American Baker in Germany

 After two giant duck cakes, I thought it was time to emphasize the pond. I frosted a 6-inch cake dummy with vegan American buttercream. Then I covered the cake with blue fondant. Then I made a yellow duck out of yellow fondant. It's a little bit more like a rubber ducky than a real duck, but that's the look I was going for. Something for small children. Then I made two baby ducks behind the mother duck. And I made a lot of grass out of green fondant. And a few lily pads on the pond. I lined the bottom with jelly beans to look like rocks. And I painted the ducks beaks orange and their eyes brown. I love this little duck family. I think this cake is sweet and child-like. Watch us make this duck pond cake on our YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/CiFHpS63k9Y Schaut zu wie wir diese Ententeich Torte auf unserem YouTube Kanal machen hier: https://youtu.be/v771i6fz5i8

This recipe was a request from my own mother. She wanted to make a fruity bread recipe for her friends to give them for Christmas. But she wasn't sure how to go about it. So she asked me to make a tutorial for her to follow. Sure, Mom. I've got your back. Festive Fruit and Nuts Wreath: 2 tbsp active dry yeast 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) warm water 1/3 cup (90 ml) butter, softened 1/3 cup (80 ml) powdered milk 1/4 cup (50 g) sugar 1 egg 3/4 tsp salt about 5 cups (625 g) flour 2 tbsp (30 ml) butter, melted 1 cup (100 g) chopped nuts 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1 cup (100 g) pistachios or other nuts 1 cup (150 g) raisins 1 cup (150 g) cranberries 1 cup (125 g) powdered sugar In a bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water.  Add the butter, powdered milk, sugar, egg, salt and flour. Stir everything together until you can't anymore. Then knead it until mixture forms a soft dough. Cover and allow the dough to rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size (about 1 hour). While the dough is ris...

 This was a request from my fan, Nathan, and my colleague, Anna. So, I decided to go over every step. Let's start with the cake. Red Velvet Cake: 2 cups (450 mL) buttermilk 2/3 cup (150 mL) oil 1 tbsp vinegar 1 1/2 cups (300g) sugar 3 tbsp cocoa powder 1 tbsp vanilla extract dash salt 1 1/2 tsp baking soda 2 cups (250g) flour red food coloring The nice thing about this recipe is that you just add all the ingredients to a bowl and mix them together with a whisk. The batter will be quite thin.  Add to greased and lined cake pan and bake at 350°F or 180°C for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If you've ever wondered why red velvet cake is red, it's historical. Around the time the recipe was developed, cocoa powder was refined with alkali, which reacted with vinegar to make a mild red color. Today, cocoa powder is no longer refined this way, so the red color can't come from a chemical reaction. We have to use food coloring...