While you were eating cannoli cake (cannoli cake?).....

...just take a look at what I got to enjoy. In a previous posting we talked about the Schwarzwälderkirschtorte, aka the Black Forest Cake.  What we usually get in the U.S. is not what it is supposed to be but the one that we had  - from the Vienna Bakery in Riverside, RI - wasn't bad. However, Cake hour has returned to its roots in Germany and whereas the imposters in the U.S. might be good, can anything ever beat a homemade Schwarzwälderkirschtorte in Germany?  The answer to that is no!  This one was made by my relative Julia in Munich, Germany and I've had it many, many times. In fact, I am extremely grateful that she makes this special treat for me each time I visit. One cannot dispute the fact that Julia makes an excellent Schwarzwälderkirschtorte and is in fact one of the best home bakers there is. The torte should not be too sweet, should be made with sour cherries, and have of course our most beloved whipped cream for the frosting.  Julie, true to tradition, has all of the above and I had to eat two pieces during our own deutsche Kuchenstunde.  I even took two pieces home and finished them off tonight.

The real thing... Schwarzwälderkirschtorte in Deutschland!

Perfection!

The baker and her fabulous creation!

Layers of goodness!

When you consider that three people ate what is missing...

Packing something to travel...

Cakehour.com....deutsche Abteilung!

It's too bad the rest of the cake hour aficionados could not enjoy the treat but you will notice in one of the pictures that Julia is packing something to go.  What she is packing are her legendary Plätzchen or Christmas cookies. These are traditional for the time leading up to Christmas and there are many shapes and sizes. They can be found everywhere but the best ever are those that are made at home and Julie is famous for putting weeks of effort into making the best that can be. The Schwarzwälderkirschtorte may not travel well but I will be carrying back a box of Plätzchen gold for an upcoming cake hour. So hopefully your mouths are starting to water because the Plätzchen are on their way. Vielen Dank, Jülchen, für Deine Plätzchen die, wie Deine Schwarzwälder,  bald in den USA und der Welt berühmt werden!