Recipes · Spring
From the spring kitchen
When everything is blossoming outside and the garden slowly fills up, I’m automatically drawn into the kitchen. Here I share my favourite spring recipes – honest, simple, made with whatever is in season. Sometimes sweet, sometimes tart, always with a little story behind them.
Recipe №1 · Spring classic
Rhubarb streusel cake with almonds
There is this one smell in spring that beams me straight back: buttery streusel, tart rhubarb, a hint of vanilla – out of the oven, through the whole house. At our place, the first rhubarb streusel cake always appeared at the start of May, as soon as the first red stalks arrived.
My spring classic · from the first stalks to the last piece
The moment the stalks appear in the supermarket (or, better still, at the farm shop around the corner), off I go. Today I’m sharing my favourite recipe for it – with crunchy almond streusel, a fluffy yeast dough underneath and plenty of rhubarb in between. Classic, honest, a little bit of grandma vibes. Just the way I like it.
Ingredients
For the yeast dough
- 500 gplain flour
- 1 cubefresh yeast (42 g) or 1 packet of dried yeast
- 250 mllukewarm milk
- 80 gsugar
- 1 packetvanilla sugar
- 1egg (medium)
- 100 gsoft butter
- 1 pinchsalt
For the topping
- approx. 1 kgfresh rhubarb
- 2 tbspsugar (for macerating)
For the almond streusel
- 200 gflour
- 150 gsugar
- 100 gground almonds
- 1 tspcinnamon
- 1 pinchsalt
- 150 gsoft butter
To serve
- to tasteicing sugar · whipped cream alongside if you like
Preparation · having everything ready makes it half the work
How it’s made
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Prepare the yeast dough. Sift the flour into a large bowl and form a well in the centre. Crumble in the yeast, stir together with 2 tbsp of the lukewarm milk and 1 tsp of sugar. Leave to prove in a warm place for 10 minutes, until bubbles form.
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Knead the dough. Add the remaining milk, sugar, vanilla sugar, egg, soft butter and salt. Knead everything into a smooth, supple dough (at least 5 minutes). Cover and leave to prove in a warm place for a good hour, until it has doubled in volume.
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Prepare the rhubarb. Wash the rhubarb, cut off the ends and pull off any stringy bits. Cut into pieces of about 2 cm, sprinkle with 2 tbsp of sugar and leave to macerate for 15 minutes. Then drain well – I like to collect the juice and mix it into a lemonade later.
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Mix the streusel. Mix the flour, sugar, ground almonds, cinnamon and salt in a bowl. Add the soft butter in pieces and work it into coarse crumbs with your fingertips. Not for too long – the streusel may well be uneven, that gives it character.
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Assemble the cake. Grease a baking tray (about 40×30 cm) or line it with baking paper. Roll the yeast dough out onto it, or press it out evenly with your hands. Spread the rhubarb evenly on top, leaving out the juice. Crumble the streusel generously over it – don’t hold back!
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Bake. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (conventional) for 35–40 minutes, until the streusel is golden brown and the dough is baked through (do the skewer test).
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Cool and enjoy. Let the cake cool a little on the tray, then dust with icing sugar. Best served lukewarm with a cup of coffee – but honestly, I think it tastes even better cold the next day.
So it’s guaranteed to turn out well
- Drain the juice · this is the be-all and end-all. Otherwise the base goes soggy. Don’t throw the juice away – it tastes wonderful neat, with water or in sparkling wine
- Strawberry variation · from June, I like to mix a few halved strawberries in with the rhubarb. Makes it even fruitier and really pretty in colour
- Replace almonds with hazelnuts · when I don’t have almonds, ground hazelnuts work too. Tastes more rustic, but just as good
- Storage · wrapped in cling film or in a tin, the cake keeps for 2–3 days. At our place, honestly, never that long
- Freezing · yes, works great! Cut into pieces, freeze individually, thaw at room temperature, briefly warm in the oven – like fresh
Serving moment · a piece, a cup of coffee, a little whipped cream
“When the whole house smells of rhubarb, butter and almonds, then I know: now it really is spring. No matter what the weather is doing outside.”
Enjoy it – and if you bake the cake yourself, I’d be thrilled if you sent me a photo or told me in the comments how it turned out for you. Maybe you even have a family variation I don’t know yet?
More from RecipesRecipe №2 · Foraging season
Elderflower cordial
spring in bottles
At the end of May, the elder bushes are one single white cloud. That’s exactly when I’m drawn outside with scissors and basket – and a few days later the whole kitchen smells wonderful. Spring in bottles for the rest of the year.
Homemade elderflower cordial · the taste of May
When I see that cloud-like white at the edge of a field or in the garden, I know: now is the moment. My elderflower cordial has been my early-summer ritual for years – and I promise you: once you’ve made it yourself, you’ll never want shop-bought again.
Ingredients
Main ingredients
- 30 pieceslarge, fresh elderflower umbels
- 2 Literwater
- 2 kgsugar
- 80 gcitric acid (food grade)
For the aroma
- 4 piecesorganic lemons (unwaxed)
Also
- 2–3clean swing-top bottles (sterilised)
- 1large pot or bucket (stainless steel or food grade)
- 1fine sieve or clean muslin cloth
How it’s made
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Harvest the elderflowers. Gather them on a sunny morning – that’s when the flowers are most fragrant. Choose a spot well away from busy roads. Never take all the umbels from one bush – a few have to stay so the berries can grow later.
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Check the flowers – but do NOT wash them! Shake them out gently, remove any beetles, snip off the larger stems. The yellow pollen dust stays on – that’s where all the aroma is. Washing would make the cordial tasteless.
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Prepare the lemons. Wash the organic lemons in hot water and cut into thin slices. Definitely leave the peel on – it brings a lot of extra aroma.
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Make the sugar water. Heat the water in a large pot, stir in the sugar until it dissolves completely. Don’t boil – just let it warm up. Then take it off the heat.
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Stir in the citric acid. While the sugar water is still warm, stir in the citric acid until it has completely dissolved.
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Bring everything together. Put the elderflowers and lemon slices into a large pot or bucket. Pour the lukewarm sugar water over them so that everything is covered. Submerge gently.
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Leave to steep for 2 days. Cover with a clean cloth (not airtight!), keep cool and dark. Stir gently 1–2 times a day so all the flowers can release their aroma.
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Strain. Pour the cordial through a fine sieve or a clean muslin cloth into another pot. Important: do NOT wring out the cloth, or the cordial will turn cloudy. Better to let it drip for a long time – it’s worth it.
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Bottle it. Fill the cordial into sterilised swing-top bottles and seal them straight away. Pretty hand-written tags make all the difference – and your spring in bottles is ready.
How the cordial is guaranteed to succeed
- Harvest in the morning · that’s when the aroma is strongest, and no insects have settled into the umbels yet
- Don’t wash · the yellow pollen IS the aroma. Wash it off and you give away all the flavour
- Sterilise the bottles · either 10 min at 80°C in the oven or rinse with boiling water. Working cleanly noticeably extends the shelf life
- Shelf life · stored cool & dark, at least 6 months. Once opened, about 4 weeks in the fridge
- How to use it · 1 part cordial to 4–5 parts water = elderflower lemonade. With sparkling wine & mint = Hugo. Over strawberries = summer dreams
- Giving it as a gift · with a wooden label or a kraft-paper tag, it becomes the loveliest little present
“Elderflower cordial is captured spring in bottles. Really, you don’t need more than that.”
Holding a bottle of homemade elderflower cordial in my hand is one of those little moments of happiness for me. You know where the flowers come from, you know what’s in it – and all summer long you have a piece of spring in the pantry. Really no great art. Just a little patience and a handful of white umbels.
More from RecipesRecipe №3 · May classic
Asparagus quiche
with fresh herbs
Asparagus season is, for me, the high point of spring food culture. A few weeks in the year when fresh asparagus rules the world – and then it’s over again. Before it’s done, my favourite thing is to tuck it into a creamy quiche.
A French spring classic · asparagus quiche with fresh herbs
A buttery shortcrust base, a creamy egg-and-crème-fraîche filling with fresh herbs, a little Gruyère on top – and the May asparagus right in the middle. When it comes out of the oven, the whole kitchen smells of France. Lukewarm with a green salad, it’s the perfect May dinner for me.
Ingredients
For the shortcrust pastry
- 250 gplain flour
- 125 gcold butter (cubed)
- 1egg (medium)
- 1 pinchsalt
- 2–3 tbspcold water
For the filling
- 500 gasparagus (mixed white and green, or green only)
- 4eggs (medium)
- 200 gcrème fraîche
- 100 mlcream
- 150 gGruyère or mountain cheese (freshly grated)
- to tastesalt, pepper, grated nutmeg
For the herbs
- 1 bunchchervil or parsley
- 1 bunchchives
- a few sprigsfresh thyme
Also
- a littlebutter for the tin
- a littleflour for rolling out
- 1tart tin (26 cm diameter)
How it’s made
-
Prepare the shortcrust pastry. Put the flour, salt, cold butter and egg into a bowl. Quickly work into a crumbly mixture with your hands or in a food processor. Add 2–3 tbsp of cold water and briefly bring together into a smooth dough. Press flat, wrap in cling film, chill for at least 30 minutes.
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Prepare the asparagus. Peel the white asparagus and cut off the woody ends. For the green, it’s enough to peel the lower third. Cut everything into pieces 3–4 cm long.
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Blanch the asparagus. Cook in lightly salted water for 3–4 minutes – it should still have some bite. Plunge straight into iced water so the colour stays lovely. Drain well.
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Line the tin. Grease the tart tin. Roll the chilled dough out into a round on a floured surface, lay it into the tin, pull up an edge. Prick several times with a fork and chill again for 15 minutes.
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Blind bake. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Line the pastry base with baking paper and weigh it down with dried pulses or baking beans. Pre-bake for 12–15 minutes, then remove the pulses and paper.
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Mix the filling. Whisk the eggs, crème fraîche and cream smooth in a bowl. Season with salt, pepper and a good pinch of freshly grated nutmeg. Wash the herbs, chop finely and fold in. Stir in half of the cheese.
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Layer. Spread the blanched asparagus over the pre-baked base. Pour the egg mixture over it so that everything is covered. Scatter the remaining cheese on top.
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Bake. Bake at 180°C for 35–40 minutes, until the quiche is golden and still wobbles slightly in the centre. If the cheese browns too quickly, simply cover with foil.
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Serve. Take it out of the oven and let it rest for at least 10 minutes – otherwise it runs when you cut it. Serve lukewarm with a green salad. It doesn’t get lovelier than that.
So the quiche is guaranteed to turn out well
- Dough in the food processor · everything in, pulse briefly, done. Saves time and your hands stay clean
- Asparagus trick · if you want to save yourself the peeling of white asparagus, use green only. Tastes at least as good
- Cheese variation · instead of Gruyère, mountain cheese, Comté or a mild Cheddar work too – the main thing is that it melts nicely
- Getting ahead · you can make the shortcrust pastry the day before and keep it in the fridge overnight. Saves time on the day itself
- Storage · keeps for 2–3 days wrapped in foil in the fridge. Reheated lukewarm, it tastes almost better than fresh
- Picnic version · let it cool well, cut into pieces, into the storage box – the perfect picnic lunch for mild May afternoons
Serving moment · the asparagus fan like a May postcard
“A little shortcrust pastry, a creamy filling and the May asparagus – you don’t need more for a perfect spring meal.”
At my place, this quiche lands on the table at least three times every May. Sometimes as a quick dinner, sometimes as the brunch star, sometimes cold for a picnic in the garden. What makes it so versatile: the baking turns the shortcrust wonderfully crisp, the filling stays lovely and creamy – and the asparagus keeps its bite. Once you’ve made it, you’ll make it again every May. I promise.
More from RecipesRecipe №4 · Patisserie classic
Strawberry-rhubarb tart
when pink and tart become friends
This tart is my spring highlight, when rhubarb season meets the start of strawberries. Those few weeks before summer when both are on the market at the same time – then I simply have to. Tart, fruity, with a creamy vanilla filling on crisp shortcrust pastry.
French patisserie at home · everything ready for the strawberry-rhubarb tart on vanilla cream
A buttery sweet shortcrust (pâte sucrée), topped with creamy homemade vanilla cream, plus baked rhubarb and fresh strawberries in an apricot glaze. It looks like it’s straight from the patisserie book, but it really is doable – I promise you. And when you take it out of the fridge and put it on the table, everyone falls silent at first.
Ingredients
For the sweet shortcrust (pâte sucrée)
- 250 gplain flour
- 100 gicing sugar
- 1 packetvanilla sugar
- 1 pinchsalt
- 125 gcold butter (cubed)
- 1egg (medium)
For the vanilla cream (crème pâtissière)
- 300 mlMilch
- 1vanilla pod (or 2 packets of vanilla sugar)
- 3egg yolks (medium)
- 60 gsugar
- 25 gcornflour
- 20 gbutter
For the topping
- 400 gfresh rhubarb
- 300 gfresh strawberries
- 2–3 tbspsugar (for macerating)
- 2 tbspapricot jelly (for the glaze)
To serve
- to tasteicing sugar, fresh mint, whipped cream
How it’s made
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Prepare the shortcrust pastry. Sift the flour, icing sugar, vanilla sugar and salt into a bowl. Add the cold butter and work into a crumbly mixture with your hands or in a food processor. Add the egg and briefly bring together into a smooth dough. Press flat, wrap in cling film, chill for at least 1 hour.
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Cook the vanilla cream. Slowly heat the milk with a split vanilla pod (scrape out the seeds, everything into the milk). In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour together well. Slowly stir in the hot milk (without the pod), then return everything to the pot. Thicken over medium heat, stirring constantly – this takes 5–7 minutes and needs a little patience.
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Let the cream cool. As soon as the cream is thick and smooth: off the heat, stir in the butter. Transfer straight into a bowl, cover with cling film directly on the surface (this way no skin forms). Let it cool, then into the fridge.
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Line the tin. Grease the tart tin. Roll the chilled dough out into a round on a floured surface, lay it into the tin, pull up an edge. Prick several times with a fork, then chill again for 30 minutes.
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Blind bake. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line the base with baking paper and weigh it down with pulses. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove the paper and pulses and bake for another 10–12 minutes, until the base is golden and cooked through. Let it cool completely.
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Prepare the fruit. Wash the rhubarb, pull off any strings, cut into 2 cm pieces. Sprinkle with 1 tbsp of sugar, leave to macerate for 10 minutes. Wash and hull the strawberries, halve or quarter depending on size.
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Briefly pre-bake the rhubarb. Spread the rhubarb pieces on a tray lined with baking paper (leave out the juice). Bake at 180°C for about 10 minutes, until soft but still holding their shape. Let them cool.
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Cream onto the base. Briefly whisk the chilled vanilla cream again until it’s nicely creamy. Spread it onto the completely cooled tart base and smooth it out.
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Arrange the fruit. Arrange the strawberries and baked rhubarb decoratively on the cream. Classic options are concentric circles from the outside in, or a free “natural” pattern. The main thing: closely packed – that looks the most lavish.
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Glaze and serve. Briefly heat the apricot jelly with 1 tbsp of water, pass it through a sieve. Carefully brush the fruit with it – this gives the professional shine and protects the fruit. Chill for at least 1 hour. Dust with icing sugar before serving.
Et voilà · the finished tart with concentric circles of strawberries and rhubarb
Doesn’t this look like it’s from a French patisserie? And yet it really is doable at home. The secret lies in arranging the fruit closely – no little gaps, no cheating. And the apricot shine makes the professional look perfect.
So your tart looks like it’s from a patisserie
- Dough in advance · shortcrust pastry keeps for 2 days wrapped in foil in the fridge, even 1 month in the freezer. Saves time on the day itself
- Cream in advance · you can cook the vanilla cream a day ahead. Just whisk it briefly again before spreading
- Let the base cool completely · if the cream goes onto the still-warm base, it turns soft. Be really patient!
- Seasonal variation · instead of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries or, in summer, peaches work too. Always with the matching fruit of the season
- Shine secret · apricot jelly makes the professional look. If you have none: red currant jelly also goes wonderfully with strawberries
- Slicing trick · cut through in one go with a hot, sharp knife – don’t saw. Gives clean slices
- Shelf life · it tastes best on the same day. In the fridge it keeps for 1 more day, after that the base goes soft
“When the first strawberries and the last rhubarb meet, that’s when the loveliest slice of tart of the year comes about, for me.”
This tart has something festive about it. You put it on the table and everyone falls silent at first – once out of admiration, then while eating. It looks more complicated than it is (that’s my favourite tart trick), and tastes of spring, French patisserie and Sunday afternoon all in one. If you make it for your loved ones, you’re guaranteed compliments. I promise.
More from RecipesRecipe №5 · Wild-herb classic
Wild garlic pesto
when the forest smells of garlic
There is this one moment in April when I’m walking through the forest and think: is someone cooking garlic here? Then my gaze drops – to the green carpet of wild garlic leaves. It happens only a few weeks a year, and during that time we have everything with wild garlic. First and foremost: this pesto.
A spring wild herb · wild garlic pesto fresh from the kitchen
A handful of wild garlic leaves, toasted pine nuts, freshly grated Parmesan, a good olive oil – you don’t need more. Pesto in 15 minutes that tastes of spring, forest and garlic all in one. On pasta, on baguette, as a dip with the apéritif – or, when nobody’s looking, with a spoon straight from the jar. Yes, that’s the sort of thing I do. Honestly.
Ingredients
For the pesto
- 100 gfresh wild garlic leaves (approx. 2 large handfuls)
- 50 gpine nuts
- 60 gParmesan or Pecorino (freshly grated)
- 120–150 mlgood olive oil (extra virgin)
- 1 pinchcoarse sea salt
- a littlefreshly ground black pepper
- optionalzest of ½ an unwaxed lemon
To serve (pasta for 4)
- 500 gtagliatelle, spaghetti or linguine
- to tasteextra Parmesan for serving
- a handfulextra wild garlic leaves for garnishing
Also
- 1blender, hand blender or mortar
- 2clean screw-top jars (200 ml each)
Mise en place · everything ready for the green spring miracle
How it’s made
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Wash and dry the wild garlic. Wash the leaves thoroughly in cold water, dry them carefully in a tea towel or with a salad spinner. Important: the wild garlic must be properly dry, otherwise the pesto turns watery and keeps less well. Cut away thick stems, use only the leaves.
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Toast the pine nuts. Toast in a dry pan without oil over medium heat for 3–4 minutes until golden brown – keep tossing constantly, they burn faster than you can watch. Take them out of the pan immediately and let them cool completely. The toasted aroma makes the difference between good and great pesto.
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Grate the Parmesan. Finely grate the Parmesan or Pecorino fresh – on no account use the pre-grated kind from a bag, the flavour is worlds apart. Set aside.
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Everything into the blender. Put the wild garlic, cooled pine nuts, grated cheese, salt and pepper into the blender or a tall container for the hand blender. If you like, add the lemon zest now – it lifts the flavour and keeps the green colour nice and fresh.
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Work in the olive oil. Start with about 100 ml of olive oil and work everything into a paste in short bursts. Don’t blend too long, or it turns bitter and the oil separates. Adjust the consistency gradually with more oil – creamy, but still with some texture. This is my favourite moment: the scent that then drifts through the kitchen.
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Season to taste. Taste it! Perhaps another pinch of salt, maybe more cheese or lemon. Every wild garlic tastes a little different – the young leaves are milder, the later ones more intense. Be bold with the seasoning.
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Fill into jars. Fill clean screw-top jars to just below the rim, smooth the pesto with a spoon. Pour a thin layer of olive oil on top – this seals it airtight and keeps the pesto fresh and green for weeks. Screw the jar shut, label it, into the fridge.
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Serve. For pasta: cook the noodles in well-salted water, keep back a cup of pasta water. Drain, stir 3–4 tbsp of pesto per person together with a little pasta water in the warm pan, mix in the pasta. Garnish with extra Parmesan and fresh wild garlic leaves. It doesn’t get lovelier than that.
So your pesto turns out perfect
- Identify wild garlic correctly · the most important tip of all! Wild garlic leaves grow individually from the ground, each on its own stem, and smell intensely of garlic when you rub them between your fingers. There’s a risk of confusion with lily of the valley (poisonous!) – it has several leaves on one stem and no garlic smell. When in doubt: don’t pick
- Foraging season · mid-March to early May, ideally before flowering – that’s when the leaves are most fragrant. As soon as the white star-shaped flowers appear, the leaves become sharper and slightly bitter
- Pine nut alternative · pine nuts are expensive. Sunflower seeds, cashews, walnuts or almonds work wonderfully too – each gives a slightly different character
- Mortar version · if you have time and patience: crush it by hand in a mortar like the Italian grandmothers. The pesto turns out coarser, more aromatic and more “alive” than in the blender
- Keep the colour · blend briefly, not too long. Lemon juice or zest helps keep the green vivid. In the jar, never forget the layer of oil on top
- Freezing · freeze in ice-cube trays and then transfer into freezer bags. Keeps for up to 6 months – so you can thaw a little piece of spring even in winter
- Ideas for using it · not just for pasta! On baguette with tomato as bruschetta, as a dip for crackers, mixed with cream cheese for vegetable sticks, stirred into mashed potato or as a marinade for grilled chicken
Serving moment · spaghetti with wild garlic pesto and fresh basil
“When the forest smells of garlic, there’s mortar-pounding, blending and tasting at my place – and in the end always with a spoon straight from the jar.”
For me, wild garlic season is the loveliest six weeks of spring. A walk into the forest, home with a basket full of the glossy green leaves, and in the kitchen a few simple ingredients turn into something that tastes as intensely of spring as nothing else does. If you’re clever, you make a few extra jars to freeze – then in November, when everything is grey, you suddenly have a little May moment on your plate. I promise, this will become your new favourite ritual.
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