My husband and I recently took a trip to Kennebunkport, Maine for our anniversary. It was our first time staying at a bed & breakfast in the US (although we had been to some in Ireland) and we had an absolutely amazing time – it was the off season so the town was quiet as can be. We went for walks on the beach, visited a meadery, and earned ourselves a hat on the Maine Beer Trail by visiting 5 breweries – which by the way, was awesome, and you should totally do if you have the opportunity. During our trip, an innkeeper at the Captain Lord Mansion made us a fantastic breakfast and as we chatted with our fellow guests he mentioned that blueberry kuchen was his favorite pastry to make. Kuchen is the German word for cake, and the dish is somewhat reminiscent of coffee cake…only better! I happened to have some frozen raspberries on hand one day, and thought to my self that raspberries would probably taste equally awesome in kuchen, and gave it a whirl. Turns out, Raspberry Kuchen is pretty awesome too, and FANTASTICALLY easy! I used frozen berries, but certainly this would come out fine with fresh raspberries too. This made a great cake for an afternoon tea party, or for a special breakfast treat, or for dessert. I modified the berry content, as the 2 cups the original recipe calls for is a LOT of berries, and I was afraid it would be too watery – I’m glad I did, as it came out great!
Raspberry Kuchen
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 cups flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1-1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
- 1 beaten egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup frozen raspberries – straight from the freezer, do not thaw!
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest, nutmeg and salt in a large bowl. Mix in the milk, butter, egg and vanilla. Beat until the batter is smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Pour the batter into a greased 9×13 baking pan. Sprinkle frozen raspberries evenly over the top of the batter. To make the topping, combine the remaining 3/4 cup sugar and 1/2 cup flour. Stir in the melted butter so the mixture takes a crumb-y appearance. Sprinkle this topping evenly over the pan. Bake for 40 minutes, or until the top appears slightly golden. Cut into squares and serve. Enjoy!
