The ace up this German baker’s sleeve — the baumkuchen cake
When he first came to the U.S. in 1965, baker Paul Gauweiler could barely speak English and couldn’t even form a frosting rose, which is considered one of the simpler tasks in American pastry making.
But now the German native can create cakes that stand several feet tall — one resembling the Taj Mahal — at his Huntington Beach shop, The Cake Box.
And then there’s the baumkuchen cake.
The traditional German treat, which translates to “the king of cakes” and looks like doughnuts stacked high atop one another, is made of dozens of eggs and heaping amounts of butter, sugar, flour and flavorings. That batter is then ladled into a baumkuchen machine, which has a motorized rod that creates rings as it spins.
The rings, of different lengths, are placed so they hug each other, expanding out into a big doughnut shape.
The completed confection is then drizzled with an apricot glaze and sometimes topped with chocolate.
Gauweiler said his 80-year-old baumkuchen machine, which he received from Orange Coast College’s culinary department 15 years ago, is one of a few in the United States. He said he also knows of one in Colorado, he said.
As a teen, the now-78-year-old served apprenticeships at German pastry shops, making cookies, cakes and other treats. At age 26, he moved from Germany to the U.S.
“At age 14, when we finished school, we started an apprenticeship unless we went to some higher school,” the Huntington Beach resident explained with a slight German accent. “It was after the war, and I couldn’t find any other job, so I went to work in a pastry shop that my sister also worked at.”
When he moved to the U.S. with his wife, Gauweiler, who earned a masters degree in pastry making in Germany, worked for almost a decade in pastry shops in Lake Tahoe and at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim — barely able to communicate but guided by an older baker.
Then fate stepped in.
One day, he looked down at his feet and saw a newspaper ad for a vacant 1,400-square-foot space for sale in Huntington Beach. He knew he had to have it.
In 1973, he opened The Cake Box at the location. The shop doubled in size several years later when the store next door closed.
Beside serving cookies and other pastries, the owners create cakes for birthdays, weddings and other occasions, like the annual Duck-A-Thon in Huntington Beach, in which participants “race” rubber ducks in the ocean.
At first, the cakes were decorated with air-sprayed frosting. Now, they’re adorned with edible pictures and sculpted with fondant to make three-dimensional figures.
In fact, every part of each cake is edible — no wires, wood or other props, Gauweiler said.
Huntington Beach resident Chris MacDonald, 35, said his family frequents The Cake Box.
“My mom is German and loves the baumkuchen,” he said. “She’s never had anything like it. It is very special. We go at least once a month. The delicious tree cake makes it unique, as well as his artistic decorations on cookies. Paul once made a peanut butter pie for my birthday. It was scrumptuous.”
Gauweiler said he believes that shops like his, where his son and grandson also work, are being driven out by markets that have bakeries.
He said he’s not worried, though, because he still provides the rare baumkuchen cake.
The Cake Box is at 6054 Warner Ave. in Huntington Beach. It is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays. It is closed on Sundays. For more information, call (714) 842-9132.
Twitter: @BrittanyWoolsey
