-
1
Bake the sponge ring
20 Mins + 35 Mins bake
180°C (350°F)
Heat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and butter a 24 cm ring tin, dusting it lightly with flour. Whip the egg whites with the salt to soft peaks, then beat in half the sugar. In another bowl, whip the yolks with the remaining sugar and the vanilla until pale and thick, about 5 minutes. Fold the whites into the yolks in three lots, then sift the flour and cornstarch over the top and fold gently. Drizzle in the cooled melted butter and fold once more. Pour into the tin and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until golden and springy.
Fold, never stir: every hard stir knocks air out of the eggs, and the eggs are the only thing lifting this cake.
Done when: Deep golden, springy to the touch, and a skewer comes out clean.
-
2
Cook the vanilla pudding
15 Mins
Medium heat, about 95°C (200°F)
Whisk the milk, 40g of cornstarch and 100g of sugar in a saucepan until smooth, then cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens into a glossy pudding, about 8 minutes. Stir in 5g of vanilla, scrape into a shallow bowl, press cling film onto the surface so no skin forms, and cool completely to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
A skin on the pudding becomes lumps in the buttercream — the cling film must touch the surface.
Done when: Thick, glossy and smooth, with no skin and no lumps.
-
3
Beat the buttercream
10 Mins
Room temperature, about 20°C (68°F)
Beat the 250g of room-temperature butter until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the cooled pudding one spoonful at a time, beating well after each spoonful, until the buttercream is smooth, pale and spreadable. If it looks curdled, keep beating — it comes together.
Pudding and butter must be the same temperature. If the pudding is still warm, the butter melts and the cream will never whip.
Done when: Pale, fluffy and smooth, holding soft peaks.
-
4
Make the krokant
15 Mins
Medium heat, about 170°C (340°F)
Melt 100g of sugar in a dry pan over medium heat without stirring until it turns a deep amber caramel, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chopped hazelnuts and 20g of butter, then tip the mixture onto a sheet of baking paper and let it harden completely. Break it into pieces and crush to coarse crumbs.
Do not walk away from caramel — it goes from amber to burnt in seconds, and burnt caramel tastes bitter through the whole cake.
Done when: Hard, golden and glassy, crushing to coarse golden crumbs.
-
5
Fill, frost and crown the cake
30 Mins
Room temperature, about 20°C (68°F)
Turn the cooled sponge out and slice it horizontally into three even layers. Spread half the jam on the bottom layer and a third of the buttercream over it; add the middle layer, the rest of the jam and another third of the buttercream; top with the final layer. Frost the top and sides with the remaining buttercream, press the krokant all over the outside, and pipe 12 buttercream rosettes on top, each with a cherry.
A long serrated knife and a slow sawing motion give the evenest layers — a short knife tears the sponge.
Done when: Three even layers, fully coated in buttercream and krokant, with 12 rosettes and cherries on top.
-
6
Chill, then slice
30 Mins chill
Chilled, about 4°C (39°F)
Chill the cake for 30 minutes so the buttercream firms up, then slice with a hot, dry knife, wiping the blade between cuts. Serve at cool room temperature.
A hot knife cuts clean through buttercream; a cold one drags and smears the layers.
Done when: Clean slices showing three sponge layers, jam and buttercream.
Germany
3h 30m
