Kuchen is a German word for cake–It’s pronounced “KOO-khehn”—and is leavened with yeast and filled with either fruit or cheese. It’s the official dessert of the State of South Dakota.
This apple kuchen is topped generously with streusel.
Ingredients
For the dough:
1/2 cups water
6 tablespoons butter
1 large egg
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dough conditioner
1 7-gram packet of instant yeast
For the streusel:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup butter
For filling:
3 large apples
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Add the one egg and the six tablespoons butter to the water, whisk, and heat until very warm—120 degrees.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, dough conditioner, and yeast. Add the water, egg, and butter mixture, beating with an electric mixture and dough hook until well mixed. Continue beating for at three minutes at medium speed.
- Scrape dough into a greased 9 by 13 inch baking pan. With a greased hand, pat dough flat. Spread apple filling over the dough. Cover with plastic and set aside.
For the streusel:
- Place the one-half cup butter in a medium bowl and melt in a microwave. Add the powdered sugar, 1 1/4 cups flour, cinnamon, and baking powder and combine, breaking the breaking larger pieces with the spoon.
- Spoon streusel over the top of the apple filling. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for one hour.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until the streusel just begins to brown. (Do not undercook.) Cool in the pan on a wire rack.
Serve as you would apple pie: warm or cold, with or without ice cream or whipped cream.
