23
Dec
Kouglof
Kouglof is a type of Bundt cake, traditional of the Alsace region in the Eastern part of France, where my great grandparents were from. It is usually enjoyed all year long as a dessert or coffee cake, but over the years it became a typical Christmas-season breakfast treat in my family. As there are a lot of different ways to spell the word (Kouglof is the French spelling, but you can find many spelling variations from Germany, Austria, Czech Republic or Romania), the recipes also are plenty and vary from one country to another, one family to another. The original family version from my great grandmother, which was too dry to my mother’s Parisian tastes, has evolved into a delicious, tasty, moist yet not too much, delicacy.
Legend says that The Three Kings were the creators of the Kouglof. Another says that Queen Marie-Antoinette made it popular in France after she imported it from her native Austria. What is less of a legend, and certainly less interesting, is that my great grandmother was initially the only person who baked the Kouglof in the family. When she passed away, my mom took the lead, and I would often participate in her many trials to get a result that would best fit our own tastes; modifying the proportions, adding or removing ingredients, and replacing the butter by oil. We finally agreed on one recipe, the one that pleases our whole family the most! I sure hope you will like it too.
To view my Kouglof recipe, it’s on The Healthy Helping!
