My Granny’s Donauwelle – a Marble Cake with Cherries and Buttercream
by meike peters
In my young years, I built up a remarkable reputation in my family regarding the amount of cake I could eat at one go. Our regular gatherings at my granny Lisa’s house used to start with a huge cake buffet which equaled paradise in my childish eyes. Most of my aunts and uncles are passionate cooks and bakers, they always lined up a scrumptious selection of our sweet family classics, like black forest cake, cheese and fruit cakes, spongy lemon cake, crumbles and my granny’s masterpiece, her fabulous Donauwelle (meaning Danube wave). This traditional cake is also known as Snow-White-Cake due to its colour combination. It combines a layer of juicy black and white marble cake with sour cherries, German buttercream and melted bittersweet chocolate on top. The original name refers to the wavy pattern which you see when you cut the pieces. The cherries sink into the dough while it’s baking and create waves like the Danube river – Donau in German.
As a child, I used to have quite a healthy appetite, but sometimes I pushed my borders. I could easily eat five or six pieces of cake, especially when I tried to keep up with my well built male cousins. Of course, there were many days I had to suffer afterwards but it was all forgotten by the next family feast.
It’s been more than twenty years since my granny passed away and I never baked this cake myself. I kept the recipe safe and waited. But then, when my Maltese mother Jenny visited us last week, I thought about a special German sweet to treat her to. My granny Lisa’s Donauwelle was the first one that came into my mind and it felt like the right time to finally give it a try. I was a bit nervous so I called my sister to get some more detailed instructions. After a few adjustments and improvisations on the recipe (we forgot to use the fifth egg as it rolled behind the toaster but we didn’t miss it in the final result), we had this luscious family classic on our table. It tasted like my granny’s and brought back sweet memories of her in the kitchen, of her cherry tree in her garden and the perfect times I used to spend at her house.
The cake is traditionally completely covered in chocolate decorated with a wavy pattern, my granny made it this way too. I find the bittersweet taste too overpowering so I went for a lighter chocolate sprinkle. I also only used half of the butter for the buttercream, it made it less dense and heavy.
We were all quite impressed with the result and savoured it for days. On the second and third day, we thought it was best but the chocolate wasn’t as pretty any more, but who cares! What can I say, food is like music, it saves memories for the rest of our life so that we can recall them at any time, I love that!
Donauwelle
For a 24 x 30cm / 10 x 12″ baking dish you need
sour cherries (preserved) 300g / 10.5 ounces
bittersweet chocolate 100g / 3.5 ounces, for the topping
butter 1 tablespoon, for the topping
For the marble cake
butter, at room temperature, 275g / 10 ounces
sugar 275g / 10 ounces
the seeds of 1/2 vanilla pod
organic eggs 4
milk 175ml / 6 ounces
plain flour 400g / 14 ounces
baking powder 1 package (4 teaspoons)
a pinch of salt
dark cocoa powder 2 heaped tablespoons
Set the oven to 180°C / 355°F (fan-assisted oven) and line the baking dish with parchment paper.
Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time and continue beating for a few minutes until thick, creamy and light yellow. Combine the flour, salt and baking powder. Fold the dry ingredients and the milk with a wooden spoon gently into the butter egg mixture, alternating, about 1/3 at a time. Divide the dough in half between two bowls and stir the cocoa powder into one of them.
Scrape the light dough into the baking dish, even it out and put the dark one on top. Spread the cherries on top, one by one, and push them lightly into the dough. Bake for 40 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the cake is done. Check with a skewer, it should come out clean. Let the cake cool completely.
For the German buttercream
All ingredients for the buttercream must be at the same temperature (room temperature) to combine well!
butter 125g / 4.5 ounces
organic egg yolks 4
cornstarch 60g / 2 ounces
sugar 120g / 4.5 ounces
milk 500ml / 17 ounces
a pinch of salt
vanilla pod, slit slightly, 1
Beat the soft butter for 5 minutes until white and fluffy.
Whisk the egg yolks with the cornstarch, sugar, salt and 50ml / 2 ounces of the milk until well combined.
In a sauce pan, bring the remaining milk with the vanilla pod to the boil. Take the vanilla pod out and scrape the seeds out of the bean into the milk. Add the egg mixture to the hot milk, whisking well. Take the sauce pan off the heat after 1 minute and continue whisking for 2 minutes until stiff. Fill into a bowl and cover the pudding’s surface with cling film.
When the vanilla pudding has cooled off completely, press it through a sieve and mix it in batches with the beaten butter, first with a spoon and then with your mixer for a few seconds until nice and creamy.
The Donauwelle
For the topping, melt the chocolate and butter and let it cool a little.
Spread the buttercream on top of the cake and decorate with the melted chocolate.
Hello! For the Donauwelle, do you recommend using dutched cocoa powder? Or natural?
I’m making it for my mom’s and son’s birthdays this weekend. They both love cherries and fruit.
p.s. I love your book! I checked it out at the library, and now want my own copy. Just beautiful, and inspiring me to cook with more adventure.
Hi! I use Dutch-process cocoa powder, but natural unsweetened cocoa powder works as well. Happy birthday to your mom!
[…] were often lined up on her kitchen counter and doubtlessly influenced my own baking habits. Her Donauwelle – a marbled cake with cherries and buttercream – will always be my favourite. […]
[…] the meantime, if you want a project that will reward you, try this Donauwelle recipe (pictured) when you have part of two days. It’s not difficult, just has several steps. […]
Amazing cake! I read it in your cookbook and baked it much to the delight of my friends (and me)! Delicious, different and not too sweet like much US pastry. It was time-consuming — it’s more of a two-day project for me. I found the pudding technique difficult so I ended up just putting everything in the mixer and no straining and hoped for the best and it turned out great. Stupendous, really! I found the cake a tad dry, but I used 2 t double-acting American baking powder, and used the mixer since I have no patience to fold. A keeper, for sure.
I would say the topping is more like buttered pudding than a true buttercream. Delightful to eat. I also agree that drizzles of chocolate is enough. THank you!
Thank you, Louise! This is a very special cake for me, I have so many beautiful memories connected to my granny’s Donauwelle. I’m glad it worked out well. The topping is a German buttercream, which is kind of a buttered pudding. Happy 2nd Advent!
[…] must have had a weak spot for this duo. There’s another masterpiece of hers, the decadent Donauwelle, which is basically the same combination baked flat on a tray, topped with cherries, German […]
großartig:)
Dankeschön 🙂
For American bakers I think the Baking powder amount is not correct. This is a very large amount of american “double acting” baking powder. It makes sense if the German baking powder is used. Can you tell us “Yankees” how much double acting baking powder to use?
Hi Dave, I would use 3 teaspoons of double acting baking powder, following the rule of 1 teaspoon/ cup. I never thought about the difference in my recipes, thank you for telling me! Let me know how the Donauwelle works out! Enjoy! Meike
Mmmmmmmm. This is great is all I can say. Yes, the 3 tsp worked very good. Since I am not the well funded cook I had to make some “value changes”. Since 9 x 13 in is a standard pan size here in the states I use that instead of your recommended size.
I also do not have vanilla beans so I use 2 tsp in the batter and 3 tsp in the butter cream. The final product is wonderful. What a hit with my friends. Another question, how do you store German Butter Cream, in the fridg. or can I keep the cake out on the counter? This is breaking new ground for me.
Thanks
Dave
Wow, that was quick, I’m glad it worked out! And that it was such a hit!
I left the cake out on the counter for 2 1/2 days and it was fine but it depends on the room temperature. It’s safest to keep it in the fridge and to take it out about 30 minutes before serving, that’s what I do with my Frankfurter Kranz, another great German buttercream cake:
https://www.meikepeters.com/frankfurter-kranz-a-german-buttercream-cake-with-caramelized-hazelnuts/
All the best from Berlin,
Meike
Wow. Amazing on so many different levels!! Lovely pictures – I’ve never even heard of Donauwelle. I make German Kuchen (hence my name) – but that’s really the only German dessert. I can’t wait to impress my Grandma’s with this one! Thank you!
Thank you Jodi! I’m sure your Grandma would love it! It’s so creamy, juicy and fruity, it’s addictive! You could also cover it completely in chocolate, like I wrote in the post that’s how it’s made traditionally, but it covers up the other flavours too much in my opinion. Enjoy and let me know how it worked out! Meike xx
I love that last line – food saves our memories for the rest of our life. Just perfect.
Thank you Kathryn, this is one of the great qualities of food for me, apart from its taste! Have a nice week, Meike xx