grandma’s blitz kuchen with berries
blitz kuchen is lightning fast to prepare, hence the name lightening cake, and disappears in a flash
blitz kuchen, or lightening cake, is a german cake named for how fast it is to prepare. my german grandmother always seemed to have cake of some sort available at all times. company or not, there was always something delicious waiting in her kitchen.
i never thought of myself as much of a baker. there is far too much measuring and exact ingredient amounts for me. that was never really how I liked to work. I am very much a wing-it girl. taste and adjust is my method. looking over my grandmother’s recipes, there are actually very few exact amount listed. or cooking times. i kind of love that.
the older I get, the more I enjoy baking. I now prefer baking over cooking. when the kids are at school, and the house is quiet, it is almost meditative. that is unless the bread doesn’t rise, or the cake, or cookies, or pastry don’t work out according to plan. then, I am not so peaceful.
but if I can focus, and be in the moment, more often than not, everything works out just fine. even without exact measurements.
I have been feeling nostalgic, and when that happens I love reading through my grandmother’s handwritten cookbook. I have read it cover to cover so many times, and yet every time I open it, something else jumps out at me. blitz kuchen caught my attention yesterday. kuchen is something I always remember being in her kitchen. the best part about this blitz kuchen… it could not be any easier.
blitz kuchen with berries
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar (divided)
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 tsp almond extract (optional)
- 2 cups flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup milk
- 3/4 cup raspberries
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds
Directions:
- preheat the oven to 350 degrees
- spray a 7 inch springform pan with cooking spray
- cream together the butter and 3/4 cup sugar
- scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add eggs, one at a time and then add the almond extract if using
- whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt, add to the butter and egg mixture alternating with the milk
- pour batter into the prepared pan
- mix together the remaining sugar, cinnamon, and then rub in the butter until you have the consistency of wet sand
- top cake with the raspberries, cinnamon sugar, and then the almonds
- bake cake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes
- cool completely before cutting
I added raspberries to the topping, just because I love a good berry cake. my grandmother’s recipe called for a simple topping of cinnamon, sugar, butter of course, and almonds. both cakes are delicious, but I highly recommend adding the berries. and as you know when fruit is involved that’s breakfast to me.
I baked my kuchen in a 7 inch springform pan. I prefer a cake that is smaller around but with thicker slices. if you use an 8 or 9 inch cake pan, bake cake for 30 – 40 minutes (a pick inserted into the center should come out clean). 50 minutes was the perfect baking time for the 7 inch pan.
grandma’s recipes are always the best, and this blitz kuchen is one I plan to make again and again.
enjoy!
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