Interesting encounters with raspberry jam

I would be lying if told you that I only sampled one 'cake of the week' when we were in Berlin, and you would be a fool if you believed me. But of course, one was more memorable than the rest. Cupcakes are no typical German cake, but that is what made it all the more exciting! I hadn't eaten a cupcake in quite a while, they are a bit of a novelty in these parts. So when I saw the big pink sign on the street, beckoning passersby into Cupcake Berlin, I had to go in. There were a few different flavours on display, but to be honest I didn't really notice them. I was totally mesmerised by the chubby chocolate cake and the dreamy pink icing that was the Raspberry Delight. Husband of course, who just doesn't get the whole cupcake thing ordered a slice of cheesecake (New York, also good but it had nothing on mine.)
Interestingly enough raspberry jam made two appearances when we were in Berlin. Both times in ways that I had never eaten it before. Who knew so much was possible with a simple jarred spread? Back to the Raspberry Delight. The thing about this cupcake was that the icing was made pink with raspberry jam. Which meant it had tiny raspberry seeds through it and tiny flecks of raspberry too. This made the icing quite sweet but the fruitiness of the jam gave it a depth of flavour that can't be achieved with icing sugar and food colouring alone. The fruity frosting balanced out quite well with the chocolate cake which was on the bitter side of sweet, dense and moist. Yum! Yum! Yum! Taste aside though, cupcakes are such a symbol of all things lovely to me, that I think I would have enjoyed it just for the way it looked. Which I am sure you will agree is gorgeous!

Raspberry Delight

Raspberry jam showed up again when we visited the Tadschikische Teestube (Tajik from Tajikistan). A tea house located inside a historical building, where you have to take your shoes of and sit on bright, comfy cushions on the ground (there are some chairs and tables as well). Be sure not to upset the waitress by sitting somewhere stupid where she may be likely to trip over you. We made that silly mistake and paid for it with an ear bashing that the entire tea house fell silent to listen to. Not that she tripped over us, but she may have and how dare we expect her to have such acrobatic abilities of ducking and weaving with a tea laden tray by sitting the way we were! Humph! Some people! I recommend waiting at the entrance till she is ready to attend to you or better still make a booking. It is quite a cosy space and it was full when we were there so it makes sense to make sure you will get a seat, especially if you are visiting Berlin. Don't let the service put you off, once we were seated 'properly' she really was quite pleasant and the atmosphere and historic surroundings do really make it all worthwhile. Plus, when were there, it was snowing so heavily outside that we chose the wrath of the waitress over mother nature. Husband ordered a Canadian style tea, sweetened with maple syrup, served with cream and whisky on the side, to add according to taste. I ordered what I think was called the Lomonosov Tea. This was a mild black tea, served with raspberry jam and rum soaked raisins. The jam is used traditionally to sweeten the tea and raisins are to be eaten at your leisure, between sips. The presentation made tea drinking a real luxury. We didn't order any food, but there are lists of both sweet and savoury delicacies from the region but don't get too excited with ordering unless you have time. It took about 40 minutes for us just to get our tea. This is not a complaint, the atmosphere in this room is really relaxed and if you are not in a hurry it is not a bad place to be enjoying tea and conversation.

Tea with rum raisins and raspberry jam
It's all about the presentation: dainty tea cups and the raspberry seeds that sunk to the bottom

While the raspberry jam gave the tea more of a sour flavour (from the tartness of the raspberries) than sweet, I am still intrigued by the idea of using jam to sweeten things or to add flavour. I am inspired to see what other uses I can find for all the lovely home-made jam we have sitting in our kitchen cupboards. I am thinking fig jam icing for a ginger chocolate cake... Any other suggestions for jam, anyone?