DELIGHT IN ONE OF THE MANY TEMPTATIONS FOUND IN ALSACE
Kugelhopf is one of the most popular and delicious treats found in Alsace, the endearingly folkloric French province on the Rhine. Not only is it showcased in virtually every window of the charming boulangeries and patisseries throughout the Alsatian countryside, but you can easily find molds of every size and color in local souvenir and kitchen shops. This fluted, circular coffee bread—and indeed, it is more like a brioche than cake—is often served dusted with confectioners’ sugar.
Indulge in Alsace Kugelhopf
(also known as Gugelhupf in Austria and Germany)
While traditional recipes have been enjoyed for years throughout Alsace (and in Austria, Switzerland and Germany where the cake is known as Gugelhupf), some confectioners tweak the recipe, adding grated orange and lemon peel, candied fruit and vanilla or even smoky bacon and crunchy walnuts. Enjoy it for breakfast, lunch or dinner with everything from milk and fruit juices to coffee and wine and as an apéritif. A dollop of butter or marmalade spread over the Kugelhopf is yet another way to indulge!
Ingredients
5 oz. golden raisins
1.5 oz. candied orange peel pre-soaked in rum
2 cups flour
2.5 oz. sugar
¾ stick butter
2 tsp. salt
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla or lemon extract
1 cup whole milk
1 oz. yeast
Preparation Method
Place all ingredients, except for the orange peel and raisins,
into a mixing bowl and stir until the texture is smooth. Add
the fruit to the dough. Let the dough rest for at least 15 to 20
minutes so it can rise. Divide the dough in two, and place into
two well-buttered Bundt pans. Let the dough rest at room
temperature for an hour. Bake in a preheated 375° F oven for
35 minutes.
Makes two Bundt Cakes
Try some traditional Alsace kugelhopf for yourself as part of your visits to Riquewihr or Strasbourg, France during many of our Rhine and Rhine & Moselle river cruises.