Baumkuchen

[4] When the cake is removed and sliced, each layer is divided from the next by a golden line, resembling the growth rings in a tree cross-section.

Skilled pastry chefs have been known to create cakes with 25 layers and weighing over 100 pounds (45 kg).

[2] Baumkuchen ingredients are typically butter, eggs, sugar, vanilla, salt, and flour.

The recipe can be varied by adding other ingredients, such as ground nuts, honey, marzipan, nougat and rum or brandy, to the batter or filling.

With some recipes, the fully baked and cooled Baumkuchen is first coated with marmalade or jam, and then covered with chocolate.

It is a popular return present in Japan for wedding guests because of its ring shape, similar to the symbol of the Zen Ensō which symbolises good luck.

[7] After the war, Juchheim started making and selling the traditional confection at a German exhibition in Hiroshima in 1919.