Buckwheat cake from the Lüneburg Heath

Ingredients for 16 servings:

• 6 eggs, including the yolk
• 150 g sugar, e.g. cane sugar
• ½ tsp lemon(s), zest grated
• 1 packet of vanilla sugar
• 6 eggs, of which the egg whites
• 1 pinch of salt
• 150 g buckwheat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 500 g jam (cranberry jam)
• 600 ml sweet cream
• 30 g dark chocolate, grated

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Rest time approx. 12 hours; Total time approx. 13 hours

Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a 26cm springform pan with baking paper. Beat the egg yolks with about 2/3 of the sugar, the vanilla sugar, and the lemon zest over a double boiler until frothy. Beat the egg whites with the remaining sugar and salt until stiff peaks form and add to the egg yolk mixture. Mix the buckwheat flour with the baking powder, add to the egg mixture, and carefully fold in. Pour the batter into a springform pan, smooth it out, and bake on the middle rack for about 30 minutes. After baking, let the buckwheat sponge rest in the pan for about 5 minutes, then carefully remove it, peel off the baking paper, and leave to cool on a wire rack overnight. To fill the cake, cut the buckwheat sponge in half using kitchen string. To do this, make a small cut in the sponge halfway around with a knife, wrap a sufficiently long string around the edge, and pull it crosswise through. Spread a quarter of the cranberry jam onto the bottom sponge layer. Whip the cream until stiff and gently mix half with the remaining jam. Spread the cranberry cream over the jam-covered layer, leaving a small amount for decoration. Place the second sponge layer on top. Spread the remaining cream over the top and sides of the cake and sprinkle with chocolate shavings. Pipe 16 dots of the remaining cranberry cream onto the top edge. Refrigerate for at least one hour.