Preheat the oven to 410°F (210°C). Line a 9 inch springform with parchment paper.

Cream together the butter with 1/2 cup (100g) of sugar, vanilla extract, and egg yolks until fluffy. Beat egg whites with the remaining sugar and salt until stiff peaks form, then fold into the butter mixture. Sift cornstarch over the mixture and gently fold in. Line a springform pan with parchment paper, lightly grease it, spread a few tablespoons of batter into the pan, smooth it out, and bake for about 7 minutes at 410°F (210°C). This should yield 7-8 cake layers.

Soak each cake layer generously with the rum-juice mixture and allow to cool completely before spreading with cream.

Grate the marzipan.

Mix orange juice with white wine. Stir vanilla pudding powder (or cornstarch) with egg yolks and some of the juice/wine mixture until smooth. Heat the remaining liquid with sugar and mix in the prepared pudding powder. Immediately add grated marzipan and brandy to the thickened mixture, stirring continuously until smooth.

Now it's time to layer. Place the bottom cake layer on a cake plate and spread about 2 large tablespoons of cream on the layer.

Repeat this process, ending with the top layer.

Spread jam all over the cake, cover it with the melted chocolate, and decorate it with chocolate shavings.

And now, the most important part! The cake gets better the longer you let it sit.

I let the cake sit in the refrigerator for a whole 2 days and 2 nights, and even after slicing, the remaining cake got tastier with each passing day.

So prepare the Herrentorte in advance and give it time; you won't regret it!

Let me know how it goes if you dare to try it!