Baumkuchen

Ingredients

Batter

• 250 gunsalted butter, softened
• 200 gcaster sugar
• 8eggs, separated
• 1 tspvanilla extract
• 2 tbspdark rum
• 150 gplain flour
• 100 gcornflour
• ½ tspsalt
• 50 gground almonds
• a pinch of cream of tartar

Glaze

• 200 gdark chocolate
• 30 gbutter
• 3 tbspapricot jam, warmed and sieved

Directions

1. Line a 20 cm square or round tin with baking paper and set an oven shelf about 12 cm below the grill element.
2. Beat the butter with half the sugar until very pale and fluffy, then beat in the yolks one at a time, the vanilla and the rum.
3. Whisk the whites with the cream of tartar to soft peaks, adding the remaining sugar gradually until glossy.
4. Sift the flour, cornflour and salt over the yolk mixture with the ground almonds and fold in, then fold in the meringue in three additions. The batter should be thick but spreadable.
5. Turn the grill to medium. Spread 3 tablespoons of batter in a very thin even layer across the base of the tin.
6. Grill 2–3 minutes until the surface is golden brown all over. Watch it constantly; there is no timer for this, only looking.
7. Spread another thin layer directly on top of the hot one and grill again. Repeat, layer by layer, for 18–20 layers. Each must brown before the next goes on — that browning is what creates the visible rings when the cake is cut, and it is the entire point.
8. If the top starts colouring too fast, lower the shelf. The layers should be evenly gold, not scorched.
9. Cool completely in the tin, then turn out and trim the edges square to expose the rings.
10. Brush all over with warmed apricot jam, let it set, then coat with the melted chocolate and butter. Chill to set and cut into thin slices.

Technique

• Thin layers, patiently. Thick layers do not brown through and the rings disappear.
• This is a grill recipe, not a bake. The heat must come from above so each surface caramelises.
• Traditionally spit-roasted over an open fire, rotating, which is where the tree rings and the name come from.

Substitutions

• Marzipan worked into the batter, as some German bakeries do.
• A tin-based version is a domestic approximation; the spit version needs specialist equipment.

Variations

• Sakotis, the Lithuanian and Polish spiked spit cake, a relative.
• The Japanese baumkuchen, softer and more cake-like, hugely popular since the 1920s.

History

Salzwedel in the Altmark has baked it since the early nineteenth century and supplied the Prussian court; each layer is brushed on and browned separately.

Frequently asked questions

What is Baumkuchen?

Baumkuchen is a dessert from Germany: ringed tree cake baked in layers on a spit and glazed with chocolate. Salzwedel in the Altmark has baked it since the early nineteenth century and supplied the Prussian court; each layer is brushed on and browned separately.

How long does Baumkuchen take to make?

Baumkuchen takes 40 min of preparation and 1 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 1 cake, about 20 layers. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Baumkuchen?

Yes, within limits. Marzipan worked into the batter, as some German bakeries do. A tin-based version is a domestic approximation; the spit version needs specialist equipment.

What is the most important thing to get right in Baumkuchen?

Spread another thin layer directly on top of the hot one and grill again. Repeat, layer by layer, for 18–20 layers. Each must brown before the next goes on — that browning is what creates the visible rings when the cake is cut, and it is the entire point.