A tall, fluted Alsatian brioche studded with raisins soaked in kirsch or rum and crowned with almonds, dusted with icing sugar. Lightly sweet and buttery, it's for Sunday breakfast or Christmas, made here with Canadian all-purpose flour and instant yeast.
I'm Alsatian, and kougelhopf is our cake: Sunday breakfast, the coffee table when visitors come, and every Christmas. Making it in Canada comes down to two things, the mould and the yeast.
The mould was the hard part for me. I couldn't find a real kugelhopf mould in stores here and had to order mine on Amazon, so if you want the tall fluted crown, order it a week or two before you plan to bake. If you can't wait, a 10-cup Bundt pan does the job: the shape is a little different, but the cake tastes the same.
A brioche baked in a fluted crown
Kougelhopf is a rich yeast dough, close to brioche, baked in a tall fluted ring with a chimney in the middle. Whole almonds sit in the bottom of each flute, so they end up on top. It tastes of butter and raisins and is only lightly sweet: you eat it with coffee, or with a glass of Alsace white wine in the afternoon. Alsatian recipes start with a 20 g cube of fresh yeast, which Canadian supermarkets rarely sell; 7 g of instant yeast replaces it, weighed from a Canadian 8 g envelope (about 2 tsp).
Will a Bundt pan do?
The traditional mould is glazed clay from Soufflenheim, and you won't find it in Canadian stores. Metal browns faster than clay, so keep an eye on the top after 25 minutes; a 10-cup pan is the right size for 500 g of flour. Butter every flute generously: a sticking cake is almost always a dry spot.
A soft dough and a slow rise
The dough is soft and sticky, and it takes its time: don't rush the second rise. It's ready when it has risen to about 1 cm below the rim of the mould.
Making it in Canada
The 3 French ingredients, and what to buy for them in Canada.
Levure de boulanger fraîche (20 g)→7 g instant yeast
Instant yeast is about a third of the weight of fresh yeast for the same rise, so 20 g fresh becomes 7 g instant, and it mixes straight into the flour. A Canadian envelope holds 8 g (about 2¼ tsp): weigh out 7 g, or use a level 2 tsp, and keep the rest for the next bake. Traditional active dry yeast works too: use 8 g and dissolve it in the lukewarm milk for 5 to 10 minutes, until it foams.
🛒 Fleischmann's Quick Rise Instant Yeast is sold in strips of three 8 g envelopes at Walmart, Sobeys and Metro, and in a 113 g jar at Maxi. If you bake often, the jar is the better buy; keep it in the fridge once opened.
In France, brioche is often made with T45, a finely milled white flour; the number is about ash, not strength. Canadian all-purpose gives a slightly chewier crumb that carries the butter well, so use it as is. Don't swap in cake & pastry flour: it's too weak to hold the rise.
🛒 Robin Hood All Purpose and Five Roses All Purpose (the Quebec heritage brand) both list about 13% protein. Both are at Walmart and Sobeys; Five Roses is also at Super C.
Moule à kougelhopf en terre de Soufflenheim→10-cup (2.4 L) metal Bundt pan, or a 22 cm kugelhopf mould
Clay heats slowly and evenly; metal browns faster, so cover the top loosely with foil after about 25 minutes. A 10-cup pan is the right volume for 500 g of flour. A 12-cup pan works but gives a lower cake, and anything under 10 cups will overflow.
🛒 Walmart.ca lists the Nordic Ware Heritage 10-cup Bundt, and Canadian Tire sells a Nordic Ware 12-cup Bundt with a cake keeper. For a true kugelhopf shape, the Fox Run 22 cm kugelhopf pan is on Amazon.ca.
Good to know: Dark rum is the everyday choice here. French kirsch comes in 700 mL bottles at a high price for 3 tablespoons, so use it only if you already have one. For the almonds on top, Bulk Barn sells whole blanched almonds by weight. If you only have almonds with skins, drop them in boiling water for 1 minute and the skins slip off.
Ready to cook?
Kougelhopf
A tall, fluted Alsatian brioche studded with raisins soaked in kirsch or rum and crowned with almonds, dusted with icing sugar. Lightly sweet and buttery, it's for Sunday breakfast or Christmas, made here with Canadian all-purpose flour and instant yeast.
Prep time
40 min
Cook time
50 min
Resting time
15 hr 10 min
Total time
16 hr 40 min
Servings
10
Allow 12 hours for the raisin soak, about 3 hours for the two rises, and 10 minutes cooling in the mould. Final cooling on the rack is additional. Rises can take longer in a cool kitchen; the optional 30-minute dough chill and overnight-rise variation add time. The quicker 1-hour raisin soak reduces the total to about 5 hr 40 min, plus rack cooling.
Ingredients
Original recipe: 10 servings.
Instructions
Soak the raisins. The night before, put the raisins in a small covered bowl with 3 tbsp kirsch or dark rum. Leave overnight, allowing 12 hours, then drain. For the quicker 1-hour soak, follow the note below; it shortens the listed total by 11 hours.
Mix the dough. In a stand mixer with the dough hook, mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Add the milk and eggs and knead on low speed 5 minutes, then medium 5 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic.
Add the butter. Add the soft butter a few pieces at a time, kneading until each is absorbed. Knead 5 minutes more: the dough should be soft, shiny and pull away from the sides of the bowl. Mix in the drained raisins on low speed.
First rise. Cover and leave at warm room temperature about 1½ hours, until doubled.
Prepare the mould. Butter a 10-cup (2.4 L) Bundt pan or 22 cm kugelhopf mould generously, into every flute, and put an almond in the bottom of each flute.
Shape. Punch the dough down, shape it into a ball with lightly floured hands and push your thumbs through the middle to make a ring. If it's too slack to hold a shape, chill it 30 minutes first. Drop the ring into the mould and press it down evenly.
Second rise. Cover and leave 1–1½ hours, until the dough is about 1 cm below the rim. Heat the oven to 180°C (350°F) during the last 20 minutes.
Bake. Bake 45–50 minutes, until deep golden. If the top browns too fast, cover it loosely with foil after 25 minutes. A skewer pushed into the thickest part should come out clean.
Unmould and finish. Let it cool 10 minutes in the mould, turn it out onto a rack and cool completely. Dust with icing sugar before serving.
Equipment
Fox Run kugelhopf mould, 22 cm: The tall fluted ring gives the cake its shape and bakes the middle evenly; a 10-cup Bundt pan is the in-store alternative.
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Notes
Plump raisins don't pull moisture from the crumb. Short on time? Warm the kirsch or rum, pour it over the raisins and leave them 1 hour.
For an overnight rise, do the second rise in the fridge, then leave the mould out 1 hour before baking.
If it sticks, the mould wasn't buttered enough. Next time, brush very soft butter into every flute, then chill the mould 10 minutes before adding the almonds.
Keeps 3 days wrapped at room temperature. Freezes well whole or sliced.
Course: Baking · Cuisine: French · Adapted for Canadian kitchens
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