Flammenkuchen is a unique local specialty. Some people say it looks like a pizza. Try it. You will love it!
This ‘pizza’ is a specialty you can only get in the Black Forest and the neighboring region of Alsace, and it may be the only native dish that would qualify as “fast food”. Its a favorite at festivals year-around.
On the french side of the Rhine river, the Alsace, it’s called tarte flambe, which translates into “cake baked in the flames”. On the German side its called Flammenkuchen or Flammkuchen, literally, “Flame Cake”.
Flammenkuchen is made out of a very thin bread dough. The traditional topping is a mixture of sour cream and creme fraiche, onions and bacon, and spiced with salt and pepper. It is quickly baked in a very hot wood-fired oven and it is normal that it has burned crust at the edges. Its is thin and cools very quickly, so it is normal to eat it very quickly.
Flammenkuchen has become so popular over the last few years that you can now buy it deep frozen in most parts of Germany. Of course it tastes very different freshly-made and hot straight out of the oven. So if you happen to visit the Black Forest and want to get a taste of Flammenkuchen, join us on a Straussen Tour. We’ll make sure to visit a Straussen which serves hot Flammenkuchen right out of the oven.
But beware – if you happen to live in the US, Flammenkuchen is sold at Trader Joe’s. This is NOT what Flammenkuchen is supposed to taste like.
