Baumkuchen

Baumkuchen is a tall cake built from multiple thin batter layers (traditionally about 10–20), baked one at a time on a rotating spit, sliced to reveal rings like a tree trunk. It's one of Germany's most elaborate traditional cakes — the name literally means "tree cake," and cutting a slice really does show the same kind of concentric rings you'd count on a stump.

What it actually is

A rich, butter-and-egg batter is poured in a thin layer over a rotating wooden or metal spit set over heat, and as each layer bakes to a light golden ring, another thin layer of batter goes over it — repeated many times, building the cake up in rings rather than baking it as one solid mass in a tin. The finished cylinder is removed from the spit, and once cooled it's usually coated in a shell of chocolate or plain icing. The batter is usually flavoured with vanilla, and some recipes add starch, almonds or marzipan.

Every layer has to be thin, even and fully set before the next one goes on, which is what makes a real Baumkuchen a matter of hours of standing attention rather than a batter poured once into a pan.

How it's served

• Cut into rounds, then often quartered, the concentric layers visible in every piece.
• At room temperature, the chocolate or icing shell left to set fully first.
• As a gift or special-occasion cake, given the effort involved, more than as a daily café item.

Writing it on a menu

• Flag gluten, egg and dairy; the batter and glaze carry all three. Versions made with almond or marzipan also contain almonds.
• Mention that it's made layer by layer over a spit, since that's the entire point of the cake and worth explaining to guests unfamiliar with it.
• Say if you make it in-house or source it, since genuine spit-baked Baumkuchen is a real specialty item and rarely made to order in a standard kitchen.
• Note the rings visible when sliced, since that visual is a large part of what makes the cake worth presenting at the table before it's cut.