Classic German Baking: The Very Best Recipes for Traditional Favorites, from Pfeffernüsse to Streuselkuchen

Classic German Baking: The Very Best Recipes for Traditional Favorites, from Pfeffernüsse to Streuselkuchen

by Luisa Weiss
Classic German Baking: The Very Best Recipes for Traditional Favorites, from Pfeffernüsse to Streuselkuchen

Classic German Baking: The Very Best Recipes for Traditional Favorites, from Pfeffernüsse to Streuselkuchen

by Luisa Weiss

Hardcover

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Overview

From her cheerful Berlin kitchen, Luisa Weiss shares more than 100 rigorously researched and tested recipes, gathered from expert bakers, friends, family, and time-honored sources throughout Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. 

German baking has influenced baking traditions around the world for generations and is a source of great nostalgia for those of German and Central European heritage. Yet the very best recipes for Germany’s cookies, cakes, tortes, and breads, passed down through generations, have never before been collected and perfected for contemporary American home bakers. Enter Luisa Weiss, the Berlin-based creator of the adored Wednesday Chef blog and self-taught ambassador of the German baking canon.

Whether you’re in the mood for the simple yet emblematic Streuselkuchen, crisp and flaky Strudel, or classic breakfast Brötchen, every recipe you’re looking for is here, along with detailed advice to ensure success plus delightful storytelling about the origins, meaning, and rituals behind the recipes. Paired with more than 100 photographs of Berlin and delectable baked goods, such as Elisenlebkuchen, Marmorierter Mohnkuchen, and Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, this book will encourage home bakers of all skill levels to delve into the charm of Germany’s rich baking tradition.

Classic German Baking
is an authoritative collection of recipes that provides delicious inspiration for any time of day, whether it’s for a special breakfast, a celebration with friends and family, or just a regular afternoon coffee-and-cake break, an important part of everyday German life.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781607748250
Publisher: Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed
Publication date: 10/18/2016
Pages: 288
Sales rank: 132,370
Product dimensions: 8.10(w) x 10.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

LUISA WEISS is a Berlin-born, American-Italian food writer who grew up eating warm Streuselschnecken on her way to school and believes dark winter days are best enjoyed whilst sharing Lebkuchen and Zimtsterne with family and friends. Luisa is the creator of the blog The Wednesday Chef and author of the lauded memoir, My Berlin Kitchen. Her work has been featured on Design*Sponge and National Public Radio and in Food&Wine, the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe, and Harper’s Bazaar Germany, among many others. She lives in Berlin with her husband and son.

Read an Excerpt

NUSSKUCHEN 
Toasted Hazelnut Loaf Cake 

MAKES 1 (9 BY 5-INCH/23 BY 12CM) CAKE 

In the United States, loaf cakes and quick breads are quite moist and rich affairs. In Germany, they tend to be drier and lighter; in sum, a little more restrained. In this classic Nusskuchen, hazelnuts are toasted until fragrant, and then pulsed finely before being folded into a simple cake batter plumped up with a bit of milk or brandy. You can take the basic recipe further by folding in chopped chocolate or grated lemon peel. The chocolate gives the cake more heft and makes for a great autumn weekend cake, while the lemon pairs nicely with the roasted hazelnuts for a more delicately flavored cake. Either way, slices of Nusskuchen are wonderful eaten with a hot cup of coffee or tea. 

The cake keeps well for a few days wrapped tightly in plastic wrap. But if it does get stale, you may be interested to know that an acquaintance of my assistant on this book, Maja Welker, once told her that her family used to repurpose stale loaf cakes like this one by placing slices of them on buttered rye bread at snack time. Ever curious, Maja tried this unusual snack and reported back that it is indeed delicious, if a little unorthodox. What we still haven’t figured out is whether this is a regional oddity or simply a familial one. In any case, it speaks to the resourcefulness of most Germans, who are loath to waste any food. 

18 tablespoons/250g unsalted butter, softened, plus more for the pan 
2 cups/200g whole hazelnuts, toasted, skinned, and finely ground 
1 cup/200g granulated sugar 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
4 eggs 
1 2⁄3 cups, scooped and leveled, minus 1 tablespoon/200g all-purpose flour 
2 teaspoons baking powder 
2 tablespoons whole milk or brandy 
5 1 ⁄4 ounces/150g bittersweet chocolate (minimum 50% cacao), chopped (optional) 
Grated peel of 1 organic lemon (optional) 
Confectioners’ sugar (optional), for dusting 

Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Butter a 9 by 5-inch/23 by 12cm loaf pan. Spread the hazelnuts on a baking sheet in a single layer and toast in the oven, until the nuts are toasted and fragrant. Remove the pan from the oven and let the nuts cool completely before rubbing them gently with a clean dishcloth (this will remove most of their skins). Place the cooled hazelnuts in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the nuts are ground to a very fine meal. Take care not to overprocess by pulsing after they are finely ground, or you will end up with hazelnut paste. 

Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the flat beater attachment and beat until creamy and fluffy; beat in the vanilla extract. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until each one is incorporated into the batter. Slowly add the ground hazelnuts and beat until combined. 

Sift the flour and baking powder together, and then, with the mixer running at medium speed, gradually add the flour to the butter and sugar. Finally, beat in the milk or brandy and fold in the chocolate or grated lemon peel. Scrape the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. 

Place the pan on a rack to cool for a few minutes before unmolding. Let the cake cool completely. Dust lightly with confectioners’ sugar before slicing and serving. Wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, the cake will keep at room temperature for at least 3 days and up to 5.

Table of Contents

CONTENTS 


COOKIES 12 

BUTTERKEKSE 14 

Simplest Butter Cookies 

HEIDESAND 15 

Sandy Almond Sugar Cookies 

SCHWARZ-WEISS GEBÄCK 16 

Checkerboard Cookies 

BLITZKUCHEN 19 

Almond-Sugar Cookies 

MANDELHÖRNCHEN 20 

Chocolate-Dipped Almond Crescents 

KNERKEN 22 

Cardamom Snap Cookies 

ZIMTBREZELN 23 

Cinnamon Pretzels 

WALNUSS-ZWIEBACK 25 

Twice-Baked Walnut Crisps 

RUSSISCH BROT 26 

Cocoa-Meringue Alphabet Cookies 

LÖFFELBISKUIT 27 

Ladyfingers 

NUSSECKEN 28 

Chocolate-Hazelnut Cookie Bars 

EISENBAHNSCHNITTEN 31 

Almond Cream Jam Bars 

PRASSELKUCHEN MIT BLÄTTERTEIG 33 

Saxonian Glazed Streusel Slices 

SCHWÄBISCHER PRASSELKUCHEN 34 

Swabian Streusel-Jam Slices 

AMERIKANER 36 

Lemon-Glazed Cakelets 

CAKES 38 

ANISBROT 40 

Aniseed Sponge Cake 

NUSSKUCHEN 42 

Toasted Hazelnut Loaf Cake 

VERSUNKENER APFELKUCHEN 43 

Sunken Apple Cake 

APFEL-MARZIPAN-KUCHEN 44 

Apple-Almond Cake 

GEDECKTER APFELKUCHEN 46 

Glazed Apple Cake 

KÄSEKUCHEN 48 

Classic Quark Cheesecake 

KÄSEKUCHEN OHNE BODEN 50 

Crustless Quark Cheesecake 

QUARKKUCHEN MIT MANDARINEN 52 

Mandarin Orange Cheesecake 

RUSSISCHER ZUPFKUCHEN 54 

Chocolate Quark Cheesecake 

LOTTCHEN’S KIRSCHKUCHEN 57 

Sunken Lemon-Cherry Cake 

DUNKLER KIRSCHKUCHEN 58 

Spiced Chocolate-Cherry Cake 

KIRSCHSTREUSELKUCHEN 61 

Sour Cherry Streusel Cake 

ERDBEER-SAHNE BISKUITROLLE 63 

Strawberry Cream Roll 

ZITRONENBISKUITROLLE 66 

Lemon Cream Roll 

MARILLENFLECK 69 

Austrian Apricot Sheet Cake 

RHABARBERKUCHEN 70 

Simple Rhubarb Cake 

MARMORKUCHEN 72 

Marble Cake 

MARMORIERTER MOHNKUCHEN 74 

Marbleized Poppy-Seed Cake 

YEASTED CAKES 78 

ZUCKERKUCHEN 81 

Sugar Cake 

BUTTERKUCHEN 82 

Butter-Almond Cake 

STREUSELKUCHEN 84 

Yeasted Streusel Cake 

APFELKUCHEN 86 

Yeasted Apple Cake 

PFLAUMENSTREUSELKUCHEN 88 

Yeasted Plum Cake with Streusel 

BIENENSTICH 90 

Honey-Almond Caramel Cake 

MOHNSTREUSELKUCHEN 93 
Poppy-Seed Streusel Cake 

GUGELHUPF 95 

Yeasted Cake with Rum-Soaked Raisins 

SCHOKOLADEN-GUGELHUPF 97 

Chocolate-Stuffed Yeasted Cake 

SCHLESISCHE MOHNROLLE 99 

Silesian Poppy-Seed Roll 

ROSENKUCHEN 102 

Spiced Cocoa Pinwheel Cake 

KRANZKUCHEN 104 

Braided Almond-Cream Wreath 

NUSSZOPF 107 

Glazed Nut Braid 

MOHNZOPF 109 

Poppy-Seed Braid 

TORTES AND STRUDELS 112 

RÜBLITORTE 114 

Carrot-Nut Torte 

HANNCHEN-JENSEN-TORTE 117 

Meringue Cream Cake 

HEIDJERTORTE 119 

Lingonberry Buckwheat Cream Torte 

FRIESENTORTE 122 

Plum Cream Torte 

SCHWARZWÄLDER KIRSCHTORTE 123 

Black Forest Cake 

MOHNTORTE 126 

Flourless Poppy-Seed Torte 

SACHERTORTE 128 

Glazed Chocolate Torte 

NUSSTORTE VON HAMMERSTEIN 132 

Glazed Hazelnut Torte 

LINZERTORTE 134 

Spiced Almond Jam Tart 

TRÄUBELESTORTE 136 

Redcurrant Meringue Torte 

PFLAUMENSTRUDEL 138 

Plum Strudel 

APFELSTRUDEL 141 

Apple Strudel 

TOPFENSTRUDEL 145 

Quark Strudel

SAVORIES 148 

SÜDDEUTSCHE LAUCHTORTE 150 

Creamy Leek Tart 

PETERLINGSKUCHEN 151 

Swabian Parsley Cake 

ZWIEBELKUCHEN 152 

Savory Onion Cake 

GRÜNER KUCHEN 154 

Savory Green Onion and Bacon Cake 

SALZEKUCHEN 156 

Hessian Potato Cake 

HERZHAFTER KÄSEKUCHEN 158 

Savory Cheesecake 

KARTOFFELSTRUDEL 161 

Potato Strudel 

KRAUTSTRUDEL 163 

Cabbage Strudel 

KARTOFFEL-KÄSE DINNEDE 166 

Swabian Potato-Cheese Flat Bread 

SPECK-WALNUSS GUGELHUPF 168 

Bacon-Walnut Gugelhupf 

BREADS AND ROLLS 170 

BRÖTCHEN 172 

Classic Breakfast Rolls 

MOHNHÖRNCHEN 175 

Poppy-Seed Crescent Rolls 

SEELEN 177 

Swabian Spelt Caraway Rolls 

HEISSWECKEN 179 

Raisin-Spice Buns 

ROGGENBRÖTCHEN 182 

Rye Rolls 

ROSINENBRÖTCHEN 184 

Whole Wheat Raisin Buns 

KÄSE-KÜMMEL-BRÖTCHEN 186 

Caraway-Cheese Rye Rolls 

QUARKBRÖTCHEN 188 

Sweet Quark Rolls 

QUARK-OSTERHASEN 190 

Soft Quark Bunny Rolls 

SCHWARZWÄLDER KARTOFFELBRÖTCHEN 192 

Potato Rolls with Bacon and Caraway 

BREZELN 194 

Soft Pretzels 

FRANZBRÖTCHEN 197 

Cinnamon-Sugar Buns 

ROSINENSCHNECKEN 202 

Raisin-Frangipane Spiral Buns 

BREMER KÜRBISBROT 204 
Roasted Squash Bread 

AACHENER POSCHWECK 206 

Easter Bread with Raisins and Sugar Cubes 

SCHWEIZER ZOPF 209 

Swiss Braid 

ROSINENZOPF 213 

Sweet Raisin Bread 

CHRISTMAS FAVORITES 216 

LEBKUCHEN 218 

Old-Fashioned German Gingerbread 

ELISENLEBKUCHEN 220 

Glazed Flourless Nuremberg Lebkuchen 

HONIGLEBKUCHEN 222 

Honeyed Lebkuchen Squares with Caramelized Almonds 

LEBKUCHEN-POWIDLTATSCHKERLN 224 

Plum-Filled Gingerbread Pockets 

BIBERLE 226 

Gingerbread Almond Nuggets 

PFEFFERNÜSSE 228 

Iced Spice Cookies 

BASLER LECKERLI 229 

Swiss Spice Squares 

SPRINGERLE 231 

Swabian Anise Cookies 

SPEKULATIUS 234 

Almond Spice Cookies 

BETHMÄNNCHEN 236 

Almond Domes 

ZEDERNBROT 237 

Lemon-Almond Crescent Cookies 

NUSSSTANGEN 238 

Hazelnut-Almond Batons 

ZIMTSTERNE 241 

Cinnamon-Almond Meringue Stars 

MAKRONENSCHNITTEN 242 

Walnut Macaroon Slices with Jam 

BASLER BRUNSLI 243 

Swiss Almond-Chocolate Cookies 

HASELNUSS-HIMBEER MAKRONEN 244 

Hazelnut-Raspberry Macaroons 

WEIHNACHTSPLÄTZCHEN 246 

Simple Christmas Cookies 

VANILLEKIPFERL 248 

Melting Vanilla-Almond Crescents 

GEFÜLLTE ORANGENTALER 249 
Candied Orange Sandwich Cookies 

FRÜCHTEBROT 250 

Austrian Fruit Bread 

CHRISTBROT 252 

Sweet Christmas Bread 

QUARKSTOLLEN 256 

Quark-Almond Sweet Bread 

STOLLENKONFEKT 257 

Bite-Size Stollen 

BAUMKUCHEN 259 

Chocolate-Glazed Tree Cake 

BASICS 262 

QUARK 264 

Sour Fresh Cheese 

MARZIPANROHMASSE 264 

Almond Paste 

PFLAUMENMUS 265 

Spiced Plum Butter 

LEBKUCHENGEWÜRZ 265 

Lebkuchen Spice Mix 

STREUSEL 266 

Basic Streusel 

MANDELSTREUSEL 266 

Almond Streusel 

VANILLEZUCKER 267 

Vanilla Sugar 

SCHLAGSAHNE 267 

Lightly Sweetened Whipped Cream
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