Baumkuchen

Photographer: Adam

This post has been a long time coming! I have been waiting for the perfect opportunity to put it up. The first time I had ever seen or tasted this cake was in Japan although its origins are German. Baumkuchen which translated means ‘tree cake’ referring to its tree ring like cross-sections which are created by baking many thin layers on top of each other.

The first go making this cake was a bit of an adventure, after some research and discussion with my German colleague who I had convinced to help me. We decided to make the cake using a rotisserie from one of our outdoor grills. We managed to create something that resembled the cake, however it was very tricky. Luckily there is an easier option, the flat Baumkuchen, which can be made using the grill function on a standard oven.

INGREDIENTS


250g butter
250g sugar
1tsp vanilla sugar
6 eggs (seperate whites and yolks)
150g flour
100g starch
1tsp baking powder
3 drops of Almond essence
3tbsp Amaretto
Chocolate for icing and decoration

METHOD


1. Cream the butter, egg yolks, vanilla sugar and almond essence until together until pale yellow.
2. Stir in the amaretto, then combine the flour, starch and baking powder in small amounts.
3. Beat the egg whites until firm, then fold the egg whites into the mixture.
4. Grease a high sided and lay a piece of baking paper in the base.
5. Add a couple of tablespoons of batter and spread in a thin layer across the bottom of the tin.
6. Grill the layer for approximately 4 mins or until the top of the layer has turned golden brown.
7. Take the tin out of the oven and spread a couple more tablespoons of batter onto the first layer, repeat this process until all the batter is used up.
8. Insert a skewer into the centre of the cake to check if it is ready. If the skewer comes out clean you are done, if not then put back in the oven for a few minutes on Bake until the skewer comes clean.