Catholic Recipe: Kugelhopf

Also Called: Kugelhupf; Gugelhopf; Gugelhupf; Almond and Raisin Cake

This is a traditional German nameday cake. This is also a recipe from France in the Alsace Region. We say cake, although the recipe calls for yeast and rising periods, so perhaps the classification is more of a sweet bread. Either category, it is delicious.

DIRECTIONS

Pour into a mixing bowl 1/2 cup of scalded milk and cool until warm. While the milk cools, sprinkle 1 package of active or 1 cake of compressed dry yeast into some warm water in a cup. (Crumble compressed yeast into lukewarm water.) Stir until dissolved. To the milk in the bowl add 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1 1/2 cups of sifted flour. Mix well. Add the dissolved yeast and beat until smooth. Add 2 eggs and beat thoroughly. If you prefer, beat the eggs first in a separate bowl. Add 1/4 cup of melted and cooled butter or margarine. Stir in 1 1/4 cups more of flour. Then beat the batter for about 5 minutes (an electric mixer set at a moderate speed is good for this).

With a rubber scraper scrape the batter down from the side of the bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled (about 1 1/2 hours). While the batter rises, prepare the baking pan. Use either a Kugelhupf mold or two one-pint molds, or a 7-inch angel food cake pan. Rub the inside of the pan generously with 1 tablespoon of butter or margarine. Then sprinkle 2 tablespoons of fine bread crumbs or finely ground almonds into the pan. Shake it to coat the whole inside of the pan with crumbs. Arrange 15 or 16 almonds in a design in the bottom of the pan.

When the batter has doubled, stir it down. Mix in 1/2 cup of chopped raisins and 1 teaspoon of grated lemon rind. Carefully spoon the batter on top of the almonds so as not to spoil your design. When all the batter is in the pan, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled (about 1 1/4 hours). Bake in a moderate oven (350°) for 45 to 50 minutes. Look at the cake after it has baked for 15 minutes; if it is turning brown, lay a piece of clean brown wrapping paper over the top for the rest of the baking period. This is a rich batter and browns easily. When done, turn out of the pan onto a wire cake rack. If you wish, dust lightly with confectioner's sugar. To make a design on the top of the cake, lay a scalloped lace doily on the cake and sift confectioner's sugar over it. Lift the doily carefully and pour the extra sugar back into the container.