There is a beautiful cake I’ve seen from time to time in French pâtisseries, made in a charming molded shape and dusted lightly with icing sugar. It’s so gorgeous it brings sugarplum fairies to mind. What could it be?
We were recently in the Alsace region of France (a stunning area, you must add it to your travel list), and I finally learned the answer: it’s called Kugelhopf, and it’s a specialty there, though everyone from France to Germany to Austria to Poland claims to have invented it. You’ll see it in every boulangerie, in sizes that range from muffin-esque to a grand cake.
Kugelhopf is a slightly sweet bread/cake that’s sprinkled lightly throughout with raisins or currants or nuts, or even mini chocolate chips. The first one I sampled, with chocolate, was dry and dull. But the second one, with currants and almonds, had me at the first bite. It’s a simple confection, a cross between cake and bread, but it's strangely addictive. One eats a slice with morning coffee, or with tea, or with a glass of sweet wine after dinner, or with an espresso, as dessert. It would be perfect for a brunch. Well, you get the picture, it’s endlessly flexible.
It so happened that the very next week, back in La Bourgogne at one of the Sunday vide greniers (empty attic sales) I always frequent, that I spotted something interesting. One of the sellers had miscellaneous items spread out on an old blanket, and there amongst the broken ashtrays and chipped vases was a beautiful ceramic mold, with a glaze on the inside the color of ripe wheat.
Madame la vendeuse was lounging in her hammock chair, puffing on a cigarette. “What is that exactly?” I asked her. “C’est quoi, ça?”
“C’est pour faire une Kugelhopf”, she told me. Aha! “Combien?” I asked, how much? “Deux euros,” she answered lazily.
I had expected a price more serious than a couple of bucks, as the pan was pristine. I hadn’t considered making a Kugelhopf, but the pan was decorative, and anyway, pourquoi pas?
“Is it easy to make?” I queried. “Est ce que c’est facile à faire?”
“Aucune idée,” she said breezily. “Je déteste cuisiner.” Translation: “Haven’t a clue. I hate to cook.” Well, that explained the low price.
And so it was that I, the sort of baker who rarely ventures beyond brownies, found myself in the kitchen with a fresh package of yeast and a brand new pan, puzzling over a Kugelhopf recipe.
So WAS it easy to make? If you have what the recipe calls for, which is a standing mixer with a paddle blade, I think it would be a snap. I don’t, but I figured Kugelhopfs were around long before mixers, so I decided to wing it. Though I’m now guessing the bakers of old were likely big German frauleins with arms the size of thighs. If you too are mixer-less, just consider it your upper body workout for the day. If you have teen-agers or a spouse you can press into service, tant mieux, all the better. And if you happen not to have a Kugelhopf pan on hand, you can fake it with a bundt pan. Or you can buy a Non-Stick Kugelhopf Pan
RECIPE: Kugelhopf from the Alsace
I used this recipe from Epicurious, with a few changes. In case you don’t have a standing mixer, here is how I faked it: I have a hand mixer which came with dough hooks (stuck in the back of the cabinet and never used), and these worked pretty well to mix in the liquids (I tried the regular mixing blades, then a spoon, neither worked as well). I added the liquid a little at a time, instead of a steady stream. And after it was blended, for the 5 minute aerobic beating portion I used a flat wooden spoon. I added the baked-in almond garnish, which I stole from Alsatian bakeries: just put a whole almond in the bottom of each crevice, and spread the batter over them.
Amazingly, given my lack of equipment and dubious baking history, my Kugelhopf was as beautiful as hoped and delicious as could be. The only problem was, it stuck to the pan, and, despite lots of coaxing, came out in 2 parts! However it was a clean break and I was able to put it back together, after extracting the top part with care—see photo (OK it looks a bit worse at the back). Interestingly, the many crevices in the pan were not the problem, it was the center of the mold that stuck. Maybe I should have cooked it longer? Any advice from veteran bakers is welcome, as I will be making it again!
In the COMMENTS: I've just discovered that our reader Kathy and her husband Charley do European tours, and she has a special one called The Luberon Experience. If you liked last week's post, do check it out! And going back to our recent post on Les Gîtes Ruraux, our reader Page promised a review on her recent stay in a gîtes in the Dordogne, which she has now kindly posted. Read the final comment on that post for her update.
12 thoughts on “A French Confection for the Fearless Baker”
Looks delicious – bien fait – bravo!
Lynn, if you get into the market at Cluny early enough, or order from the week before, you will find the baker Cyril Canedi from between Dompierre and Trambly who makes the most wonderful walnut kugelhopf. They sell out very quickly.
Yum! aA little butter or cooking spray in the pan first, would probably help with the sticking but it looks great.
We’ve just got back from a month in France which included six days in Alsace. As you say Lynn, it’s a very beautiful region of France. Like you, we saw Kugelhopf in every patisserie but we didn’t buy any because neither of us has a particularly sweet tooth.
One Alsatian dish we really do recommend though is Flammenkuche, also known as tarte flambé.
It looks like a pizza but has an amazingly light thin base and the topping is cream and bacon.
Makes a lovely light lunch, especially accompanied by a green salad and a pichet of the local white wine!
I’ll be adding this pan to my list of treasures to hunt for!! Cake looks delicious! Great job. 🙂
Good for YOU!!!! Have to say….yours looks pretty much like the ones in the window. Sometimes one just has to dive into the proverbial waters and trust the baking gods will be smiling.
Lynn,this looks better than wonderful!! It looks beautiful!
WOW! You did a fantastic job!
Mine,alas,was not completely cooked in the center.We ended up nibbling around the globs.
(perhaps the mould was too big for the baking time?)I was not requested to do an encore.(LOL)
I agree with Martin about the Flammenkuche! There is(was) a chain called Flams who prepared
all delicious kinds;remember there was one in Strasbourg but know there were other locations.
This looks definitely drool worthy Lynn! Thank you for the recipe & I intend to try it. I have a bundt cake pan which I rarely use anymore so a good excuse to do so. I would think a cooking spray should do it for the next time you make one. It looks lovely though as is. This reminds me of a wonderful little movie we watched last night, A Taste of Romance. It’s an older movie about an American French chef, cute little chick flick. You’ve made me hungry now!
Do you think a slice could be saved in the freezer for a couple of weeks? Looks delicious and beautiful!
Ellen
Although I haven’t tried making or tasting one, it sounds a lot like what we in New Orleans call a Baba-au-rhum… a sort of brioche, baked and cooled and soaked with a sweetened rum or whiskey or brandy syrup. We have always attributed it to our French Creole cookery culture. Who knew it has German/Austrian roots!
MMM, that’s interesting about the Baba-au-rhum; I’ve always wondered about that. I don’t like sweet desserts, but this Kugelhopf appeals.
Can you buy non-stick sprays in France? That’s what I would use. There’s one here called Baker’s Joy which has a bit of flour in it.
After reading your article, we went shopping at the local St. Vincent de Paul store near by. Not really looking for a ceramic mold like the one you found, I was casually browsing in the cookware section and did a double take because there sitting among miscellaneous baking pans was this mini ceramic mold looking like yours. I inquired about it being oven proof and the lady helping me offered to look it up on the Internet. She returned saying it was oven proof and that it was vintage German made. She sold it to me for $3. I looked it up myself when I got home and using the number embossed on the mold and it sells for $31. I’m using your recipe to make a cake for Father’s Day. Thank you for your article.