Gooey Philadelphia German Butter Cake Butterkuchen Food

GOOEY PHILADELPHIA GERMAN BUTTER CAKE (BUTTERKUCHEN)

Steps:

• Mix sugar, shortening, and salt in a bowl.
• Add egg, and beat together for 1 minute.
• Dissolve yeast in warm milk.
• To egg/sugar mixture, add flour, then yeast mixture and vanilla, beating about 3 minutes (with dough hook or by hand).
• Turn dough onto lightly floured board and knead 1 minute.
• Place in a lightly greased bowl, cover with a towel and let stand in a warm place to rise 1 hour or until double.
• Make Topping: Cream butter in a mixer.
• Mix together flour and sugar; gradually beat into butter.
• Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Add vanilla.
• Gradually add just enough milk to bring mixture to an easy spreading consistency, being careful not to make it too runny. Set aside until dough is doubled and ready for use.
• When dough is doubled, punch it down and divide in two sections.
• Roll or pat halves into bottom of two well-greased 8" square pans (or a 13x9 pan).
• Crimp edges halfway up sides to hold topping. Prick dough with a fork to reduce bubbling.
• Spread topping evenly over dough. Let stand 20 minutes. Heat oven to 375°F.
• Bake 30 minutes for 13x9 or 20 minutes for 8x8 or until top is just golden and crusty, but still gooey.
• DO NOT OVERBAKE!

GERMAN BUTTER CAKE (BUTTERKUCHEN)

Steps:

• Warm up the milk in the microwave or on the stove. It should be slightly warm, not hot or boiling!
• Put the flour into a large mixing bowl and add the instant dry yeast (check packaging instructions to make sure it doesn't have to be dissolved in water or milk first). Sprinkle the sugar on top. Now add the lukewarm milk and knead everything using the spiral dough hooks of your mixer.
• Add the vanilla extract, soft butter, egg, and a pinch of salt. Keep kneading the dough for around 5 minutes until it forms a ball and no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl. If it is too sticky, add a little bit more flour. If it is too crumbly, add some more milk.
• Place a towel or lid over the bowl and let the ball of dough rise for at least one hour in a warm place without a draft.
• After about 55 minutes, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare your baking pan by either greasing it or lining it with parchment paper.
• Once the whole hour is up and the ball of dough has significantly increased in size, give it another knead before lightly flouring your countertop and rolling out your dough to fit your baking sheet/pan. We use a baking pan with approx. dimensions of 13.5 x 9.5 inches. Place the dough into the baking pan.
• For the topping, take the butter out of the fridge and cut it into small cubes. Use your fingers - or the handle of a wooden spoon or butter knife, for example - to make small, evenly placed dents into the top of the rolled out dough. Make sure to not poke through to the baking pan! Place the pieces of cold butter into the holes. Now sprinkle the top of the dough with sugar and sliced almonds.
• Place the cake in the oven to bake for around 25 - 30 minutes until the almonds on top are slightly browned. Since every oven is different, your cook time might vary slightly.
• Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool. Cut it into slices before serving. Enjoy!

AUTHENTIC GERMAN BUTTER CAKE (BUTTERKUCHEN)

Steps:

• Place 4 cups of flour in a large mixing bowl or stand mixer and make a hollow in it with the back of a spoon.
• Crumble fresh yeast or sprinkle dry yeast in the hollow and fill with the lukewarm milk. Add a pinch of sugar and mix a little to incorporate some of the flour.
• Let the sponge sit in a warm place for 15 minutes.
• After the yeast is activated and showing strong growth, add the salt, egg, 7 tablespoons of the softened butter and 3/4 cup of the sugar to the yeast mixture.
• Mix until the dough is smooth and forms a ball. Add up to 1/2 cup additional flour if necessary. Form dough into a ball, place in a greased bowl, turning the dough once and cover. Let rise 15 to 30 minutes.
• Roll the dough out to 1/2 inch thickness on a lightly floured board and transfer to a 15x10-inch jellyroll pan. Let it rest again for 15 minutes while heating oven to 375 F.
• Dimple the top of the dough all over, using your fingers or the back of a wooden spoon.
• Mix remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon together and sprinkle evenly over dough. Cut remaining 9 tablespoons of butter into small pieces and spread it evenly over the dough.
• Bake for 25 minutes, or until cake is done and the sugar/cinnamon mixture has melted together and caramelized a little. If you feel the need, turn on the broiler for the last 3 minutes of baking, watching carefully so that the topping does not burn.
• Alternatively, mix 1/4 cup of sugar with enough water (1/4 to 1/2 cup) to dissolve the sugar and brush this sugar water on the hot cake right after you take it out of the oven.
• This cake freezes well. After defrosting, crisp it up a few minutes in a 350 F oven.

BUTTERKUCHEN (QUICK AND EASY PASTRY)

Steps:

• In a pyrex mixing bowl, combine milk, 1/2 c sugar, salt and 1/2 c butter. Heat in microwave until butter is melted.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, dissolve both packets of yeast into warm water with the pinch of sugar.
• Measure flour into another mixing bowl. Add eggs and stir to just combine. When butter has melted, add the liquid to the flour mixture and stir a little. Then add yeast and stir enough so that all ingredients are combined.
• Grease a 10x13 pan and spread dough in pan. Let rise in a warm place for 45 minutes.
• While dough is rising, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Also, mix together the topping ingredients and sprinkle over the dough.
• Place in oven over a halfsheet to catch any syrup that runs over the top. Bake for 22-27 minutes or until the top is golden and syrupy. Be careful not to overbake.