Bernauer Cake

Ingredients

• 200 g ground almonds, trimmed
• 7 egg whites (M)
• 225 g fine sugar
• 1 packet vanilla sugar
• 35 g flour
• 70 g powdered sugar
• 5 g cocoa powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 50 g chopped almonds
• 1 packet vanilla pudding mix
• 500 ml milk
• 50 g sugar
• 2-3 tsp instant coffee powder
• 250 g soft butter
• 100 g sliced almonds
• powdered sugar (for dusting)

Instructions

1. 1.

   Brown the almonds in a non-stick pan without oil, stirring until fragrant. Transfer to a plate and let cool.

2. 2.

   Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, gradually adding sugar and vanilla sugar until a firm meringue develops. Mix in roasted almonds. Combine flour, powdered sugar, cocoa, and cinnamon; fold into the meringue. Divide the batter into five portions and bake each as a cake base: line a 26 cm springform pan with parchment paper, spread 1/5 of the batter, sprinkle with 10 g chopped almonds, and bake at 170 °C (or 160 °C fan) for about 20 minutes. Remove parchment immediately after baking and let the cakes cool on wire racks.

3. 3.

   Whisk vanilla pudding mix into 6 tbsp milk. In a saucepan, bring remaining milk, sugar, and instant coffee to a boil. Stir in thickened starch, return to a boil, cover with cling film, and allow to cool.

4. 4.

   Cream butter until smooth; fold in the custard by spoonfuls. Spread the cream over each cake layer and assemble the tower, brushing the sides with more cream.

5. 5.

   Roast almonds again without oil and let them cool. Sprinkle the finished cake with almond slivers and dust with powdered sugar.