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Donauwellen, meaning “waves of the river Danube” in German is another classic German cake. The Donauwellen cake consists of a marbled, vanilla and chocolate sponge base, which is topped with cherries, a German custard buttercream and finished with a thin layer of dark chocolate.
When the cake is cut into slices, the marbling of the light and dark sponge and the cherries are meant to resemble the waves of the river Danube, Europe’s second longest river. It originates in Germany and runs through 9 different countries before draining into the Black Sea. Why the cake is named after the Danube though isn’t known.
How do you make a Donauwelle?
A Donauwellen cake is easy to make, however the different components and cooling time mean it takes a while to make. All the efforts are worth it though!
You´ll start by making a light vanilla sponge for the Donauwellen cake, dolloping half the mixture into the tin and then adding cocoa powder to make the dark sponge. You then press the cherries on top of the cake and bake it.
The buttercream filling is made by initially making a German vanilla custard (“Vanillepudding”), using milk, sugar, vanilla and corn starch. Once cooled, you combine it with butter to finish the custard cream filling.
Finally, the cake is covered with a thin layer of dark chocolate, through which you run a fork to create a wave-like pattern on the top.
This Donauwellen recipe cuts into 12-16 squares and uses a 20×20 cm (8×8 inch) square baking tin, however you could also use a round tin.
More German Baking Classics
If you want to try making some more German baking classics, why not also check out some of my other recipes on this blog?
- Bienenstich “Bee Sting” Cake
- Black Forest Gâteau (Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte”)
- Wholemeal Seeded Loaf | Vollkornbrot
- Baked German Cheesecake | Käsekuchen
- German “Nusszopf” Recipe
- Nussschnecken
- Christmas Marzipane and Fruit “Stollen”
- Vanilla Crescent Biscuits | “Vanillekipferl”
- Chocolate and Hazelnut Biscuits | “Haselnussbrot”
- How To Make A Traditional German Breakfast
Donauwellen | German Baking Classics
Recipe
Ingredients:
FOR THE CAKE:
- 135g butter, softened
- 135g caster sugar
- pinch of salt
- 3 medium eggs
- 200g flour
- 2tsp baking powder
- ½ vanilla pod
- 1-2 tbsp milk
- 10g cocoa powder
- 1 jar of sour cherries
FOR THE GERMAN CUSTARD BUTTERCREAM:
- 270ml milk
- 30g caster sugar
- 20g corn starch
- ½ vanilla pod
- 135g butter, at room temperature
FOR THE CHOCOLATE GLAZE:
- 150g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
YOU WILL ALSO NEED:
- 20×20 cm (8×8 inch) square cake tin, lined with baking parchment
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 190°C. Grease the cake tin and line the bottom with baking parchment.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and salt until pale and fluffy. Gradually start beating in the eggs, adding a little at a time and mixing well between each addition.
- Combine the flour, baking powder and vanilla in a small bowl. Add to the wet ingredients with 1tsp of milk and briefly stir until incorporated.
- Dollop roughly half of the mixture onto the bottom of your prepared cake tin, leaving some gaps.
- Add the cocoa powder to the remaining cake batter and mix. Add about half to one tablespoon of milk, until the mix reaches the same consistency as the light one had. Spoon the rest of the chocolate cake mixture on top of the plain one.
- Gently spread out the two cake mixtures until even, then marble the two mixtures slightly with a fork. You only want to create a light marbled effect, in order to be able to distinguish light and dark cake mixture when the cake is cut later on.
- Drain the cherries and arrange of top of the cake batter, pressing them down slightly.
- Bake the cake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, until starting to shrink away from the edges and an inserted skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool completely in the tin (put in the fridge after 10-15 minutes to speed up the cooling).
- In the meantime, prepare the custard (or “Vanillepudding” in German). Start by mixing the sugar, starch and vanilla with about 1.5 tbsp of the milk to create a slightly runny paste. Next, bring the rest of the milk to the boil.
- Once boiling, remove the milk from the heat, stir in the sugar and starch mixture, return to the heat and whisk until thick. Pour into a bowl, and cover the surface with clingfilm, making sure you place it directly on top of the custard to prevent a skin from forming. Leave to cool in the fridge.
- Once the custard has cooled, beat the butter with an electric whisk until smooth. Then start adding the custard, a couple of tablespoons at a time, beating well between each addition. Continue until all the custard has been used up.
- Evenly spread the German custard buttercream over the top of the cake, all the way out to the sides of the tin. Level the surface with a small palette knife. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes until starting to set.
- Near the end of the chilling time, melt 100g of the dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl, set over a small pan of simmering water. Make sure the bowl isn’t touching the water. Once melted, add the remaining 50g of chocolate (broken into pieces) and stir until it has also melted. This will help bring the chocolate closer to room temperature again.
- Pour the melted chocolate over the custard buttercream and spread out evenly. Finally, carefully run a fork through the chocolate, creating a wave-like pattern on the top.
- Return to the fridge and leave to cool until the chocolate has set.
- To serve, cut the Donauwellen cake into squares/rectangles, revealing the “waves of the Danube” as you do so.
Check out my other baking recipes here!
