German Bundt Cake (Basic Gugelhupf Recipe)

Grandma's traditional yeast-risen bundt cake always tastes good! And with this recipe, baking the fluffy pastry is a breeze.

Hello everyone. This traditional bundt cake made with yeast dough is wonderfully fluffy, buttery and fluffy - yay for all the classics! Even though it's neither an unusual nor hip cake, every baking household should have a classic easy bundt cake basic recipe. I'll share mine with you in this post.

Taste and Occasion

Before the classic Gugelhupf recipe, a brief explanation of the terminology. You see, it's a bit confusing. By "Gugelhupf" everyone understands something different: Some mean the shape of the pastry, which is baked in a high cupcake or wreath cake form. Sometimes it's a marble cake, sometimes a lemon cake, sometimes an eggnog cake. The others have a narrower definition. And in fact, the original Gugelhupf is made with yeast and not at all with a sponge.

Grandma's bundt cake tastes lovely. It is made of a comparatively lush, in my case stirred, yeast dough and is not too sweet. Because of that, the thick layer of powdered sugar is very, very important. For those unfamiliar with the classic, it's best thought of as a cross between regular braided bread, oven-baked yeast dumplings, and french brioche. It's not difficult to prepare - despite the dough sometimes being reputed to be complicated.

Ingredients

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As mentioned before, you make my basic Gugelhupf recipe with a yeast dough that is stirred instead of kneaded. So it goes a bit in the direction of sponge 😉 … Of course, it has to rise properly before baking - not in the bowl, but from the beginning directly in the pan that is buttered before and sprinkled with almond flakes.

To make the yeast dough Gugelhupf moist and fluffy, I like to use double-grain flour or Viennese semolina flour or type 550 flour, but in principle, it also works with standard white flour or light spelt flour. Our favorite way to eat Gugelhupf is with raisins. If you can't stand raisins, leave them out or replace them with other dried fruits, some cranberries, chopped apricots or cherries.

In case you're wondering if you can bake yeast Gugelhupf with dry yeast: Sure, just like any yeast dough. So instead of 30g of yeast, use about 10g or 1.5 sachets of dry yeast. I still advise using fresh yeast.

How to make the German Bundt Cake

Let's get started with grandma's basic Gugelhupf: Pour the juice or the rum over the raisins. Then, crumble the yeast with the sugar into the lukewarm milk and stir until it dissolves. Let stand for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, grease the pan(s) and sprinkle the bottom with the flaked almonds. The dough is enough for a large pan at least 9.5 in/ 24 cm in diameter or two small ones. Now, beat the softened butter with the remaining sugar until fluffy, add the eggs one by one and mix well. Add the flour with the yeast water to the mixture and mix everything together to form a smooth dough.

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Now it's time to dust the raisins with a bit of flour and gently fold them into the dough. Put the dough into the prepared pan(s) and let it rise in a warm place for 1-1.5 hours until it has about doubled volume.

Finally, preheat the oven to 360°F/180°C and bake your Gugelhupf for about 45 minutes. Cover towards the end if necessary. Attention: Tiny pans only need about 35-40 minutes. Let cool and dust with plenty of powdered sugar.

Top Tip

Unlike the alternatives made from sponge dough, you should eat yeast-risen cake fresh. Or freeze them - this works wonderfully. But in most cases, there should be hardly anything left anyway…

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German Bundt Cake (Gugelhupf Recipe)

An extremely popular classic made with stirred yeast dough. Grandma's easy Gugelhupf with almonds and raisins turns out wonderfully fluffy and moist! The recipe is also great to vary.

Prep Time15 mins

Baking Time40 mins

Waiting Time1 hr

Servings: 1 large cake

Calories: 275kcal

Ingredients

1x2x3x

• 30 grams (2 tablespoons) fresh yeast
• 20 grams (1 ¾ tablespoons) sugar
• 250 milliliters (1 cup) milk, lukewarm
• 150 grams (¾ cup) butter, soft
• 120 grams (⅔ cup) sugar
• 3 eggs, medium
• 500 grams (4 cups) wheat flour, preferably type 550 or double wheat flour
• 100 grams (¾ cup) raisins
• 1 tablespoon apple juice, or rum
• 50 grams (3 ½ tablespoons) almond flakes
• powdered sugar, for dusting

Instructions

• Pour the juice or rum over the raisins. Crumble the yeast with the sugar into the lukewarm milk and stir until it dissolves. Let stand for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, grease the pan(s) and sprinkle the bottom with the flaked almonds. The dough is enough for a large pan at least 9.5 in/ 24 cm in diameter or two small ones.
• Beat the softened butter with the remaining sugar until fluffy, add the eggs one by one and mix well. Add the flour with the yeast water to the mixture. Mix everything together to form a smooth dough.
• Dust the raisins with a bit of flour and gently fold them into the dough. Put the dough into the prepared pan(s) and let it rise in a warm place for 1-1.5 hours until it has about doubled volume.
• Preheat oven to 360°F/180°C. Bake Gugelhupf for about 45 minutes; cover towards the end if necessary. Tiny pans only need about 35-40 minutes. Let cool and dust with plenty of powdered sugar.

Notes

• The recipe is enough for one large or two small baking pans.

Variations

Are you looking for more basic recipes? Then you will definitely find what you are looking for on my blog. How about my basic cupcakes or basic muffins? Or the basic german buttercream recipe?

Nutrition