![\"baumkuchen8\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.hottie-biscotti.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/baumkuchen8.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe last Daring Bakers I participated in was in January of 2012. \u00a0That’s right. \u00a02 years ago. \u00a0In January of 2012 we had just moved in to our rent house in Houston and not too long after I discovered I was pregnant with Betsy. \u00a0With a move and a new baby that year I was kept pretty busy. \u00a0By that time I was out of the habit and blogging wasn’t a priority, so 2013 came and went without any Daring Bakers challenges. \u00a0But with my resolution to blog more came a desire to get back into it. \u00a0I’d forgotten how many things I’d made that I’d never have made otherwise. \u00a0Thanks, Daring Bakers. \u00a0This is a fun group to be a part of and I’m glad to be back. \u00a0Hoping to continue participating this year without interruption…with the exception of the month of June. \u00a0And maybe July. \u00a0We’ll see how it goes.<\/p>\n
Tree cake, or baumkuchen, is something I’d never heard of or seen before taking a look at the January challenge. \u00a0And to be honest, I might not have made it even if I had seen it somewhere. \u00a0The process of making the cake is time intensive, baking the cake in 10-12 layers, and the cake batter is more involved than cakes I’ve been making recently. \u00a0Separating eggs and beating egg whites to stiff peaks and folding them in is something my lazy self has not had the desire to do. \u00a0But it was a lot of fun and I actually enjoyed the entire process and the final result.<\/p>\n
One of the only problems I encountered is that I didn’t do a great job of estimating how thick to spread my layers in order to end up with 10-12 total. \u00a0My first layer was too thick, then the next 6 or so were too thin, and by that time I had so much batter left over that my final cake was probably 16 layers total and had baked for at least 12 extra minutes. \u00a0This made the bottom of the cake (the first layer I made) pretty dark. \u00a0I’m afraid this also made the cake just a tad dry. \u00a0\u00a0I also chose not to glaze the cake with jam before glazing it with chocolate. \u00a0That would’ve likely added some moisture. \u00a0BUT the flavor of the cake is really amazing. \u00a0The almond flavor is present but subtle. \u00a0I ate all the edges I trimmed off just plain and they were terrific. \u00a0It’s a really dense and sturdy cake. \u00a0Great to enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea.<\/p>\n I used a recipe for my baumkuchen from Allrecipes<\/a> that is very similar to the one Francijn provided but has cornstarch in the batter. \u00a0The cooking method I used was Francijn’s, baking each layer for 3-4 minutes at 450\u00b0F. \u00a0I glazed the cake with dark chocolate melted with a little vegetable oil and it came out beautifully and was a nice contrast to the sweet cake.<\/p>\n Here’s a little step by step.<\/p>\n Batter and prepared pan<\/em><\/p>\n Cake: baked and trimmed<\/em><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n