Kuchen

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine

2 1/2 cups hot water

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. salt

2 pkg. dry yeast

Flour to make soft dough

Sugar and cinnamon, mixed

 

Pour 2 cups hot water over butter.  Set aside to cool.  Mix sugar, eggs, and salt.  Soak yeast and 1/4 tsp. sugar in 1/2 cup warm water.  Mix all together and add flour to make dough a little softer than bread dough.  Let rise in bowl.  Punch down and knead until smooth. 

 

Divide dough into 12 pieces.  Roll each piece into a circle to fit bottom and partially up sides of a greased round cake or pie pan.  Let rise about 20 minutes.  Put a little filling on dough, then add your favorite fruit.  Apples are good, but any other fruit, fresh, frozen (partially thawed), or canned (drained well) will work.  Sprinkle crumbles over fruit.  Add a little more filling and sprinkle a handful of sugar and cinnamon over the top.  Or use the cottage cheese filling below.  Bake at 325 degrees about 25-30 minutes until filling is set and crust is golden.  Makes 12 kuchens.

 

Filling for Kuchens:

 

2 pkg. vanilla pudding  (not instant)

6 cups Half 'n Half

 

Mix and cook until thickened.  Set aside to cool.

 

Crumbles:         2 cups sugar

                          1 1/2 cup flour. 

                          1/2 cup butter

 

Mix until crumbly.

Cottage Cheese Filling for Kuchen: (always a favorite)

 

1 qt. cottage cheese (drain if very juicy)

3 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

 

Put cottage cheese in blender.  Add sugar, eggs, and lemon juice and blend.  Spoon onto dough in pan.  Sprinkle with cinnamon.  Bake as above.

I can remember these delicious coffee cakes being made by my grandmother Pauline Weisz--always in big batches as she had 12 children.  Some fruits work better than others.  The less juicy ones seem to do best.  The cheese kuchen always gets eaten first.  This is my aunt Erna Rudolf's version of Grandma Weisz's kuchen.

Prep60 mins
Cook45 mins
Rise Time4 hrs
Total5 hrs 45 mins
Serves16
Makes2 cakes

For the Dough:

255 g all-purpose flour (9 ounces; 2 cups)

25 g (about 1/2 cup) potato flakes

32 g (2 1/2 tablespoons) granulated sugar

1.5 g (1/2 teaspoon) Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use half as much by volume or the same weight

3.75 g (1.25 teaspoon) instant yeast

180 g (3/4 cup) whole milk

35 g (2.5 tablespoons) butter, melted and cooled

1 whole egg (50 g)

For the Custard:

240 g (about 1 cup) heavy cream

240 g (about 1 cup) milk

1 vanilla bean, split and scraped, or 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste

60 g (1/4 cup) granulated sugar

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1/8 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use half as much by volume

2 whole eggs

1 pound (453 g) fresh peaches or other stone fruit, peeled, halved, pitted, and sliced into 1/2-inch thick wedges

For the Crumble:

45 g (6 tablespoons) all-purpose flour

25 g (2 tablespoons) granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

28 g (2 tablespoons) softened butter

For the Dough: Fit a stand mixer with paddle attachment. In stand mixer bowl, add flour, potato flakes, sugar, salt, and yeast, and mix on low speed until well combined, about 1 minute.

In a slow, steady stream with mixer running, add milk, melted butter, and egg. Increase speed to medium and mix until dough is smooth and starting to pull away from the sides of the bowl, 3 minutes. Turn off mixer. Remove paddle, scraping excess dough back into bowl, and switch to dough hook attachment. Scrape down sides of the bowl, and mix on medium-high speed until dough is smooth and elastic, 5 minutes.

Scrape dough into a well-greased bowl (it will still be sticky!). Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and let rise at warm room temperature (68 to 74°F) until puffy and roughly doubled in size, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Divide dough and shape gently into two roughly 275-gram balls. Place dough balls in well-greased pint-size deli containers or a large greased bowl. Lightly grease the top of dough ball, cover tightly with lid or plastic wrap, and transfer to the refrigerator. Chill for at least 4 hours and up to 24.

For the Custard: In a heavy medium saucepan, bring cream and milk to a bare simmer (about 180°F), 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla bean and seeds, cover, and let steep for 1 hour. Remove vanilla bean.

In a small bowl, whisk sugar, cornstarch, and salt together. Whisk in whole eggs and continue to mix until well combined and light in color. Slowly pour egg mixture into dairy mixture, whisking constantly.

Cook custard over medium heat, whisking frequently, until it reaches 180°F and thickens, 4 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat, let cool to room temperature, then transfer to a sealed container and thoroughly chill in the refrigerator before using, at least 4 hours and preferably overnight.

For the Crumble: In a bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add softened butter and rub it into dry ingredients using your fingertips, a fork, or a pastry cutter. Mix until it resembles fine breadcrumbs or damp sand, with no visible chunks of butter. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature or up to 1 month in the refrigerator.

To assemble and bake: A half hour before dough, custard, and crumble are ready, adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Thoroughly grease two 9-inch round cake pans.

Transfer one dough ball onto a lightly floured countertop. Sprinkle with flour and pat and roll out to a 10 1/2–-inch round. Transfer dough round to 1 prepared cake pan. The dough should cover bottom of pan and extend 1/2 to 3/4 inch up the sides of the pan, creating a basin for fruit and custard. Gently press the edges into place as necessary. Repeat with the other dough ball and other cake pan.

Arrange half of fruit over each shaped kuchen. Pour half of custard (1 cup) over each kuchen. Using a spatula or the back of a spoon, gently spread custard into an even layer.

Transfer both kuchen to oven and bake buntil dough is parbaked and custard is beginning to set, 25 to 30 minutes. Carefully pull oven rack out and distribute all of the crumble (about 1/4 cup per cake) over each kuchen and continue to bake until the crust is golden brown and the custard is mostly set, an additional 15 minutes. The center should jiggle slightly but not ripple like liquid. (It will continue to set as the kuchen cools.)

Remove pans from the oven and let cakes cool completely in pans set on a wire rack, at least 1 hour. Enjoy at room temperature, chilled, or gently warmed.

Make-ahead and Storage 

The crumble can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature or up to 1 month in the refrigerator.

The custard can be made up to 4 days ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container.

The dough can be made up to 24 hours ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container.Baked kuchen can be store wrapped or covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Kuchen can also be frozen. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving
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