Frohe Weihnachten!
Merry Christmas in German!
According to an ancient tale, the birth of the Christmas tree (in German der Tannenbaum or der Weihnachtsbaum) is placed in 1419 in Freiburg, where the city’s bakers decorated a tree by hanging gingerbread, fruit, and nuts.
In Germany, the Christmas tree is decorated only on Christmas Eve.
The German tradition also includes the Advent calendar (Adventskalender) and the Advent wreath (Adventskranz) which features 4 candles to be lit each Advent Sunday leading up to Christmas.
This tradition is attributed to Lutheran pastor Johann Heinrich Wichern, who made the first Advent wreath in 1903 at a home for orphans and abandoned children.
Children write letters not to Santa Claus but to Baby Jesus, sprinkling them with sugar on Christmas Eve, then closing them and placing them on the windowsill.
The traditions are very similar to ours, but in most German regions, Epiphany is not considered a public holiday.
Martin Luther never opposed the celebration of Christmas but considered the relics of the Magi (displayed in Cologne Cathedral) to be fake.
The Holy Night, that is, the evening of December 24, is when most Germans celebrate with a dinner dedicated to the Event.
Some eat simply with bread and cheese, potato salad, and nothing else cooked other than a bratwurst.
The real Christmas lunch is on the 25th. Among the specialties prepared is the Christmas symbol cake: Baumkuchen, literally the tree cake.
This dessert consists of about twenty layers wrapped around a cylindrical cake pan: as you prepare it, various layers are revealed, reminiscent of tree rings (hence its name).
The dough is made of marzipan and spices and before serving, it is covered with a dark chocolate glaze.
- Difficulty: Difficult
- Cost: Cheap
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 8 people
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: German
- Seasonality: Christmas
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup potato starch
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup butter
- 4 eggs
- 1 lemon (the zest)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3 1/2 oz dark chocolate
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 3 1/2 oz apricot jam
Tools
- 1 Baking Pan square
Preparation
Separate the yolks from the egg whites and beat the whites until stiff peaks form; set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the butter (softened as it was left out of the fridge), sugar, finely grated lemon zest, and mix using a whisk. Add the yolks one at a time, the almond flour, all-purpose flour, potato starch, baking powder, and mix until you have a homogeneous mixture.
Gradually fold the reserved egg whites into the batter.
Grease a square pan or a round baking dish and line the bottom with a square of parchment paper. Pour two heaping tablespoons of batter and spread evenly over the bottom.
Bake at 392°F for 3-4 minutes or until the surface is golden.
Remove from oven, add another two tablespoons of batter, spread evenly over the surface, and bake again. Continue this process until the batter is used up. About 20 times.
Once all layers are baked, remove the cake from the pan and allow it to cool completely.
Heat the heavy cream in a saucepan, bring it to a boil, and once boiling, remove from heat and pour over a bowl containing the chopped dark chocolate. Stir with a spoon to quickly melt the chocolate.
Once the baumkuchen is completely cool, cover the entire surface with a layer of apricot jam, then pour the ganache over the surface and back of the cake and let it set in the refrigerator for at least one hour.
Variants:
There are many other types of cylindrical cakes similar to the German baumkuchen found throughout Europe.
Among these are the Hungarian kürtőskalács, the Swedish skånsk spettkaka with sugar glaze, the Lithuanian šakotis, the Luxembourgish baamkuch, the Polish sękacz, and the French gâteau à la broche.
You can find a good Set of 5 non-stick square baking pans with springform closures directly HERE at 15.99 €.
