{Review} Das Cupcake – Frankfurt, Deutschland

April 9, 2013 by 1 Comment

This past weekend, my family and I took a short excursion to Frankfurt, Deutschland.  Frankfurt is a quick 2 1/2 hour drive from where I live in Bavaria and is a completely different world.  Frankfurt is a fast-pased big city that offers not only history, but a contemporary life with lots of shopping and tons of great food.  Which is exactly what I love!  While I was there, I had the pleasure of meeting with Ewa Feix of Das Cupcake.

JavaCupcake meets Das Cupcake

Although our visit was too short, Ewa and I were able to talk long enough for me to learn about her cupcakes!  Ewa is the owner of Das Cupcake, an online cupcake boutique that servers the greater Frankfurt area.   Das Cupcake provides cupcakes two several cafes as well as takes orders for private events and parties.

More recently, Ewa has been teaching cupcake basics classes at The Genussakademie in Frankfurt am Main.  From start to finish, Ewa teaches her students the art of making the batter, buttercream and the decor on top.

Review of Das Cupcake in Frankfurt by JavaCupcake

Ewa had two beautiful boxes of cupcakes prepared for me when I arrived at her home on Sunday.  The first box had 6 cupcakes in it – 2 blueberry, 2 strawberry and 2 vanilla.   The second box was all chocolate!

The cupcakes at Das Cupcake are not your typical American style cupcake.  Ewa  uses German ingredients and techniques to create a cupcake that is full of flavor, but not too sweet.  Germans don’t typically like super sweet things – so her cupcakes are a perfect mixture of the best American cupcakes and the depth of a the German palate.

Review of Das Cupcake in Frankfurt by JavaCupcake-6

The vanilla cupcakes were baked to perfected with a sweet, caramelized crust on top.  I loved the added flavor this crust brought to the cupcake.  Inside, I could see the cupcake was full of vanilla bean seeds and the bottom had a few berries adding a sweet burst of flavor.  On top was a flour frosting that was very smooth and not very sweet.  Being American, I would have preferred a sweeter frosting – but I can definitely see why these cupcakes are popular here in Germany.

Review of Das Cupcake in Frankfurt by JavaCupcake-8

Ewa’s chocolate cupcakes are perfect.  Moist, rich and full of deep chocolate flavor.  These were definitely my favorite.  The frosting is a flour frosting made with melted chocolate – and let me tell you… this frosting – TO. DIE. FOR.  I have never been a huge fan of flour frosting, but this stuff was delicious!  It was rich, creamy and decadent without being too sweet.  The chocolate flavor was intense but not overpowering.  I could probably eat it by the spoonful and I think I’m going to need to convince Ewa to share the recipe with me for it!

I had a great visit with Ewa and I hope to make it back to Frankfurt for one of her classes!  Maybe even help teach some American style baking to her students!  Wouldn’t that be great!

To learn more about Das Cupcake and Ewa, visit http://dascupcake.com. If you’re interested in taking one of her upcoming classes, you can find that information here https://ssl.genussakademie.com/koeche_einzel/546/

Filed Under: adventures in europe, cupcake reviews, Germany

Peanut M&M Brownies

June 5, 2012 by 2 Comments

I’m always in the mood to bake.  Especially when I don’t have to dirty up my stand mixer.  Especially when it’s cloudy and rainy outside.  Especially when I have no plans for the day.  Especially when I already have pie and cupcakes in my kitchen.  Especially when I am craving chocolate.  Especially when… oh, uhm…  well… I guess whenever really!

Remember those peanut M&M in German colors I found a few weeks ago at the Edeka here in Germany?  Well, I haven’t gotten around to using them yet… until today.  But hmm… what should I put them in?  While browsing Pinterest, I came across a pretty simple recipe for brownies from Buns in My Oven which I used as my inspiration for these brownies. Fudgey brownies are my weakness, so I was sure I’d love this recipe!

Just a little note on these brownies, they are super sweet and call for a lot of sugar.  If you want them less sweet, I’d cut the sugar by at least 1/2 a cup… maybe more.  Also, they are really super fudgey, so if you want more cake like brownies, use only 2 eggs.

PS… These would be really good minus the M&Ms and add a cup of peanuts.  The crunch and saltyness of the peanuts go really well in these brownies… I found myself wanting more peanut in each bite!

Print
Peanut M&M Brownies

51

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Yield: 12 brownies

Ingredients

  • 1 cup *2 sticks) unsalted butter
  • 1 3/4 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 3/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 Tbsp vanilla
  • 2 tsp espresso powder

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt

  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup chocolate chunk
  • 1-2 cups Peanut M&Ms, divided

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Butter a 9x13 baking pan. I also lined the bottom with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
  3. In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter on low-med heat. Whisk in the sugars and cook 1-2 minutes until the sugar has completely dissolved, whisking constantly.
  4. Add the vanilla extract, cocoa powder and espresso powder and whisk until dissolved, about 2 minutes.
  5. Fold the butter/chocolate mixture into the flour mixture until just combined. DO NOT OVER MIX.
  6. Add the eggs and whisk until combined.
  7. Fold in the chocolate chunks & 1 cup of the M&Ms. Use your spatula to scrape the sides and fold a few times to ensure everything is combined.
  8. Spread batter into prepared baking pan.
  9. Use the remaining M&Ms to place on top of the batter. It's always best when you have a few M&Ms showing on top!
  10. Baking 27-33 minutes or until the edges are firm and the center is still a bit soft. Allow to cool in pan before removing to cut and serve.
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Filed Under: bars, bars, brown sugar, brownies, candy, chocolate, desserts, Germany, M&Ms, recipes

A return visit to Emi Nails & Coffee Bar

April 8, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Earlier this week via my Facebook page, Mandy, the owner of Emi Nails & Coffee Bar here in Grafenwoehr, Germany left a note on my page with a photo of their new chocolate muffins they were carrying in their shop. [Read more...]

Filed Under: cupcake reviews, Germany

My first cupcake in Germany!

March 13, 2011 by 13 Comments

I almost missed these cupcakes.  Which, would have been an epic tragedy all in itself.  Luckily, my daughter spotted these in a little cafe close to our hotel here in Grafenwöhr, Germany.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: cupcake reviews, featured, Germany

We’re Moving! (Survey Inside)

February 16, 2011 by 1 Comment

Yes, it’s true… I am leaving the Pacific Northwest in just a few short weeks and am moving my whole family to Germany!  My husband is being stationed in Grafenwoehr, Germany for at least three years and I will be taking my blog with me! [Read more...]

Filed Under: featured, Germany, life, survey