Baumkuchen

Baumkuchen - is German for  "tree cake"

A baumkuchen is traditionally broiled on a spit-like contraption while the batter is poured on and layers are slowly built up. When cut off the spit, the cake is ring shaped and resembles a tree stump. 

I've read that baumkuchen cakes are popular in Japanese weddings because of that ring shape. 

Inspired by Yumarama's baumkuchen:

http://yumarama.com/5478/baumkuchen-multi-layered-tree-cake/

I decided to make one for a friend's party. 

The tricky part of making a baumkuchen at home is to avoid burning the layers. I had to start over 3 times because I based the baking off of time.  Don't. Base it off sight. 

If you are going to make this cake, be sure that there won't be anything distracting you for at least an hour. Don't walk away, wash a dish, or even blink. Burning happens so quickly. Remember, you're broiling, not baking. 

I set my timer for 2 minutes, each layer, then watched through the oven glass for 10 - 20 seconds after for that perfect moment of "golden toasted" brown. If you wait a second longer, it is going to burn. Trust me on this. 

In the end, the cake came out beautifully and the ganache was divine.  Here is my cake, all ready for the party!

I ended up with 15 layers instead of 20+ because of the batter I used/burned in the first 2 starts. 

Delicious and freezes like a dream!