Zuger Kirschtorte
The word kirsch in German means cherry (the Swiss say "Chriezi"). No, it's not a cherry cake but a kirschwasser cake (in short, kirsch), and it contains a combination of raspberry and cream instead of cherries. In the city of Zug, which is located right next to my hometown of Luzern, Kirshwasser is one of the best in the world, and hence its name. Please note that the Kirsch is neither sweet nor red. It is translucent and alcoholic with a slight flavor of cherry. On one of my visits to Switzerland, I traveled to the city of Zug specifically to visit the famous ETTER factory which has an amazing visitor center. It was quite amusing to hear the instruction of a Vietnamese guide who spoke English with a Swiss accent.
The cake is made of two layers of japonaise layers, and a layer of torte, with heavenly buttercream in between.
It requires some patience in preparation, but the results justifies
the job.
Nuts Meringue (japonaise):
4 egg whites
125 g powdered sugar
100 g ground hazelnuts
20 g cornflour
Preparation of the japonaise:
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Whisk egg whites with sugar
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Mix all dry ingredients and fold into the meringues
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Mark on parchment paper 2 circles of 24 cm
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Turn the paper and pipe the meringue on both circles
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Bake at 150C degrees 20 minutes.
Middle layer (tort)
3 eggs separated
3 tablespoons water
75 g of powdered sugar
50 g of cornflour
50 g of all purpose flour
A pinch of baking powder
1 tablespoon lemon rind
6 tablespoons kirsch
Raspberry Buttercrean:
200 g butter soft
4 tablespoons kirsch
200 g powdered sugar
1 egg yolk
4 tablespoons good quality
raspberry jam
Preparation of the tort:
1. Whisk the eggs with sugar
2. Mix the rest of the dry ingredients and the rind and fold into the foamy batter
3. Bake at a temperature of 200C in a 24 cm tin
4. Cool and unmold.
Preparation of the buttercream
1. Whip the butter.
2. Add sugar, yolk and kirsch gently.
3. Divide into 2 and add 1 to the jam.
Assembly
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Lay a layer of japonaise
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Apply the japonaise with a thin layer of raspberry buttercream
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Place the tort over the cream
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Wet the torte with 4 tablespoons of kirch.
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Spread the torte with a thin layer of "white" butter cream
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Place the second layer of japonaise on top.
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spread a thin layer of raspberry buttercream on top.
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cover the sides of the cake with white buttercream
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Paste roasted and ground hazelnuts into the cream on the sides of the cake
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Sprinkle top of the cake with powdered sugar mark diamonds using a ruler or string.