Christmas is coming up and the Great British Bake-Off has just come to its sizzling finale. Two good reasons to revisit some baking classics: The Glossa’s French Content Editor Sarah Jones explains how to make German Baumkuchen and Dutch-Indonesian spekkoek, two variations of Schichttorte (layer cake).
For Caroline Borowski’s German translation of this article, see here.
Viewers of the Great British Bake-Off will remember the German Schichttorte technical challenge that threw a few of the contestants in the semi-final. Watching the programme reminded me to revisit the domesticated Baumkuchen. Horrified to see the amount of eggs in Paul Hollywood’s Schichttorte (ten!), this simplified version uses a more student-budget-friendly number that will keep you going for days.
Baumkuchen
Ingredients
Cake
5 large eggs, separated
125g plain flour, sifted
200g caster sugar
250g salted butter or margarine (if using unsalted, add a pinch of salt)
½ tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp almond essence
Zest of one lemon (optional)
Oil, for greasing
Glaze
6 tbsp (or less) apricot jam
50g unsalted butter
100g plain chocolate, chopped
1 tbsp golden syrup
1 tbsp rum (optional)
½ tsp vanilla extract
Recipe
1. Whisk the egg yolks until pale and a thick creamy consistency.
2. In a separate bowl, beat the butter, add half the sugar, beat again, add the rest and beat until pale and creamy. Add the lemon zest as well as the vanilla and almond essences or extracts, mix well. Add the flour, mix.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form white peaks when the whisk is lifted out of the bowl.
4. Add a third of the egg whites to the batter mixture, folding in gently. Add the second third, fold and then the third, fold again.
5. Preheat the grill to high.
6. Grease a 20cm diameter pan, line the base with parchment paper.
7. Spoon some of the mixture onto the bottom of the pan, gently tilting it from side to side so that it forms an even layer.
a) A good schichttorte will have eighteen layers – and the faster they are cooked the better the cake will taste. You can weigh the mixture and divide the total weight by 18 to find how much batter should be in each layer.
b) Being less pedantic is also fine, but if you are aiming for fewer layers than 18 (around ten) then use a medium heat to cook each layer properly.
8. Place the tin on a shelf about 4 inches away from the heat, cook for about two minutes until golden brown.
9. Add more batter, and grill again until dark brown.
10. Repeat, this time grilling until golden brown – repeat steps 8-10 for alternating layers, until the batter is used up.
11. Remove from the grill and cool for 5-10 minutes in the tin, before turning out onto a wire cooling rack.
12. Melt the apricot jam in a small saucepan, or in the microwave. Spread over the top and sides of the cake – this is important to stop any crumbs from getting in the glaze and will help the gaze stick to the cake.
13. For the chocolate glaze – melt the butter, golden syrup, rum and vanilla. Bring to the boil and leave to cool for five minutes. Stir in the chocolate. Allow to cool by transferring to a bowl.
14. When the cake is cool, pour the chocolate glaze on top of the cake. Placing parchment paper or kitchen roll under the wire rack will catch any glaze that runs off.
Spekkoek or (Kue) lapis legit
The Dutch also have a version of the Schichttorte, called spekkoek. The cake was imported to Indonesia during the Dutch Empire and cultural interaction between the communities brought about this delicious adaptation. Popularly known as (kue) lapis legit, the Indonesian version uses local spices and is eaten to celebrate Eid ul-Fitir, Christmas and Chinese New Year.
Ingredients
Cake
5 large eggs, separated
125g plain flour, sifted
200g caster sugar
250g salted butter or margarine (if using unsalted, add a pinch of salt)
½ tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp almond essence
2 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg or mace
¼ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp crushed anise seeds – substitute with a slightly larger amount of fennel seeds, or with a smaller amount of crushed star anise.
Oil, for greasing
Icing sugar, for dusting
Recipe
1. Follow the recipe for Schichttorte as above, adding the spices when the flour is sifted in.
2. The spekkoek and lapis legit are not normally decorated with a glaze or icing, so just lightly dust the cake with icing sugar once cooled.
Do you have a favourite German, Austrian or Swiss recipe that you’d like to share? Let Carrie know at glossa.german@gmail.com.
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