Recipes for Authentic German Desserts

Delicious mix of nuts, chocolate and fruits. Makes a great cake to serve in the afternoon or at birthdays

Rich and flavorful almond cherry souffles are virtually fat-free. Served with a warm German chocolate sauce with just the right amount of sweetness.

Small and flavorful, these cookies are an almond lover's delight, sure to become family favorites.

Rosehip preserves lend these apple puff pastry stacks a sweet tang, softened by whipped cream. Hazelnuts, vanilla and white wine enrich the flavor.

This easy, simple version of traditional German apple strudel gets a head-start by using store-bought phyllo dough.

These cooked apples hide a liqueur flavored fruit cream inside.

Apple cake baked on a zwieback bottom crust with almonds and pistachio and an apricot preserve glaze.

Sweet baked apricots infused with cherry brandy contrast with their creamy blue cheese filling.

Some of Germany's best plums come from Baden, and they're the stars of this cake. Recipe courtesy of Roz Denny 'Modern German Cooking.'

An easy and festive dessert featuring apples baked with a filling seasonal ingredients such as German marzipan, cranberries, and spices.

A super-rich baked cheesecake on a spongecake base, made with the German yogurt cheese called quark, cream, and sour cream. Make the day before serving so the cheesecake sets. Recipe from Modern German Cooking by Roz Denny.

Baked apples stuffed with chocolate and crumbled German gingerbread (lebkuchen) , garnished with whipped cream and crystallized ginger. A holiday treat!

A buttery brioche cake with a caramel cream, named Bee Sting because it is glazed with honey just before baking.

German jelly-filled donuts such as these are found every Karneval season. They're known as Pfannkuchen in Berlin, Kreppel in Hessen, Krapfen in Southern Germany and Berliner just about everywhere else.

One of Germany's most famous cake creations known all over the world.

Cherry flavors from the Black Forest abound in this custard dessert flavored with Kirschwasser cherry brandy and topped with pureed preserved Morello cherries.

A parfait with flavors of Germany's Black Forest - cherries, raspberry preserves, and dark chocolate.

The addition of blue cheese and walnuts to the winter seasonal favorite baked apples makes a comfort food with bold flavors. Find hundreds of authentic German recipes at Germanfoods.org.

This German sheet cake from Bremen is also known as Zuckerkuchen (Sugar Cake) is often served at weddings and funerals.

This light sorbet brings together the great flavors of sour cherries and currants, supported by a hint of Crème de Cassis.

A wonderful cold fruit soup based on dark red sour cherries spiced with vanilla and cinnamon, garnished with little cream of wheat dumplings.

A stunning dessert for holiday entertaining with colorful layers of Germa pumpernickel, dark chocolate, cherries and flavored quark.

This is an elaborate recipe, but with a spectacular result with layers of exquisite flavors. Superb!

Fantastic crunchy oat snacks with chocolate and almond. Very easy to make. these chocolate oat crispies bring out the chocolate flavor and add the healthy properties of oats.

American brownies, made with high quality, healthy German white oats and walnuts. The white Oats provides great texture and mouth-feel.

A German chocolate almond pumpernickel pudding served with a homemade spiced apricot raspberry compote. Rich and delicious!

German chocolate quark cheesecake with a chocolate brandy cream glaze.

Chef Olaf Mertens combines chocolate and sauerkraut to make a cake for adventurous souls. Find hundreds of authentic German recipes at Germanfoods.org, the authoritative guide to German foods and beverages in North America.

Use dark organic chocolate for this indulgent soup created by Nic Prong, the young head chef at Chef Olaf's Ten Restaurant in Ontario. Find hundreds of authentic German recipes at Germanfoods.org.

A classic German cookie, these spiced chocolate bars signal autumn's arrival and take culinary minds toward Christmas.

Sinful chocolate cherry bliss! Black Forest cherries stuffed with chocolate covered espresso beans, served with mint leaves, whipped cream and Kirschwasser Coulis.

The quintessential Christmas cookie - crisp, cinnamon almond cookies cut into stars.

Wonderful tasting cookies with tart cranberries, full-bodied macadamia nuts and a healthy dose of oat cranberry muesli. Easy to make and great for an afternoon snack.

Raspberries and blackberries flavor the crepes and the filling in this dramatic flambe dessert. The forest berry flavors are reinforced with citrus and fruit liqueurs.

These sweet, succulent honey-nu-oat cookies look great wit white and dark chocolate swirls and are the grand finish of any great meal.

Potato-zwieback dumplings with a juicy plum filling are a favorite southern German dessert. Served with vanilla sauce.

Delightful cupcakes with German flavors of dark chocolate, cherries, and kirsch. The bright pink frosting over chocolate makes them a perfect Valentine's Day treat.

Stollen is a rich, sweet cake filled with fruits and nuts, and Stollen from Dresden are particularly well-known. A very special Christmas treat.

German dark chocolate gingerbread cake full of deep, rich flavors looks great baked in a Bundt pan and dusted with confectioners' sugar.

A festive-looking cake with a filling of cherries and cherry brandy and a decorated creamy icing.

Popular German cruller, these star-shaped deep-fried donuts are coated with powdered sugar and lemon juice or rum.

Irresistible jam-filled Christmas cookies shaped like stars, hearts, or rounds. The round ones are also called Little Rogues (Spitzbuben)

A wreath-shaped butter cake from Frankfurt, Germany, with a buttercream filling and sprinkled with Krokant (nut brittle).

The classic brownie, German style, with flavors of dark chocolate, black cherry, apple butter and honey. Recipe by Chef Jackie Newgent.

This holiday specialty cake is a little elaborate but visually spectacular with layers of flavors and decoration.

Gingerbread cookies with the flavor of traditional Lebkuchen, the famous German Christmas cookies, but in a simplified recipe.

These classic Christmas cookies from Northern Germany have to age for at least a couple of weeks to taste their best.

Sweet and richly spiced German Christmas ginger Lebkuchen cookies with chocolate or sugar glaze. A wonderfully fragrant flavorful Christmas treat.

A recipe for homemade traditional German Lebkuchen, a flourless spiced soft gingerbread cookie baked on a wafer, with recipes for sugar and chocolate glazes.

A light, hazelnut and walnut cake baked in a ring and decorated with simple glazing.

These macaroon cookies use hazelnuts instead of the usual coconut. Topped with a whole hazelnut and baked on German baking wafers (oblaten), they're a great German Christmas cookie.

A quick and easy dessert made from leftover German Christmas gingerbread (Lebkuchen) and chocolate ice cream.

Cherry jam-filled almond cookie sandwiches decorated with drizzled melted chocolate. An elegant Christmas cookie with layers of flavor.

A classic German variation of a gingerbread cookie to make ahead for your Christmas cookie tin. Softer and chewier than the crisp, thin gingerbread cookies. This dough needs to ripen overnight before baking.

Pure ground almonds and lemon zest flavor these heart-shaped cookies, which are then iced and decorated with colorful candies.

Make this recipe in early summer so it's ready to eat around Advent or Christmas. A traditional German holiday dessert of fermented fruits. Recipe courtesy of Roz Denny from Modern German Food

An exclusive cake recipe created for GermanFoods.org by Alexander Haebe, Executive pastry chef at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington, DC. Fresh marshmallow kisses from Germany give the cake its unique texture and flavor.

A splendid layered cake made with three fluffy biscuit layers filled with vanilla-flavored whipped cream and topped by a chocolate-marzipan glaze.

This biscuit roll is filled with a nutty nougat cream and a marzipan-rum cream, then topped with sweet apricot glaze.

These marzipan treats greet the Christmas holidays in black and white, glazed with chocolate or sugar glaze.

A stunning homemade meringue wreath filled with rhubarb cream and garnished with strawberries. Perfect spring combination of sweet and tart flavors!

Individual cheesecakes with a German gingerbread cookie base and an apricot compote top. Lighter than most cheesecakes.

Morello cherries marinated in lightly spiced wine and Kirschwasser nestled in an airy butter cheese soufflé, makes for a delightful contrast in flavors and textures.

Christmas gingerbread house in the shape of a townhouse with a garage and skylight. Traditional flavors, modern form.

Golden glazed apple slices bake with almond and fruit liqueur within a sweet cake dough shell.

A creamy, fruity dessert made with marzipan cream and orange liquor, decorated with kumquats and cuandole' (marzipan liquor) or Bailey's.

A most unusual ice cream flavored with pumpernickel bread and German chocolate, served with cranberries.

raspberry, German cake, dessert, fruit spread, Maintal

This trifle made with raspberries, custard and pound cake is garnished with crushed macaroons. A dessert with literary history, it was mentioned in Der Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann.

This berry pudding contains red currants mixed with other summer berries, topped with a homemade vanilla sauce. Recipe courtesy of Nadia Hassani 'Spponfuls of Germany.'

A beautifully layered and festive dessert of fruit, liqueur, cake and vanilla sauce, served in a martini glass or champagne flute. Recipe courtesy of Chef Uta Schepers.

This fast and easy recipe balances tart rhubarb flavors with sweets raisins in a simple sheet cake that is a spring favorite in Germany.

One of the most popular German summer desserts, this recipe combines the flavors and textures of several fresh summer berries. Serve in dessert glasses with vanilla sauce, whipped cream, or ice cream.

Honey gingerbread flavored cake squares topped with crushed hazelnuts, a casual and tasty dessert or after school snack.

Simple gingerbread squares are brushed with honey and decorated with ground walnuts. A great German Christmas cookie based on traditional Lebkuchen.

A classic German Christmas cookie with an embossed design.

A German Christmas cookie with a buttery hazelnut, almond or other nut taste commonly made into round, S-shaped or other shapes with a cookie press.

Traditional Christmas stollen fruit bread gives this delicious bread pudding a head start. Great for using extra post-holiday stollen.

A stunning bread pudding with brandy, chocolate and caramelized bananas for holiday dessert or brunch. German Christmas stollen make bread pudding easy and delicious, because they come filled with currants, almonds, orange zest and cinnamon.

Classic strawberry-rhubarb flavors in a German-style trifle, with layers of meringue, rhubarb cream, and fresh strawberries.

Spring strawberry tartlets combine a white wine-flavored creme fraiche (or sour cream) with fresh sweet strawberries.

Smooth vanilla custard flavored with German Kirschwasser, served with chocolate sprinkles, whipped cream, fresh cherries, and a sour cherry sauce.

These delicate, crescent shaped cookies flavored with vanilla and dusted with confectioner's originated in Austria but have become classic German Christmas cookies.

These walnut macaroons use walnuts instead of the usual coconut. A nice variation for Christmas cookies and holiday baking.

These spiced chocolate walnut cookies are glazed with apricot jam and drizzled with melted chocolate. A great German Christmas cookie based on traditional Lebkuchen.

A famous dessert made with Zwieback doused in cherry brandy, mascarpone creme and juicy forest berries.