Schichttorte or a German layered cake is the coolest cake I think I have ever made. But I am not going to lie; it is quite time-consuming. But when finished, it will be most worthwhile. The type of cake to make for a special occasion like Thanksgiving or Christmas.
The coolest part is how you develop these layers in this Schichttorte. And it is not baking a giant cake and then slicing 15-20 thin layers to make the look. That would be horrible, wouldn’t it? No, in fact, you grill or broil each cake layer in the oven one by one and on top of each other. I used about 1/4 cup of batter for each layer, thinly spread out like a crepe or thin pancake and put the pan under the oven broiler for 1-3 minutes each. And you keep making these thin layers until the batter is gone.
It is quite easy once you get the hang of it. But unfortunately, it is time-consuming. You can not put the pan in the oven and walk away. I repeat, DON’T WALK AWAY. I promise you; you will burn it. And once you burn one layer, the entire cake is ruined. Rotating the pan halfway through the broiling process of each layer was important too so I can get an even browning. That step will most likely keep you standing next to your oven.
Big distractions are a killer to this cake. When I make it, my husband knows in advance to be in charge of the kiddos and to clear out of the kitchen. One time I got distracted, making my daughter a glass of chocolate milk and almost burnt a layer. No joke, it will happen faster than you think.
But I am telling you, it is worth it when friends and family cut into the cake and see all your hard work. There oh’s and ah’s are well worth the time it all took to make this fantastic Schichttorte.
Few substitutions
I often make a few substitutions in my recipes, and this one is no different. The original Schichttorte recipe calls for a higher percentage of cacao. I use German chocolate bars that are about 48% cacao. It tastes great plus adds a little bit more sweetness to the cake.
The apricot jam is a step to help adhere the chocolate glaze to the cake. If you don’t have it or don’t like it, then any jam will work. I have used orange marmalade, seedless red raspberry, and strawberry jam. Push the jam through a fine sieve-like the recipe states and brush on top. Pushing the jam through a sieve is important because it takes out all the large clumps, seeds, or fruit pieces.
Our cost to make this recipe.
For this dessert cake recipe, there aren’t too many ingredients that we can make, which would help reduce our cost. We can make this cake recipe for about $10.67 for the entire German cake. The majority of the cost comes from butter, eggs, and chocolate. The only ingredient that is homemade from this recipe is the vanilla extract.
Recipe adapted from BBC Food Recipes. I discovered it on an episode of The Great British Bake Off Show. All images and text are all my own and original to One Acre Vintage Homestead – Pumpkin Patch Mountain Homestead.
In two bowls, separate all 10 eggs. Whisk egg whites on high until soft white foamy peaks start to form. This takes about 5-7 minutes.
Add the softened butter, white sugar, and vanilla extract to the egg yolk bowl and beat for 5 minutes until a creamy mixture is made. Add flour and cornstarch then blend until evenly mixed.
Spoon in large dollops of whipped egg whites into batter and fold in until you can’t see any egg whites. Keep doing until all egg whites are gone.
Grease a 8 inch spring form pan including parchment paper and turn on oven broiler to high.
Pour 1/4 cup of cake batter on to the grease spring form pan. Twirl the pan carefully around to evenly distribute cake batter. Put under broiler and cook until a light color is obtained. About 1 minute. Be sure to rotate the pan 180 °F halfway through in order to get an even browning.
Pour the next layer of batter on top of first layer and distribute evenly. Broil second layer at a darker golden brown color. About 2-3 minutes. Keep alternating between light and dark cake layers until all batter is gone.
Once all the layers are broiled, leave cake to cool in tin for 5 minutes then remove and set on wire rack and put into the refrigerator to cool completely.
Frostings
Heat up apricot jam in a small bowl. Stir and push through sieve. Brush jam onto top and sides of the cake.
Melt butter along with corn syrup, rum, and vanilla in a small pan. Bring to a slow boil then remove from heat and add all chocolate.
Let chocolate cool for 5 minutes and then pour onto cake slowly to coat the entire layered cake. Place glaze cake back into the refrigerator for glaze to set.
Whip up the powdered sugar and milk in another bowl until completely smooth. Drizzle white sugar icing over glazed cake.
