Frankfurter Kranz

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).

For the cake batter, beat eggs and water together until the mixture has doubled in volume. Gradually add sugar. Mix flour and baking powder together and sift. Add flour a little at a time to the egg mixture, folding the flour in gently. Fold in the melted (but cooled) butter.

Prepare a springform by buttering it or by using a cooking spray. Pour in the batter. Bake for around 40 minutes. Set aside and allow to cool.

To prepare the butter-cream, mix the vanilla pudding mix and sugar in a bowl. Heat the milk in a pot, bringing it to just boiling. Remove the milk from heat and gradually add the vanilla pudding mixture, whisking constantly. Set aside and allow the pudding to cool.

Whip the butter in a mixer until it becomes fluffy. Fold in the cooled pudding a little at a time. Continue until all pudding is mixed into butter and the mixture is smooth.

For the Krokant, mix all ingredients in a pan. Heat until the almonds develop a light brown color. Transfer krokant to a sheet of aluminum foil or parchment paper and allow to cool completely.

Now we need to assemble the cake. Begin by cutting the cake into 3 even layers. Place the bottom layer on a cake plate. Spread a thin layer of jam on this layer of cake. Then spread a thin layer of butter-cream over the jam. Place the middle layer of cake on top of the butter-cream. Repeat with the middle layer.

Frost the cake with the butter-cream. Reserve about 6 tablespoons of the butter-cream for decoration. Sprinkle the Krokant over the frosting so that the all sides of the cake are decorated with Krokant. Fill a piping bag (fitted with a decorative tip) with the 6 tablespoons butter-cream. Create several miniature mounds of cream on top of the cake, spaced evenly apart (see photo). Place one candied cherry on top of each mound.