Traditional Baumkuchen recipe

To recreate the German Baumkuchen, start by beating the butter until it is nice and creamy. I always use a food processor for this, but a strong arm and a whisk will also do.

Then gradually add the sugar, salt and the seeds from the vanilla pod. From experience, it is important here to really make sure that each ingredient is fully incorporated before adding the next.

Now the eggs come into play. Beat them into the mixture one at a time. Wait with the next egg until the previous one has been completely mixed in.

Mix the flour, cornflour and baking powder and then sieve into the mixture in two portions. Stir thoroughly after each addition.

Now divide the batter into two bowls and stir the rum into one half.

Now it's time to bake. You will need a special Baumkuchen tin or, as I do, a springform pan that you can remove briefly after each baking process. Alternate between a thin layer of the rum batter and a thin layer of the vanilla batter in the tin and bake each layer separately under the grill of your oven until golden brown. This takes a little time and patience, but the result is absolutely worth it.

Once the cake has cooled, spread it with the apricot jam and finally pour the melted chocolate over it. If you like, you can also add marzipan between the layers. That's how I always do it at Christmas.

After baking, leave the Baumkuchen to cool completely and leave to stand overnight before serving. Have fun baking and enjoying this wonderful piece of German baking art.