American Baker in Germany

 This year, my daughter is turning 12. She wanted two cakes: one for family, one for friends. But she wanted both to be similar enough, I thought I'd keep both cakes on one post. These are both 6-inch red velvet cake. The original thought was to frost and decorate the cake with white chocolate ganache. So, the first one was.  Unfortunately, I struggled with the piping part. The ganach was too soft to pipe properly. I was very unhappy with the consistency. The ganche also "wept" slightly, adding pools of oil on the cake board. Let's try again. This time, I decided to fill and frost it with white chocolate buttercream instead.  It was the perfect piping consistency. I only used medium star tips. This was the cake for my daughter's friends. I piped a reverse shell border along the top of the cake.   Then I twisted some piping around the top of the cake.   I also piped a pink shell boder along the bottom with a white shell border on top of it. I also piped some hear...

 This recipe came about because my daughter requested white chocolate ganache on a cake, but then wanted piping. Ganache is very difficult to pipe. So, it's time for a compromise. White Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream 4 egg whites 1 cup (200g) sugar 1 cup (250g) butter A dash of salt 200g of white chocolate, melted and cooled Whisk together egg whites and sugar in a heat-safe bowl (metal or glass).  Heat the egg mixture over a double boiler until egg whites and sugar are completely combined and mixture feels hot to the touch. Remove from heat. Allow to cool briefly.  Beat with a mixer until meringue is light and fluffy and room temperature.  Beat in butter a tablespoon at a time until completely incorporated. Add salt.  Continue to beat mixture until you reach buttercream consistency. Usually around 5 minutes.  Beat in melted white chocolate.  This is a great alternative to white chocolate ganache as it's not as heavy as ganache, but still retains...

 This is a great recipe for summer. Always best if you don't have to use the oven in the heat. No-Bake Chocolate Cheesecake: 2 cups (200g) Oreo cookie crumbs 1/3 cup (100g) melted butter 3 pkgs (525g) cream cheese 1 1/2 cups (170g) powdered sugar 1/4 cup (50g) sour cream or plain yoghurt 1 tsp vanilla extract or 1 tbsp vanilla sugar 2 cups (300g) dark chocolate, melted and cooled Combine Oreo cookie crumbs and melted butter. Mixture should be the consistency of wet sand.  Press into bottom of a springform baking pan.  In a separate bowl, beat cream cheese until soft.  Beat in powdered sugar, sour cream and vanilla.  Add melted chocolate (should not feel warm) and beat for about 3 minutes to make sure mixture is really creamy.  Spread into prepared Oreo crust.  Chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours.   Watch us make this decadent recipe on our YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/yj6voTlDLrc Schaut zu wie wir dieses deftige Rezept auf unse...

 Not sure where the name came from, but these are great cookies with fruit, nuts and spices. Hermit Cookies: 1 1/2 cups (180g) flour 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp nutmeg 1/4 tsp cloves 1/2 cup (125g) butter 3/4 cup (150g) brown sugar 1 egg 2 tbsp milk 1 tsp vanilla extract or 1 tbsp vanilla sugar 1 cup (200g) raisins 1/2 cup (70g) chopped walnuts   Cream butter.  Beat in sugar, egg, milk and vanilla.  Stir in dry ingredients.  Fold in raisins and walnuts.  Bake at 375°F or 190°C for 10-12 minutes. These are really delicious and full of flavor. Watch us make these delicious cookies on our YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/aDXMQtb15iE Schaut zu wie wir diese leckere Kekse auf unserem YouTube Kanal machen hier: https://youtu.be/qM7d-U4Qu38