Evi Traber's Gugelhopf
This inaugural recipe that launches The Renata Collective is in tribute to my Mom who instilled in me a true sense of worth, an unconditional love of family, the importance of nutritious food and by just being the amazing Mom she was, I learned the many joys and responsibilities of being a woman. My mother passed away far too young and much too soon, as the world needs more amazing, nurturing, wonderful, beautiful people like her.
I miss her wisdom and her guidance every day.
This Gugelhopf recipe was the first cake I ever baked, was taught it by my Mom, and it is what set me on my course of loving to bake and cook and spend time in the kitchen. This recipe was passed down to my Mom from her Mom and Grandmother so it is a multi-generational heirloom in our family! I now share it with you, in honour of the strong, courageous, simply awesome women who have come before me.
The origins of the Gugelhupf is Swiss, German and Austrian – spelled with a ‘u’. We spell ours with an ‘o’ – not sure when it became so. It is a Butter Pound Cake. There are many different Gugelhopf recipes, often you’ll see them made with yeast and are vanilla cake with raisins. Our family recipe is made with baking powder. My take on it is to marble it with chocolate and add chocolate chips. It is a very versatile recipe: you could leave it vanilla and add fresh cherries on top – this is a delicious variation!
I even have a Gugelhopf cake keeper that my dearest friend game me! And a heart shaped form from the same dearest friend!
The traditional Gugelhopf form is a specific Bundt-style form with the tube in the middle. But any Bundt form will do. You can also bake this cake using a spring form pan. You can see the variations of the Gugelhopf forms I have in the photo, including the more modern silicone Gugelhopf pans. The Gugalhopf form in the bottom middle of this photo was part of my Mom’s trousseau when she married my Dad. It’s authentic, much used, well loved and I cherish it!
This simple and delicious, moist Swiss Butter Pound Cake is a family favourite in our house and sure to become that in yours too! It’s perfect with a cup of tea or coffee anytime of the day or evening!
Prep time: 10 minutes / Bake time: 60 minutes / Total time 1 hour 10 minutes / Servings: 12
Ingredients
2 cups and 2 tablespoons all purpose flour (I used unbleached)
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup melted salted or unsalted butter (your preference – I use unsalted)
1 1/2 cup milk (any fat content – your preference – I use skim)
3 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
¼ cup cocoa (for a marble cake)
½ cup chocolate chips
How It’s Made
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Butter and breadcrumb a Gugelhopf form or a Bundt Pan – important: make sure the tube in the middle is also buttered and well breadcrumbed.
In a large bowl, mix together:
2 cups and 2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
Add to the above:
3/4 cup melted butter (room temp - if you melt the butter and can't wait for it to get to room temp, pour the milk in to cool it)
1 1/2 cup milk
3 eggs - add one at a time and mix well after each
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Mix until batter is smooth.
Pour into the pan, smoothing top so it's even.
Sprinkle chocolate chips on top or raisins (raisins are the traditional version with the plain vanilla version).
If you want a marble cake, leave about 1.5 cups of the batter in the bowl and add the cocoa powder to that batter in the bowl (and a little more milk if it's too thick) and gently pour over the vanilla mixture in the pan. With a fork, swirl the batter around the top dipping the fork into the batter and bringing it up to the top. Sprinkle with Chocolate chips once you've swirled it.
Bake the cake, middle oven rack, for an hour, checking with a knife to make sure it's done.
Let it cool and put a plate onto the top and invert it. The cake should slide out, but if it doesn't gently shake it loose.
Enjoy!
