Berry pudding with vanilla sauce

This is pure summer! Now it’s the season of strawberries, cherries, currants, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries and you can find them in abundance on the markets and fruit farms. In this dessert, the sweet fruits are wrapped in fresh, cool jelly. That does not only look gorgeous, but also tastes heavenly.

Tonka bean mousse with blood orange ragout

“Stutenkerl” – a traditional German Saint Nicholas pastry

How many times did I put a pastry man – a “Stutenkerl” – into my children’s Santa Claus’ boots. And how many times did one of them land in our ready-made boots for St. Nicholas Day in my own childhood. But so far I had never baked such a pastry man myself, although it’s really easy. And the result is just fun!

Strawberries, yoghurt, basil – the perfect cake

At our home, our daughter is the backing-expert. I also bake well, but I prefer the hearty things. For our daughter baking means to relax, to come down, you could almost say: “to chill”. At the age of 14, she baked this fantastic strawberry yoghurt cream cake with basil for her brother’s birthday. Respect!

Pastéis de Belém

Admittedly, the original we tried during our shore leave in Lisbon tasted even better. This certainly has atmospheric reasons. Anyhow, I’ve tried many recipes for Portugal enthusiasts – and here’s one that really works, is simple, and comes very close to the original.

Piedmontese chocolate pudding with vanilla quince

A beautiful and strong coffee, anyone? Then, after a substantial meal, this specialty from the Piedmont is the right! In Piedmont, this pudding is called also Bonèt, because its form probably reminds something to a hat or a chef’s hat. Another story around the Bonèt comes from the Langhe. It states that one puts so to speak “a hat” – a crown – on dinner with this dessert. Anyhow, it tastes excellently and even better when prepared the day before. Incredibly handy when you expect guests.

PS: The Vanilla Quinces are a perfect match!

Vanilla Quince

Quinces are childhood memory for me. Grew up on the North Sea every summer we visited our grandparents in the Odenwald, a German low mountain range. In their (kitchen) garden they grew a quince tree in addition to many other fruit trees. Plums, apples, pears, we also had in our garden at home, but I had never seen quinces in North Germany. I thought they were unique in my grandparents‘ garden. Grandma Anna’s quince jelly was my favourite!