Kuchen

This German Kuchen recipe has a tender, buttery crust topped with a creamy vanilla custard filling. It’s an old-fashioned custard kuchen that’s simple, comforting, and perfect for holidays, brunch, or family gatherings.

📝 Ingredients

• 1 cups warm milk (110 to 115°F)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons yeast
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1 large egg (at room temperature)
• 3 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 2/3 cups heavy cream
• 4 large eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• dash salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup mixed berries
• 2 tablespoons, or more to taste sugar
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• sliced apple, pear, peaches, or fresh berries, (enough for one Kuchen)
• berries, sliced fruit slices, or compote of choice, (optional)

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1--- Make Pastry-For All Four Kuchen (for all 4 Kuchens) ---
2. 2In a small mixing bowl add your warm milk (100-110°F), about 1 tablespoon of the 1/4 cup sugar and yeast and give it a little stir. Allow the mixture to become a foamy liquid on top, about 5 minutes.
3. 3In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer bowl, add milk, yeast mixture, oil, and egg then stir again to break up the egg.
4. 4In a medium bowl, whisk together, flour, remaining sugar from the ¼ cup, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and stir in with a spoon or dough hook. Mix until the dough comes together. Dump the dough onto a floured surface and knead for 5-7 minutes until smooth but still pretty sticky. If using a dough hook, knead on medium low speed for 5-7 minutes.
5. 5Place the dough in a well-oiled bowl, cover it loosely with plastic wrap, and let it proof until it’s doubled in size, about 60 - 90 minutes.
6. 6--- Make Filling-For All Four Kuchen (for all 4 Kuchens) ---
7. 7While your dough is proofing, make the filling for all four Kuchen. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, and a pinch of salt until evenly combined; set aside.
8. 8In a medium saucepan, heat heavy cream on medium-low.When the cream begins to simmer, temper the eggs by adding a few tablespoons of the heated cream, slowly, to the egg and sugar mixture, stirring very briskly while adding. Repeat a second time.
9. 9Slowly add the tempered egg mixture, to the pan, stirring briskly while you're adding. Increase the heat to almost medium, continually stir and heat until the mixture is thickened. Remove from the heat, add the vanilla; set aside to cool.
10. 10--- Make Compote--(optional for 1 Kuchen) ---
11. 11If you’d like to add a compote as your fruit filling, add 1 cup of mixed fruit to a small pot with ¼ cup of orange juice and a little sugar to taste, about 2 tablespoons.
12. 12Heat the fruit on medium-low heat, stir every so often, and cook down to a jammy consistency, about 15-20 minutes. Cool the compote completely and add it in dollops on top of one of the Kuchen doughs, before adding the filling.
13. 13--- Cinnamon Sugar Topping ---
14. 14In a small bowl, whisk together sugar and cinnamon until evenly combined.
15. 15--- Finish Kuchen ---
16. 16Preheat your oven to 350°F (177ºC) and spray the pie plates with a little bit of pan spray. If you don’t have multiple pie plates you will be able to just place your Kuchens on a rack and reuse the pie plate when completely cooled.
17. 17Punch your proofed dough down and divide into four balls. Roll each out and place in pie plates. Add 1/4 of the berry compote, in dollops, on the bottom of each pastry. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of sugar + cinammon mixture over compote and pastry.Pour 1/4 of the filling over the fruit compote.Repeat with all 3 pies that are left, if notSprinkle the 4 tops with the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture.
18. 18Bake your kuchens in your oven for about 20 minutes, or until custard reaches 160°F (71ºC). Remove them from the oven and let them cool. Your custard will set as it cools. Enjoy!!
19. 19Preheat your oven to 350°F (177ºC) and spray the pie plates with a little bit of pan spray. If you don’t have multiple pie plates you will be able to just place your Kuchens on a rack and reuse the platefor the next one, let the plate cool first.