recently used my Kugelhopf pan for a Julia Child’s sponge
at Schoenbrunn Palace 12/2014:
Doesn’t everyone dream of Alsatian or Austrian snow-covered villages at this time of year? My ever-expanding curiosity about European history leads me down this path. After all, on such a small continent, how did so many diverse cultures coalesce, thrive and create the most fantastical works of art, architecture, music, literature, poetry and food? (Not to mention scientific discoveries) I want to know how and I want to know everything about all of them.
There is something so archaically comforting about an image of sitting in the dark on a frigid early morning, hot mug in hand with a piece of yeasty, stretchy, fragrant, nut and fruit studded cakey bread to tear apart and feed the soul. It’s almost enough to make this time of year tolerable if not enjoyable and it sends my restless mind wondering of all the customs, festivals and holidays created down through time to help cope with the metabolism-challenging dark weeks. It’s why I love reading Nigel Slater’s The Christmas Chronicles maybe even more than A Christmas Carol. His opening invitation in his book evokes this feeling so perfectly. Give it a read.
Yes, I get to December and my brain turns to the very same spot every year. As the daylight wanes down to the weeks right before and after the equinox, I find myself strongly drawn to a place that I have never actually lived but dream about in my heart of hearts. Those dark and cold mornings beckon me to a baker’s lair where the aromas of wafting yeasty, sugary intoxicants swirl about. They say there is a spiritual being created inside all of us and, mine is either a patron or worker bee of the european patisserie. While I’ve never been to Alsace or Vienna for that matter (tho my family has), my heart resides there.
The Kugelhopf and it’s pan, or mould, as one would have it. I dream of rummaging through old dusty shops in towns in France for vintage ones. Moreover, I dream of experimenting with all manner of fruits and flavors in this iconic cake or bread, crunchy sugars in a bite and aromas a-wafting instead of a-wassailing ….. After all, it does lend itself to a myriad of versions, and soaking with the most ethereal of eau-de-vies and brandies at this time of year.
The original version I have of this story, one I have written about on this blog, involves The French Pastry Shop which resided on Washington Street in Morristown, NJ for a short time in my youth. So transitory was this place that I can easily recall the intimate details of the shop and its artisans to this day. This qualifies as one of my ultimate impression-setting experiences, leading me on a lifelong venture through the pastry world.
While doing “research”, I have found all the quarrels, dictums, claims of honor from cities and towns where they are said to have originated. We all know there are many baked items that are to this very day argued over. The amalgam that is European baking culture coalesces around these disputes so adamantly as well as alluringly, and I indulge in the pastime of reading and re-reading about them.
Many substantive bakers have opined about the Kugelhopf and offered recipes. I share some of them here. Might I suggest that we all try out one of these recipes over the next few weeks as part of our annual baking repertoire? After all, there is always room for one more majestic treat at the table. I suggest trying one on an off night, say a week night, maybe when the tree is first up, sparkling in the early darkness and perhaps with a little snow falling outside the window. Play some carols and hum or sing along. Make it special. And, if you really don’t have time to do any of these, make Julia Child’s sponge cake and dust it with snow instead.
Mimi Sheraton: https://www.nytimes.com/1998/12/23/dining/in-alsace-a-pastry-with-heart-and-history.html
Ed Behr: https://www.saveur.com/kugelhopf-alsatian-cake/
Dorie Greenspan: https://leitesculinaria.com/2997/recipes-kugelhopf.html
Rachel Khoo:https://www.thegoodlifefrance.com/how-to-make-kugelhopf/
Food 52: https://food52.com/recipes/8043-cardamom-and-orange-scented-kugelhopf
Philippe Andreiu of Ladurée fame (see Kerrin Rousset – My Kugelhopf) http://mykugelhopf.ch/2010/10/laduree-cookbook/
David Leibovitz on Vandermeersch – https://www.davidlebovitz.com/vandermeersch-k/
Manuela Darling Gansser’s of Winter in the Alps fame (no yeast) in my blog circa 2013 – https://kitchen-inspirational.com/2013/09/29/dreamy-gugelhopf-a-recipe-from-manuel-darling-gansser/
Baked From Scratch: https://www.bakefromscratch.com/chocolate-kugelhopf/
https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/chocolate-apricot-kugelhupf-1158
https://purplefoodie.com/christmas-kugelhopf/
https://www.gourmettraveller.com.au/recipes/browse-all/kugelhopf-with-honeyed-muscat-pears-9703
After all that, it seems that my favorite would include dried cherries and a splash or two of Kirsch. This seems to have been imagined by the America’s Test Kitchen team here: I choose this one for experimenting.
So, I shall take out my pan and “get busy” as my dear Mom used to say.
And, Happy Kugelhopf-ing to you, too!
am work partners