Germany is home to stunning natural scenery and fascinating modern metropolises alike, as well as delicious foods and German desserts! A key aspect of any culture is its culinary traditions. Germany is famous for its beer, schnitzel, and sauerkraut. Many German dishes and beverages have garnered worldwide acclaim. Beer festivals like Oktoberfest began in Munich and now have doppelgangers in the US. A huge part of German cuisine centers around bread, wheat beers, Bavarian pretzels, pumpernickel, and some 600 other baked goods.
Savory bread and beer aren’t the only treasured culinary traditions Germany has to offer; many of the bread varieties are desserts. After sampling the most popular German desserts during my trip to the country’s renowned Christmas markets, I’m stunned that they haven’t become as sensational as its beer.
Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte
I realize that many of Germany’s most popular cakes and desserts are equally popular in the states under a different and more easily pronounced name.
A point in case is Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, which is German for Black Forest Cake/Gateau.
Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte gets its name from a key ingredient sourced from the Black Forest Mountains of southern Germany called Schwarzwälder Kirsch, a cherry liqueur.
The cake consists of chocolate sponge cake infused with cherry liqueur layered with whipped cream and maraschino cherries.
Black Forest cake is one of my all-time favorite cakes. It’s a cherry cordial in cake form. The rich cherry flavor is unmistakable, melding perfectly with both chocolate and cream.
Aside from being one of my favorite cakes, this is also one of my favorite chocolate baked goods in general!
Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte
Ingredients
Method
- Mix the dry ingredients: Whisk 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 cup cocoa, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
- Beat the eggs: Beat 6 eggs with 1 cup sugar for 5 minutes, until thick. Mix in 1 teaspoon vanilla.
- Make the batter: Fold in the dry ingredients, then gently fold in 1/2 cup melted butter.
- Bake: Divide between two greased 9-inch cake pans. Bake at 350°F for 22 to 25 minutes. Cool.
- Make the cherries: Simmer 2 cups cherries, 1/2 cup cherry juice, and 1/3 cup sugar for 5 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons cornstarch and cook until thick.
- Add the kirsch: Cool the cherry mixture, then stir in 3 tablespoons kirsch.
- Whip the cream: Beat 3 cups heavy cream, 1/3 cup powdered sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla until stiff peaks form.
- Layer: Split each cake into 2 layers. Add cherry mixture and whipped cream between each layer.
- Frost: Cover the cake with the remaining whipped cream.
- Finish: Top with 4 oz chocolate shavings and 12 maraschino cherries. Chill before serving.
Lebkuchen
A seasonal dessert served at Christmas in households and Christmas markets, Lebkuchen is a honey cake that originated in 13th century Germany.
Monks in the late 13th and early 14th centuries invented the cake, which garnered popularity outside the church in Nuremberg.
Nuremberg continues to be the primary producer of Lebkuchen. Lebkuchen come in different varieties, distinguished by the types of nuts baked in, but they all have the same foundational ingredients:
- Honey
- Anise
- Coriander
- Cloves
- Ginger
- Cardamom
- Allspice
- Candied fruit
If a honey-soaked cake full of spices and candied fruit sounds familiar, you might think that Lebkuchen is a predecessor to the odious fruitcake.
However, Lebkuchen is more like a cookie bar and nowhere near as dense as a fruit cake.
I like the variety that contains walnuts and hazelnuts.
Lebkuchen
Ingredients
Method
- Mix the dry ingredients: Combine 2 cups flour, 1 cup almond flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and salt.
- Heat the honey: Warm 1/2 cup honey, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 1/4 cup butter until smooth. Cool slightly.
- Make the dough: Mix the honey mixture with 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 tablespoon orange zest. Stir in the dry ingredients.
- Add the mix-ins: Fold in 1/2 cup candied orange peel and 1/2 cup almonds.
- Chill: Cover the dough and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Shape: Scoop the dough into 2-tablespoon portions and flatten slightly on lined baking sheets.
- Bake: Bake at 350°F for 10 to 12 minutes, until set. Cool.
- Make the glaze: Mix 1 cup powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon water.
- Glaze: Brush the cooled Lebkuchen with the glaze and let set.
Bienenstich
Meaning “Bee Sting Cake” in German, Bienenstich is a hybrid between sweet bread and layer cake with a fun lure behind its origins.
Bakers will recount the legend of 15th-century bakers’ apprentices who defeated attackers from a neighboring town by throwing bee nests at them.
In honor of their insect allies, the bakers used their honey to create Bienenstich, a sweet bread whose yeasty dough receives a topping of hot honey, cream, milk, and almonds before baking in the oven.
The candied almond-topped bread is cut in half lengthwise and stuffed with buttercream.
The creamy, nutty, honey flavor in this cake makes it my favorite order at a German café to enjoy with a shot of espresso.
Bienenstich
Ingredients
Method
- Activate the yeast: Mix 1/2 cup warm milk, 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast, and 1 tablespoon of the 1/4 cup sugar. Rest for 5 minutes.
- Make the dough: Mix 3 cups flour, remaining sugar, 1 egg, 5 tablespoons butter, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the yeast mixture. Knead for 8 minutes.
- Rise: Cover the dough and let rise for 1 hour.
- Shape: Press the dough into a greased 9-inch springform pan. Rest for 20 minutes.
- Make the topping: Melt 4 tablespoons butter with 1/4 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons honey, and 2 tablespoons cream. Stir in 1 cup almonds.
- Bake: Spread the almond topping over the dough. Bake at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool completely.
- Make the custard: Heat 2 cups milk. Whisk 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup cornstarch, and 3 egg yolks, then slowly whisk in the hot milk.
- Thicken: Cook the custard until thick. Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla and 2 tablespoons butter. Chill completely.
- Finish the filling: Whip 1 cup heavy cream to stiff peaks and fold into the chilled custard.
- Assemble: Slice the cake horizontally. Spread the filling over the bottom layer and replace the almond top.
- Chill: Refrigerate for 1 hour before slicing.
Käsekuchen
Käsekuchen is a German cheesecake. Cheesecake is a beloved dessert in most cultures, with regional and national recipes galore.
In the U.S., we’re used to dense cheesecakes with graham cracker crusts and syrupy fruit toppings.
Käsekuchen is a much lighter, fluffier version of cheesecake with a shortbread crust and the following key ingredients:
- Quark German cheese
- Vanilla sugar
- Vanilla pudding powder
- Stiffened egg whites and yolks separated
- Lemon
- Vanilla extract
Quark is a creamy cheese similar in texture and flavor to ricotta. The stiffening of the egg whites and the vanilla pudding powder create a lighter batter.
I think the cheesecake tastes like the cheesecakes we know and love in the states, but the texture is different. I love the shortbread bottom!
Käsekuchen
Ingredients
Method
- Make the crust: Mix 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/2 cup butter, 1 egg, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt into a soft dough.
- Shape: Press the dough into the bottom and sides of a greased 9-inch springform pan.
- Make the filling: Mix 24 oz quark, 3/4 cup sugar, 3 egg yolks, 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1/4 cup cornstarch, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 teaspoon lemon zest, and 1 teaspoon vanilla.
- Whip the whites: Beat 3 egg whites to stiff peaks.
- Fold: Gently fold the 3 beaten egg whites into the quark mixture.
- Fill: Pour the filling into the prepared crust.
- Bake: Bake at 350°F for 50 to 60 minutes, until the edges are set and center slightly jiggles.
- Cool: Turn off the oven, crack the door, and cool the cake inside for 30 minutes.
- Chill: Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.
Baumkuchen
Meaning “tree cake” in German Baumkuchen is a simple cake made with an unusual spit-baking method.
I usually associate spit roasting with meat, but Germans also use it for sweets. Baumkuchen batter consists of:
- Butter
- Eggs
- Vanilla
- Flour
- Sugar
- Salt
Bakers brush thin layers of batter on a hot spit, adding a new layer after the previous layer has spent a couple of rotations baking.
The finished product is a circular, donut-shaped cake with between 15 to 20 layers. I think the cake tastes like a vanilla sponge cake.
You’ll usually see it sold in squares, often covered in a chocolate shell.
Baumkuchen
Ingredients
Method
- Make the base: Beat 1 cup butter with 1 cup sugar until fluffy. Beat in 6 egg yolks, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon almond extract, and 2 tablespoons rum.
- Add the dry ingredients: Mix in 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup cornstarch, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
- Whip the whites: Beat 6 egg whites to stiff peaks. Gently fold into the batter.
- Prep the pan: Grease and line a 9-inch springform pan. Heat the broiler.
- Make the first layer: Spread about 1/4 cup batter thinly across the pan. Broil for 1 to 2 minutes, until golden.
- Build the layers: Add another 1/4 cup batter and broil. Repeat until all batter is used.
- Glaze: Cool the cake, then brush with 1/2 cup warmed apricot preserves.
- Add the chocolate: Melt 8 oz chocolate with 1 tablespoon oil. Spread over the cake.
- Set: Let the chocolate firm before slicing.
Spaghettieis
Taking inspiration from the popular Italian noodles, Spaghettieis are spaghetti-shaped ice cream.
If you’ve never heard of this spoof on spaghetti, you’d think it was pasta at first glance.
An Italian transplant named Dario Fontanella invented the dish in the 60s to invoke his home country.
It’s still a favorite dish in German ice cream parlors today. You make it by pushing vanilla ice cream through a potato dumpling grater into a bowl.
You’ll get the option to make in a spaghetti marinara with the addition of strawberry sauce or carbonara with a sprinkle of shaved chocolate and almond “parmesan.” I think it’s a fun way to eat an ice cream sundae.
Spaghettieis
Ingredients
Method
- Chill the press: Place a potato ricer or spaetzle press in the freezer for 15 minutes.
- Make the sauce: Blend 1 1/2 cups strawberries, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 1 tablespoon lemon juice until smooth.
- Whip the cream: Beat 1 cup heavy cream, 1 tablespoon powdered sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla until stiff peaks form.
- Plate the cream: Divide the whipped cream among 4 chilled serving dishes.
- Make the spaghetti: Press 4 cups vanilla ice cream through the chilled ricer directly over the whipped cream.
- Add the sauce: Spoon the strawberry sauce over the ice cream.
- Finish: Sprinkle with 2 oz grated white chocolate and serve immediately.
Zimtsterne
Meaning “cinnamon star” in German, Zimtsterne is a star-shaped cookie that dates to the 16th century.
Now it’s the most common Christmas cookie in Germany. The dough consists of:
- Ground almonds
- Flour
- Cinnamon
- Sugar
- Whipped egg white
These cookies have a much higher percentage of almonds that flour with egg whites folded in and used as a merengue topping.
These wonderfully spiced cinnamon stars are the taste of Christmas in Germany. You’ll see them on every table and at every Christmas market.
I’m not sure that Germans leave cookies out for Santa, but if they did, these would be it.
Zimtsterne
Ingredients
Method
- Make the meringue: Beat 2 egg whites and 1/4 teaspoon salt until foamy. Gradually beat in 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar until thick.
- Reserve the icing: Set aside 1/2 cup of the egg white mixture.
- Make the dough: Fold 3 cups almond flour, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon vanilla into the remaining mixture.
- Chill: Cover the dough and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Roll: Dust the surface with some of the 1/2 cup powdered sugar. Roll the dough about 1/3-inch thick.
- Cut: Cut the dough into stars and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Ice: Spread the reserved 1/2 cup egg white mixture thinly over each star.
- Bake: Bake at 300°F for 12 to 15 minutes, keeping the icing white.
- Cool: Let the Zimtsterne cool completely before serving.
Rote grütze
Originating in Denmark and Northern Germany, Rote grütze is a gelatinous fruit compote.
The name comes from the Danish words for red porridge with cream.
It is a summer-season dish with red berries, fruits, sugar, and potato starch. Common fruits used in Rote grütze include:
- Cherries
- Red currants
- Black currants
- Raspberries
- Blackberries
- Strawberries
- Bilberries
The cooking method is the same as pudding and jello in which the juicy berries and sugar caramelize and reduce with the potato starch and then sit at room temperature or in the fridge to set.
I love to serve Rote grütze over vanilla ice cream or custard.
Rote Grütze
Ingredients
Method
- Cook the fruit: Add 2 cups strawberries, 1 cup raspberries, 1 cup red currants, 1 cup cherries, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1 cup cherry juice to a saucepan. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Make the slurry: Mix 2 tablespoons cornstarch with 3 tablespoons cold water until smooth.
- Thicken: Stir the slurry into the fruit. Simmer for 2 minutes, until thickened.
- Finish: Stir in 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1 teaspoon vanilla.
- Chill: Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- Serve: Spoon into bowls and top with 1 cup vanilla sauce.
Apfelkuchen
A famous Bavarian dish, Apfelkuchen is a German apple cake.
It’s a seasonal fall cake using the local bounty of apples harvested from Bavarian orchards.
Apple trees are ubiquitous in Bavaria, found in most front yards, to say nothing of the countless orchards. Germany has one of the most diverse selections of apple varieties in the world.
Therefore, Apfelkuchen uses whatever apples you have on hand. It consists of a simple cinnamon cake dough with:
- Flour
- Sugar
- Cinnamon
- Eggs
- Baking powder
- Salt
Upon pouring the batter into a circular pan, you press thin slices of apples atop the batter, then give the cake a hearty topping of cinnamon sugar before baking it. I like to add some chopped pecans for texture.
Apfelkuchen
Ingredients
Method
- Prep the apples: Toss 3 sliced apples with 1 tablespoon lemon juice.
- Mix the dry ingredients: Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
- Cream: Beat 1/2 cup butter with 3/4 cup sugar until fluffy.
- Add the wet ingredients: Beat in 2 eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla, then mix in 1/2 cup milk.
- Make the batter: Stir the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until just combined.
- Assemble: Spread the batter in a greased 9-inch springform pan. Arrange the 3 sliced apples on top.
- Season: Mix 2 tablespoons sugar with 1 teaspoon cinnamon and sprinkle over the apples.
- Bake: Bake at 350°F for 40 to 45 minutes, until golden and set.
- Serve: Cool slightly and dust with 2 tablespoons powdered sugar.
Dampfnudel or germknoedel
Dampfnudel is a steamed bun that’s a staple of both sweet and savory dishes around Germany.
The dough consists of:
- Flour
- Yeast
- Water
- Salt
- Butter
- Sugar
I liken the dough to a typical dinner roll. You form small dough balls, let the dough rise overnight, then steam them in a pot with either water, cream, or both.
They look like bao buns, with white domes and a crispy browned bottom. Steaming them gives them a texture more like dumplings than rolls.
I like eating them with a hearty helping of Rote grütze.
Dampfnudeln
Ingredients
Method
- Activate the yeast: Mix 1/2 cup of the 1 cup warm milk, 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast, and 1 tablespoon of the 1/4 cup sugar. Rest for 5 minutes.
- Make the dough: Mix 3 1/2 cups flour, remaining sugar, 2 eggs, 4 tablespoons melted butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the yeast mixture.
- Knead: Knead for 8 minutes, until smooth.
- Rise: Cover and let the dough rise for 1 hour.
- Shape: Divide the dough into 8 pieces and shape into smooth balls.
- Rise again: Cover the 8 dough balls and let rise for 30 minutes.
- Prep the pan: Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a wide pot. Add the remaining 1/2 cup milk and 2 tablespoons sugar.
- Steam: Add the 8 dough balls. Cover tightly and cook over low heat for 20 to 25 minutes. Do not lift the lid.
- Serve: Top with 1/2 cup vanilla sauce and 2 tablespoons powdered sugar.
Berliner or krapfen
Berliner or krapfen is the original jelly doughnut, a recipe you can find in the first cookbook printed on the Gutenberg Press in the 16th century.
The recipe originally lacked sugar because sugar cane had not yet surfaced in the New World.
However, the recipe and cooking method remains nearly the same in Germany and everywhere else for that matter.
Berliners consist of a yeasty dough consisting of:
- Flour
- yeast
- Eggs
- Milk
- Butter
Doughballs rise for a few hours before being fried in lard or oil. Once they’re fried, they receive an injection of fruit compote, jam, or custard, and then a dusting of powdered sugar.
Strawberry desserts are my favorite, so a strawberry jelly donut is always on my order when I make it to the bakery before 10 am.
Berliner (Krapfen)
Ingredients
Method
- Activate the yeast: Mix 1/2 cup warm milk, 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast, and 1 tablespoon of the 1/4 cup sugar. Rest for 5 minutes.
- Make the dough: Mix 3 1/2 cups flour, remaining sugar, 2 eggs, 6 tablespoons butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the yeast mixture.
- Knead: Knead the dough for 8 minutes, until smooth.
- Rise: Cover and let the dough rise for 1 hour, until doubled.
- Shape: Roll the dough 1/2-inch thick. Cut into 3-inch rounds.
- Rise again: Cover the rounds and let rise for 30 minutes.
- Fry: Heat 6 cups oil to 350°F. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes per side, until golden.
- Fill: Cool slightly, then pipe about 1 tablespoon of the 3/4 cup raspberry jam into each Berliner.
- Finish: Dust with 1/2 cup powdered sugar and serve.
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