A Kugelhopf that isn't dry?
Hi all,
Having recently bought the amazing Nordicware Kugelhopf pan, I just had to bake some kugelhopf. For my first attempt, I baked the kouglof from "Paris Sweets" by Dorie Greenspan. It seemed scrumptious, and since it is soaked in sugar syrup, I was sure it would be plenty moist. The dough is a lean brioche dough, made from 280 grams of flour, a little yeast dissolved in about a quarter cup of water, 2 eggs, 1 egg yolk, a couple pinches of salt, 25 grams sugar, and 115 grams of butter.
I made the dough according to the directions, and got a silky smooth, beautiful dough, studded with raisins. I let it rise and retarded it as instructed, and then placed it in the greased pan. It filled about a third of the pan, and I was certain I needed more dough. Nevertheless, I let it rise, and it filled the pan completely. I baked the kouglof and immediately brushed it with the syrup. It was stunning to look at, smelled divine, but it was dry inside. My guests expected something cakier. The crust was delicious, though. Moreover, the raisins pretty much disappeared in the dough. As this is not a very sweet bread, this was slightly disappointing.
I decided to try again. I gave Dorie's recipe a second chance, but with a few changes. This time, I doubled the amount of raisins (I actually used raisins, dried apricots, and chocolate chips). I was quite generous. Also, I have read that Savarin and Baba au rhum are soaked with hot sugar syrup when they are cold. I tried that here: I let the cake cool (it took about 30-45 minutes), made triple the amount of syrup, and poured it all over the cake. This was a better attempt: the extra filling made the cake much nicer. However, it was still dry.
I haven't given up yet. I need to try a different recipe. I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations. The recipe in Tartine looks interesting. I am also thinking of making a richer brioche dough (I like the one by Richard Bertinet), and adding some soaked raisins and other goodies to it. Any other suggestions would be most helpful.