GugelhupfGugelhupf, Guglhupf or Gugelhopf is a southern German, Austrian, Swiss and Alsatian term for a marble cake or Bundt cake. Supposedly the part "Gugel" is a variation of the Middle High German word gugel (hood), and the part "hupf" is a variation of "Hefe" (yeast). Folk etymology says that the "hupf" part comes from the German word hüpfen (to jump), as the yeast dough literally "jumps out of" the cake pan.
In Hungary the spelling is kuglóf, in Croatia and Serbia the spelling is kuglof, in France kouglof and in Romania it's called guguluf. In the Czech Republic and Slovakia, it is called bábovka, and in Poland babka. In Upper Austria it has a different name: "Wacker" or "Wacka". In Slovenia, the standard word is šarkelj. In Western Slovenia, it is also known as kuglof, and in Central and Eastern Slovenia, kugluh.
The pastry
A two-colored Czech version called "Bábovka". The dark brown portions of the crumb contain cocoa.
Gugelhupf is a big cake and has a distinctive ring shape or the shape of a torus. It is usually eaten with coffee, at coffee breaks.
Gugelhupf consists of a soft yeast dough which contains raisins, almonds and Kirschwasser cherry brandy. Some also contain candied fruits and nuts. Some regional varieties (Czech, Hungarian and Slovenian) are also filled, often with a layer of sweetened ground poppy seeds.
It is baked in a special circular pan with a central tube, originally made of enamelled pottery. Similar pans are used for making Bundt cakes, a cake baking pan shape in the US derived from the Gugelhupf.
The Gugelhupf was the sweet chosen to represent Austria in the Café Europe initiative of the Austrian presidency of the European Union, on Europe Day 2006.
