Food You Can Eat: Peaches and Cream Coffee Kuchen

22/10/21 butcherbakertoiletrymaker 4
Don't let the picture fool you. I ate two of these.

First things first:  This is another recipe from my Great Aunt Helen—my Grandmother’s oldest sister.  This is one that I’d been looking forward to making ever since I first laid eyes on it, and it doesn’t disappoint—except for, you know, the completely unrealistic baking time.

A caveat before we get started:  So, with a previous recipe I had noted that “kuchen” is German for “cake”.  I have no idea why my German aunt called this a kuchen because the crust is not cake-like in any way.  It’s got more crunch to it, almost like a cookie.  But she also said it should bake for less than half the time it actually took so whatever.

Here’s what you’ll need:

2 Cups Flour

1 Cup Sugar

½ tsp. Salt

¼ tsp. Baking Powder

½ Cup Butter

1 Lg. Can Peaches, or equivalent amount of Fresh Peaches (I used 4 fresh peaches)

½ tsp. Cinnamon

1 Cup Heavy Cream

2 Egg Yolks

Combine flour, ¼ cup sugar, salt and baking powder.  Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. 

Don’t be lazy. This takes a minimum of five solid minutes with a pastry cutter.

Press into bottom and sides of an 8” x 8” pan. 

Don’t bother coating the pan. All that flour does the job well enough on its own.

Put in peaches.  Combine remaining sugar and cinnamon and spread over peaches. 

Four large peaches was just the right amount.

Bake in a 400-degree oven for 15 minutes.

Considering how far off the final bake time was, I’m betting this should have gone for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, beat cream with egg yolks until light and fluffy.  Remove pan from oven when ready and pour cream mixture over the top. 

I’m thinking I should have used the whisk attachment, rather than the paddle, but it still worked out fine.

Bake for an additional 30 70-80 minutes because reality is nothing but a construct. You’ll know it’s done when you shake the pan and the filling jiggles, but doesn’t look liquid.

The top had just started to caramelize and has something of a creme brulee texture/taste.

This is technically a breakfast pastry, but it could easily serve as a dessert with some vanilla ice cream.  Hell, I may just serve it with ice cream for breakfast.

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About butcherbakertoiletrymaker 557 Articles
When you can walk its length, and leave no trace, you will have learned.

4 Comments

  1. I’m impressed with the way a cut square slice “stands up”. Very cool. Also, is there no one living who could tell you the brand of theirs ovens? I’d love to cut baking times in half!

    • Maybe one of these beauties?

      https://vatican.com/Stoves-Stove-1950S/

      For reasons unknown, even to me, I came across a photo of a kitchen from 1953. It was the exact same one my grandmother had in every detail. I had the strangest 5-senses reaction to it. I remember how it smelled (of bread and baking) and how warm it got and the taste of the cookies and ribbon candy she used to put out.

      What was so uncanny was that my grandmother had this kitchen until well into the late 1970s, and since I was not alive in the 1950s I never realized I was visiting a kind of living museum when we’d go over to visit her.

      • I’m not totally sure, because it’s been a long time, but I think my grandmother had the 1950’s Wedgewood gas model.  Her very 1950’s kitchen was being used by her until the 1990’s.  That kitchen was microscopic–I have no idea how she prepared food for such a large family in there.

  2. Oh my god I love your descriptions about cooking time in these recipes.

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