[French pastries / 法式甜點] ＃咕咕霍夫 / ＃Kouglof (for English, click “see more”.)
決定去 Colmar 之後，除了訂下拜訪 Christine Ferber 的甜點店、在老城區漫遊，感受小鎮魅力外，想到能夠在當地品嚐到亞爾薩斯特色甜點 —— Kouglof（咕咕霍夫），也讓我興奮不已。
Kouglof 是一款重奶油麵包，由布里歐許麵糰（pâte à brioche）加上用蘭姆酒或櫻桃白蘭地浸漬的葡萄乾製成、還會加上杏仁片。外型有旋轉條紋、內裡中空就是它的特色。在亞爾薩斯，kouglof 是在陶製的模具中烘烤而成。顏色鮮豔、造型可愛、有時外面還有各種裝飾紋樣的模具非常引人注目，是許多人去亞爾薩斯會選購的紀念品。
關於 kouglof 的起源有很多傳說，有一說是由瑪麗安東尼皇后從奧地利帶入法國，更知名的則是東方三賢士在前往伯利恆為耶穌祝壽的途中經過亞爾薩斯的小鎮 Ribeauvillé，為了回報為他們提供落腳處的當地糕點師 Kugel（一說是陶匠），而製作了這個甜點，形狀和賢者們的頭巾相同。而那位愛好美食的前波蘭國王 Stanisław Leszczyński 在法國洛林地區落腳後，發現當地的 kouglof 太乾，而命人將浸在 Malaga 酒中，最後發明了 baba（巴巴）。不論傳說何者為真，kouglof 早在 18 世紀便已經出現在亞爾薩斯，而且深受當地人喜愛。
由於起緣於德法邊境的亞爾薩斯，kouglof 有很多種拼寫法，其中一個德文的拼法是「kugelhopf」，kugel 在德文中是「球」之意，而「hopf」是啤酒花「hop」之意（也有一說其實是「hefe」酵母），而過去製作 kouglof 時，是以啤酒酵母將麵糰發酵。
我在 Colmar 時發現當地還有另外一種加了果乾與香料（多半是肉桂）的布里歐許麵包，稱為「langhopf」，是使用長型的麵包模製作。在 Colmar 當地看到的 langhopf 做法多半是烤好之後在外面裹上一層肉桂糖粉，看起來非常特別。可惜因為一個人實在吃不下那麼多麵包，只好留著下次再去品嚐了。
點照片看更多 kouglof 的種類和相關故事！
🔖 延伸閱讀：
和 kouglof 只有一步之遙的巴巴：https://tinyurl.com/yxqubgt5
Kouglof 的中歐親戚 babka：https://tinyurl.com/y3vyj9sq
果醬女王 Christine Ferber 隱藏在 Colmar 附近鄉間小鎮的甜點店：https://tinyurl.com/yypq6jlj
我讀《甜點教父河田勝彥的法國鄉土甜點之旅》：https://tinyurl.com/y6lk34la
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If you ask what have I tasted during my trip to Colmar, how could I miss kouglof, one of the most renowned and beloved Alsatian specialties?
Made of the brioche dough with raisins soaked in rum or kirch as well as almond flakes, kouglof is a pastry in between cakes and bread. The high, creased, toroidal pottery kouglof mould, often brightly-coloured and sometimes painted with beautiful motifs, is also a popular souvenir among tourists.
Lots of legends and stories are associated with the origin of kouglof. Some say that the Austrian queen Marie-Antoinette brought it to France while some of the narratives claim that when the Three Magi were on their way to Bethlehem, they made the cake to thank a local pâtissier (or a pottery maker) named Kugel for his hospitality, and the shape of the cake comes from the turban of the Magi. Stanisław Leszczyński, the gourmet Polish king also takes part in transforming this Alsatian delicacy into a great classic of French pastry. When he settled in Lorraine, he found that the local kouglofs were too dried that he asked his pastry chefs to soak the cake into Malaga wine to make it more pleasant to enjoy, and that is how baba is born. No matter what, kouglof has appeared in Alsace before 19th century and is very popular in the region of Alsace.
Many varieties exist with regard to the spelling of kouglof; one of which is "kugelhopf". Kugel means "ball" in german while "hopf" means "hop", indicating where the yeast used to rise the cake in from. Others claim that it could mean "hefe", yeast in German.
When I was in Colmar, I found "langhopf", another local variety of brioche made with dried fruits as well as spices, mostly cinnamon. It is baked in a creased rectangular pan and then coated with cinnamon and sugar. As I have only one stomach, I'll have to save it to my next visit.
Click on the photos and get to know more about kouglof!
🔖 You might also like:
Baba, a kouglof one leveled-up: https://tinyurl.com/yxqubgt5
Babka, a close cousin of kouglof in mid-Europe: https://tinyurl.com/y3vyj9sq
Maison Ferber, the candy house of Christine Ferber, queen of jams: https://tinyurl.com/yypq6jlj
La Belle Histoire de Gâteaux Provinceaux by Katsuhiko Kawada: https://tinyurl.com/y6lk34la
#yingspastryguide #alsace #colmar #paris
