This cake was dedicated to Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria in 1886 by the Court confectioner Julius Rottenhöfer, who claims to be the creator. The baker, one Anton Seidl has also claimed the honours as has a bakery but as far as I’m concerned, the person that named the cake should take the honours.  At the same time, it was dedicated to the State of Bavaria because the eight sponge layers were intended to symbolise the then eight governmental districts. Today we’re including this recipe so that the cake can, at long last, be dedicated to someone else also – the person that’s doing the baking. You.

Ingredients

Sponge

• 6 eggs
• 160-180 g sugar
• 160-180 g flour and cornflour mixed on 50/50 basis
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla sugar
• 1 lemon, zest only
• 1 tbsp water
• 80 g butter
• Note:
• The cake layers can also be made from sweet short crust pastry instead of sponge

Chocolate butter cream

• 250 g butter
• 150-180 g icing sugar
• 2-3 egg yolks
• 100 g dark chocolate, melted and cooled
• For the external coating
• Dark chocolate to glaze (or dark chocolate ganache).

Method

Pre heat oven to 200 C

• The cake bases are made first.
• Separate the eggs and beat the egg yolk first with water and then with two thirds of the sugar to form a foam.
• Now add the vanilla sugar and the lemon and mix in well.
• Stir in the butter.
• Whisk the egg whites to form a stiff peaks.
• Fold in the remaining third of the sugar and add this to the egg yolk mixture. Sieve the flour and baking powder over it and combine everything.
• Divide the mixture into eight, place in well greased spring form tins and bake these eight thin layers for 6 – 8 minutes each until they are golden brown.
• Remove them from the spring form immediately after baking and allow them to cool.
• To make the filling, warm the chocolate in a bain-marie until has melted and allow to cool slightly.
• Beat the butter until it is fluffy and then fold in the icing sugar and the egg yolk alternately.
• The mixture should be very fluffy.
• Gradually fold in the melted chocolate drop by drop.
• Add extra sugar or chocolate to taste should this prove necessary.
• Spread the cream on seven of the cake layers and place them one on top of the other.
• The eighth cake forms the top of the cake.
• Smooth a little cream over the edge of the cake.
• To make the glaze, melt some dark chocolate and thinly and evenly cover the whole of the cake with the chocolate glaze using a brush and hot water.