When I was young, we looked forward to receiving packages from my Opa a few times a year. Brown paper wrapped packages, tied up with string (actually twine… but Julie Andrews never mentions twine in her song). They came at Christmas (in the odd year he didn’t visit), our Birthdays, and Easter. After Mama carefully untied the knots and saved…
Category: German Foods and Recipes
Vanilla Sauce Recipe – Vanillesoße – the Perfect Dessert Topping!
Vanillesoße is the little black dress of sauces. Honestly, it just goes with every dessert or Nachtisch… it softens the tartness of Rote Gruetze, gives an added dimension to Apfelstrudel, and it magically transforms boring chocolate pudding to a fancy dessert. My Oma always kept packets of instant Vanillesoße in her “packet drawer” (you know the one… it had packets…
What is Bock Beer? And Do Germans Really Call it Liquid Bread?
I regularly see memes and articles about how German beer is considered “flüssiges Brot,” or liquid bread. But where does this idea come from? Most likely, this started with a group of monks and Bock Bier. During Lent, members of the Paulaner order abstained from eating solid food. Bock beer, with its extra load of carbohydrates and nutrients, satisfied some…
Chocolate and Pear Cake Recipe aka. Schoko-Birnen Kuchen
One of the things I love about German baking is how they mix fruit and cake so easily. (Maybe it’s to lessen the ‘guilt’ of eating cake? You can honestly say you are getting your daily allotment of fruits too.) The first time I saw this Chocolate and Pear cake I thought… hmmm, it looks like a version of a…
Weihnachts Kinderpunsch Recipe- Warm Christmas Drink for Kids
At Christmas Markets and in homes, you find Glühwein for the adults at Christmastime. (My mother always left a pot on the stove Christmas Eve, and we would enjoy it during the Bescherung, or gift exchange) With warm wine and aromatic spices, it’s such a cozy feeling to hold the mug and breathe in the delicious steam while sipping. But…
Easy German Cookbook: 80 Classic Recipes Made Simple
I’m so proud of my first book! Easy German Cookbook: 80 Classic Recipes Made Simple Easy German Cookbook was a labor of love. However, sharing German culture and food is what I do online, so this book is the next logical step. Between the covers, you’ll find 80 pages of food memories. These are foods that we ate at home,…
Simple German Bratapfel Recipe with different Variations
In my old German recipe book, there’s a Bratapfel recipe. The ingredients are apples, nuts, raisins, cinnamon, and honey (and rum). The instructions are to carve the core out of the apple, stuff it with filling, and bake. That’s it. No details, no actual amounts. Even the bake time is vague… Bake until soft. I didn’t think much about the…
Gedeckter Apfelkuchen Recipe – Covered German Apple Cake
Like so many other foods in Germany, you won’t find just one recipe for German Apple Cake. Personally, I now keep three different recipes in my back pocket, because you never know… the apple cake must fit the occasion after all! Apfelkuchen mit Streusel vom Blech (Apple Streusel cake in a Pan) for everyday and Versunkener Apfelkuchen (sunken Apple Cake),…
My Oma’s Schoko-Nusskuchen Recipe- A Nut-lover’s Favorite
My cousin Linda made my day when she sent me our Oma’s recipe for Schoko-Nusskuchen along with the note, “This is the cake Oma always baked for our Birthdays.” This simple little cake may not be a fancy Torte, but flavorwise, it packs an amazing punch, reminding me of my favorite mid-day pick-me-up treat, a Hanuta. It’s hazelnut and chocolate,…