Now to assemble the cake: using a ladle as your measure, spoon just enough batter into the cake tin to cover the base – you’ll probably need to fill the ladle to about two-thirds.

Kitchen Frau Notes: I recommend you read all the way through to the end of the instructions to familiarize yourself with the process before getting started. The instructions look long, but I promise, it's not really complicated once you get going. You basically make up the cake batter (similar to a normal cake), plop a spoonful in the pan, spread it around, grill, and repeat (til the batter is used up). Separate the eggs, putting the yolks into a spouted measuring cup or a small bowl and the whites into a large mixing bowl (large enough to hold them all when they are beaten, plus the rest of the batter). When it's all done, spread the cake with a layer of apricot jam: brush on a layer of warmed apricot jam. you can see the difference between the colours of the batter baked in the two different pans, which won't matter once glazed I now know why it works much better to fold the flour in with the beaten egg yolks and whites. Adding it first to the yolk mixture to save a step produces a stiff yolk batter that doesn't fold well with the fluffy whites. It makes it very lumpy and hard to spread in thin layers for grilling. Yeah, not good.

Add one third of the tempered egg yolk mixture to the beaten egg whites in the large bowl and sprinkle with one third of the flour mixture. Use a silicone spatula to fold them gently together. Repeat two more times until the flour and yolks are just incorporated and you have a large bowl of fluffy batter. Don't over-fold or the batter will deflate, and you want it nice and fluffy. Keep beating the almond paste and butter and slip in one yolk at a time from the cup or bowl they are in, beating after adding each yolk. Add the rum, vanilla, and salt, and beat well. Set aside. Baumkuchen is a unique and impressive German cake, made by broiling many thin layers of batter, which resembles the age rings in a tree trunk when it's cut. The delicate almond flavour of the cake is enhanced with a rich chocolate glaze. This truly is a stunning cake worthy of any special occasion. And you can make a simplified version easily at home! ( Skip directly to recipe.)

If you are using apricot jam between the layers (I prefer this, but have made it without and it's also good), then in a small saucepan on the oven or a bowl in the microwave, heat ½ cup of the apricot jam until it's melted and have it ready. In Germany this unique cake (considered the 'King of Cakes') has a long history and is made in bakeries by professionals with special equipment. ( Watch this fun video to see how it's made.) Huge rotating rollers are slathered in cake batter and grilled in front of a bank of flames or a heating element to roast and brown the outside, then coated and grilled repeatedly to replicate the myriad age rings of a cross-section of tree trunk, developing interesting waves of the layers as it forms. Then the whole massive roll is glazed in fondant or chocolate and sliced into slabs and wrapped to sell. Germans adore this rich, elegant cake, especially around Christmas time, when it's considered a special culinary tradition, but it's available other times of the year, too. However, I can only send the storebought variety. So when this dear friend finally came to visit four years ago, Baumkuchen was what I baked for him. It also happens to be one of my husband’s favourites. Now, while there has been quite a hype around Baumkuchen in the past years and while there are indeed several ways to make this specialty, I’ve often found that most recipes I saw on the internet weren’t quite authentic. The recipe I’m going to share is one tried and true version of the delicious cake with the many layers.

optional - 100 grams (1 cup) toasted sliced almonds (toasted until golden; about 8 to 10 minutes in a 350°F/180°C oven) Ladle another thin layer of batter on top, and return to the grill. Once golden, brush a thin layer of the softened marmalade over the cake – you want just enough for a thin glaze. grams (6.3 ounces) almond paste ⇔ or 1 cup (100 grams) almond flour + ¼ cup (80 grams) honey + ½ teaspoon pure almond extract Let the glaze cool and decorate your cake. You can use everything from confectioner’s sugar dusted on a stencil to fondant flowers, chocolate ornaments or dinosaurs. Or just leave it as it is. Most Baumkuchen cakes don’t last very long in our kitchen, anyway. You will always have one tin in the oven and one tin outside. While one layer bakes in the oven, you spread one new layer on top of the other cake.

A home-baked Baumkuchen is a rich cake, often using almond paste (or almond flour and honey), a generous amount of butter, and a whole dozen eggs; the whipped whites provide the rising agent. Its complex flavour comes from the caramelization of the batter in the many layers, and also from the almonds, rum, and fruity apricot jam, all encased in a luscious chocolate glaze. The apricot jam is often added to home-baked versions of the cake for the bright flavour it adds, but can be omitted. The texture of a Baumkuchen is slightly more firm than a typical fluffy cake, more similar to a pound cake. It's simple and oh-so-elegant, a worthy project that takes a little extra effort. Rather than the standard baking of a cake, you individually broil thin layers of batter layered upon one another. This takes more time and attention than just plunking a cake into the oven, but the unique and spectacular end result is worth it. I find it a rewarding and kinda therapeutic activity. this recipe requires two cake tins with the same diameter, an oven with a broiler setting, two large bowls and an electric mixer or stand mixer

gallery

Sift together the flour and cornstarch into a small bowl (you can just use a sieve to sift them if you don't have a flour sifter). Husband and Birthday Boy had fun playing a game of frisbee with the sugarless, lumpy-battered #Failcakes at Christmas time: Add 170g of the butter and beat until completely incorporated. Next add the sugar and beat again until the mixture is pale and creamy. In the medium bowl, cream the almond paste, diced, (or almond flour, honey, and almond flavour) with the butter using an electric mixer until they are smooth and fluffy. Use a pastry brush to spread the mixture evenly over the base of the tin, so it just covers the surface, then cook under the grill for 4 minutes, or until set and golden all over.