Germany- Butterkuchen (German Butter Cake)

A Little History:

Butterkuchen (translated as Butter Cake) is a cake that is usually served in coffee houses in North Germany. Its origin is unknown but the cake is traditionally eaten at weddings and funerals, the cake is sometimes referred to as Freud-und-Leid-Kuchen (which is translated as Joy and Sorrow cake) or Beerdigungskuchen (translated as funeral cake). The interesting thing about Butterkuchen is that it uses yeast, which is used for baking bread/ enriched doughs, however Butterkuchen mixture does not use strong bread flour but plain flour, this therefore gives the cake more of a dense texture. 

Ingredients:

• 400 grams plain flour
• 50 grams sugar
• 3 teaspoon (roughly one pack) of dried instant yeast
• 130 millimeters warm milk
• 70 grams of unsalted butter, melted 
• 1 teaspoon salt

For the top of the cake: 

• 150 grams unsalted butter
• 100 grams sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 100 grams of chopped almonds (I didn't have any and neither did my local supermarket so when you do make this recipe please have a pack of almonds on hand!)

Method:

1. Put a dough hook attachment on a freestanding mixer, if you don't have a freestanding mixer then you are more then welcome to make this recipe by hand, you will need arms of steel, but don't worry you would have burnt all the calories off to eat a piece of cake at the end! Put the flour and sugar in a bowl and then add the yeast and stir together. 

2. Turn on the mixer and put it on the lowest speed, add the warm milk, then the eggs, followed by the melted butter and then the salt. Whack the mixer onto a medium speed and mix for five minutes or until the mixture pulls away from the bowl. Cover the bowl with a tea towel, cling film or a shower cap (thats what I did!) and leave for 30 minutes in a warm place (I left mine outside as it was 34 degrees but an airing cupboard, somewhere with a tumble dryer, next to the oven with the door slightly open is fine).

3. Grease a baking sheet with a little butter. After 30 minutes, place the dough onto a floured surface and knead for a little bit. Then using a rolling pin, spread the dough onto the baking sheet, cover again and leave in a warm place for 30 minutes, meanwhile preheat the oven to 170 degrees celsius.

4. Remove the cover and then using your fingers create cute little dimples all over the dough, then place a little butter in every single hole (this is time consuming so I suggest you listen to some music or have someone to talk to, otherwise you may lose your marbles!) mix together the cinnamon and sugar and the sprinkle all over the cake, then sprinkle the almonds over the cake.

 5. Place the cake in the oven for five minutes. After five minutes, change the oven temperature to 200 degrees centigrade for 12 minutes, keep an eye on the cake as it could start to burn (like mine did!), the cake should be a light brown colour once done.

9. Leave the cake to cool and then cut up into little pieces.

This cake is very sweet, buttery and delicious! I would suggest to serve this cake with a strong coffee due to how sweet this cake is, or you could just eat it as it is! You could also serve this as a petite fious at the end of a dinner party with coffee and tea, you could also give it as a gift to someone for Christmas or a birthday.

This is the first recipe from my trip to Germany, next recipe is going to be a twist on the classic Black Forest Gateau (and before you ask its not going to look like its from the 70's!) Thanks for reading, please send me your bakes and suggestions and please keep sharing! :)