Filled Kuchens: Plum or Apricot; Cinnamon & Coffee

Mixed Berry Kuchen

by Cat, (Photo, right, by Cat)

Includes: 1.  Plum or Apricot Kuchen; 2. Coffee-Cinnamon Kuchen

See also 1. Butter Kuchen; 2. Fruit Kuchen.

Kuchen is a German name for coffee cake.  I first learned of this wonderful treat from the Tassajara Bread Book, by Edward Espe Brown (1). There are many styles of Kuchen; he offers two of them:  One style is the Butter Kuchen, cake-like in texture, with a cinnamon streusel on top. The other is Fruit Kuchen, which is more like a tarte: a tart crust topped with fruit in custard.

A third style is the filled kuchen as presented here, which is cake-like in texture (either yeast- or soda-risen), with a filling in the middle. These are presented here, and include Plum or Apricot Kuchen, with fruit in the middle. Or the Coffee-Cinnamon Kuchen with a fruit & coffee layer in the middle.

Wikipedia has a good discussion of the many types of Kuchens (2).

All coffee cakes are intended to be served with coffee or tea, perhaps as part of a Sunday or holiday brunch, a luncheon dessert, or a mid-afternoon “tea.”  They are also great tucked into a child’s lunch bag.

More about coffee cakes

All coffee cakes are intended to be served with coffee or tea, perhaps as part of a Sunday or holiday brunch, a luncheon dessert, or a mid-afternoon “tea.”  They are also great tucked into a child’s lunch bag.

While coffee cakes are traditionally sweet, I prefer not to use refined sugar in my baked goods, so instead I use stevia, raw honey and date “sugar”.  The latter is simply ground dried dates, and makes a great substitute for brown sugar in crumb toppings. Another choice for crumb toppings in Rapadura sugar (unrefined sugarcane juice), but of course, it is real sugar.

Plum or Apricot Kuchen

Like the Fruit Kuchens, this is a layered coffee cake. I’ve adapted this version from Good Housekeeping magazine (May 2002 issue).  But unlike my Fruit Kuchens, this one has a yeast-risen cake instead of a tart-like crust.  It is also a large recipe, making 3 kuchens (16-servings each).  You might try using different fruit in each, such as peach, plum, or rhubarb. I’d like to adapt the recipe for just one kuchen.

I’ve not yet tested this recipe.  I would much prefer to use fresh or frozen plums or apricots (rather than dried), but not sure of quantity.  And I can’t imagine using rhubarb without adding more sweetener, as rhubarb is very sour.  One suggestion would be the amount of sweetener for rhubarb pie; for example ¾ cup sugar equivalent: 2 Tbsp honey plus ½ tsp stevia extract; (from my Rhubarb Custard Pie (links to old site)).

This version does not pre-soak the flour for the cake; I would like to test a presoaked version (see rough amounts below the main recipe). Pre-soaked version:  Add enough boiling water to 2 Tbsp plain yogurt top make ¾ cup; stir in the 2 ½ cups whole grain flour with and rest, covered, on counter overnight.  Next day, prepare custard and proof the yeast in ¼ cup warm water and ½ Tbsp honey.  Beat egg, butter, remaining 1 ½ Tbsp honey and salt, then stir in the proofed yeast.  Stir this into soaked flour.  Sift ¼ cup white flour with ¼ tsp baking soda, and stir into dough.  Then knead in as much of the remaining white flour as necessary to keep dough from sticking.

Ingredients & Equipment:

Rich Custard:

• 1 Tbsp Organic cornstarch (or 2 Tbsp tapioca starch)
• ¼ cup Rapadura sugar (or ¼ tsp stevia extract powder)
• 3 large eggs
• 2 cups raw or whipping cream
• ½ cup Rapadura sugar, or ¼ cup honey

Kuchen Dough

• 1 package active dry yeast
• 2 Tbsp honey, divided
• 1 cup warm water, divided
• 4 Tbsp butter, melted
• ½ tsp Unrefined sea salt
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 ½ cups whole wheat or spelt flour
• ½ – 1 cup unbleached white flour

Filling:

• 1 ½ cups dried plums (prunes) or apricots, sliced; or 3 cups cut-up rhubarb (with added sweetener?).

Equipment:

• medium bowl
• 2 large bowls
• 2-quart saucepan
• pastry cutter
• three 8-inch round cake pans

Method:

Prepare custard:

1. In medium bowl, whisk together cornstarch and ¼ cup sugar (or ¼ tsp stevia).  Whisk in eggs until well blended.  Heat cream and remaining sugar or honey in saucepan until boils, stirring occasionally.
2. Remove cream from heat.  In thin steady stream, whisk half of hot cream into egg mixture.  Gradually whisk egg mixture into remaining cream in the saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat 5 minutes, or until custard thickens slightly and reaches 170⁰ F, stirring constantly.
3. Transfer custard to bowl; cover and refrigerate until cold, about 2 hours.

Prepare & bake kuchen:

1. While custard is cooling, proof yeast in ½ Tbsp honey and ½ cup warm water.  Stir in butter, salt, egg yolk, ½ cup warm water, and remaining 2 ½ Tbsp honey.
2. Gradually stir in 2 ½ cups flour to make a soft dough.  Turn onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 – 10 minutes, working in just enough remaining flour to keep dough from sticking.  It will be soft.
3. Shape dough into a ball; place in greased large bowl, turning dough to grease all sides.  Cover bowl with damp cloth and let rise in warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
4. Punch down; cover and rise another 30 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 350⁰ F.  Butter baking pans.
6. Divide dough into 3 equal pieces; pat each onto bottom and up the side of each of 3 prepared pans.  Sprinkle ½ cup dried fruit, or 1 cup fresh or frozen fruit or rhubarb in center of each kuchen, then top each with one-third of the custard.
7. Bake kuchens 30 – 35 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is set.  Cool in pans on wire racks 5 minutes.  Remove kuchens from pans; cool slightly on racks to serve warm, or cool completely to serve later at room temperature.  Refrigerate leftover kuchen; reheat if desired.

Pre-soaked version idea:  Add enough boiling water to 2 Tbsp plain yogurt top make ¾ cup; stir in the 2 ½ cups whole grain flour with and rest, covered, on counter overnight.  Next day, prepare custard and proof the yeast in ¼ cup warm water and ½ Tbsp honey.  Beat egg, butter, remaining 1 ½ Tbsp honey and salt, then stir in the proofed yeast.  Stir this into soaked flour.  Sift ¼ cup white flour with ¼ tsp baking soda, and stir into dough.  Then knead in as much of the remaining white flour as necessary to keep dough from sticking.

Proceed as in original recipe, letting dough rise, then separate into 3 equal sections, one for each kuchen. Top each with fruit and ⅓ of custard. Bake.

Coffee-Cinnamon Kuchen

This aromatic and delicious recipe is adapted from the Best of Friends, Etc. Cookbook by Darlene Glantz Skees.  The original called for 1 cup white sugar and ½ cup dark brown sugar in the cake.  I modified this to use stevia and date “sugar” (ground, dried dates) mixed with a bit of blackstrap molasses.

The original also calls for a glaze made with 1 cup powdered sugar, coffee and milk.  There really is no substitute for powdered sugar in the glaze, but you could make this without the glaze, use a smaller amount of the glaze, or mix a bit of honey and coffee and drizzle that over the cake.

I’ve modified the original to use mostly soaked whole grain flour instead of all white flour, to improve nutrient content and lower the glycemic index.

I don’t use instant coffee in my house (I prefer Organic Free-Trade French Roast, extra strong, brewed in my French press). I do not know how to modify the filing to use brewed coffee, so I’ve not yet tried this recipe. One idea is to make up a strong batch of coffee and use that instead of water in the presoak, which would give a coffee flavor to the cake layers. To add coffee flavor to filling (as in original recipe), perhaps dehydrate brewed coffee in the dehydrator I don’t have (yet).

Serves 9 – 12.

Ingredients & Equipment:

Pre-soak:

• 1 ½ cups whole spelt or wheat flour
• ¼ cup dairy sour cream
• ¼ cup plus 2 Tbsp boiling water

Filling:

• ¼ cup currants
• ⅓ cup date sugar *
• 1 Tbsp blackstrap molasses *
• ⅓ cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp instant coffee powder (not granules)

* Or use ½ cup date sugar and omit the molasses

Cake:

• ¼ pound (1 cube) butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• ¾ tsp stevia extract powder
• 1 Tbsp strong coffee
• ½ tsp real vanilla extract
• ¼ cup unbleached white flour
• ¼ cup coconut flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• pinch Unrefined sea salt
• 1 cup dairy sour cream

Glaze:

• 1 cup Rapadura powdered sugar (or Make Your Own Unrefined Powdered Sugar)
• 2 Tbsp strong brewed coffee
• ½ tsp milk
• ½ tsp vanilla

Method:

1. Combine sour cream and boiling water, then stir into flour.  Press a sheet of waxed paper against the surface, and allow to sit on the counter overnight.
2. Next day:  Preheat oven to 375⁰ F.
3. Soak currants in hot water to cover (or 3 Tbsp brandy), for 10 minutes.  Drain and combine with date sugar, molasses, nuts, cinnamon and instant coffee powder.  Set aside.
4. Meanwhile, butter a 12-cup Bundt pan or 10-inch tube pan.
5. Cream butter, then cream in eggs and stevia.  Mix in coffee and vanilla.
6. Stir egg mixture into soaked flour until combined.
7. Sift together white flour, coconut flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, then stir into batter alternately with sour cream.
8. Spread a quarter of the batter into bottom of baking pan, sprinkle with a third of currant mix.  Repeat layering twice, ending with batter on top.
9. Bake in preheated oven until done, or about 55 minutes. Test for doneness with wooden pick inserted in center.  Remove from oven and cool on wire rack.
10. While cake is baking, combine glaze ingredients.  Drizzle over upside down cake after removing cake from pan.
11. Alternately, mix a bit of honey and strong coffee and drizzle over cake.

Assembly or Serving ideas

• Serve with coffee or tea.

References:

1. Tassajara Bread Book, by Edward Espe Brown
2. Best of Friends, Etc. Cookbook by Darlene Glantz Skees
3. Good Housekeeping magazine (May 2002 issue)