Traditional Frankfurter Kranz Recipe – A classic buttercream filled cake with krokant sprinkles

This Traditional Frankfurter Kranz Recipe is a classic amongst the German buttercream cakes. The recipe which originated in Frankfurt am Main, Germany became famous all over the world.  Making a Frankfurter Kranz requires some work, but is worth the effort. This cake tastes better if prepared the day before serving and can also be frozen. 

Ingredients for batter of Traditional Frankfurter Kranz Recipe:

• 200 g (7.05 oz) of soft butter
• 250 g (8.81 oz) of sugar
• 1 pouch of vanilla sugar OR 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 6 eggs, XL
• pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons of rum OR lemon juice
• 300 g (10.58 oz) of all purpose flour
• 100 g (3.52 oz) of Gustin OR corn starch
• 1 pouch of baking powder OR 3 teaspoons of baking powder

Preparation of the cake:

Use an electric hand mixer and mix soft butter with sugar, vanilla flavoring, and salt. Add one egg at a time to mix. Then, add lemon or rum. In a separate container, add Dr. Oetker Gustin or cornstarch and baking powder to the flour. Mix it and sift it over the butter mixture. Stir until the batter is smooth. Pour the batter into a buttered baking pan for Frankfurter Kranz or in a coffee cake pan 10 inches or 11 inches in diameter with a center tube.

Preheat the oven to 175°C – 185°C (350°F – 365°F). Place the cake on the middle rack and let it bake for about 35 – 45 minutes.

Take the cake out of the oven and place it upside down on a cooling rack to let it cool down. Mark the center of the cake with toothpicks before cutting the cake twice horizontally.

Ingredients for the butter cream filling, topping and decoration:

• 1 ½ pouches of Dr. Oetker Vanilla Pudding OR Jello-O (3 oz – 85 g)  vanilla cook & serve pudding & pie filling
• 150 g (5.29 oz) of sugar
• 750 ml (25.36 oz) of milk
• 300 g (10.58 oz) of soft butter
• 200 g – 300 g (7.05 oz – 10.58 oz) of red current jam OR raspberry jam 
• 12-16 candied cherries
• 150 g-200 g (5.29 oz – 7.05 oz) of hazelnut cracknel OR chocolate sprinkles OR homemade hazelnut OR almond cracknel follow instructions below:

Preparation of the buttercream for the Traditional Frankfurter Kranz Recipe:

Mix the pudding powder with some of the cold milk to dissolve it. Bring to boil with the rest of the milk and the sugar while stirring with a whisk. Take the pan off the heat and empty the pudding into a bowl right away, cover it with cellophane. (Wet one side of the cellophane wrap with water and cover the pudding with the wet side down. This will prevent a “skin” on top of the pudding from developing).  Let the pudding cool down — but do not place it in the fridge.

Beat the soft butter with an electric hand mixer. While beating, add one tablespoon of pudding at a time. Continue until all the pudding is mixed into the butter and the consistency of your buttercream is light and fluffy. Fill about six tablespoons of butter cream in a decorating bag with a tip and set aside. You will need this to decorate the top of the cake later.

Note: If the buttercream coagulates (which may happen if the butter and pudding are too cold or the pudding and butter have different temperatures) just put the buttercream in a bowl and place the bowl in the microwave for a few seconds and mix it again.

Ingredients for the homemade cracknel:

• 200 g (7.05 oz) of chopped or sliced peeled almonds OR hazelnuts
• 100 g (3.52 oz) of sugar
• 100 ml (3.38 oz) of water

Preparation of the homemade cracknel for the Traditional Frankfurter Kranz Recipe:

Fill the water in a skillet. Add the sugar and bring to a boil. When the sugar is dissolved and the water is clear again, add the almonds. Roast the almonds while constantly stirring from the outside to the center. Roast until all the liquid is gone and the almonds have reached a golden brown color.

Place the almonds on a baking sheet covered with baking paper right away. Use a knife to spread the mixture on the sheet and let it cool down. The mixture will harden. When it has cooled down, break the cracknel (Krokant) into small pieces.

Finishing of the Traditional Frankfurter Kranz:

Place the first layer of the cake on a rotating cake stand to decorate. Pass the jam through a sieve and spread the jam on top of the bottom layer. Spread a layer of butter cream on top of the jam using a spatula. Place the second cake layer on top of the buttercream and make sure it lines up with the toothpicks. Spread jam and buttercream onto the second layer. Place the third layer of cake onto the second layer of buttercream. Line up with the toothpicks. Remove the toothpicks.

Spread the buttercream on the cake using the back of an angled icing spatula. Start with the sides of the inner ring and then do the sides of the outer ring, before decorating the top of the cake with buttercream. Sprinkle the cracknel or chocolate sprinkles, first on the inside, then on the outside and finally on the top. Using a cake lifter, carefully move the cake to the serving plate. Use the buttercream from the decorating bag and decorate the top reflecting 12 or 16 pieces. Finally place the cherries on top of the buttercream.

The Frankfurter Kranz may be a nice addition to your Traditional Thanksgiving Celebration or for your German American Thanksgiving Celebration. To try the Traditional Black Forest Cake click here or the Classic German Cream Puffs Recipe click here.