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What You Need:
(To serve 10. )
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THE CAKE
1 tablespoon butter, softened
2 tablespoons flour
¼ pound plus 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1½ sticks), softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons finely grated lemon peel
6 eggs, at room temperature
¾ cup cornstarch
1 tablespoon double-acting baking powder
¾ cup rum
FILLING
10 egg yolks, at room temperature
1 pound unsalted butter (4 sticks), softened
1 1/3 cups sugar
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
2/3 cup water
½ cup rum
TOPPING
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup sugar
½ cup cold water
1 cup blanched almonds
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Translate this recipe:
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| How To Cook: |
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1. Preheat the oven to 325°. With a pastry brush or paper towel, coat the bottom, sides and tube of a 9-inch tube cake pan with 1 tablespoon of soft butter. Sprinkle the butter with 2 tablespoons of flour, tip the pan from side to side to spread the flour evenly, then invert it and rap the bottom sharply to remove the excess flour.
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2. In a large bowl, cream ¼ pound plus 4 tablespoons of butter, 1 cup of sugar, 1 tablespoon of the flour and the lemon peel together by mashing and beating them against the sides of the bowl with a large spoon. Then beat in the eggs, one at a time, and continue to beat until smooth. Combine the remaining flour, cornstarch and baking powder, and sift them into the butter a little at a time, beating well after each addition.
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3. Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake in the middle of the oven for 40 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then run a knife around the inside edges of the pan, place a wire cake rack on top and, grasping rack and pan firmly together, turn them over. The cake should slide easily out of the pan. When the cake has cooled completely, slice it crosswise with a large, sharp knife into three equal layers. (It is easiest to cut if baked a day in advance.) Spread the layers on a long strip of foil or wax paper and sprinkle each layer with ¼ cup of rum.
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4. To make the butter-cream filling, beat the 10 egg yolks in a large bowl with a whisk or a rotary or electric beater until they are thick and lemon colored. Set the beaten yolks aside. Cream the pound of soft butter by mashing and beating it against the sides of a bowl with a large spoon until it is light and fluffy. Set it aside.
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5. Bring 1 1/3 cups of sugar, 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar and 2/3 cup of water to a boil over moderate heat in a small saucepan, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to high and boil the syrup briskly without stirring until it reaches a temperature of 236° on a candy thermometer, or until a drop spooned into cold water immediately forms a soft ball.
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6. Pour the syrup in a thin stream into the reserved egg yolks, beating constantly with a whisk or a rotary or electric beater. Continue beating for 4 or 5 minutes longer, or until the mixture is thick and smooth. Gradually add ½ cup of rum, and continue to beat until the mixture has cooled to room temperature and is thick. Now beat in the reserved butter, a tablespoon or so at a time, and when it is completely absorbed, cover the bowl with wax paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate the butter cream for at least 30 minutes, or until it can be spread easily.
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7. Meanwhile prepare the praline topping in the following fashion: With a pastry brush or paper towel, coat a baking sheet with 1 tablespoon of butter and set it aside. In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup of sugar and ½ cup of water to a boil over moderate heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to high and boil briskly, undisturbed, until the syrup reaches a temperature of 236° on a candy thermometer, or a drop of syrup spooned into cold water immediately forms a soft ball. Stir in the nuts and cook until the syrup reaches a temperature of 310° on a candy thermometer, or until the syrup caramelizes and turns a rich golden brown.
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8. Pour the syrup evenly onto the baking sheet. When it is cool and firm, break the praline into small pieces and pulverize it in a blender for a few seconds or crush it with a mortar and pestle. Spread it out on wax paper. To assemble the cake, place the bottom layer in the center of a large cake plate and, with a spatula, spread it with about ½ inch of butter cream. Set the second layer on top and spread it with another ½-inch layer of butter cream. Finally set the top layer of cake in place and mask the top and sides with the remaining butter cream (if you like, reserve some butter cream to decorate the cake). Gently press the crushed praline over the sides of the cake and sprinkle the remainder over the top. Any extra butter cream may be piped on top of the cake through a pastry tube fitted with a decorative tip.
NOTE: Frankfurter Kranz is a frankly extravagant cake that uses more than a dozen eggs, almost a pound and a half of butter, and over a cup of rum. Even in Germany, it is a special treat served only on the most elegant occasions.
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