Pastries in Stuttgart, Germany
I'm going into my second week here in Boeblingen/Stuttgart, Germany, as part of my new move to Europe. I'm a big pastry and dessert person. If there is one thing I've come to notice and was wondering if this is really true or not is about the sweetness of their desserts.
We ate at a very nice pastry stop yesterday, where I had a slice of chocolate cream cake, and a cheesecake with a cake top and topped almonds. To me it was OK, just not rich or sweet like I know American desserts that I've made or eaten. Is this normal? Have others found this to be the case in Germany or Europe in general?
Thank you!
By jacob225
on Mar 20, 2011 02:56 PM
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Hi. I can't speak specifically to Stuttgart, but as an American expat living in Frankfurt, I can say that I had a similar initial reaction 4 years back when I first arrived. Also, as an avid baker I quickly discovered that baking ingredients in general are different here.
While this is of course subjective, I do agree that in general the German pastries tend to be less sweet and rich than what we are used to in the US. I find this to be especially the case at more traditional pastry shops. And German cheesecake is a completely different animal than American cheesecake, to the point where I find that the two can't even be compared. The German version is much lighter and less sweet than the American version and is (I believe) made with quark instead of cream cheese.
That said, I would advise you to keep looking. The Germans take their Sunday afternoon ''Kaffee und Kuchen'' very seriously and there are usually a million different places in every city to sample the wares. Even regular restaurants will often be open and happy to serve you a slice of cake during the appropriate hours. There are quite a few great spots in Frankfurt for tasty fresh made cakes and I'm sure there are some similar spots in Stuttgart, you just have to poke around a bit more. Good luck!
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