German ring cake

Name: German ring cake (Gugelhupf)
Cuisine: German
Ingredients: 100 g/3½ oz/¾ cup raisins; 100 ml/3½ fl oz/scant ½ cup brandy; 200 ml/7 fl oz/scant 1 cup milk; 800 g/1 lb 6 oz/5½ cups plain (all-purpose) flour, plus extra for dusting; 40 g/1½ oz fresh yeast; 250 g/9 oz/generous 1 cup butter, softened; 50 g/2 oz/¼ cup caster (superfine) sugar; ½ tsp vanilla extract or 1 pack vanilla sugar (about 5 g/2.5 ml); ½ tsp vanilla extract or 1 pack vanilla sugar (about 5 g/2.5 ml); pinch of salt; 8 eggs, lightly beaten; 25 ml/5 tsp baking powder; icing (confectioners’) sugar, to dust

Gugelhupf

Preparation info

Makes about
16
slices

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Food and Cooking of Germany

By Mirko Trenkner

Published 2009

About

The basis for this well-known cake is a yeast batter, which is baked in a distinctively shaped circular mould with a hole in the middle. It is one of Germany’s best-loved cakes and is familiar all over Europe.

Ingredients

100 g/3½ oz/¾ cup raisins
100 m

Europe
Germany
Cake
Vegetarian

Method

Soak the raisins in the brandy for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the milk in a pan until just lukewarm.
Sift the flour into a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Crumble the yeast into the well, add the sugar and pour in the lukewarm milk. Stir the milk carefully with the sugar and yeast, gradually drawing in a little of the flour so that a thick batter for