Your German bakery favorites

In many German households, Oma's (grandma's) marble cake recipe is the only way to make it. The simple black and white, which is often topped with a thin chocolate glaze, is also a staple at German bakeries - and a favorite among DW readers. Click for more of the German baked goods that make you drool.

They look like donut holes, but they're so much more. Quark is a unique German dairy product that is thicker and less sour than yogurt, but thinner and not as sweet as cream cheese. That is the secret ingredient in these fluffy fried rounds, which also include flour, sugar, vanilla, baking powder and lots of eggs. Bet you can't eat just one! That's why they're usually sold several at a time.

Most bakeries offer a selection of rolls with cheese, egg, turkey, ham, and other kinds of sandwich toppings. One DW reader prefers salami sandwiches, which combine two of Germany's culinary specialties: cured meats and fresh bread. They are commonly eaten for breakfast and as a mid-morning snack.

Not surprisingly, many DW readers crave Apfelstrudel, Austria's most famous treat. You can also get it in many German cafés, but usually not in bakeries, since it is served hot with ice cream or vanilla sauce and is not a to-go item. Apple fans, however, can look for all sorts of cold apple cakes in their corner bakery, where they are garnished with a dollop of whipped cream.

Don't worry, no snails are actually harmed in the making of these treats, which consist of rolled up pastry dough generously sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar and topped with a sweet sugar glaze. Granted, cinnamon rolls are popular in many countries, but in Germany the treats tend to be particularly large. Germans, by the way, refer to any rolled up pastry as a snail.

A specialty from Hamburg, Franzbrötchen are created like a croissant - with thins layers of pastry dough - and a healthy portion of cinnamon. They're quite similar to Zimtschnecken, except that they are generally not sweetened with a sugar glaze.

Pretzel dough is so beloved in Germany that it is also baked into logs and rolls. For a solid snack to-go, cheese and/or ham are sometimes baked into the top. It's easier to eat than a sandwich because the ingredients don't slide around.

Oddly enough, the Germans have named this common baked good after their translatlantic friends, even though it can't be found in the US. One theory behind the name, though, is that the round flat cakes are make with baking soda, a typical American ingredient otherwise rare in baking-powder-loving Germany. Amerikaner are often glazed in black and white - or decorated with funny faces.