Individual Marbled Cakes with Raspberries, Ricotta and Streusel {perfect for your Valentine}

Okay, let's be honest: I think I live in an area where Valentine's day isn't this popular (huh, the truth is out!). I know, I know shame on us you may think, but really: we know it exists and some couples are celebrating it but generally spoken the society just doesn't seem to hop on the whole commercial aspect of it as promoted by several advertisements weeks in advance (like personalized candy shells with your partners face on it - yaah, cool idea dude but who really devours in chocolate with your better half's face on it, has kind of an cannibalistic touch, hasn't it?).

I might only guess from what I see on the internet and in this super-duper digital surrounding it seems like the whole rest of the world is suuuper excited about this one day to be 14th February: baking countless desserts filled with hearts in all kinds of shapes and textures (heart shaped bread, cupcakes topped with sprinkles in heart shape just to name a few) and pink and red is everywhere! The pictures of all those decoration work and luscious homemade indulgences have been overflowing all social media sites I know recently.

Not that I mind scrolling through chocolate, chocolate, red sprinkles, pink frosting and even more chocolate (okay, I actually do so when it's post-dinner time and I'm just sitting there with my laptop screen throwing photos of countless chocolate feasts at my face right in front of me - major sweet craving alert!) it just seems foreign - in a good way!

Baumkuchen and the stories of the trees' rings

Countless rings, enclosing or seeming to move into each other or seperated by a dark line. That's what you see when you cut through a tree trunk. Each and everyone telling it's own story, good and bad, happy and sad - all different and unique, standing for all the years the tree lived to see.

Since being old enough to understand the meaning of these tree rings I was always attracted to what the trees could tell us (if they could only speak...) - all the things that happen in those centuries a tree might go through, standing still and massive - strong roots deeply reaching into the ground with nearly nothing that can disturb them and leaves that hear every whisper.



We most definitely won't live as long as our loved green friends, but instead we have the opportunity to tell stories to following generations. Reporting what great minds went past us (to stick with the tree metaphora), what they've told or shown us or what we've experienced on our own.



One of those great minds was Nelson Mandela,

German Spekulatius Cookies

"Spekulatius" Cookies - those are a constant friend of mine during the christmas season and their smell just describes the whole annual december experience perfectly: comfort, contemplation, quality time for the family and myself, calming down after a rushed summer and just enjoying ourselves in community or alone, cuddled up in a blanket with a good book while waiting for Christmas Eve to arrive.

A variety of spices, from almonds, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, anise and nutmeg get incorporated in a crispy, crunchy cookie - a favourite just plain, dipped in some milk or as a stuffing for baked apples - winter perfection!



Those cookies own a history packed with christmas traditions! They originally were baked during the cold season for centuries here in northern europe and are also known as "speculoos" for our dear neighbours in the Netherlands or Belgium. You might have got around this taste combination in form of the nowadays well known "Cookie Butter" (I have to admit I'm full in for this spread as a weekend treat - delicious!) but this is nothing compared to the aromatic cookies which scream christmas for me like nothing else does.