Sweet Venison Cake (Rehruecken Kuchen)

An East German chocolate frosted cake favorite, bristling with almonds to look like a wild deer hide. "Sweet Venison" is so popular in East Germany that you can even buy baking pans specifically for this cake that are molded with ridges imitating transverse ribs. If you pounce upon a cake made in one of these pans, and you’ll find the hind of this beast bristling with spikey almonds.

Servings pieces

Ingredients

9 oz Zwieback biscuits
9 tbsp butter
5 oz of sugar
4 eggs
3-1/2 oz ground almonds
2 tbsp flour
1 tsp baking powder

For the garnish:

3-1/2 oz dark chocolate
2 tbsp coconut oil
2 oz almonds for garnish

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C . Finely grate the Zwieback. Beat the butter and sugar until fluffy.
Beat in the eggs one after another until the sugar is dissolved.
Mix the ground almonds with the Zwieback crumbs, flour and baking powder. Gradually stir into the creamy mixture.
Grease and flour the baking pan, and pour in the batter.
Bake at 350°F/180°C for about 35 minutes.
Allow the “venison” to cool slightly, then remove it from the pan and leave to cool.
For the glaze, chop the chocolate and dissolve it with the coconut oil in a double boiler over warm water. Coat the cake.
Stick the slivered almonds evenly spaced in the “venison” so that it can be cut into 18 pieces.

Notes

Preparation time: 35 minutes (plus baking time)

Course: Dessert