Anne of Cleves Cake/Ana von Kleve Torte

[Jennifer Miller]

Can anyone provide any information about a German cake known as the 'Anne of Cleves Cake'? Apparently it is known in German as 'Ana von Kleve Torte'. There has been a lot of buzz about it since a television historian was shown eating a slice while introducing a BBC series on the six wives of Henry VIII. I've been asked as a reference librarian to find a recipe, or at least a description of the cake. No type of web or database search I have tried has yielded anything! The German cookbooks I have access to do not mention it either. So I would be very grateful, on behalf of all the (mostly) ladies clamoring for this cake, if anyone could supply any information at all about it! Thank you! -Jennifer Miller, Librarian

 

[ChesterV]

If you had a picture that would help me out a lot.

I have never heard of this. It might be an old European "word of mouth" recipe. Most of these have gotten lost over the eons or completely forgotten about.

This is what I've found so far....
https://translate.google.com/transl...tker.de/rezepte/r/anna-torte.html&prev=search

I don't know if that's what you are looking for, since there is no picture or description.

Have you tried contacting the Historian in question? Or the program they were on ?


You might need to find an old German grandmother and ask her!!!!
LOL



You have my curiosity at full run now!!!!

 

[Jennifer Miller]

Thanks for your reply, Chester! I can give you a few more details. There is an online article describing the visit of the British film team to Kleve, which shows the historian (Lucy Worsley) sitting down with the cake. The best picture is here: http://www.lokalkompass.de/kleve/leute/bbc-auf-den-spuren-von-anna-von-kleve-m3535780,670277.html

I'm not sure how much you can tell from the picture, though.

The cafe (Stadt Cafe Wanders) has a website which lists many cakes on its menu, ( http://www.cafe-wanders.de/ ) but the 'Anne' cake is not among them. (They all look amazing though!) They have a contact form, but they have not replied to the inquiry I submitted (and evidently many people have also tried and not heard back).

From what I can tell, people have also directed inquiries to Lucy Worsley, the BBC, and PBS, without success.

I did also happen to find this post on Instagram from the Stadt Cafe Wanders - a picture of a cake with the hashtag #annavoncleve - https://www.instagram.com/p/BHXB1yBAmWi/ It doesn't look too much like the cake in the other picture to me.

Thanks at the very least for your interest! I assure you, legions of (mostly) women - including my mother-in-law- will be grateful to whomever solves the 'Anne of Cleves Cake' mystery!

-Jennifer

 

[ChesterV]

Both cakes look yummie.

This also may be one of those situations where Anne Cleve had cake, but there was never really a recipe for it, so people have guessed at it. Hence the different kinds of Cleve Cakes that are around.
Also possibly the reason there is no set recipe for it. A lot of chefs like to "wow" high ranking officials sometimes, and they will make something that there is no recipe for. In Anne's case, historically speaking, she may have asked for a special dessert, and thats what the chef came up with at that time.

If there are any actual German delis or bakeries in your area, you might also check with them.
I would also find a German Chef who has a webpage and answers peoples questions.

You might also inquire to the Food Network and see if they know anything.



According to a lot of the historical food shows I've seen over the years, if it was popular and not too expensive to make, a recipe was written for the item and usually placed in a recipe book that served the house, the Lord/Lady, or the Royals themselves. These recipes usually never made public fare, but people usually make their own type of similar desserts.

It's my guess at this point, that this was a one time request of the Royal chef, so there was really no need for a written recipe. If a recipe was written, then it was the personal recipe book of the chef, which is probably in a box somewhere in a relatives attic, or lost to time.

 

[Jennifer Miller]

Chester, thank you for your great insights into this mystery! As a reference librarian, I am impressed with your suggestions for further research, too. I'll let you know if I uncover anything further!
-Jennifer

 

[Saciel]

Hi!

It may be late, but I found your thread while also looking up this cake. Apparently Anna von Kleve (or Cleve) cake is not historical, it was created somewhen around 2015 in honor to Anna von Kleve's 500th memorial.

The Anna von Kleve cake is a buttercream cake consisting of a nut bottom, dark chocolate, a layer of cherries, a layer of buttercream (or cream in summer) and chocolate splitters on top.
Not to be confused with "Anna-cake", a christmas cake made from chocolate bottom with candied lemon peel, almonds and rum (there is no cream).

 

[Jennifer Miller]

Saciel, sorry for the delay - thank you for this reply! This makes sense and explains the lack of historical references. If you have any documentation or sources you can share about the commemorative cake itself, just let us know. Again, many thanks!

 

[Saciel]

Saciel, sorry for the delay - thank you for this reply! This makes sense and explains the lack of historical references. If you have any documentation or sources you can share about the commemorative cake itself, just let us know. Again, many thanks!

There is not much of sources I can provide, for the classic Anna Cake take this recipe on the most traditional German baking brand Dr. Oetker: https://www.oetker.de/rezepte/r/anna-torte.html

This is about the anniversary and mentions the buttercream cake, but no details on it:
https://www.derwesten.de/staedte/na...rte-zum-500-ist-angeschnitten-id11119155.html

apparantly the Café Wanders localized in Kleve invented Anna von Kleve cake after serving Anna cake for years:
http://www.lokalkompass.de/kleve/leute/bbc-auf-den-spuren-von-anna-von-kleve-d670277.html

The rest I got from reviewing contemporary recipes and from a friend who has made Anna von Kleve cake several times because it's her friends favorite.

 

[Jennifer Miller]

Saciel, thank you again! I think it's the '.derwestern' article - which I had not seen before - that makes it pretty clear (thanks to Google Translate) that the Cafe Wanders created the cake in commemoration of the anniversary. And it seems from the number of people who have petitioned them for the recipe that they are not interested in sharing it! Again, thank you very much for your input!

 

[Victoriac1]

That program is the very reason that I also searched for this cake. It looked scrumptious when Lucy Worsley was having a piece during the documentary. I am so glad at least others have been as curious as I am and found at least a variation of the recipe here it's a good place to start . Thank you for posting . It is one of the projects on my list to try