Christmas Advent cake

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 200 g sugar
• 150 g flour
• 100 g butter
• 50 g hazelnuts, grated
• 25 g desiccated coconut
• 4 eggs, separated
• 50 ml buttermilk
• 1 packet of vanilla sugar
• 1 packet of baking powder
• 2 tsp cocoa powder
• 2 tsp lemon(s) – zest, grated
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp orange peel, grated
• ½ tsp clove powder
• 200 g marzipan (raw mass)
• ½ tsp mint (also from tea bags), grated
• 50 g jam of your choice (e.g. orange marmalade)
• 200 g sour cream
• 50 g sugar
• 200 ml whipped cream, 1 pack of cream stiffener
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 can mandarin orange(s), drained
• 50 g walnuts, halved
• 25 g powdered sugar
• 25 g desiccated coconut
• 10 g almonds (flaked almonds)
• 100 g honey

Instructions

Working time approx. 2 hours; Total time approx. 2 hours

with sour cream, marzipan and chocolate dough – a very popular creation

For the dough, first mix the dry ingredients. Melt the butter and mix with 4 egg yolks and buttermilk. Now mix these two mixtures together – this initially produces a sticky, dark brown, firm dough. Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold in. This now produces a light brown, viscous dough. The springform pan must not be too large so that the dough can still be divided into three layers. Pour the dough into the springform pan. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for approx. 20 minutes. The pinprick test helps (if you don’t know how to do this: pierce the baked dough with a pin; if the dough sticks to it, it needs more baking time). Divide the baked dough into three layers or at least halve it and then combine the bottom and top fillings into one layer. Bottom filling: The mint can be obtained from a tea bag, for example, but can be omitted if necessary. If you want to use mint, it’s a good idea to mix it into the marzipan mixture and heat it briefly (microwave: 400-500 watts, about 2 minutes) to bring out the mint flavor better. Spread the cooled marzipan mixture into a round flatbread by hand on baking paper, or roll it out with a rolling pin if necessary. Turn the flatbread out of the baking paper onto the bottom sheet of dough or lift it out. Spread the jam evenly over the top. It’s a good idea to leave the edges free for the flatbread and jam. This layer is then finished with the second sheet of dough. Smooth dough sheets should only have a minimal bulge—otherwise, you’ll have overdone the jam. Top filling: The cream can be ready-made whipped cream (still add cream stabilizer) or it needs to be whipped first. Don’t forget to add the sugar. Combine the sour cream with the sugar and cinnamon and stir well. Let stand for 2 to 3 minutes if necessary, then stir again to dissolve the sugar. Mix the sour cream mixture with the cream and spread it over the cake. Again, leave out the edges, spreading more of it in the middle and spreading it when pressing down the last layer of dough. Before placing the last layer of dough on top, place the mandarin orange pieces in a circle about 2/3 of the radius, adding a smaller circle. You’ll probably have a few mandarin orange pieces left over. Finally, press down the third layer of dough. For the garnish: Depending on the number of pieces you want, select half walnuts, for example, 12 half walnuts. Place them on a piece of baking paper (for economy, feel free to use the paper from further up. Caution: It will probably not be usable afterwards). Drizzle the honey over the walnuts, using a little less than half a teaspoonful per piece. If necessary, briefly toss the walnuts in the honey. The nuts must be placed flat-side down on the baking paper, as this side will later be on the cake. Place the nuts, along with the baking paper, on a baking sheet in a preheated oven at 180°C and bake for 5-6 minutes. The honey will caramelize and bubble. Then remove the baking sheet and quickly scatter the walnuts in a wide circle on the cake. If you move quickly enough, the nuts will stick to the cake. Once cooled, the caramelized honey should easily separate from the baking paper and can be used later. Now scatter the almond flakes on top. These can be secured with leftovers from the bottom filling, for example. Powdered sugar and a little desiccated coconut can be sprinkled on top. Skilled pastry chefs could line the top with stencils (stars or other shapes) for a beautiful effect and remove these again after sprinkling. Finally, you could try flaking off a few flakes of caramelized honey and sticking them on the cake. This looks very nice, but keep in mind that the cake must still be sliceable. Be very careful when cutting the cake so that it doesn’t fall apart. 16 cake slices is probably the practical maximum – 12 is more advisable.