Baking: cakes, cookies and Christmas smells

German baking is culture. Kaffee und Kuchen at 3pm is sacred. Classics: Apfelstrudel with vanilla sauce, Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (cherries + Kirschwasser!), Bienenstich, Christstollen in December. Plätzchen are Christmas cookies: hundreds of shapes, families bake during Advent. Recipes are written in grams, not cups — precision to the gram.

• ●Base: flour + butter + sugar + eggs = shortcrust (Mürbeteig)
• ●Yeast dough loves warmth: let it rise in an off oven with the light on
• ●Baking paper instead of greasing — nothing burns, no fat