Baumkuchen

Every layer is browned before the next is poured, and the lift comes from eggs because there is no baking powder in it.

Egg. Vegetarian, but not vegan — contains egg, dairy (butter).

Ingredients

200 g butter, softened
200 g plain flour
400 g eggs, weighed in their shells broken, about 8
200 g caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
150 g apricot jam
200 g dark chocolate

Method

EVERY LAYER IS BROWNED BEFORE THE NEXT IS POURED, AND THE LIFT COMES FROM EGGS BECAUSE THERE IS NO BAKING POWDER IN IT. Its article gives both halves. On a spit, it is made BY BRUSHING ON EVEN LAYERS OF BATTER AND THEN ROTATING THE SPIT AROUND A HEAT SOURCE, and EACH LAYER IS ALLOWED TO BROWN BEFORE A NEW LAYER OF BATTER IS POURED. And baking powder does not belong in it, which the article states outright -- so the only lift available is the egg.
THE BROWN LINES ARE THE CAKE. When it is cut, EACH LAYER IS DIVIDED FROM THE NEXT BY A GOLDEN LINE, RESEMBLING THE GROWTH RINGS IN A TREE CROSS-SECTION, which is where the name comes in: tree cake. Pour the next layer onto a pale one and the two merge into plain sponge with no rings at all.
THE RATIO IS STATED AND IT IS WORTH OBEYING: THE RATIO OF FLOUR, BUTTER AND EGGS IS TYPICALLY 1:1:2 -- a hundred grams of flour, a hundred of butter, two hundred of eggs. Twice as much egg as flour is where the rise comes from with no raising agent in the tin.
A TYPICAL ONE IS FIFTEEN TO TWENTY LAYERS, which the article states, adding that skilled bakers have gone to twenty-five.
AND THE HOME VERSION IS THE ARTICLE'S OWN SUGGESTION, NOT A COMPROMISE I INVENTED. The spit VERSION REQUIRES SPECIAL EQUIPMENT NORMALLY NOT AVAILABLE IN AN AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD, so it names the SCHICHTTORTE: BAKED WITHOUT A SPIT AND THUS DOES NOT HAVE CIRCULAR RINGS BUT HORIZONTAL LAYERS, under a broiler. That is what is written below. It is honest about losing the rings: the cross section IS LESS REMINISCENT OF TREE RINGS.
CREAM THE BUTTER AND SUGAR, THEN BEAT THE EGGS IN ONE AT A TIME. With this much egg it will try to split; a spoon of the flour each time holds it together.
FOLD THE FLOUR AND SALT IN BY HAND. Beaten, the batter toughens and the layers set rubbery.
LINE A TIN AND SPREAD THREE TABLESPOONS, NO MORE, in an even film to the edges. A thick layer will not brown through before it cooks.
NINETY SECONDS UNDER A HOT GRILL, until the top is an even light brown. Watch it: the difference between golden and burnt is about fifteen seconds.
THEN THE NEXT THREE TABLESPOONS STRAIGHT ONTO THE HOT LAYER, and so on. Fifteen to twenty times. Nothing is left to cool in between.
WARM THE JAM, BRUSH IT OVER THE COOLED CAKE AND COAT IT IN MELTED CHOCOLATE, which is the finish the article gives: FIRST COATED WITH MARMALADE OR JAM, AND THEN COVERED WITH CHOCOLATE.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Germany · All recipes