In German, kranz means “crown,” this cake it also known as the Frankfurt crown cake. The shape of the cake is a symbol of Frankfurt being the site of coronation of German kings and emperors for more than 500 years. In Romanian, "crant" pronounced "krantz" means crunchy. The cake is very popular in Romania, especially in Transylvania, where German culture had a strong influence over the centuries. The combination of the moist sponge cake covered with creamy lemony frosting and the crunchy glaze makes this cake absolutely irresistible.
Prepared and Photographed by:
Recipe Source: Translated and adapted from Edith's Kitchen
Serves: 8
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Ingredients
Sponge cake:
  • 5 eggs
  • 5 tablespoons of sugar
  • 5 tablespoons of flour
  • zest from one lemon
  • 1 tbsp of vanilla
  • 1 tbsp of baking powder
  • pinch of salt
Frosting:
  • 1 egg
  • 5 tablespoons of flour
  • 2 cups of milk
  • 2 cups of sugar
  • 7 oz of butter (14 tablespoons)
  • zest from 1 lemon
  • 1 tbsp of vanilla
Glaze:
  • 1 cup of sugar
  • 2 cups of walnuts, chopped
Instructions
Sponge cake:
  1. Separate the egg whites and beat in a mixer until peaks start to form
  2. Add the sugar, one table spoon at the time and beat after each addition
  3. Remove the mixer bowl, add the yolks, one at the time and incorporate in the mixture
  4. Add the flour one tablespoon at the time, incorporate well before the next addition
  5. Add vanilla and the lemon zest, mix well
  6. Preheat the oven at 375 F. Line a round baking pan with preachment paper, pour the mixture in and bake for 40 minutes.
  7. If the cake passed the tooth pick test, remove from oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes
Frosting:
  1. In sauce pan put the sugar and the flour, mix will and add the milk slowly, stir until homogeneous
  2. Put the pan on the stove on low heat , and stir continually until becomes thick
  3. Remove from heat, add lemon zest and vanilla, set aside to cool.
Glaze:
  1. In a skillet, melt the sugar on low heat until caramelized
  2. Add the walnuts and stir them to coat in the caramelized sugar
  3. Remove the mixture from heat, spoon them to parchment paper. Be careful since sugar is very hot and can burn your skin. Allow the caramelized walnuts to cool for 30 minutes.
  4. When cooled, brake them apart with a kitchen mallet
Assembly the cake:
  1. With a sharp knife section the cake horizontally in two layers
  2. Turn over the top layer of the cake (top of cake becomes bottom) and place on your serving plate.
  3. Spread ⅓ of the frosting on the bottom layer, place the second layer on top of it and cover with the remaining frosting
  4. Generously spread the caramelized walnuts on top of the cake. Refrigerate for a few hours before serving. Amazingly delicious!!!!

 

2 Responses

  1. 5 tablespoons – thank you for the feed back, I hope your sponge will be perfect.

  2. How much sugar in the cake itself. My screen doesn’t show any in the list of ingredients .

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