Book Review: Classic German Baking by Luisa Weiss

I have followed blogger Luisa Weiss at The Wednesday Chef for a couple of years now and always loved seeing what she was making in her German kitchen. I read her first book, My Berlin Kitchen, right before I went on my third trip to Berlin.

Her latest title is a beautiful cookbook entitled Classic German Baking and it boasts more than 100 recipes. I was excited to receive this because I truly love German treats like bienenstich kuchen, strudel and pretzels! I also love thinking about how my German great grandparents may have made some of these recipes in their own kitchens.

Luisa includes helpful information on the ingredients in the recipes, like explanations on quark, marzipan and more. I also really liked her sections on basics, the pronunciation guide, and sources.

The book offers beautiful photographs of the recipes and of the city of Berlin, which was completely unexpected and wonderful! It brought me back to my many travels there and made me long to return someday.

It is clear that Luisa put a lot of time and thought into this second title of hers.

Beautiful and ever changing Berlin.

Bienenstich kuchen! I am obsessed with this cake and have yet to make it myself. I definitely want to test this recipe out on a cold winter day when I have more free time to bake and a honey almond cake will taste comforting.

When I saw the mandelhörnchen recipe, the combination of marzipan, almonds, and chocolate captivated me. I fell in love with marzipan when I lived in Europe. It's so good!

Like all of the recipes in the book, the almond crescent cookie recipe was easy to follow and make. I also like that Luisa weaves in various stories about the recipes. For example, she states that mandelhörnchen are a common after school snack for German children and not that many people bake them at home because they're so easy to find in your local corner bakery.

 The finished product was delicious!

I look forward to getting in the kitchen and making more recipes from this wonderful cookbook. I highly recommend it if you're looking to make some German favorites in your own kitchen. This would also make a great Christmas gift for the baker in your life! 

Disclosure: I received this book from Blogging for Books. All opinions are my own.