Easter without a cake is like a birthday without a celebration. You could do both, but I guess it would be strange for some people ;) Luckily, I got the perfect cake for Easter: a delicious German Hazelnut Eierlikör (Advocaat) Layer Cake. If you are a fan of advocaat this might be the perfect cake for you. I know not everyone likes this type of booze – some consider it to be a »grandma« liquor… but I kind of like it. At least for baking ;P
Carnival is celebrated in many countries around the globe – the hotspot for this event is undoubtedly Europe, where carnival has a long tradition all over the continent. Each country has its own specific customs and traditions, which can vary from town to town even. In addition to that you can get food/baked goods that are connected to carnival celebrations. In Italy, for example, Bomboloni with Hazelnut Chocolate Filling are a pretty popular snack for the carnival season. The recipe at the end will give you all the instructions you need to prepare this deliciously sweet snack!
Baking can be an easy task. There is no need to make a six-layer cake if there are simple cakes out there that are equally delicious ;P This Easy Hazelnut Loaf Cake is the perfect example of that. Mixed together in an instant and quickly on your plate. If your oven could work faster, and you could speed up the cooling process you would be able to enjoy this delicious cake within minutes ;P Well… almost. Let me tell you how it’s done.
In France, they got a seemingly endless supply of delicious sweet treats it seems. French Pâtisserie is an important part of French culture. One of my favorite sweet treats I am, unfortunately, not making often enough, is Paris Brest. Rings of choux pastry with a nutty, caramel cream filling. Soooo extremely (and dangerously) delicious! There’s no other way to say it… ;)
Around Christmas, there is always a party or gathering to attend to and, of course, many times you want to bring a small gift if you are invited by friends or relatives to say thank you. In my case, I like to bring something homemade instead of a bottle of wine or something else from a store. Around Christmas there is so much you can bring – homemade Christmas Stollen, Christmas cookies, or, for example, this Hazelnut Nougat Chocolate Candy. It’s easy to prepare and makes a nice gift I think ;)
Rugelach never used to be on our family’s Christmas baking list. At least when I was a kid. We baked a lot of Christmas cookies but normally only the typical classics from the south – Cinnamon Stars, Vanilla Crescents or Spitzbuben Looking back, I have to say we should have looked beyond the cookie plate a little earlier ;P Rugelach are very easy to prepare and can be customized easily with different types of fillings. These here, for example, have a simple hazelnut filling. Very delicious!
I love my job, but in between I love to bake and try new things in the kitchen. A lot of my friends and colleagues encourage me to bake - for a very simple reason: they get the leftovers - and it seems they like it most of the time ;)
