Gooey Philadelphia German Butter Cake Butterkuchen Recipes

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!

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.