GROCH & ERBEN has always stood for passionate traditional craftsmanship and high-quality Baumkuchen year-round. We combine our proud tradition with a passion for sustainability and exceptional enjoyment.
The roots of our Baumkuchen factory date back to 1819, when Maria Groch laid the foundation for GROCH & ERBEN with her first Baumkuchen. More than 200 years later, this legacy is in the hands of the Hajek family. Now in the second generation, we produce unique Baumkuchen in our factory, both classic and modern flavors.
Using honest raw materials, our focus has always remained the same: to offer people all over the world an extraordinary taste experience with our quintessentially German and timeless product.
Our Baumkuchen blend combines tradition and modernity. We not only handcraft our traditional Baumkuchen with sugar glaze and a delicate lemon flavor according to Maria Groch's original recipe, but also take our products on a taste journey around the world.
The focus of our young team is always to create timeless products that capture and convey our emotions, turning our Baumkuchen into a unique taste experience.
It's the full flavor with a light and airy texture that is the hallmark of our Baumkuchen and makes it so popular. To ensure this remains the case, we at GROCH & ERBEN avoid frills and reduce our ingredients to the essentials. Therefore, we use only sustainable and honest raw materials and the finest chocolate. Artificial flavors and preservatives are strictly prohibited.
History & Motivation
With the city of Cottbus, our home lies in one of Europe's most exciting regions. Always characterized by change and diversity, the people here are constantly on the move. Just like Maria Groch, who laid the roots for GROCH & ERBEN on a cold winter night in 1819 with her first Baumkuchen (tree cake) in the immediate vicinity of our current factory. She shaped the rings with a wooden comb and, once cooled, covered them with a thin layer of sugar glaze and a hint of lemon. The Cottbus Baumkuchen with fondant had been born.
Her daughter Wilhelmine became a purveyor to the Imperial Court, and countless manufacturers followed suit, making the region Germany's premier destination for the "King of Cakes." In 1900, Dresden confectioner Max Lauterbach came to Lusatia for the pastries, already delivering as far away as New York and becoming a purveyor to the Royal Court.
The legacy of Maria Groch and Max Lauterbach is now in the hands of the Hajek family. Founded in 2006, our factory has developed into one of the best places to buy Baumkuchen in Germany. With the second generation taking over in 2020, a breath of fresh air blew into the factory.
In the new chapter of the family-run company, the passion for Scandinavian lightness and minimalist design not only meets new, innovative product ideas, but also meets the topic of sustainability, which will be a central theme for everyone in the coming decades. At GROCH & ERBEN, we know that we cannot and are not yet completely sustainable, but this motivates us all the more to achieve this goal in the medium term through new processes, packaging materials, and especially new products.