Italian Love Cake

You will love this cake so much - with its moist chocolate cake layer, cheesecake layer, and mousse-like topping! It's amazing what you can do with a box cake mix and pudding mix!

So I'm still not sure how this recipe works, but apparently the layers are supposed to switch out when you bake. Somehow mine turned into a split deal which we found awesome! You get a little rich chocolate cake on bottom and top of the cheesecake-like layer. If you make this, please let me know how it turns out for you - if you get a flip flop layer deal or a split layer of chocolate cake. Regardless, it was one of the best cakes I've ever had. This cake was actually my daughter's 11th birthday cake...back in 2019. I'm so behind sharing recipes. That's why this cake features this gorgeous, fancy paper plate serving platter :)

Käsekuchen

This German cheesecake is definitely a dessert you want to try - it's way different than American cheesecake!

I have been trying more and more German cuisine thanks to my German sister-in-law. She asked if I would make käsekuchen (aka cheesecake!) and I was all for it. German cheesecake uses quark which is, from my understanding, somewhere between cottage cheese and cream cheese. I attempted to make her grandmother's recipe but the American substitutes for quark can be finicky. I tried Greek yogurt but it ended up very gritty and it was discouraging. The next time I made it, I tried a new recipe and it suggested ricotta if you couldn't find quark. I was very skeptical but decided to try it and get Chantal's opinion. She said that it was very close to what it should be and that was that. Ricotta is the right substitution for quark and it makes for a delicious German cheesecake.