No trip to Aachen, Germany, a short train trip from Cologne, is complete without a visit to the beautiful cathedral and the impressive treasury. But, I was there to learn all I could about the history of the iconic Aachener Printen and to attempt to crack the recipe held closely by Aachen bakers who produce […]
Grandma Landolt’s Kugelhopf (Gugelhupf)
April 20, 2018 by 15 Comments
In an earlier post, I told the story of my beloved Kugelhopf/Gugelhupf pan. It belonged to my Bavarian grandmother who brought the pan with her when she immigrated from Switzerland to Pennsylvania, U.S.A. Her precious recipe (a printable version is at the bottom of this post), was an important reminder of her youth and family […]
Custom-Made Swiss Wooden Cookie Molds
December 19, 2016 by 9 Comments
Don’t get me started on the topic of traditional cookie molds. I could wax on for hours about the beauty, history, tradition, importance (in times gone by), the craft of the carvers, the skill of the bakers and of the varieties of the cookies themselves. During my 6 years living in Switzerland, I was a […]
Mom’s Kugelhopf/Gugelhupf
July 30, 2014 by Leave a Comment
In a previous post, I told the tale of the journey taken by my Grandmother’s Gugelhupf pan. Then, in a follow-up post, I shared Grandma Landolt’s beloved recipe. A number of people have asked that I also share my mom’s richer and denser recipe. A printable version of hers can be found below. For those of you […]
The Tale Of My Gugelhupf (Kugelhopf) Pan
July 10, 2014 by 21 Comments
Every childhood visit to my Swiss German grandparents in Pennsylvania was greeted by the smell of freshly-baked Gugelhupf. The taste and smell of this round, high-domed, dense, buttery, raisin-speckled cake baked in a decorative pan with a hole in the center penetrates every memory I have of them. My grandmother was born and raised in […]
Triätschnitte – Traditional Zürich Dessert
January 30, 2013 by 1 Comment
Triätschnitte is a traditional dish typically associated with Zürich, Switzerland. Preparation involves a very strange method consistent between a recipe I found from 1892 and modern ones. Stale bread slices are first dipped in a thick syrup made from water and sugar, coated with spiced sugar then baked before resting in a warm, sweet mulled red […]
Mom’s Sauerbraten
November 11, 2012 by 2 Comments
The great passion in both my professional and personal life is exploring and preserving family and regional food traditions. One of the many family food legacies I treasure is Sauerbraten (sometimes called Suure Mocke in Switzerland), meat marinated in vinegar and spices and then roasted. This dish has always held a soft spot in my heart because it was […]
Zwetschgendatschi (Plum Cake)
September 18, 2012 by 3 Comments
I love this time of year. The heat is gone and there is a refreshing chill in the air. Everything is still lush green and, best of all, orchards are yielding their fruits. This season is so special to me because it is when Mom would always bake one of my Dad’s favorite cakes from […]
