Introduction

About the Gugelhupf

If there is one dessert that is quintessentially Austrian, it is the Gugelhupf. Golden brown, proud and dignified, it takes pride of place on tables in coffee houses and at family gatherings, epitomizing Austrian cosiness.

But Gugelhupf is much older than we might think. Similar baked goods were already known in ancient Rome, and throughout the Middle Ages, its precursors spread under many names – as ash cake, Rodonkuchen, or Topfkuchen. However, it was never the exact recipe that was decisive, but always the characteristic shape.

Incidentally, its name comes from the Old High German word »Gugel« for hood: just as a monk’s hood was once lifted, the baking tin lifts off the cake to reveal the work of art beneath.

In the 16th century, the Gugelhupf appeared in the first printed cookbooks, such as Marx Rumpolt’s »Ein new Kochbuch« (A New Cookbook). And in the Biedermeier period, a time of domestic reflection, it finally became a fixture of Viennese culture.

Today, it is still one of the most popular cakes in Europe, and whether in Vienna, Alsace, or Burgundy, each region presents its Gugelhupf in its own unique form: sometimes simple, sometimes elaborate, sometimes with raisins, almonds, or chocolate—but always in its characteristic shape.

A piece of living history—served on lace doilies and accompanied by hot coffee.

Ingredients

• 250 g butter
• 250 g sugar
• 4 eggs
• 350 g plain flour
• 100 g raisins
• 50 g ground almonds
• 1 packet baking powder
• 1 packet vanilla sugar
• 7-8 tablespoons milk