Author Notes
I love this kind of yeasted cake. They aren't too sweet but the smell is oh so yummy and taste really good. I would serve it with Champagne or better yet, Inniskillin Vidal Sparkling Icewine. ( I used a 9-inch kugelhopf mold ) - thirschfeld —thirschfeld
Test Kitchen Notes
One word: FABULOUS. Okay, more than one word: this is a great recipe that comes together very easily and bakes up beautifully. It’s sweet, but not overly so, making this a great option for any time of day, and not just for dessert. Make sure to baste the mold really well if it has lots of deep design parts like mine does so that it will release when it comes out of the oven. This yeasted cake is so tender and fluffy, it needs to release pretty easily. I used the full 3½ cups of flour and loved the currants sprinkled through the cake, but could also see miniature chocolate chips in it as an alternative—but then I can see chocolate in most everything. —TheWimpyVegetarian
Continue After Advertisement
Ingredients
-
1 tablespoon
active dry yeast
-
1 cup
whole milk, warm but not over 110 degrees
-
2 tablespoons
honey, mild flavored variety
-
1/2 cup
sugar
-
1 1/2
sticks of unsalted butter, slightly softened, plus more for the mold
-
4
egg yolks
-
4
egg whites, beaten until stiff
-
1 tablespoon
Grand Marnier
-
2 1/2 teaspoons
orange zest, you can add more zest but note the more you add the more it becomes marmalade like, which I like but it is not everyones taste
-
1/2 teaspoon
vanillla extract
-
1 teaspoon
cardamom
-
1/2 teaspoon
fine grind sea salt
-
3 1/2 cups
unbleached all purpose flour
-
1 cup
raisins or zante currants
-
1/2 cup
sliced almonds
-
confectioners sugar for dusting
Directions
-
For the starter you want to combine the milk and honey and sprinkle the yeast over the top and let it bloom. Once all the yeast is hydrated add 1 cup of the flour and mix to combine. Cover and set aside for 30 minutes.
-
In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle cream the butter with the sugar. Once it is smooth add the starter and combine it.
-
Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl. With the mixer running add the egg yolks one at a time only adding another after the previous one is blended in. Add the Grand Marnier, vanilla, cardamom, salt and orange zest.
-
Add two cups of flour and mix to combine. You want the dough to be stiff enough to just pull away from the sides. It should look like the kugelhopf mold in a sense in that you should see pleats of dough with shiny bowl spots. If you need to add flour a 1/4 cup at a time. you should see strands of gluten forming. Mix in the egg whites which will make the dough more like a batter. Mix in the raisins
-
Butter the mold with lots of butter and then sprinkle in the almonds along the sides and top. Add the dough to the mold making sure it is evenly distributed. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and set aside.
-
Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees. Once the dough has risen to about the 3/4 mark on the sides of the mold slide it into the oven and bake it for 30 minutes. Check it and if the exposed cake is browning to fast loosely set a piece of foil on top. Bake another 30 minutes.
-
Remove from the oven and invert the mold onto a cooling rack and lift the mold. Let the cake cool completely. Dust with powder sugar and serve. It is best served the day it is made. If there happen to be leftovers it makes great French toast.
See what other Food52ers are saying.