Kugelhopf

Resembling an edible coronet adorned with glistening almonds and amaretto-plumped golden raisins, the kugelhopf is a majestic cake. The delicate crumb, lighter than air and reminiscent of tender brioche, is the product of the unusual addition of baker’s yeast—creating a bread-meets-cake hybrid. The sugary dough, enriched with eggs and pads of creamy, golden butter, undergoes a single rise in a tall, fluted tube pan before baking. The resultant kugelhopf cake is tall and splendidly contoured, and the final dusting of confectioners’ sugar enhances each distinct curve.

Unsurprisingly, the earliest kugelhopf was made popular by royalty. When kugelhopf first made its appearance in the 16th century, the addition of butter and sugar to cakes was a luxury reserved for the wealthy upper class. As copious amounts of butter and sugar are key to the classic kugelhopf recipe, the cake was most often