Chef Klaus
Bienenstich
Bienenstich works when the almond top caramelises without burning and the yeast cake cools before the cream goes in. Rush either one and the bee has stung you.
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Salzwedeler Baumkuchen
Created by
Baumkuchen is the celebration cake from Salzwedel: layer after layer browned close to heat, so the cut shows tree rings and the batter has nowhere to hide.
Desserts
German
Special Occasion
Celebration
Christmas
45 min
Active Time
1 hr 10 min cook•2 hr 25 min total
Yield1 loaf cake, about 12 slices
Baumkuchen belongs to the festive table, especially Christmas, weddings, and the Konditorei window where a cake is allowed to announce itself. Salzwedel in Saxony-Anhalt claims it hardest, and with reason. There the batter is brushed over a turning spit in thin coats, each layer browned before the next one goes on, until the cut looks like a tree trunk. A home oven won't give you the true spit shape. It can still teach you the dish properly.
The regions argue by equipment and finish more than by flavour. Salzwedel wants the spit, the ridged outside, and a clean butter-egg batter. Elsewhere you see flat Baumkuchen from a loaf tin, small Baumkuchenspitzen cut into points, or heavier versions with more almond and rum. Im Norden anders, im Süden anders, but the rule is the same: thin layer, strong top heat, full browning before the next layer.
That is the technique that decides the cake. Spread too thick and you bake a normal sponge with stripes. Spread thin and brown each coat under the grill, and the last layer becomes the bottom crust for the next one, which is why the rings stay clear when you cut it. Das braucht seine Zeit. Stand there and watch it. Walk away and you've made charcoal with butter in it.
This is not a packet cake and not a quick loaf. Nicht aus dem Glas, not from the jar, and not from a mix. Butter, eggs, almond, lemon, a little rum, and patience. When the glaze goes on, keep it clean and dark. Schön ist, was schmeckt.
Layered spit cakes appear in German-language cookery by the early modern period; Marx Rumpolt's 1581 cookbook, Ein new Kochbuch, records spit-baked cakes in the court-kitchen tradition. Salzwedel's particular Baumkuchen tradition is usually tied to the early 19th century, when local confectioners built a reputation for the cake and shipped it as a luxury good from Saxony-Anhalt. The regional argument is partly legal and partly practical: Salzwedeler Baumkuchen is bound to place and craft, while the home version copies the layered heat method in a flat tin rather than pretending a grill pan is a turning spit.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
unsalted butter
Quantity
250g
softened
caster sugar
Quantity
200g
vanilla sugar or vanilla extract
Quantity
1 tablespoon vanilla sugar or 1 teaspoon extract
large eggs
Quantity
6
separated, at room temperature
fine salt
Quantity
1 pinch
marzipan
Quantity
100g
softened
dark rum
Quantity
2 tablespoons
lemon zest
Quantity
1 teaspoon
finely grated
plain flour
Quantity
150g
cornstarch
Quantity
75g
baking powder
Quantity
1 teaspoon
ground almonds
Quantity
75g
apricot jam
Quantity
100g
warmed and strained
dark chocolate
Quantity
200g
60 to 70 percent cocoa, chopped
cocoa butter or neutral oil
Quantity
30g
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| unsalted buttersoftened | 250g |
| caster sugar | 200g |
| vanilla sugar or vanilla extract | 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar or 1 teaspoon extract |
| large eggsseparated, at room temperature | 6 |
| fine salt | 1 pinch |
| marzipansoftened | 100g |
| dark rum | 2 tablespoons |
| lemon zestfinely grated | 1 teaspoon |
| plain flour | 150g |
| cornstarch | 75g |
| baking powder | 1 teaspoon |
| ground almonds | 75g |
| apricot jamwarmed and strained | 100g |
| dark chocolate60 to 70 percent cocoa, chopped | 200g |
| cocoa butter or neutral oil | 30g |
Equipment Needed
- •23x13cm loaf tin
- •Baking paper
- •Stand mixer or hand mixer
- •Small offset spatula
- •Wire rack
- •Pastry brush
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the tin
Line a 23x13cm loaf tin with baking paper, leaving a sling on the long sides, and heat the grill or broiler to high. Set the oven rack about 12cm below the element. Too close and the sugar burns before the layer sets; too far and the batter bakes pale, which gives you stripes without flavour.
- 2
Cream the base
Beat the butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt until pale and light, then beat in the egg yolks one at a time. Work the marzipan with the rum until smooth and beat it in with the lemon zest. The marzipan must disappear into the fat, because lumps scorch under the grill and leave bitter pockets.
- 3
Fold the batter
Sift the flour, cornstarch, and baking powder together, then stir in the ground almonds. Fold this into the butter mixture in two turns. Whip the egg whites to soft peaks and fold them through last, because the batter needs lift but it must still spread thinly; stiff, dry whites leave streaks and tear the layers.
- 4
Brown first layer
Spread 2 tablespoons of batter over the bottom of the tin in a thin, even coat, then grill for 2 to 3 minutes until deep golden with small darker freckles. This first layer is the foundation. If it stays pale, the next layer has nothing to mark against and the tree rings blur.
- 5
Build the rings
Spread another 2 tablespoons of batter over the browned surface, working gently so you don't scrape up the layer underneath, and grill again until clearly golden. Repeat until all the batter is used, 14 to 18 layers. Turn the tin now and then if your grill browns unevenly. Stand there. Baumkuchen is made by watching, not by hope.
- 6
Cool and coat
Let the cake cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then lift it out and cool completely on a rack. Brush the outside with warm strained apricot jam so the chocolate grips instead of sliding off the dry crumb. Melt the chocolate with the cocoa butter or oil, coat the cake, and let it set before slicing. Cut with a warm knife so the glaze breaks cleanly and the rings show.
Chef Tips
- •Use room-temperature eggs and soft butter. Cold eggs make the butter split, and a split batter spreads badly, which gives you thick patches instead of clean rings.
- •The layer is ready when it is golden brown, not beige. Beige layers vanish in the cut, and then you've done an hour of work for a plain cake with manners.
- •A pastry brush works for a spit cake; in a loaf tin, a small offset spatula is cleaner. Spread from the centre outward and don't dig into the browned layer below.
- •Let the cake rest overnight before serving if you can. The butter and almond settle, the crumb cuts cleaner, and the chocolate stops dragging under the knife.
Advance Preparation
- •Bake the cake one day ahead, cool it completely, glaze it, and keep it covered at cool room temperature overnight. The rings slice more cleanly the next day.
- •Do not refrigerate unless the room is very warm. Cold chocolate dulls and the butter crumb tightens, and this cake wants a clean bite, not a waxy one.
- •Unglazed Baumkuchen freezes well for up to one month. Wrap it tightly, thaw overnight at room temperature, then jam and glaze it after thawing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 110g)
Calories
545 calories
Total Fat
34 g
Saturated Fat
18 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
16 g
Cholesterol
140 mg
Sodium
100 mg
Total Carbohydrates
52 g
Dietary Fiber
3 g
Sugars
31 g
Protein
8 g
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