When travelling through Germany one of the things that stand out to me is the abundance and diversity of pastries – you heard it: forget about the Dom in Cologne, the remnants of the Berlin wall or the Frühlingsfest in Stuttgart – it’s pastry you should focus on! All jokes aside: you won’t be hungry when visiting Germany. Whether you have a sweet tooth at breakfast or want to enjoy a sugary treat in the afternoon: here’s a selection of German pastry, with taste guide:
Let’s start with the heart-shaped pastry in the picture above: this treat is named a Quark-Schoko’chen. It’s a bun with chocolate drops, perfect for a Saturday or Sunday morning. We move clockwise to the half-moon shaped pastry named Mandelhörnchen or almond-horn (see, who said German was difficult to understand)? If you’re a marzipan fan then dig in because that’s what this pastry is filled with. The almond flakes literally top it off.
The triangle is an Amaranth-Ecke, as the name already suggests this baked good is made from amaranth grains. The flipside of this pastry is coated with chocolate, it also contains cranberries or raisins. Amaranth is said to be a gluten-free grain, which might be an interesting option for those of you who eat gluten-free (always check with the staff before ordering to make sure)
On to the next one: the Erdbeer-Rhabarber-Streusel (strawberry-rhubarb). The base of this dessert tastes doughy and somewhat chewy but definitely has a good consistency at the same time, the fruit is in the mid-section. The pastry is topped with crumble or streusel (hence its name). This is a favourite: the sweet rhubarb and strawberry instantly give you a summer-feeling. Who needs ice-cream anyway? Well…I suppose adding a scoop of vanilla ice cream would make it purrrfect!
Last but not least is the Mohn-Apfelkuchen or poppy seeds-apple pie. I found that the poppy seeds don’t quite add a specific taste but rather texture to this dessert, the apples nicely balance it out.
The last type of pastry for this article is my friend the Berliner! This classic pastry cannot be left out, especially as I wrote this while staying in Berlin. The dough is comparable to that of a doughnut, although I find the taste a bit less greasy. The Berliner is sprinkled with powder sugar and has a core of prune marmalade or Pflaumenmus. Yumm!
The complete range of German pastry is of course much larger. The selection discussed here is a nice start though. The pastries were purchased at an organic bakery, the likes of which you can find throughout Berlin-Brandenburg. The Berliner was purchased from a supermarket, you can find Berliners in virtually every supermarket in the capital, so knock yourself out!
Mit herzlichen Grüßen
Eure Aypau
Safframé 