Gugelhupf  Cake Recipe – An Alsace Classic

Gugelhupf Cake Recipe – An Alsace Classic Cake

Have you baked a Gugelhupf Cake? It’s a classic Alsace recipe and easy to bake. We often cook them around Christmas time when we’ve eaten enough Christmas fruit cake and want something different that’s easy to bake and that we can share with visitors. 

I like a good rich fruit cake but it doesn’t take me long during the Christmas holidays to get sick of eating fruit cake. That’s when I dig around my pantry, pull out my Gugelhupf cake tin and marzipan and strap on my apron.

Gugelhupf Cake

Just a bit about the home of the Gugelhupf cake first. Did you know the region of Alsace changed nationality four times since 1871 because the region was caught in the wars between France and Germany?  As a border region Alsace has been fought over for centuries by France and Germany.

Today, the region is peaceful with pretty painted villages, fortified towns and sleepy vineyards. Much of the attraction of this breathtaking region also lies in its cuisine.

The flavours of Northeast France are robust with rich beef stews, pig, sausage and ham meats, dumplings and sauerkraut dishes with many foods similar to German and Flemish dishes. So let’s look at this classic (and Christmas rescue) recipe from the region of Alsace, the Gugelhupf cake.

Cooked in a slender ring-shaped pan this cake is popular all over Central Europe. There are a number of versions of this classic but I cook mine with chocolate and marzipan as found in ‘The Ultimate Mixer Cookbook’ by Kay Halsey on p154. This is the first cookbook that gave me true confidence to get stuck into cooking and give more complicated recipes a go.  It has been my cookbook bible.

Ingredients for Gugelhupf Cake

• 225g butter or margarine
• 100g caster sugar
• 250g plain flour
• 1tsp baking powder
• 5 beaten eggs
• 100g plain chocolate chopped small
• 150g marzipan chopped small
• 4-6 drops bitter almond oil

What you need to do

• preheat your oven to 200°. Butter 22cm Gugelhupf tin or a fluted ring mould and dust with flour
• cream the butter or margarine and sugar in bowl
• mix the flour and baking powder, gradually add this to the creamed mixture, alternating with the eggs until all the ingredients are combined. Stir the chocolate, marzipan and almond oil into the mixture
• pour the mixture into your tin and cook for 35mins.

When cooled, I dust my cakes with icing sugar and often decorate with fresh lavender or strawberries, as I’ve done above.

This Gugelhupf gâteau is simply a great looking cake that is super easy to make like the Cherry Clafoutis cake and it’s certainly a nice change from fruit cake. Why not give it a try!

Other French Recipes To Try

Tarte au Citron – a zesty lemon tart

Galette de Rois – traditional cake of the ‘Kings’

Cassoulet – a comforting and fulfilling dish for winter