American Baker in Germany

 This cheesecake is great for summer, being no-bake and light and fluffy. The blueberries also make is really pretty. No-Bake Blueberry Cheesecake 1 3/4 cups (200g) graham cracker crumbs or butter cookie crumbs 2 cups (300g) blueberries, fresh or frozen 2/3 cup (160mL) heavy cream 2 tbsp sugar 1 heaping tbsp (10g) gelatin 1 tsp vanilla extract or 1 tbsp vanilla sugar 1/3 cup (80g) melted butter 2 cups (450g) cream cheese 1 cup (125g) powdered sugar 1 tbsp lemon juice 3 tbsp water 1 cup (150g) fresh blueberries for decoration on top Combine graham cracker crumbs and melted butter.  Press into the bottom of a 9-10 inch springform pan.   In a saucepan, add 300g blueberries, lemon juice and sugar and heat over medium heat until mixture becomes jam-like. Use a stick blender to puree the blueberries. Allow to cool completely.  Combine gelatin and water to allow the gelatin to bloom.  In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla.  Add in bl...

 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...