Hannchen Jensen Torte

As many of you know, it was my birthday as well. And so I hosted my annual Tea Party. I like to make German tortes for this occasion. My friend Thomas has been raving about the Hannchen Jensen Torte for years now, and so I decided to make it. I absolutely love it. It is two thin layers of yellow cake, baked individually, with a meringue and slivered almonds on top. The filling consists of a layer of raspberries and whipped sweetened cream. Like in many German tortes the top layer is precut, to not completely destroy the slices during cutting and serving.

The result is a complex blend of flavors and textures in each bite.

Indiana Jones Cake, 2nd Edition

Last weekend was Jay's nephew Samuel's birthday. Sam wanted an Indiana Jones Cake for his birthday, too. So that gave me the chance to revisit this "Temple of Doom". I skipped the stratigraphy cake and made it only chocolate, since no actual archaeologists were present this time. And instead of baking the dome in a bowl, I used the Betty Crocker baseball pan, that gives you the option of creating a hollow cake to be filled. Since it was the Temple of Doom, I filled it with sour gummy snakes. I lost the flowers as well and made the greenery more jungle like. I was very happy with the result and I think the half dozen 9-year olds agreed. Compare it yourself.