South Dakota – Home to the Black Hills and Mt. Rushmore. And the place that has declared Kuchen it’s state dessert.
Kuchen? What is kuchen? It’s a delicious coffee cake like pastry filled with custard and fruit. It tastes sort of like a custard filled donut you eat like a cake. And it is delicious!
The dessert (or breakfast…or snack…) was brought to the area in the 1880s by German immigrants. As time went on, every woman created her own version of the dish and now, every grandma passes on her unique variation.
South Dakota adopted kuchen (the German word for cake) as the official state dessert in 2000. Some have fruit, others are just swirled with cinnamon. Here is my take on the treat, made with sugary sliced apples and custard. Enjoy!
Here’s How to Do it:
Start with the dough.
Mix the yeast with 2 tablespoons luke warm water. Let it sit until is bubbles and shows activity.
Scald the milk and cream until it has a light film on the top. Stir in the butter and let it melt. Cool the mixture.
Beat together the eggs, sugar and salt. Stir in the yeast and mix well.
Stir in 2 cups of flour and the milk mixture. Add more flour, a little at a time, until you have a soft dough. Cover and let rise for an hour or so.
While the dough is rising, make the apples. Peel and slice the apple and
put it in a small saucepan. Add all the other ingredients and
simmer until the apples are soft and the liquid is almost evaporated. Set aside to cool.
Preheat the oven to 350° –
After the dough has risen, flatten it out some and push into a square pan making sure it goes all the way up the sides of the dish. Let it rest for 15 minutes.
While the dough is rising in the pan, make the custard. Using a whisk, whip all the ingredients together and heat on low until the mixture thickens and begins to look more like a thick sauce. Remove from the heat.
Next, mix up the topping. Using a pastry blender, cut the cold butter into the sugar.
When it is big chunks, stir in the remaining ingredients and mix well.
Now assemble the kuchen.
Pour the apples into the dough.
Pour the custard over the top of the apples,
then top it off with the butter and sugar mixture.
Place the pan on a cookie sheet (it’s likely to bubble over) and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, or until a knife in the middle comes out fairly clean. It will have some custardy apples on it, but it’s supposed to.
Set the dish on a rack to cool. You can serve this hot or cold – It is amazing!
South Dakota adopted kuchen (the German word for cake) as the official state dessert in 2000. Some have fruit, others are just swirled with cinnamon. Here is my take on the treat, made with sugary sliced apples and custard. Enjoy!
- 1/2 package active yeast (about 2 teaspoons)
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 3 Tablespoon butter
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2-1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 large Granny Smith Apple, peeled and sliced
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3 Tablespoons water
- 1/2 cup milk
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- pinch sea salt
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup flour
-
Start with the dough.
Mix the yeast with 2 tablespoons luke warm water. Let it sit until is bubbles and shows activity.
-
Scald the milk and cream until it has a light film on the top. Stir in the butter and let it melt. Cool the mixture.
-
Beat together the eggs, sugar and salt. Stir in the yeast and mix well.
-
Stir in 2 cups of flour and the milk mixture. Add more flour, a little at a time, until you have a soft dough. Cover and let rise for an hour or so.
-
While the dough is rising, make the apples. Peel and slice the apple and put it in a small saucepan. Add all the other ingredients and simmer until the apples are soft and the liquid is almost evaporated. Set aside to cool.
-
Preheat the oven to 350° -
-
After the dough has risen, flatten it out some and push into a square pan making sure it goes all the way up the sides of the dish. Let it rest for 15 minutes.
-
While the dough is rising in the pan, make the custard. Using a whisk, whip all the ingredients together and heat on low until the mixture thickens and begins to look more like a thick sauce. Remove from the heat.
-
Next, mix up the topping. Using a pastry blender, cut the cold butter into the sugar. When it is big chunks, stir in the remaining ingredients and mix well.
-
Now assemble the kuchen. Pour the apples into the dough.
-
Pour the custard over the top of the apples, then top it off with the butter and sugar mixture.
-
Place the pan on a cookie sheet (it's likely to bubble over) and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, or until a knife in the middle comes out fairly clean. It will have some custardy apples on it, but it's supposed to.
-
Set the dish on a rack to cool. You can serve this hot or cold - It is amazing!
© Copyright 2019 The Lazy Gastronome
© Copyright 2019 The Lazy Gastronome
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Your apple kutchen sounds like a real treat! I love the custard in the cake and the topping! Thank you for sharing your recipe with us at Fiesta Friday! :)
It was delicious!! Thanks for stopping by.
I think that was my stomach that just growled. What a wonderful fall dessert. Thank you for bringing it to Fiesta Friday.
Thanks Liz – and thanks for stopping by!
We are featuring your awesome post on Full Plate Thursday, 558 this week! Thanks so much for sharing your talent with us and we hope you will come back soon!
Miz Helen
Thank you! I’m honored!
Thank you for the detailed recipe and step-by-step photos! This was so much fun to make!
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts!
This was great! I had no idea that kuchen was the state dessert! yummy
Yep – thanks for stopping by.
Delicious!!! I adore apple cake and this was a winner!!
I grew up with kuchen – glad you enjoyed it.
This was such a fun recipe! Thanks for the easy-to-follow directions!
Glad it worked! Thanks for stopping by.
I really love your step-by-step instructions with the pictures, it helped so much when I thought I wasn’t making it correctly and I was and it came out so good. Without the pics I would have been lost. Thank you!
Glad it helped! Thanks for stopping by.
Very nice apple kuchen recipe! Hubby loved it too!
Thanks for stopping by!
Wow this was absolutely delicious! I had no idea it was the state dessert! Yum!
Glad you enjoyed it!! Thanks for stopping by.
Absolutely loved this!
Glad you enjoyed it – thanks for stopping by!