It’s not a cake for beginners, but if you are up for a challenge, you will be wildly rewarded with the end result. The Baumkuchen cake is gorgeous, moist, not too sweet, and the almond flavor pairs so well with the dark chocolate topping.

Rather than removing baked layers from the pan and stacking them, in this Baumkuchen cake – as in the spit version – each layer is baked on top of the one before it. Using top heat only (from the broiler) and only short bursts of heat keeps the bottom layers from burning. If done correctly, each layer should be identical.

I grew up eating rustic, unfrosted cakes that got their flavor from fruit and nuts – think apple cake with fresh apples on top, banana cake (which I now make as banana cupcakes), and walnut sour cream coffee cake. We had an ever-present honey jar and Dad would sometimes forgo cake entirely for toasted nuts drenched in honey.

While we never had this particular pear cake, it tastes like home.

I love how it’s simple enough for a Sunday morning treat, but impressive enough to serve for company.

Ingredients

This tart has three main components:

While I’m a sucker for overnight baked French toast and its bread pudding-like consistency, Bostock somehow feels more gourmet. It’s sticky, sweet, has a bit of a crunch, and must be served directly out of the oven.

Once cooked, it has a velvety texture – soft but set in place (similar to a ricotta cheesecake).

Pfeffernusse cookies are classic German treats (like spritz cookies) and they are often made around Christmas time.

What Are the Special Ingredients in Pfeffernusse Cookies?

• Ground Black Pepper – Pepper is what makes these pfeffernusse cookies most unique. Americans often shy away from the idea of pepper in sweet desserts, but you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the fun spicy kick it gives them. You can use any ground pepper, but white pepper works nicely if you don’t want to see black specks in the cookies.

• Holiday spices – Once you get past the pepper, the spices look like many other German Christmas cookies. They include cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and cloves.
• Molasses – Just like in ginger molasses cookies, molasses gives the cookies a rich, deep flavor. You can use light or dark molasses (dark will give a stronger flavor). I do not recommend using blackstrap molasses as it has a more bitter flavor.
• Brandy – The recipe doesn’t use a lot of brandy; rather, it has just enough to add a touch of brandy flavor. If you don’t want to purchase brandy only for this recipe, you can use rum or even replace the brandy with apple juice.
• Almonds – Finely chopped almonds give the cookies an extra little crunch. Fun fact: pfeffernusse cookies don’t have the word nuts in the them because of the nuts in the recipe; it’s because they are traditionally shaped like nuts.

Crunchy or Soft?

This pfeffernuse cookie recipe is versatile, as it can produce both soft and crunchy cookies depending on how you prepare and store them.

It’s made with frozen cranberries and, because it’s an upside-down cake, it comes out beautifully every time without having to mess with frosting it.

This post was sponsored by Beko Appliances. Beko is the No. 1 appliance brand in Europe, but they are relatively new to the United States; they first launched in the U.S. in 2016.