Tree Cake and Blackberry Tarts

Preheat the oven to 240°C (approximately 460°F). Line the bottom of a small loaf tin with parchment paper.

Melt the butter and let cool. Separate the eggs. Beat the egg whites with the sugar until stiff. Divide the marzipan into pieces, mix with one egg yolk, then add the other egg yolks and beat until fluffy. Add the butter and continue beating. Add 2 cl rum (approximately 1/2 ounce) and about a third of the egg whites. Mix the flour with the baking powder and sift it into the mixture. Fold in the flour and the remaining egg whites.

Pour some of the dough into the loaf tin, only about 1-2 mm (approximately 1/16 inch). Bake on the top rack about 3 minutes until golden brown. Add another thin layer of dough and bake again. Continue until the entire dough is depleted. Remove the finished tree cake from the pan and let cool.

Cut the cooled cake into 3-4 mm (approximately 1/10 to 1/8 inch) thin strips, taking care to remove dark circles. Place dessert rings on parchment paper filters and line the edges with tree cake strips. Form into circular shapes for the bottoms of the rings. Cut the tree cake remains small and soak with rum.

Soak the gelatine in cold water for the vanilla cream. Boil the cream. Mix the egg yolks with the vanilla sugar and stir in boiling hot cream. Continue stirring until it reaches about 85°C (approximately 185°F) and binds together. Drain the gelatine and dissolve in the hot cream. Cool the cream. Add a spoonful of vanilla cream onto each of the cake tree floors, add the rum-soaked cake pieces on it and cover with cream. Refrigerate to set.

Meanwhile, make the berry cream. Soften the gelatine in cold water. Wash the berries, pat dry, puree and strain through a sieve. Remove 3 tablespoons of the berry puree and warm up. Drain the gelatine and dissolve in the warm berry puree, then mix with the rest or the puree. Beat the egg yolks with the sugar and vanilla sugar over a hot water bath until frothy. Whip the cream. Add the puree and cream into the frothy mixture. Pour this into the dessert rings and smooth until even. Refrigerate about 4 hours.