May Favorite Cakes and Cookies of 2013

There’s several things I could to do look back at the old year on New Year’s Eve. I could go through the list of books I read this year and pick the ones I enjoyed the most. Or I could go through the TV series I’ve watched and tell you about my favorite episodes (the verdict one my favorite Doctor Who episode is still out – I just can’t decide whether it’s The Name of the Doctor, The Day of the Doctor, or The Time of the Doctor. Maybe I should go and re-watch all of them. Again.) However, since another passion of mine is cooking and baking – to my family’s delight – I’ve decided to give you an overview over my favorite bakery recipes of 2013.

Cakes

My favorite cake of 2013 is probably a Lemon Drizzle Cake because it is absolutely delicious! I first encountered this English treat when a friend made it for my birthday. For New Year’s Eve, I’ve finally gotten around to trying it myself – and if my parents don’t like it, I’ll just eat it all by myself.

The one in the picture is a vegan version, by the way - and if you don't know it, you'd never taste it either. (Basically all of the recipes here can adapted to a vegan diet - I dare you to try it!)

Red Wine Cake is another favorite of mine – and of my friends. I’m not sure what happens chemically, but the wine just adds so much flavor, that a normal chocolate cake tastes almost bland in comparison.

Another cake I enjoy a lot is Banana Bread (I’m really not sure about the status of this, since it’s called ‘bread’, but since it’s pretty sweet, it falls into the cake category for me). What I especially enjoy about this is that it is easily modified – you can add nuts or chocolate chips if you feel like it, and it’ll only get more delicious.

Another new favorite is Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing. I actually know people who don’t like Carrot Cake “because carrots don’t belong into a cake”. But if you’re letting your preconceived notions deprive you off this, that’s your bad. 

Cookies and Muffins

Another treat involving cream cheese are these Chocolate Cheesecake Muffins. The first time I made these, I was procrastinating (you try writing a paper about Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales without dawdling around from time to time), but I’ll definitely make them again once I’ve found my muffin baking forms (that's what happens when you move around a lot - stuff just vanishes).

When it comes to Christmas cookies, my absolute favorite are vegan Hazelnut Cookies (this recipe is in German), and these cookies filled with a cranberry cream (also vegan). Other family favorites are Black and White Cookies and Nougat Cookies.

Happy New Year and have fun baking – and eating – these. And let me know how you like them!