Switzerland is located in the continent of Europe. It has Germany to the north, Liechtenstein and Austria to the east, Slovenia to the southeast, Italy to the south, and France to the west.

The capital is Bern.

The official languages are French, German, Italian, and Romansh (locally).

The climate is diverse. It is mild and moist from the west, dry and cold from the north, dry colder air from the east, and relatively moist and warm from the south. The staples are cheese fondue, potatoes, onions, macaroni, quiches, vegetables, sausages, pork, beef, pastas, chocolate and much more (https://studyinginswitzerland.com/swiss-cuisine-traditional-food-to-try/).

https://www.britannica.com/place/Switzerland

SWISS BERNER PLATTE (http://www.grouprecipes.com/23506/swiss-bernerplatte.html):

• 1 lb. bag of refrigerator sauerkraut
• 1 large Idaho potato, peeled and sliced
• 3 smoked pork chops
• 2 knockwurst sausages (I could not knockwurst so used a sausage made from pork, but will ask Harmon’s if they can make me knockwurst by combining veal and pork)
• 1 link of Polish kielbasa
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• ½ tsp caraway seeds
• 12 oz. can of amber bock beer

1. Salt and pepper sliced potatoes and chops.
2. Place in layers in the slow cooker the sauerkraut, potatoes, sauerkraut, pork chops, sauerkraut, knockwurst, sauerkraut, kielbasa.
3. Sprinkle with caraway seeds.
4. Pour the beer over everything.
5. Cook on low for 8 hours.

6-  Serve with mustard, bread and butter.

ZOPF (https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/23289/zopf/) :

• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1-1/3 C warm milk
• 2 TBSP butter, softened
• 3-1/2 C bread flour
• 1 egg white
• 1 TBSP water

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm milk. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

Add the egg yolk, butter and 2 C of bread flour; stir well to combine. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 C at a time, beating well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.

• Divide the dough into 3 equal pieces and roll each into a 14” long cylinder. Braid the pieces together and place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• In a small bowl, beat together egg white and water. Brush risen bread loaf with egg wash and bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, until golden.

HIMBEERKUCHEN (Raspberry Cake) (https://www.food.com/recipe/himbeerkuchen-277274):

• 9 TBSP unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 C flour
• 1 TBSP baking powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• ½ C sugar
• 2 eggs

Filling Ingredients:

• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 C milk
• 1-3/4 C flour
• ¾ C sugar
• 2 eggs, separated
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1-1/2 C heavy cream
• 3 C frozen raspberries

1-  Preheat oven to 325 F. Grease a 10” springform pan with one TBSP of the butter.

2-  Sift together 1 C flour, baking powder, and salt into medium bowl.

3-  Beat sugar and 8 TBSP butter in separate bowl with an electric mixer until blended and fluffy. Add eggs individually, beating well in between each egg.

        4-  Stir in flour mixture in 3 batches with a rubber spatula.

        5-  Place batter in springform pan and bake about 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

        6-  Set aside to cool completely on cooling rack.

For Filling:

1. Heat cinnamon and 1-1/2 C milk into a large saucepan over medium heat until bubbles begin to appear around edges.
2. Meanwhile, mix together flour and sugar with remaining milk (1-1/2 C) until smooth.
3. Gradually add flour/milk mixture to the hot milk, whisking constantly until mixture

becomes smooth and too thick to whisk.

• Beat with a wooden spoon until mixture becomes paste-like, pulling away from the bottom of the saucepan (about 5 minutes).
• Transfer paste to mixing bowl, remove cinnamon and discard, and set aside, stirring often, until cool.
• Combine egg yolks with vanilla extract and stir into paste after it has cooled. Set aside.
• Whisk remaining egg whites in a large bowl until stiff peaks form.
• Whisk cream in another large bowl until stiff peaks form.
• Using a rubber spatula, mix half of the whipped cream into the paste and gently fold in whites while maintaining the volume of the whites.
• Fold in remaining whipped cream.
• Spread half (about 1 C) of the filling over the cake and scatter raspberries over it. Cover the raspberries with remaining filling and smooth evenly.
• Bake in oven at 325 until filling is golden and browned in spots, approximately 1-1/2 – 2 hours. Filling should feel springy to the touch.
• Cool cake on a cooling rack. Slide a knife around the edges of the pan before removing and transferring to a cake plate.

I am so grateful that my cousin and most of his family were able to eat this with me!! I know I enjoyed it!