Description
German blueberry kuchen combines sweet pastry with juicy fruit in a delightful dessert. Bakers appreciate this traditional treat’s simple elegance and rich cultural heritage.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (for topping)
- 2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen, unthawed)
- 1 egg
- ¾ cup sugar (for cake)
- ¾ cup sugar (for topping)
- ⅔ cup milk
- ½ cup milk (for glaze)
- ¼ cup butter (melted and cooled)
- ¼ cup butter (melted, for topping)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 ½ tsp lemon zest (yellow part only)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 dash salt
- 1 handful sliced almonds
Instructions
- Preparation Setup: Warm oven to 350°F and coat a 9×9-inch baking dish with grease or parchment paper for smooth release.
- Batter Creation: Whisk dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest, salt, cinnamon) in a large bowl. Fold in milk, melted butter, egg, and vanilla extract, blending until smooth and uniform.
- Batter Placement: Pour batter evenly into prepared baking dish, creating a level surface.
- Berry Distribution: Delicately scatter fresh blueberries across batter’s surface, ensuring balanced coverage.
- Crumble Assembly: Mix sugar and flour, then cut in cold butter using a pastry cutter until forming coarse, sandy texture.
- Topping Application: Sprinkle crumble mixture generously over blueberry-covered batter, creating complete coverage.
- Baking Process: Slide kuchen into preheated oven, baking 38-42 minutes. Validate doneness with a toothpick test – minimal moist crumbs are acceptable.
- Cooling Phase: Transfer to wire rack, allowing complete cooling to set texture and prevent moisture accumulation.
- Finishing Touch: Whisk confectioners’ sugar and milk into a smooth glaze. Drizzle over cooled kuchen and optionally garnish with sliced almonds.
- Serving and Storage: Cut into twelve portions. Preserve remaining pieces in an airtight container within refrigerator.
Notes
- Fruit Freshness Check: Select ripe, firm blueberries without soft spots or bruises to ensure the best flavor and texture in your kuchen.
- Butter Temperature Tip: Use cold butter for the crumble topping to create a crispy, crumbly texture that adds delightful contrast to the soft cake.
- Mixing Magic: Avoid overmixing the batter to prevent a tough, dense cake; mix just until ingredients are combined for a tender crumb.
- Cooling Crucial: Let the kuchen cool completely before glazing to prevent the sugar from melting and ensure a beautiful, clean drizzle pattern.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 42 minutes
- Category: Desserts, Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: German
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 11
- Calories: 272
- Sugar: 28 g
- Sodium: 160 mg
- Fat: 10 g
- Saturated Fat: 6 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 39 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 33 mg