Dr. Oetker Chocolate Chili

Muffin tops are considered by many to be the best part of the muffin. I do enjoy them, although I don't often feel the need to throw away the bottoms.

Well, Dr. Oetker has come up with their very own muffin top mix, this one with chocolate and chili. In spite of my prejudiced views on German baking mixes (I feel they are too dry, and I've not yet been able to adapt a mix to be light and fluffy like US mixes), this one is quite good. Please don't get me wrong - I love German cakes, particularly anything with bisquit. Where I struggle is with the Ruhrkuchen, they tend to be exceedingly dry. On the negative side for the US cake mixes, I really dislike the "cake mix" flavor I can clearly taste from the mixes.

It's actually more brownie-like than cake-like, and the addition of chili is just perfect. After eating, you notice that it's a little spicy, but it's still a cake. There are chocolate bits in the mix, but they are hardly noticeable. I added chopped pecans to kick it up a notch.

One nice addition is that they include the baking cups in the mix. These cups are sturdy enough to just lay on a baking pan and slide the pan in the oven. No muffin pan needed.

Reviewed: Dr. Oetker Chocolate Chili Törtchen

Personality: Ready, steady, go! with a little kick of chili

How to enjoy: Bake up a box and enjoy them with afternoon coffee

Rating:

1: Better than sex
2: Little bites of heaven
3: Share with your best friend
4: Will do in a pinch
5: Halloween candy
Where to buy:
Germany: Any grocery store, pretty much

Betty Crocker Devil's Food cake

Comfort food is comfort food, and sometimes nothing else will do. So spoke my daughter when I asked her what kind of cake she wanted for her birthday:
"Chocolate cake from a mix."
"A German mix?"
"No, an American cake mix. With canned chocolate frosting."
"Are you sure? Freshly made cake with fresh frosting, made from good German chocolate, is something wonderful."
"No. It's just not as light or as moist as the ones we had back in America."
"Well, I don't agree, but it's your birthday, so ok."
Off to the expatriate mail-order websites. Now, in the US, you can buy a big brand cake mix and a can of frosting for less than $4 total. I paid (don't tell Dear Hubby) almost 9 Euro for the two. Yes, that's a $14 cake before I even stirred in the first egg. But birthdays should be a day when you get at least a few of the things you wish for.
The cake came out fine. I remember the best trick from the days when I studied cake decorating. Our instructor said to always pull the cake out of the oven 5 minutes before the earliest time on the box. That keeps it moist, yet it is just finished baking.
Reviewed: Betty Crocker Devil's Food cake
Personality: Classic Devil's Food birthday cake - highly trustworthy
How to enjoy: Best served to someone who can really appreciate all of the "packaged-mix" flavor
Rating:
1: Better than sex
2: Little bites of heaven
3: Share with your best friend and make it for your daughter
4: Will do in a pinch
5: Halloween candy

Where to buy:
Germany: http://www.delikatessen-versand.eu/
USA: Any grocery store, for a heckuva lot cheaper than I paid

Cafe Stolz birthday cake

I mentioned last week that I was buying my birthday cake from Cafe Stolz. Here are some photos. It was fabulous!

It had a nice splash of ganache on top of the mousse cake, cherries with gold leaf, fresh raspberry and fresh blackberry, and the Cafe Stolz chocolate ball on top. Inside was a delicious genoise, more mousse, and a think layer of seedless jam.

The pics aren't so fabulous, because I kept sticking my fingers in the cake as I moved it around to get it ready to photograph. But I didn't let that get me down - I just licked my fingers and tried again. It was always an accident when my fingers slipped again.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Cafe Stolz cakes

There's just no point in telling those of you outside of Stuttgart about Cafe Stolz, because there's no konditorei like it anywhere else in the world. The Konditor was the German vice-master of Konditors and Patissiers in 2005. So you know where I'm coming from when I tell you we have two of the best slices of cake in town today for our coffee time.
And, to make it even better, I just ordered my birthday cake from these master bakers from Fellbach.
The first piece is a chocolate and hazelnut mousse with a sponge in-between the layers, and the mousse is filled with many good things, especially the nuts. The second is a decadent chocolate mousse cake named Jupiter, layered with a lovely chocolate sponge. Don't think twice about the size of the pieces in the photo - we have to share these things, so these are two half-pieces instead of two whole pieces.
Pieces of heaven. I can't wait til my birthday next week to find out what's next.

Reviewed: Cafe Stolz Jupiter cake, plus one I forgot the name of.
Personality: A master, really professional.
How to enjoy: Best for a special occasion, like a Saturday. Or a Sunday.

Rating:
1: Better than sex
2: Little bites of heaven
3: Share with your best friend
4: Will do in a pinch
5: Halloween candy

Where to buy:
Germany: http://www.cafe-stolz.de/

The Cheesecake Factory White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

The Cheesecake factory was my favorite restaurant, at least until I tried Panera Bread. (Tip: Panera's nutty chocolate chip cookies are fabulous)
But The Cheesecake Factory is still a master at cheesecake. My last visit produced a slice of White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake that was so rich it lasted 4 meals. First I brought it home after eating dinner at the restaurant, and ate a few bites when I was feeling a little less full. Second, it made a big portion of the next day's lunch and dinner. Finally on the third day, I ate the last I could eat, and tossed a couple of bites. I was beyond satisfied, it was more like ecstasy.
This cheesecake is about displaying the best that white chocolate has to offer: pure
chocolate flavor with accents of cream cheese and raspberries. I can recommend it when you are looking for a delicate chocolate taste. When you need the big kick of the dark chocolates, go for a truffle cheesecake, or The Cheesecake Factory's Godiva cheesecake.

Reviewed: The Cheesecake Factory White Chocolate Raspberry cheesecake
Personality: A delicate queen of taste
How to enjoy: Enjoy in small doses, and focus on the flavor so you don't miss the beautiful white chocolate
Rating:
1: Better than sex
2: Little bites of heaven
3: Share with your best friend
4: Will do in a pinch
5: Halloween candy

Where to buy:
At The Cheesecake Factory, including mail order.