Every few months in Berlin Kreuzberg, you will find a deliciously magical gathering of specialty bakers and other local food makers gather together at the Markthalle Neun. The moment you enter the door, you are transported to a fairy-tale-like land, where everywhere you look you find locally produced cakes, cupcakes, macaroons, cookies, chocolates, ice cream, cake pops, cake push pops, more sweets, drinks, and other tasty treats as well. This is the kind of place that you DO NOT want to go into hungry!

The Naschmarkt is a specialty market held only for vendors of delicious treats which will really tempt your taste buds and amaze your pallet. Many of the vendors go with traditional styles and flavors — but others throw in things like green tea chai cupcakes or apple ginger push pops with actual little chunks of apple baked in to prove its freshness. These more rare flavors were equally as delicious as their better known counter parts. Even Mackenzie found the bizarre flavors appealing and thoroughly enjoyed them.

One of the primary focuses of the event seems to be on those planning weddings — which is understandable since there’s no better reason to indulge yourself with cakes and yumminess than a wedding! I personally think that a collection of tiered cupcakes or even cake pops at a wedding reception seems like a fantastic option that gives less traditional weddings an opportunity to serve up something amazing without totally fitting into the usual mold.

The Naschmarkt has been taking place since 2011, and in case you’re wondering about the name, “Nasch” means “to nibble” in German. And trust me, you will want to do a lot of nibbling here. But if you’re hoping to get access to a bunch of free goodies, think again. The pricing at the markt is typical of what you see elsewhere for homemade sweets, which in my opinion is pretty stiff. But entrance to the event is free — which means you can spend all of your hard earned cash on delicious goodies — and you definitely will want to! It’s just difficult to pick and choose where to start!

The Naschmarkt also has a very special purpose and backbone:

Berlin Naschmarkt partners with Slow Food Berlin in order to insure every raspberry-coconut tart, pistachio-mint macaroon, and triple-chocolate brownie on offer is prepared according to the highest standards. Slow Food Berlin is part of the worldwide Slow Food movement for a fair, sustainable, ethically conscious food culture, and the Naschmarkt strives to make sure these ideals don’t stop at dessert. Vendors must adhere to Slow Food quality criteria; that means no genetically modified or synthetic ingredients, additives, preservatives, or chemicals. It also means that you’ll be sampling your Berliner Pfannkuchen from a Berliner who has handcrafted that pastry from local ingredients in a local kitchen, shop, or café.

So while you might find the prices a bit overwhelming, you can feel better knowing that the people behind the table have put a lot of love and devotion into each and every product. And you also don’t have to go traipsing all over Berlin to find the best cakes and goodies, because a vast majority of the vendors are right there for you to meet.

We tried several things at the Naschmarkt, like the Apple Lavender Mini-Cupcake and Chai Latte Push Up cake from Tigertörtchen, which had unbelievably moist cake pieces and absolutely delicious frosting that was not too sweet and a creamy delight.

I can also HIGHLY recommend the herb pralines from Sinn Für die Sinne which they make themselves on Fischerinsel or the Swedish-made La Praline truffles which are to die for. You can also find them at the Winterfeldtplatz Markt on Saturdays (and you’ll probably see me there as well!)

Do keep in mind that this special event is almost as mythical as the experience itself. It’s only held every few months (the last two were held the first Sunday in September and December from 12:00-18:00) so if you want to attend, you’ve got to plan ahead for it or just get really lucky. Visit the Naschmarkt Berlin website for info on the next one (the date hadn’t yet been publicized yet at the time that I was writing this.)

As I left the Naschmarkt, I couldn’t help thinking to myself how easy it is to make most of these things. And €3 for a cupcake is robbery IMO. I mean I know there’s some work involved in many of the desserts, like making dainty decorations from marzipan — but baking cupcakes and making chocolates is really not all that hard. I’ve done it many times myself. So for that reason, I had a hard time justifying the prices being asked (even though I know that those prices are asked all the time all over Berlin on a daily basis).

And then I started to think that perhaps making chocolate is a perfect way for someone who truly loves making these kinds of foods to make a great side income or even create a full time business from it! Have you been thinking about how to make a career path change for 2013? The new year is right around the corner and now is the perfect time to dive in for new ideas! I can assure you that there are few things better than being your own boss and working your own hours. Sure it’s hard work sometimes — but all the profit goes into your own pocket!

If you’re serious about getting started with this type of business, you’ve got to check out the ebook package from Nicole Brooks. She did exactly what we’re talking about a few years ago and then she decided to put all of her knowledge into an ebook and share it with the world so others could profit as well. And let me tell you — good chocolate is something I’m willing to pay a small fortune for, especially when I know it’s homemade. The chocolate stand at our local market charges around 1 Euro per truffle and not only do people (like myself) buy them, but we keep coming back for more.

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