Kouglof aux Pépites de Chocolat/Kugelhopf with Chocolate Chips

A kouglof (in french) aka Kugelhopf or Gugelhupf is a Bundt cake which is well known in Alsace region of France and in Southern German, Austria and in Switzerland. Gugelhupf or Kugelhopf is a big cake and has its distinctive ring shape. Usually prepared with soft yeasted dough, this cake will always contains raisins, almond and cherry brandy, while some have candied fruits, nuts, not to forget that some regional varieties from Hungaria, Czech and Slovak are filled with sweetened ground poppy seeds but however many variations do exists. I have already tried a Savoury version of Kugelhopf with vegetables, but my today's Kugelhopf goes for chocolate chips. Though this yeasted cake have a dense bread like texture, the dough is prepared almost like a brioche dough. When i baked the savory version of Kugelhopf i couldnt find the traditional pan of this Alsacian bread, now i have this special baking pan at home which i bought recently as a new addition to my baking pan collection.

This Kugelhopf is considered as much as like a coffee cake and can be eaten for breakfast with your favourite drink or as a snack with your favourite spread. You can make delicious bread toast with this kugelhopf, yes this bread is seriously very versatile. Since i replaced the nuts and candied fruits with chocolate chips, this bread was a bit hit among my kids. They enjoyed thoroughly every bite of this softy and ultimate bread with their bowl of hot chocolate. However if you want to bake this beauitful yeasted bundt cake with your favourite nuts or candied fruits, dont hesitate a second to add them in your dough. Am running long blogging marathon for this whole month and am posting dishes from French cuisine in alphabetic order. After a simple French vegetable stew, my today's recipe goes to this succulent Kouglof aux pépites de chocolat.

3+1/2cups All purpose flour
2tsp Instant yeast
1tsp Salt
100grams Butter (room temperature)
3/4cup Warm Milk
2nos Eggs (beaten lightly)
1/2cup Chocolate chips
Silvered Almonds (as per need)

Keep the chocolate chips in freezer for an hour.

Take the 3 cups of flour,yeast,salt in a bowl,add the butter and mix it well.

Slowly add the warm milk,lightly beaten eggs and knead everything as a soft and sticky dough.

Knead more, add slowly the remaining flour little at a time and just enough till the dough pulls away from the bowl.

Dough will be very soft,elastic,but bit sticky, transfer it to a greased bowl and cover it.Keep aside and let it rise until the dough double in volume.This will take almost 1-2hours.

Grease a 8inch kugelhopf mould or a bundt pan or else a brioche pan.

Place the silvered almonds in the bottom of the mould,once the dough gets risen, deflate it. Add the frozen chocolate chips to the dough and knead for a while.

Roll the dough as a log,long enough to fit the mould. Lift the dough and place it in the mould in a cirle, stick the two ends together to close the circle of dough.

Cover and let the dough rise for an hour until it reached the edge of the mould.

Bake the kugelhopf at 400F for 35-40minutes until the top turns golden brown and sounds hollow when its tapped.

Unmould the kugelhopf and let it cook on a rack.

Slice and serve with your favourite drink.

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