Tours and Activities:
Kuchen Tasting Session
The city´s many tea houses and cafés are renowned for their traditional German-style pastries, based on family recipes that have endured over time. All it takes is a taste to choose a favorite.
Those who do not wish to leave Frutillar without sampling its sweet delights should visit several of the city’s traditional tea houses, where kuchen is the undisputed specialty.
Since the arrival of German immigrants in the area around 1852, men devoted themselves mainly to carpentry, agriculture, and livestock farming to build their homes and gradually organize the village in which they would develop their family lives. Women and children, in addition to helping with these same tasks, spent many hours in the kitchen preparing exquisite dishes and desserts using recipes brought from the Old Continent. Over time, they learned to incorporate local fruits and vegetables, adapting the formulas passed down from their grandmothers.
In this way, traditional recipes for tarts, cakes, sauces, and German-style afternoon teas—carefully preserved—were passed down from mothers to daughters and have reached the present day as part of a custom that keeps cultural identity alive. Today, we are the fortunate ones who get to enjoy them.
Kuchen, the most famous
At social gatherings, each family prepared its own kuchen (pronounced “koy-en” in German), competing to surprise friends and neighbors with the best version. This tradition took root not only in Frutillar but also in the towns along the shores of Lake Llanquihue.
This classic cake is made with a pastry base and filled with fruit sauces such as mulberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, elderberries, sour cherries, cherries,plums, often complemented by nuts walnutschestnuts. The secret lies in finding the perfect balance of ingredients to achieve harmonious flavors.
With all this in mind, there was no alternative but to wander through Frutillar’s charming streets, visiting its many tea houses to experience this specialty firsthand. Some impress with elegant salons featuring embroidered white tablecloths and fine porcelain, while others, more informal in style, win visitors over with their warmth and welcoming atmosphere.
Guided by aroma alone, we spent several afternoons in these spaces where tea time is celebrated as a tradition, accompanied by kuchen, strudel, chocolate cakes, and cups of coffeehot chocolate.
The restaurant at the German Club, Hotel Bauernhaus, Guten Apetit Café, Kuchen Laden bakery, and Trayen Café are among the favorite spots for discovering German pastry-making and its unmistakable heritage.
The story would not be complete without the words of Alejandra Doepking, international cuisine instructor and author of 150 Years of German Pastry-Making: “Unforgettable childhood memories, when our oma (grandmother) welcomed us with yeast kuchen. The aromas of cinnamon, vanilla, and freshly baked fruit fill me with pride in my origins…”
How could one resist this delight, which in Frutillar not only awaits our verdict but also offers a taste of a specialty that has endured across time and distance? The secret of kuchen remains unchanged: preserving its homemade essence, just as it was in its beginnings.
Contact
Café Bauernhaus
Cel: +56 998222489
Trayén
Tel: +56 65-2421346
Lavanda Casa de Té
Cel: +56 992691684
See also: © 2007-2025 Total or partial reproduction forbidden. Derechos de Autor 675243 Ley 11723
