One of Germany’s most beloved cakes is also one of the hardest to make – but this family-run bakery has it down to an art
German bakeries are justly famous for their fragrant, butter-laden goods, particularly as temperatures drop and Christmas markets begin to dot the town centres. Though fruit-studded stollen and showy black forest torte tend to hog the limelight, connoisseurs often bypass these in favour of the country’s king of cakes. Slice open a regal Baumkuchen, or tree cake, and you’ll find a pale, golden interior marked by dozens of concentric circles, much like the rings of an evergreen.
Although popular, the Baumkuchen can be tricky to find. Some shops only make it for the holiday season, but Conditorei Kreutzkamm prepares its almond-, apricot- and citrus-perfumed version year-round with essentially the same recipe the fifth-generation family bakery has been using since it was founded in Dresden in 1825. The place ships cakes as far as Tokyo, but still fills up daily with patrons ordering slices for €3.50.
