Kuchen - Say What?

I got my usual inkling to bake this weekend.  Lucky for me I had plenty of inspiration thanks to a copy of Better Homes & Gardens Christmas Baking issue, which I had picked up on a late night trip to CVS last week.  Think hormones, think enticing cover with red velvet cupcakes on the front, think me very-very weak.

As I was flipping through the magazine, I came upon a whole section on Kuchen (pronounced Kook-ken), which is basically a form of dense cake and the pride of German farm wives.  Quite honestly some of the heavier, drier recipes didn't appeal to me at all, but one in particular caught my eye.  The Blueberry-Peach Custard Kuchen looked warm, gooey, sweet and inviting, and the perfect excuse to serve cake for breakfast and call it nutritious because it has fruit in it.  Sign me up, I'm on board!
Blueberry-Peach Custard Kuchen (from Better Homes & Gardens)
*they advise to use frozen fruit, but I only had frozen peaches on hand and fresh blueberries, but it turned out fine.
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 package active dry yeast
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup sliced and peeled fresh or frozen peaches thawed
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 egg lightly beaten
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cu[p half & half

1. Grease 9 inch pie plate; set aside.  In a large bowl combine 1 cup of the flour and the yeast, set aside
2. In a small saucepan, heat & stir milk, 1/2 cup sugar, butter, and 1/2 tsp salt just until mixture is warm and butter almost melts.  Add milk mixture and 2 eggs to flour mixture and beat with an electric mixer on low for 30 seconds, scraping side of bowl constantly.  Beat on high speed for 2 minutes or until smooth.  Beat in as much of the remaining flour as possible and stir in any remaining flour to make a stiff batter (and it will indeed be stiff).
3. Spread batter into pie plate.  Top with peach slices and blueberries.  Cover and let rise to double in size (about 45 minutes).   Mine did not double in size, maybe increased about 1/4 higher?
4. In a medium bowl combine 1 egg, 2 tbsp sugar , vanilla, nutmeg and 1/8 tsp salt.  Whisk in half & half & pour over fruit.
5. Bake in preheated 375 degree F oven for 45-55 minutes until golden brown.  Cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes.
**I would say that the recipe could have used 2 eggs at the end to make it a little more custardy and break through the denseness of the cake

 your main ingredients

 layering the fruit over the batter

 letting the kuchen rise

 milk mixture poured on top

I'd like to say that this was my favorite cake ever.  But I could do even better. It was my kid's favorite cake ever, even topping chocolate cake they claimed.  I was shocked by the speed and veracity in which they devoured this cake.  They each had 2 pieces in one sitting and I allowed it because really, aside from a scant amount of sugar, this cake is pretty decent in terms of healthy desserts.  I'm sure the Organic Kids Clif Bars have more sugar in them than this cake.  I don't even have a problem with them eating it for breakfast this morning!

I'd be interested to know if anyone tries this, and if you do, I would love to know if your cake rose much.  Now, go forth and bake my friends.

p.s. I'm linking up to Heather's Life Made Lovely Post.  Because it's fun and she's rad.