Recipe: Donauwelle

This is such an interesting cake and it’s really delicious too. The layers are supposed to look like the waves of the Danube. I’m not entirely sure I understood how to achieve this effect the first time I made this recipe but it’s certainly good enough that I’ll probably give it another try in a few months. It’s not complex per se but it does have quite a lot of parts. I cut down on the amount of buttercream frosting used as well because I like more balance in my cake but if you feel like you need 6 leagues of buttercream on your cake, I’m not going to stop you.

Donauwelle

Adapted from Sunday Baker

Recipe: Manicotti

I recently learned that the food I thought was manicotti (back in New York) was actually just cannelloni. The difference is subtle but cannelloni is cylinders of pasta stuffed with soft cheese and other things and manicotti is actually soft crepes stuffed with soft cheese and other things. I was a little intimidated to make crepes but actually the process is quite easy and while I haven’t mastered the single hand flip, it isn’t too bad. The crepes and filling can both be made a day ahead if you need to space out the work but this is a great weekend / special occasion dinner that can easily be made in bulk despite being quite complex and is a crowd pleaser.

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Recipe: Lasagna

This is a great recipe from Bon Appétit. While it’s a little more involved than a weeknight meal or even a regular weekend meal for me personally this has a really fantastic result and is worth the effort for a dinner party or any other special occasion. You can scale this recipe up to make more than one tray but this made at least 8-10 good portions and at a party could be stretched to 16-18 people if served alongside other things.

Lasagna

Recipe: Black Forest Cupcakes

Most of the time you’ll spend making these will be in assembly but they don’t really take much to assemble either. The flavor of these cupcakes is a really perfect blend of flavor. They look sweet but they have a really nice balance between the sourness of cherries and the savory frosting to go with the chocolate cake. These are really delicious and I recommend making them the next time you need cupcakes.

Black Forest Cupcakes

Adapted from Everyday Annie and Self Proclaimed Foodie

Recipe: Kibbeh

This recipe is a little time consuming but it’s worth the effort for a special occasion or if you really want something to wow guests. It doesn’t have many ingredients but the flavor is perfect. If you’re feeling a little healthy you can bake these instead of frying them but I haven’t tried that yet so your results may vary.

Kibbeh

Adapted from The Spruce Eats

Recipe: Lemon and Raspberry Battenberg

Surprisingly this is both a very simple and a very difficult cake to make but I can assure you that guests will be impressed even if you deliver a technically imperfect masterpiece. Since its just one cake recipe all the work is in the assembly so if you’re like me you’ll probably make a mess and it will take you a surprising amount of time from start to finish. This can sit for a few days though because its covered so just block out enough time before you commit.

Recipe: Lemon and Raspberry Battenberg

Adapted from The Hungry Genealogist

Recipe: Vegetable Biryani

This is not a difficult recipe but it is time consuming. The weird part is before I finished making this I was sure I’d never make this again but after eating it, it might just be worth the hassle. I will probably try other biryani configurations in the future but this dish will make you a lot of dishes but it will also impress you with its depth of flavor.

Vegetable Biryani

Adapted from The Curious Chickpea

Recipe: Cucumber Carrot Sushi Rolls

These are actually a lot easier to make then you’d think and while it’s a bit like pancakes (your first roll while likely not look great) each roll will keep improving. I’ve never particularly talented with my hands and these come out impressive anyway. The nice thing is that they have no fish or cooked parts except the rice so they can make ahead of time and are great for picnics and potlucks.

Carrot and Cucumber Sushi Rolls

Adapted from All Recipes

Recipe: Rainbow Lasagna

This is a LOT of work and it’s probably really best that you make your own lasagna noodles for best results too so it’s just work on work on work but you get something that is basically made for instagram and slightly worse than regular noodles and cheese lasagna. It’s hard to improve on a classic I suppose but it’s still really good if you’re okay with the work.

Rainbow Lasagna

Adapted from Toot Sweetness

Recipe: Kreplach

These are really delicious and you can speed up the whole process if you use store brought stock or just make a really big batch and freeze the kreplach dumplings separate from the soup. I do have to admit this is a chore to make all at once and takes a LONG time to come together but it’s worth it for special people or a special occasion.

Kreplach

Adapted from Tori Avey