Kougelhopf is the quintessential Alsacian cake. This bundt cake is perfect for breakfast, sliced and covered with a thin layer of salted butter.

Ingredients (one large Kougelhopf):

  • 75 grams of dried grapes
  • 20 centiliters (200 grams) of milk
  • 25 grams of fresh yeast1
  • 500 grams of flour
  • 75 grams of sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 150 grams of salted butter
  • a dozen almonds

Preparation:

Grapes

  • Puts the dried grapes in room temperature water to let them soak during the rest of the process

Yeast

  • mix the yeast with a few tablespoons of flour and 10 centiliters of lukewarm2 milk
  • let rest until the yeast bubbles up

Dough

  • mix the flour, sugar and eggs
  • add the leftover milk
  • dice the butter and add it
  • mix until the butter is properly incorporated
  • add the yeast and milk to the dough, mix for a few minutes
  • let rest one hour in a warm place (near a heater for example)

Pan

  • generously butter a Kougelhopf pan3
  • put almonds in the bottom indentations of the pan
  • add the grapes to the dough
  • put the dough in the pan
  • let rest for about one hour (or until the dough fully fills the pan)

Cooking:

  • cook 45 minutes at 180C (350F)4
  • once it has had some time to cool down, unmold it onto a flat plate
  • once cold, you can sprinkle some powdered sugar on the result for better looks

Credits:

This is my take on Marmiton’s Kougelhopf sucré (Alsace) recipe.

  1. You can also use about one packet of dry yeast. The result will be more homogeneous (which is a slight loss in my book, part of the charm of this cake is its rustic side). ↩︎

  2. My rule of thumb is that it should feel warm, so above body temperature, but no more than that. If you can burn your finger then it will kill your yeast. ↩︎

  3. A Kougelhopf pan is a fluted tube pan. The traditional model (as sold to tourists) is made of ceramic but I prefer to use a metal pan. ↩︎

  4. You can cover the top of your pan with some parchment paper (or aluminum foil) if it starts browning too early in the cooking process (it will be the bottom of the cake so no point in having it brown). ↩︎