TWD: Kugelhopf

Kugelhopf . . . what a funny sounding name for such a DEE-licious treat!  This is the perfect recipe for me to make when I have a lot of reading to do (which is all of the time) because it involves multiple little  steps over a long period of time.  

I'd made brioche before so I felt like I wasn't going into this recipe completely blind because the dough-making process is very similar.  I made sure to take the butter out of the fridge yesterday morning so that it would be completely soft by the time that I got around to making the dough (yesterday evening at about 5 pm).  I took the finished product out of the oven this morning at 11 so, all in all, it took about 18 hours to make.  But, only about an hour or two were active time, the other time was all devoted to resting.  I ran out of milk so I ended up using about 1/3 milk and 1/3 c heavy cream instead.  Oops.  I figured that it couldn't be too rich.  I also used heaping tablespoons of sugar rather than leveling them out so I ended up with a sweeter dough.  I was just really worried about it being bland and not exciting.  The dough was sticky but it came together and, lordy, I was so happy to have my KitchenAid go to town on the dough.  I know that all of those French grandmothers in the Alsace use a wooden spoon, and more power to them, but that dough requires so much kneading and mixing that I can't imagine doing it by hand.  Actually, I can imaging doing it by hand -- it's not a good thought.

I didn't know what to do about the raisins.  I hate raisins.  I love craisins and dried cherries etc so they were a possibility but Dudley doesn't like fruit in his desserts.  Now, I think he would have eaten it anyway and he certainly would never have said anything about it but I am depending on him to eat most of this for me so I wanted to make him like it.  So, with much trepidation, I added white chocolate chips and mini chocolate chips.  I thought that combination might be too much for the dough and immediately after I dumped it in, I regretted it.  However, I'm pleased to report that it was outstanding!  The white chocolate chips actually complement the buttery richness of the kugelhopf.  I think that white chocolate chip-cranberry would be even better.  

I accidentally used about 6 tablespoons of melted butter on the kugelhopf.  I would have used 8 but the butter exploded in the microwave as I was melting it and at least 2 tablespoons were lost.  I didn't pay attention to the directions and I just assumed that I was supposed to brush it with a stick of melted butter.  So, I brushed on the melted butter, sprinkled sugar, and then repeated.  

The verdict:  I thought it was delicious.  I don't know if it was the cream or the extra sugar but my kugelhopf was rich and delicate and the perfect combination of yeasty and sweet.  Dudley loved it and he ate 3 pieces right away.  It was so good warm but I'm interested to try a piece later when it's cooled and settled.  I am definitely making this again and I actually think that it'd be great on Christmas morning.