Well the title might sounds cheesy but for me this recipe has a story. That’s what I like about cooking….it can be either a brand new experience going towards the unknown, expecting the unexpected or an intimate relationship which brings you back childhood memories. This recipe is all about that for me….images of that cake standing in my grand mother kitchen ready to be eaten the next day for breakfast…knowing that you’d better get up early (even if it was Sunday) otherwise you risked not to have a slice (we were 13 grand children; all keen to jump to have our share of that cake!) and to be honest we all agreed that her recipe was the best! I was unable to find anything similar in a shop. Hopefully we (members of the family) made sure the recipe stays alive and family tradition remains. After all that’s what family recipes are for, isn’t it?
You will need a kougelhopf mould in terracotta (better than ceramic and it can be bought online) and to make your life easy use the bread maker (option: Dough only) unless you are keen to knead with your hands (that’s how my grandma did it but hey, I am a bit lazy!)
The recipe below is for a mould of 20cm diameter.
You will need:
380gr plain flour
5ogr sugar
100gr melted butter
3 egg
1/2 glass of warm milk
1tsp of fast yeast
1tsp of orange blossom flower (optional)
currants soaked in warm water (optional)
a handful of Almonds
In your bread maker pan place the warm milk, the eggs, the melted butter, the orange blossom flower (if used).
On top place the flour, the yeast in one corner and the sugar in an other.
If you use currants, drain and add them to the pan.
Place the pan in your bread maker and let it knead and rise for 1 hour 30mn (that’s the time I have when I use the option: Dough only).
Butter your mould and place your almonds at the bottom
Remove the rising dough and roll it as a big sausage.
Place it in your Kougelopf mould and then cover it with a kitchen towel. Place the mould in a warm area and let it rise again for a good hour. The dough should rise up to the edge of the mould.
Meanwhile turn your oven at 200C.
Once your kougelopf has risen, cook it for 25mn. Be aware the top can turn brown very quickly so place a piece of baking sheet or aluminium on top to protect it.
Let it cool. Remove it from the mould and enjoy the next morning cover with icing sugar! and some jam….