What’s German Coffee Cake?

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German Coffee Cake, sometimes called Kuchen, is a type of cake that originated in Central Europe. It can be served as a breakfast food or as a light dessert served with coffee. Some types of German coffee cake are served with toppings or fillings, such as cinnamon sugar, various fruits and nuts, or chocolate.

There are a variety of cakes that can generally be referred to as German coffee cakes. One type, called Gugelhupf, is traditionally cooked in a ring-shaped pan. It’s similar to a cake pan, but deeper and often more decorated. Gugelhupf usually has raisins, dates or almond flakes, and sometimes flavored brandy as well.

Streusel coffee cake, or Streuselkuchen, always has a layer of crumbled topping. The word streusel comes from the German word meaning “scattered” or “covered.” This condiment is most commonly made by cutting butter into a mixture of flour and sugar. It also often contains cinnamon.

Gugelhupf, streusel, and other types of German coffee cake can be modified with various other ingredients or flavors. While cinnamon and fruit, such as raisins, are the most common flavorings, some recipes call for orange or lemon zest, peaches, or chocolate chips. These can form a separate layer as a filling or topping, or they can be mixed into the dough or batter.

Unlike most American styles of coffee cake, German coffee cake usually uses yeast as a leavening agent. This makes preparing German coffee cake more difficult and time consuming than most other types of cakes. Yeast should normally be dissolved in milk or water, carefully heated to temperatures that will activate but not scald live cultures. The dough must also be given time to rise, usually about two hours. For those who prefer not to work with baking powder, however, there are some recipes available that call for baking soda or baking powder instead.

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