Revisiting Mohnkuchen – Recipe Comparison
Now having two batches of Mohnkuchen under my belt, I was ready to share my creations with the local experts. Their feedback was lackluster; I still need to work on the topping. The rest, however, was “good,” which is quite a complement from a German. As I shared with them my goal of being able to perfect my Mohnkuchen, I gratefully accepted their own family secrets, which is the “best” recipe. From this, I have attempted to layout the differences below.
The Crust
First, we’ll start with the base or crust. Note that the first two rely on a chemical reaction (baking powder: baking soda and acid), while the final three are yeast-based (i.e., fermented).
| 250 g Fromage Blanc 150 g Sugar 500 g Flour 1 Egg 3 tbsp Oil 1 pkg Baking Powder | 150 g Fromage Blanc 2 tbsp Sugar 300 g Flour 1 Egg 6 tbsp Oil 1 pkg Baking Powder A dash/pinch of Salt 6 tbsp Milk | 80 g Flour 50 mL Milk 8 g Yeast — mix and rest 30 min— 180 g Flour 40 g Butter 20 g Sugar 1 Egg 2 g Salt | 500 g Flour 80 g soft Margarine 80 g Sugar ¼ L warm Milk 40 g Baker’s Yeast (or 1 pkg Dry Yeast) 1 Egg | 400 g Flour 100 g Butter 100 g Sugar 1/8 L warm Milk 1.5 pkg Yeast |
| Mix and go | Mix and go | After adding all ingredients, mix slowly for 5 minutes and then quickly for 5 minutes. 20 minutes rise before rolling out in pan | Mix, let rise. Punch down and roll out in pan for second rise | Mix, knead, and let sit for 1 hour |
The Filling
| 1 L Milk 400 g Sugar 6 tbsp Semolina 400 g milled Poppy Seeds 125 g Butter 80 g Raisins 100 g Almonds 175 g Applesauce | ½ L Milk ½ L Water 100 g Semolina 400 g milled Poppy Seeds 200 g Sugar 1 Egg 125 g Butter 80 g Raisins 80 g Almonds A dash/pinch Salt | 1 L Milk 200 g milled Poppy Seeds 120 g Semolina 110 g Butter 150 g Sugar Vanilla 1 handful rum-soaked raisins 1 handful Almonds | 1 L Milk 125 g Semolina 250 g milled Poppy Seeds 200 g Sugar A dash/pinch of Salt 4-5 tbsp Oil 100 g Almonds Lemon Juice 1 tsp Vanilla Sugar 2 Egg Yolks 3-4 drops of Almond Extract 2 Egg Whites | 1.5 L Milk 200 g Semolina 100 g Sugar 375 g milled Poppy Seeds 100 g Butter 1 Egg Raisins ½ pkg Almond Pudding Oil Rum Grated Apple |
| Bring the milk and sugar to a boil while stirring, then add the semolina. Semolina will want to clump; don’t let it. Add the poppy seeds and keep stirring while regaining boil. Remove from heat and add butter, then remaining ingredients. | Bring the milk and water to a boil, the add the semolina and the poppy seeds; stir continuously. Then add the remaining ingredients and let cool. | Put milk, butter, sugar and poppy seeds in pot and bring to boil. Do not stir! When boiling, add the semolina and stir continuously. When reduced, remove from heat and add remaining ingredients while stirring and cooling. | Bring milk to a boil and add the semolina and seeds. Stir continuously. When reduced (30 min), add sugar, salt, oil, almonds, lemon juice, vanilla sugar, yolks, and extract. Whip whites until stiff and work into cooled mixture. | Bring milk, semolina and sugar to boil; add seeds and stir until boils again. Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients. Let cool. |
The Topping
| 3 Eggs 500 g Sour Cream Sugar 3 tbsp Flour Vanilla Sugar | 2 Eggs ¼ L Sweet Cream 125 g Sugar 100 g Flour 1 tbsp Potato Flour | 2 Eggs 80 g Sugar A pinch/dash of Salt 200 g cooked Vanilla Pudding 30 g Wheat Starch | 2 Eggs 1 glass of Sour Cream 2 tbsp Sugar 5 tbsp Flour | 2 Eggs 250 g Sour Cream 100 g Sugar 100 g Butter 4 tbsp Flour 1 skewer tip Baking Powder |
| Whip sour cream. Whip whites until stiff. Then work all ingredients into the whipped cream. | Whip sweet cream. Whip whites until stiff. Then fold all ingredients into the whipped cream. | Whip the egg whites, sugar and salt until creamy (not too stiff). Mix the pudding, yolks and starch. Fold the whites into the pudding mix. | Whisk together | Whip the whites until stiff. Mix other ingredients thoroughly. Fold in whipped whites. |
The Baking
| 175°C for 45-50 min | 170-180°C for 45-50 min | 170°C for 35-40 min | 190-200°C for 40 min | 170-180°C for 50-60 min |
