Gugeluph, gugelhuph, gah

However you spell it, it was one of my childhood treats. It’s a German coffee cake type thing. Mildly sweet and bread like, my best memories of it are eating pieces several days old lightly toasted in a toaster oven or in the big oven broiler.

You can vary it up a bit and I’ve seen recipes where fruit and nuts are rolled into the dough rather than mixed in. We always made it with raisins, but I’ve made it with grated orange peel and dried cranberries which is wonderful.

Here is the recipe I use, from my mother:

2 tbls yeast in 1/2 cup warm water.

1 1/2 cup milk, scalded

2/3 cup butter, margarine…or I’ve used oil with ok results.

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

lemon or orange rind grated. I usually use 1-3 whole lemons or 1-2 oranges. Avoid too much pith!

Optional: 1-2 tsp vanilla extract or the real stuff

Enough flour to make dough soft but not sticky

1/2 cup raisins (or dried cranberries, or…? Even nuts if you like that sort of thing)

I’ve also had good success cutting this recipe down. It’s easy enough to make 1/3, and if you don’t have a bundt or ring pan (funny story, I was trying to explain what a bundt pan was to my workmates and realized that neither bundt pans/cake, pound cake or angelfood cake are part of the kiwi home made cake experience).

Start your milk scalding. I read somewhere that scalding the milk changes it somehow, carmelizes the sugars or something, so I do it even though it’s a bit of a pain.

Get some warm water and put your yeast in. I figured that 2 packets is 2 tablespoons. When I cut the recipe down I used 1 packet and it was fine.

Cut up and add your butter (or not if you have a mixer) or add your oil and eggs.

Add your sugar and give it all a mix.

Stir in your grated citrus rind and vanilla.

Start adding your flour and keep mixing. Somewhere along the way add your raisins and any other mix ins.

Continue adding your flour and mix until smooth but not sticky.

Allow this mix to rise until doubled in size (or overflowing your bowl, eep!)

Now if you have a bundt or ring pan, you know, something with a hole in it, grease that up and place the dough in. If you don’t you can try what I did on a baking sheet.

If you made 1/3 recipe or have several loaf pans I found 1/3 recipe worked ok in a smallish loaf pan. You can see what a full recipe looks like below. I often have to eat it myself (oh, the horror) because my husband thinks raisins in bread is yucky. Does not know what he’s missing!

Bake at 350F (180C) for about an hour. The gugeluph should sound hollow when knocked on and pass clean the knife test.

As you can see my clever plan to have a hand shaped ring came to naught.

It can be frosted with a sugar glazing or powdered sugar dusting. I don’t like either so have it as is. Slice away.

Best served warm or slightly toasted. Something about the toasting brings out the subtle sweetness. Mmmm.