Happy Sunday, baking friends!

You may ask, “What the heck is Kuchen?” Well, I’ll tell you! Kuchen (pronounced “koo-ken”) is the German word for “cake”. In fact, kuchen is the official state dessert of South Dakota. Fruit Kuchen is quite an interesting dessert, not to mention scrumptious! It’s like a cross between a fresh fruit pie in a tender pastry crust with custard cream poured over the fruit keeping it extra moist. Slices of ripe, juicy, and fresh peaches make the perfect topping.  It’s great because it doesn’t take a whole lot of anything to make. My version, not a ton of ingredients and not a ton of time.

A springform pan is ideal for baking with, as long as springform doesn’t leak and smoke the house up and wakes up your husband. Not that I have experience with that or anything.  The springform pan makes it easy to remove and serve. Peaches are among the most popular topping, but historically, kuchen was made with whatever fruit was abundant at the time.  My Peach Kuchen version uses fresh or canned peaches, heavy cream, and a sprinkle of sliced almonds. Peach Kuchen is especially delicious with whipped cream or a la mode. I wish that everything is as good and simple as my Peach Kuchen.

Let’s get started!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces

1/2 cup milk

1 egg + 1 yolk

2-3 peaches, 1/2″ slices or 1 large can peach, sliced and drained

2 tablespoons sliced almonds, optional

For the Custard Filling:

1 cup heavy cream

2 teaspoons flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon almond extract

Pinch of salt

To Make the Kuchen:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare springform pan or a 9x9x2-inch baking pan. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.  Using your mixer, cut in the 6 tablespoons of butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

In a small bowl, combine egg, egg yolk, and milk. Add egg mixture to flour mixture, stir until combined.

Spread batter into prepared pan. Arrange peach slices on top of batter. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Making the Custard Cream:

In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cups of cream with flour and whisk together to get rid of big lumps. Add the rest of the cream, almond extract, sugar, egg, and a pinch of salt, whisk until combined.

Take the cake out of the oven and pour the cream mixture on top. Place cake back in the oven and reduce the heat to 350 degrees. Continue to bake for 35-40 minutes or until cake tester is clean.

When the cake is puffed and the edges are a deep golden and starting to separate from the pan, the cake is done. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes and then remove it from the pan and let it cool completely.

Serve your kuchen topped with whipped cream,  ice cream or just by itself. Anything goes!

Enjoy every bite!

Thanks for stopping by…

 

~Eileen