I have seen this hilarious list on buzzfeed today and I find myself in this a lot. I love my family and there is a whole lot of people to love. It’s not like the Kelly family but for the average German family I have a lot of siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins. Both my Grandparents insisted that we all gather at Birthdays, Easter and Christmas. Come what may, at least 20 people in one room, eating, talking, having fun. When I was a teenager I rebelled against this bourgeois traditions. I hated those get-togethers, being locked up in a room with people I had nothing in common with but the same blood line, it made no sense to me. I used to say “friends are the best family because you can choose them yourself”. Teenagers… By now it makes totally sense to me and I must confess I was completely wrong back then, I wouldn’t want to miss any minute of the family time I had. I guess losing my Grandfather last year made me change my point of view even more. As you grow older, you understand that even though they may have chosen another path, you still have a lot more in common than blood. Those folks have always been there and always will be there to help and support me without any question. Though it is very stressful and requires a lot of planning, I did not regret it any minute that I had them all over for my birthday. 23 friends and family members sitting/standing/running around, lots of chats and laughter and nice food – a perfect birthday! I am very sad that my Grandpa couldn’t be here with us, I guess he would have loved it and maybe he watched us from above.

I second #12 of the list, I was too slow so I did not get to eat a single piece of my own birthday cake that I baked the night before my birthday. Everyone I asked said it was fantastic, so I made it again to convince myself. Again this recipe comes from my favourite Book, Cupcakes from the Primrose Bakery. Someday I need to get to London, go there and tell ’em how thankful I am.

For the cake:

• 230 g dark chocolate, melted at room temperature
• 170 g butter at room temperature
• 350 g brown sugar
• 3 eggs (separated)
• 370 g flour
• 1.5 tsp baking powder
• 1.5 tsp baking soda
• 0.5 tsp salt
• 500 ml milk at room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 170°C with fan and line a 26 cm tin with parchment paper. Start with melting the chocolate carefully and let it cool until lukewarm before you use it. You can test the temperature best on you lip, if it still feels warm there, it is still too hot. Separate the eggs and beat the egg whites with a little salt until stiff. In another bowl cream the butter and the sugar together until they turn pale and really light and fluffy. Beat the egg yolks and add them to the fluffy butter-sugar-mixture. Beat well for some more minutes, so it gets even fluffier. Add the melted chilled chocolate and beat the mixture until completely incorporated. Mix flour, salt, baking powder and soda in a separate bowl as well as milk and vanilla extract in a jug. Sift a third of the flour into the chocolate mixture and slowly beat to combine. Then add half of the milk and also mix to combine. Repeat with another third of the flour, the other half of the milk and end with the last third of the flour. Last, fold in the stiff egg whites before you transfer the mixture to the lined tin and bake it in the oven for 60-70 minutes. After the cake is cooled, decorate with 200 g of melted chocolate and any kind of decorations (sprinkles, smarties or m&m’s). You could also use some chocolate buttercream or other frostings on this one.

I like the cake as it is very easy, it has a rich texture, is moist and not too sweet. I like!