Ingredients:
250g butter, room temperature
250g sugar
1 vanilla pod, scraped out
6 eggs, room temperature
150g flour
100g cornstarch
3 tsp baking powder
100g marzipan
3 drops bitter almond flavor or bitter almond extract (see instructions)
4 tbsp rum (alternatively Amaretto)
For the glaze:
100g dark chocolate, chopped
100g milk chocolate, chopped
50g butter
This recipe requires two springform pans of the same diameter, an oven with a grill function, two large bowls and an electric hand mixer or food processor.
Preparation:
Prepare the marzipan:
Heat the marzipan together with the rum in a small bowl. This can be done in the microwave in short intervals. Stir well between intervals until a thick, homogeneous mass is formed. Then allow to cool to room temperature.
Preheat the oven:
Set the oven to grill function and preheat.
Mix the dry ingredients:
Mix the flour, cornstarch and baking powder in a bowl and sift them.
Separate the eggs and beat the egg whites:
Separate the eggs. Beat the egg whites in a large bowl until stiff.
Prepare the dough:
In a second large bowl, beat the egg yolks, sugar, butter, vanilla pulp and bitter almond flavoring or extract with a hand mixer or food processor on high speed until the mixture becomes light and fluffy. This can take a few minutes. Then stir in the cooled marzipan-rum mixture.
Incorporate the dry ingredients:
Stir the sifted flour mixture into the dough, spoonful by spoonful, until everything is well mixed. Carefully fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites until you have an airy, light dough.
Start the baking process:
Now the actual Baumkuchen baking begins. The dough is baked in very thin layers to create the characteristic “tree rings”. Pour a thin layer of batter (about 3-4 tablespoons, depending on the size of the pan) into the bottom of a greased springform pan and smooth it out. The layer should be so thin that it is almost translucent.
Bake the first layer:
Bake the first layer of batter under the broiler for about 2 minutes until it turns a deep golden brown color. Keep an eye on the cake constantly, as the thin layers can burn quickly.
Change between pans:
While the first pan is in the oven, prepare the second pan with another thin layer of batter. When the first layer is ready in the first pan, remove the pan from the oven and set aside. Place the second pan in the oven and repeat the process.
Bake layer by layer:
Continue this process until all the batter is used up, always having one pan in the oven and one outside. Stack the cooled layers until all layers are baked.
Let the cake cool:
Let both cakes cool completely on a wire rack.
Prepare the glaze:
While the cake is cooling, melt the butter and chocolate in a water bath and stir well. Be careful not to overheat the mixture.
Glaze the cake:
Stack the cakes on top of each other and pour the chocolate glaze evenly over the entire cake. The glaze should completely cover the top and sides of the cake to seal the cake.
Decorate:
Decorate the glazed cake as desired. This can be done with powdered sugar, fondant flowers, chocolate ornaments or even with small dinosaur figures.
Enjoy:
Enjoy the finished tree cake and feel free to share your feedback! 🎉
Bon appetit! 🍰