made from almonds. This cake has both ground almonds in the dough, and slivered almonds on top. There is no need to put it in the fridge; it will keep well for a couple of days in a cool place.

Red Currant and Almond Cake

We have a huge amount of red currants in our garden this year. The branches are so heavy that they already lean down. For my taste red currants are a little sour to eat raw, maybe if you put them in yogurt or muesli. But red currants are perfect for baking and jam making. I already made some batches of jam, which I will post soon.

This cake has a nice hint of tartness, but is still sweet enough through the topping of caramelized almonds. The batter is made from whipping cream instead of butter which gives a light texture. After the first baking a mascarpone cream and caramelized almonds are added. Be sure to use a deep enough cake pan. I tried to make the cake in a tart form first, but the batter came way to high.

Daring Bakers: Graham Crackers and Nanaimo Bars

It's Daring Bakers time again. After not participating last month I was excited what the new year would bring. The challenge consisted of two parts, first we would make homemade graham crackers, either regular or gluten free, and second use the graham crackers to make Nanaimo bars.

I always wanted to make my own graham crackers, and they turned out really good. I made the regular version, since I don't know anybody with food allergies. This is a really nice recipe, which I will use again as a cheesecake base in the future.

Well, to say the least I wasn't really excited to make the second part, the Nanaimo bars. Living in Vancouver for a couple of years now I have seen them around in several places, but never had the urge to try them. They just didn't appeal to me, but I still wanted to be a good sports and make them. Well, you always have to try everything at least once, right. Unfortunately, my intuition was right and I didn't really like them. Of course I knew they would be sweet, so I already used less than half of the sugars, but I also thought the butter-cream in the middle level was just too heavy. My Canadian sweetheart said they were better than all the other Nanaimo bars he tried before, but he is also not a fan of them.

The January 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen. Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipe on are 101 Cookbooks and www.nanaimo.ca.

Coconut-Almond Macaroons

These little treats are perfect as a small gift to bring to a Christmas party . They are not your average coconut macaroons, since they also have a great almond taste. The roasted nuts give them a crunchy texture, but at the same time, the condensed milk makes them chewy. I made them for the first time and was pleasantly surprised at how good they are. My first batch is almost gone, so I guess I have to make some more soon.

The condensed milk used in the recipe is the sweetened type you get in North America, it is also used to make Dulce de Leche. It is not what we know in Germany as "Kondensmilch". It is a lot thicker and also sweet. The correct translation would be "gezuckerte Kondensmilch".

Plum-Almond Cake

Before it is to late, and the season is over, I had to make another plum cake. Plum cakes in all variations are my favorite treats in fall. The alignment of the plums makes the cake look really elegant and perfect for a special occasion. It is really delicious with a dollop of freshly whipped cream.

Apricot-Nectarine-Peach and Almond Galette

Stone fruits are still at the markets, and lots of those fruits are grown locally, which makes them extra sweet. I got the idea of making this galette from Williams-Sonoma: New Flavors for Desserts, where it is just made with apricots. I added nectarines and peaches to the recipe. The combination of the three fruits gave the galette a good mix of sweet and tartness.

The recipes in the book are categorized by season, and are inspired by what you will find on farmers' markets. The majority of the recipes are fruit desserts, often with a new twist, like adding an unusual herb or spice. Each recipe has a beautiful photograph, and you will also find information about the ingredients.