Vegan Frankfurter Kranz (Crown Cake)
I can hardly associate any other cake with my grandparents as much as Frankfurter Kranz. There's an 80% chance that I'll find a piece from the bakery in my grandma's fridge every time I visit. However, I have never actually tasted it in my life. And to be honest, that never really bothered me, since I would always prefer other cakes (like vegan Russian chocolate cheesecake or vegan peaches and cream cake) over a Frankfurter Kranz.
But in our week of classic cakes, a Frankfurter Kranz simply cannot be missing! Despite how elaborate it looks, it's actually not that complicated. You only need to prepare a simple sponge cake and butter pudding cream. Covering the cake takes a little more time, but you'll manage it. If you have a traditional Frankfurter Kranz cake mold at home, feel free to use it. I used a regular Bundt cake pan, which worked just as well.
Since the cake needs to be well-chilled at various stages, I recommend preparing the sponge cake and butter-pudding cream the day before, so you only need to assemble the cake the next day. Be sure to allow enough time to refrigerate it when required. Especially in summer, butter softens faster than you think, and we want to avoid that!
Vegan Frankfurter Kranz (Crown Cake)
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- 450 g (16 oz) wheat flour (Type 405)
- 200 g (7 oz) sugar
- 8 g (1.5 tsp) vanilla sugar
- 16 g (1 tbsp) baking powder
- 500 ml (2 cups) sparkling water
- 100 ml (0.5 cups) neutral vegetable oil
For the Buttercream:
- 37 g (1.25 oz) vanilla pudding powder
- 500 ml (2 cups) soy milk
- 250 g (8.75 oz) sugar
- 500 g (2 sticks) vegan butter (room temperature)
Additionally:
- 200 g (7 oz) cranberry jam
- 250 g (8.75 oz) hazelnut brittle
- 12–15 cherries (fresh or from a jar)
- vegan butter for greasing
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180 °C / 350 °F (convection). Mix flour, sugar, vanilla sugar, and baking powder in a large bowl. Then, add sparkling water and oil and stir briefly.
Grease a Bundt pan (Ø 26 centimeters / 10.25 inches) with vegan butter and pour the batter into the pan. Bake on the middle rack at 180 °C / 350 °F (convection) for about 45 minutes. Test if the cake is done by inserting a skewer into the cake and pulling it out. If no batter sticks to it, the cake is done. Let it cool completely afterward.
To make the buttercream, first prepare vanilla pudding. Follow the instructions for preparing the vanilla pudding powder with soy milk and sugar. Cover the pudding and let it cool to room temperature (preferably overnight in the fridge) until it is completely set.
Beat the soft vegan butter with a hand mixer until fluffy. Gradually add the pudding until a smooth mixture forms. Fill one-third of the buttercream into a piping bag and cut the tip to about 1 centimeter wide.
Remove the cooled Bundt cake from the pan and use a large bread knife or cake slicer to carefully slice it into three even layers.
Place the first cake layer on a serving plate and brush it with vanilla syrup. Spread a thin layer of buttercream on top and then pipe three rings of buttercream (outer, middle, and inner) on the cake layer. Fill the gaps with cranberry jam. Carefully place the second cake layer on top, brush it with vanilla syrup, and repeat the process with buttercream and cranberry jam. Then, place the final cake layer on top.
Spread buttercream all around the cake, leaving some cream for the decorative tuffs that will be added at the end.
Cover the cake with hazelnut brittle all around. Fill the remaining buttercream into a piping bag with a star nozzle and pipe ten tuffs on the cake. Place a cherry on each tuft. Refrigerate the cake for 2–3 hours before serving. It tastes best if it sits overnight in the fridge, covered.
