Frankfurter Kranz Cake
Traditional (about 16 pieces)
Preparation time: about 60 minutes, excluding cooling time
Baking time: about 40 minutes
For a gugelhupf or ring mould (diameter 22 cm/81⁄2 in):
Some fat
Aluminium foil
For the cake mixture:
- 100 g/31⁄2 oz (1⁄2 cup) soft margarine or butter
- 150 g/5 oz (3⁄4 cup) sugar
- 2–3 drops vanilla essence in 1 tablespoon sugar
- 4 drops lemon essence
- 1 pinch salt
- 3 medium eggs
- 150 g/5 oz (11⁄3 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 50 g/2 oz (1⁄2 cup) cornflour (cornstarch)
- 2 level teaspoons baking powder
For the praline:
- 10 g/1⁄3 oz (2 teaspoons) butter
- 60 g/2 oz (1⁄4 cup) sugar
- 125 g/41⁄2 oz chopped blanched almonds
For the butter cream:
- 40 g/11⁄2 oz (41⁄2 tablespoons) custard powder, vanilla flavour
- 100 g/31⁄2 oz (1⁄2 cup) sugar
- 500 ml/17 fl oz (21⁄4 cups) milk
- 250 g/9 oz soft butter
Per piece:P: 5 g, F: 25 g, C: 33 g, kJ: 1593, kcal: 380
1. Preheat the oven top and bottom. Grease the ring mould.
2. To make the cake mixture, stir the softened margarine or butter with a hand mixer with whisk until it becomes smooth and homogenous. Gradually add the sugar, vanilla sugar, flavouring and salt, and stir until the mixture thickens. Add 1 egg at a time, whisking each one for about 1⁄2 minute at the highest setting.
3. Mix together the flour and baking powder, sift and stir briefly into the butter and egg mixture in 2 stages, using the mixer at the medium setting. Spoon the cake mixture into the ring mould, smooth out the surface and put on a shelf in the oven.
Top/bottom heat: about 180 °C/350 °F (preheated),
Fan oven: about 160 °C/325 °F (not preheated), Gas mark 4 (not preheated),
Baking time: about 40 minutes.
4. Leave the cake in the mould for 10 minutes after taking it out of the oven, then remove from the tin and leave to cool.
5. To make the praline, stir together the butter, sugar and almonds over low heat until the mixture turns brown, pour onto a piece of aluminium foil and leave to cool.
6. To make the butter cream, make the custard following the instructions on the tin but with 100 g/31⁄2 oz (1⁄2 cup) sugar and milk. Let the custard cool (do not refrigerate), stirring occasionally. Whisk the softened butter with a hand mixer with whisk until smooth and homogeneous and stir into the cooled custard a spoonful at a time, making sure that the butter and custard are both at room temperature, or else it may curdle.
7. Whisk the jelly until it is smooth or rub the jam through a sieve. Cut the ring cake horizontally twice to make three layers and spread the jam or jelly on the bottom layer. Spread half the butter cream on the 2 lower layers, then put the top layer in place, thus reassembling the ring cake.
8. Now coat the ring cake with the remaining butter cream (reserving 1–2 tablespoons) and sprinkle the praline all over the cake. Put the reserved butter cream in a piping bag with a star-shaped nozzle and decorate the cake. Finally, garnish with candied cherries. Refrigerate for about 2 hours.
