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Flashback Friday ~ Frankfurter Kranz


This cake is one of those favorite birthday cakes that many of the Europeans enjoyed.   When my husband tasted this cake while visiting the Calgary Cousins, he asked whether I thought I could make him one. I took on the challenge and have been making this for him annually.  Bake a simple sponge cake and yes, you can bake this in a round pan, but I prefer to use the loaf pan so that I can cut it into slices and freeze it.
I invited Frieda Bartel, a pro at baking cakes, for a lesson on cake baking...three simple steps.


Sponge Cake  ~ Step One
  • 9 eggs separate yolks from whites
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 half tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions.
  1. Set oven at 350 °
  2. Separate egg whites from yolks.
  3. Mix yolks and sugar at high speed for 5 minutes.
  4. Add vanilla, baking powder, flour and cornstarch.
  5. Blend ingredients well together.
  6. Whip egg whites till stiff and fold into cake batter.
  7. Grease the bottom of your pan and dust lightly with flour.
  8. Pour sponge batter into your cake pan.
  9. Bake for 40 minutes.
  10. Turn the cake pan over and let it hang upside down for 40 minutes.
  11. Cut cake into two layers.
Whip Cream~ Step Two
  • 2 cups whip cream 
  • 2 tablespoons instant vanilla pudding
  1. Spread whip cream over one sliced layer.
  2. Spread whip cream over loaf.


Burnt Almond Mixture: Step Three.   This is the real secret to this cake.
  • 2 cups whole blanched almonds chopped coarsely
  • 2 cups sugar
  1.  Immerse almonds into hot water for 1 minute, to avoid nut crumbs flying all over the place. Chop coarsely and evenly.
  2. Add almonds into a frying pan and add 2 cups of sugar.
  3. Stir slowly in the frying pan at med-high heat, until all the sugar caramelizes and turns brown.
  4. Rotate the heat from med to med-high over the next 45 minutes.
  5. It needs to be done slowly, otherwise, the sugar will not caramelize.
  6. This process is what makes the cake special and as you can see, it takes.....TIME!
  7. I had enough nuts left over to make another cake for a later time. I just froze them. 

Frieda carefully showed me how to stir the almonds to make sure they were the right texture and then how to apply them to the cake.

Summary of Three Steps.
  1. Make your simple sponge cake recipe, or buy a cake mix.
  2. Remember to turn the cake upside down to cool for 40 minutes.
  3. Slice cake into two layers.
  4. Whip two cups of whipping cream and add 2 tablespoons instant vanilla pudding.
  5. Spread the first layer with whip cream mixture.
  6. Spread the middle layer with tart raspberry jam.
  7. Spread remaining whip cream mixture over the entire cake.
  8. Spread burnt almond mixture over the entire cake.

It's always fun to cook with someone else. You learn so many life lessons. I love her last words of advice to me.  Thanks Frieda.

"Marg, learn to buy cake mixes rather than thinking you need to do everything from scratch....The results are the same and no one knows."

20 comments:

  1. i'm so glad you shared the flops.
    oh my goodness i have more than my share.
    this cake looks so good, thank goodness for folks who come along side of us to help us in what ever flops we have in life...;-)
    i too thankyou frieda!

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  2. Oh I am so grateful when experts show they are also very very human and make mistakes. Better yet....being frugal and reusing/recycling food is sooo important these days. I think this looks divine. Thanks for sharing. Usually the flops in my home and the creations they turn into out of necessity are my most repeated requests...unfortunately they are hard to reproduce.! Yummy post today!

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  3. Your flop looks amazing Marg! Thanks for sharing and just so you know I would have felt priveleged to sit at your table and have a slice of your 'frankfurter kranz'!

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  4. I have to try this and it really looks easy, except for the cutting part, your flop looks fab

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  5. Thank you for sharing your flop! I love trying the recipes posted on this blog and had a major flop myself last weekend trying to make cinnamon rolls. I've decided that yeast breads and I just don't get along. The Frankfurter Kranz looks delicious, can't wait to try it! :)

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  6. I'm not sure about the flops that preceeded this one...but I know there was nothing 'floppy' about the finished product...since I was fortunate enough to have a sample! It's yummy and pretty as a picture...and I like the long loaf form with thin slices. I might just borrow your pan one of these days.

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  7. Oh boy .. I need one more pan in my kitchen, I love the long loaf look. Thank you to our guest Tanta
    Ruth for the recipe and cousin Frieda for the lesson .. looks scrumptious.

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  8. Nice rescue. I think the problem is your choice of pan. A long loaf pan would make it very hard to remove a sponge cake. Try small loaf pans if you want it square or the round cake pan and see if you don't have an easier time of it!

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  9. Oh Marg, that was great! I'm smiling....what a fun post with a happy ending!

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  10. Did you excise the flops? I see no flops. The cake looks lovely, that's for sure. I have a flop story. My maternal grandmother lived with us from the time I was about 7, and she always told us not to thud on the stairs when she had a cake in the oven. Perhaps - we may have - possibly - been breaking that rule - at least one day, and the cake came out very thin and flat. Grandma, not wanting to waste anything, decided to make do - by spreading the cake with grape jelly. We loved it. Subsequently, we would put in requests specifically for "flopcakes". So dear ladies, never despair if a flop cake flops out of your oven. I'm still wondering where the flop is in this post. Thanks for the new recipe - it will be a winner, I'm sure. B/North

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    Replies
    1. My first post years back showed all the flops, so I deleted those photos and added some fresher ones. Yes, we all have flops and I agree with you...my mom, always said, "there's a cake in the oven." Which meant no banking or thudding around...thank you for your story.

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  11. This cake looks and sounds wonderful Marg - I see no flops!? I have my fair share of flops - eek! The toasted and caramelized almonds sound absolutely delicious and I love the idea of a loaf shaped sponge cake. There's a big birthday coming up in our house so maybe I'll have to make him this cake....

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  12. this was always the favorite family birthday cake. except I always wanted a lemon cake.

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  13. I have not come across this cake before but looks delicious. I like almond. What is the point of the instant pudding mix? Could one not just use resignations and sugar? Also, things like box mixes and store bought frozen pie crusts have a chemically taste and it is very obvious when they are being used, in my opinion.

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    Replies
    1. Ach, auto correct.... supposed to be regular vanilla, not resignations .

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    2. I too, was wondering about 'resignations'. But we all know about auto correct. Instant pudding acts as a stabilizer and sweetener in your whip cream. I often use 'whip it' and add a bit of sugar to the whip cream...but in this case you want to avoid sweetening the whip cream too much so that you can really absorb the flavors from the burnt almond mixture.
      I totally agree with you about flavors and chemicals...that's why I am a 'scratch girl'

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    3. Marg, not sure what "whip it" is. Would I use cream of tartar or a small amt of cornstarch? Since instant pudding is basically cornstarch and sugar.

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  14. I think this is hilarious! You invite your friend over to teach you her cake tips... and her closing comments are "learn to buy cake mixes". So funny! I have a hard times buying anything premade and prefer to make it all from scratch, but really, I know, it will not change my salvation. The cake looks awesome. I always grew up with chocolate layer cake with raspberry jam filling, but never white sponge cake with raspberry. I'm sure its good.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for your comment....I too thought it was funny, but sometimes we may not have the time to bake it from scratch....and I know Frieda is called the 'cake lady'. She's a great baker and she can put things together in a flash, which takes me all day sometimes and so I guess she tried to encourage me to think out of the box.....

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    2. Hi, I find it easier to bake from scratch by having components of recipes done ahead of time. Like making up a batch of
      bisquit mix for the cupboard or multiple portions of struesel topping and freezing them so ready for fruit crisp of crumb topped pie. Making 5-10 pie crusts at a time and freezing them in discs. Chopping up bags of pecans and walnuts and putting them in a ziploc inside a tin in the freezer. Just pour out the 1/4 cup or 1/2 cup as needed without having to get out the knife and cutting board.

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