The Other German Cherry Cake ; Donauwelle

Today, I am going to share with you another classic cherry base German cake

since cherries are still in season.

Blackforest Cake or Schwarzwalder Torte is known the world over but little

is known when anyone mentions Donauwelle outside of Germany.  I think it is

such a pity because I love this cake more than Blackforest Cake simply because

it has less cream and I like the consistency of Rührteig (stir batter) more than

Blackforest´s sponge cake base.  The other thing that stood out from this cake is

the vanilla pudding mixture right above the cake mixture.  The taste is richer and

more complex.

Donauwelle as the name suggest means Danube Wave (Donau = Danube, Welle

= Wave) and is a baked on Baking Sheet instead of cake form.  Due to this,

most recipes out there calls for huge portion and is meant for sharing, so do give

this a try when an occasion is up!

Here´s the recipe translated from Dr. Oetkar website. It is for Cake Base 

(40 x 30 cm) of about 20 pieces

Stir Batter:
- 1 jar Sour Cherry (350 g)
- 250 g Butter / Margarine
- 200 g Sugar
- 1 Packet of Vanilla Sugar
- A pinch of Salt
- 5 Eggs (M)
- 375 g Flour
- 3 tablespoon Baking Powder
- 20 g Cocoa Powder
- 1 Tablespoon Milk

Vanilla Buttercream Mixture:
- 1 Packet Vanilla Pudding Powder
- 100 g Sugar
- 500 ml Milk
- 250 g Butter

Chocolate Topping:
- 200 g Dark Chocolate
- 2 Tablespoon Oil

1. Preparation

   - Drain cherries from the glass bottle well and leave aside.
   - Butter your baking sheet well.
   - Preheat oven at 160C

2. Stir Batter

   - Beat margarine in a bowl for a minute before adding Vanilla Sugar,
      Sugar and Salt.
   - Add in 1 egg at a time at high speed.  Let it mix for 1/2 minute before
     adding the next egg in. 
   - Add in flour and baking powder.  Mix well.
   - Pour 2/3 of the batter onto the baking sheet and spread them well.
   - Add cacao powder and milk into 1/3 of the batter and mix them well. 
     Once done, spoon the cacao batter on top of the vanilla batter in a
     ball form and spread them lightly with your spatula.
   - Add the drained cherrie on top of the cacao batter.  Press the cherries
     gently into the batter.
   - Bake them for 40 minutes.

3. Let the cake cool off

4. Vanilla Buttercreme Mixture

   -  Put all ingredient except the butter in a bowl and mix them well according
      to packet instruction. 
   -  Beat butter till creamy.  Add the vanilla puddng mixture in and mix
      them well.
   -  Pour them on top of the cake once the cake is completely cool.  Let
       it cool in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

5. Chocolate Topping 

   - Chopped bitter chocolate to small pieces. 
   -  Along with the oil, heat them using bain marie method, stirring them
      well until all is incorporated and melted.
   -  Pour them over the cake and let it cool for about 2-3 minutes.
   -  Make wave lines on top of the chocolate topping using a fork.
   -  Let the cake cool in fridge for an hour or so, or until the pudding is
      set.  It is then ready to serve.

Happy trying!