My grandmother’s German layered cake called Schichttorte

As mentioned in my home tour post last week (HERE if you missed it), I wanted to share my grandmother’s German layered cake with you which is called Schichttorte. My grandmother used to make this cake for her family while my mom was growing up and it was her favorite. My mom hates baking but continued to make it for me and my brother on our birthdays. And I’m continuing with that little tradition and making it for my kids. I make my grandmother’s standard German Schichtorte layered cake for my son and the gluten-free version for my daughter. It’s pretty much as easy as just switching out the flower.

I do feel like I have to apologize for some of the bad cellphone photos during my baking. But I’m a mess when I bake and couldn’t handle holding an expensive and heavy camera on top of it. It was much easier to just grab my phone and snap some photos. Baking and cooking tutorials are definitely not my strength, yah know?!

German Cake Schichttorte

I’ve seen this type of cake made in different ways online already but I’m going with exactly the way it was passed down from my grandmother.

She actually used red currant jelly for her version which is hard to find in our area but I found cherries and berries jelly which works too. It has the tart flavor that is needed for the cake. I just wish it wouldn’t have such large cherries in it. It’s a bit too chunky.

A Baumkuchen (meaning tree cake and is reffering to the rings on a tree trunk) is also layered but gets brushed on while the cake rotates over a grill. It’s definitely a completely different process.

You also need a round springform cake pan with a removable bottom. The bottom part is used for the layers. I use two of them to make the layer baking faster. This type of cake pan is very commonly used for baking in Germany. It doesn’t really matter what size you use the larger diameter makes a flatter cake with fewer layers and a smaller diameter makes a higher cake with more layers. It’s total preference. Mine are 9-inch springforms.

If you want to make the gluten-free version then try the King Arthur Flour. Their products are amazing. Our entire family is obsessed with the boxed pancake mix. You can create the best gluten-free pancakes ever with it. We just discovered it at the beach this summer. We actually ordered a 6 pack and the price is very compatible with what it costs at our local Wegmans.

Schichttorte or German layered cake recipe

Here are some photos of the steps:

Make sure to beat the eggs, sugar, and unsalted butter first at high speed.

Slowly whisk in the flour with a spoon to avoid clumps.

Spread the batter on a greased springform bottom as mentioned above.

Try to make the layer of dough as thin as possible.

And let it get light golden-brown in the oven, not dark golden-brown. I don’t like using the broiler because it gets too dark fast.

Alternate the jelly and vanilla pudding in between the layers.

And at the end give the cake a nice layer of chocolate glaze. I just pour the chocolate on top of the cake and then use a pastry brush and spatula to spread it over the top and the sides of the cake.

The Schichttorte German layered cake actually tastes the best when resting for about 12 hours in the fridge so the dough layers can soak up the jelly and pudding.

I love to hear when you guys actually try to make my recipes and what you think. I’ve heard only good things from everyone who has tried my husband’s Boston Banoffee pie.

• Gluten-Free Key Lime Pie
• German Poppy Seed Streusel Crumble Cake Recipe
• The Best Pumpkin Pie Ever
• Toffee Tassies Recipe
• Easy Banoffee Pie Recipe

If you are into German traditions then check out my favorite German Christmas decorations, my favorite German wooden Christmas ornaments, and my other German decor showcased in a Christmas home tour from a previous year.

So please let me know if you try it, ok?

Tschüß,