Baumkuchen

Baumkuchen is one of the more traditional cakes in Germany... Not to say that the other cakes aren't traditional, because let's face it... just about all baked goods in Germany are traditional... But, Baumkuchen is the official symbol of our profession...

Baumkuchen translates literally into "tree cake."  Get it?? The cake has tons of little layers inside that are created from the way the cake is made.  This cake is known for its intense flavor because each little layer is essentially baked and therefor has a nice crust on top... which gives off the enormous amount of flavor.

Check out these layers...

See what I mean?

Yes, I know what you may be thinking... it's time-consuming and probably one of the more expensive cakes... and you're right... but the flavor is worth it all.

Traditionally it's made with a special machine...

However, it can be made without a machine and just your oven!  Lucky for us!

Our recipe in the school was: Baumkuchen Champagner Torte:

250g Butter

80g Sugar

80g Marzipan

Cardamom, Salt

Mix together with and electric mixer.

200g Yolk

Add to the butter mixture, and mix until combined.

400g Egg white

150g Sugar

Beat until peaks form.  (Literally translated from German: "beat until snow"-- good visual!!).  Then, fold into the butter and yolk mixture.

Split the mixture in half.

70g Flour

70g Wheat starch (actual translation from "Weizenpuder" I also read that corn starch is a good substitute)

Fold into one half.

40g Flour

30g Wheat starch/ corn starch

50g Cocoa powder

6g Baking powder

Fold into the other half.

200g Marzipan

100g sugar syrup

30g Distilled Champagner (we didn't have this in school so we used Grand Marnier

Mixed until smooth.

Here's the good part!!!! You can use pretty much whatever pan you would like.  We used a typical cake pan or spring form pan.

Heat your oven on broil... you want it hot and you want the heat coming from the top.

Spooning a little bit at a time, start the layering process.  Here is the pattern you will follow:

2 layers chocolate

1 layer Marzipan mixture

2 layers light

1 layer Marzipan mixture

Each layer will need to be baked in the oven until baked through (just a few minutes).  This is important! Especially for the first 2 layers so that the cake stabilizes.  Some groups in class didn't bake their layers through, and the cake completely fell apart.  It can be a matter of 10-15 seconds, so watch your cake!  Also, the more even your layers are, the better the turn out.... you will see that once the cake is finished all errors can be seen (i.e. a burnt layer, or and uneven layer) don't let this scare you into not making the cake but be sure to take care when spreading each layer.

In any case, the cake will turn out fantastic... and taste even better!  I know it's time-consuming, but the turnout is way worth the effort.  Once you cut into that cake and show everyone the inside, you'll seriously be the talk of the town!

When everything is cooled and taken out of the pan the cake is traditionally topped with chocolate coating or a Fondant glaze.  Your choice!

Please enjoy, and I want to hear and see your results!