Similar to the Nusszopf, Nusskasten is an absolute German Baking Classic – in fact, it’s one of my dad’s favourite recipes! My dad is German and I grew up in Germany, so I have made a lot of traditional German cakes in my time! This Nusskasten is made with an enriched dough, and is laced with a chocolate and hazelnut filling!
“Nusskasten” translates to “nut box”, given to this bake as it is baked in a loaf tin, ending up in a rectangular, box shape. It is shaped and baked in a similar way to a babka, similar to this Chocolate and Hazelnut Babka recipe I made from the May Bake Off Box. A box shape is only one of many ways in which you will find this bake made in Germany, it can also be found as a plaited version (“Nusszopf”) or a small, swirled version (“Nussschnecken”).
How do you make a Nusskasten?
This Nusskasten is very easy to make and is perfect for enjoying in the afternoon with a cup of coffee or tea! My dad also loves dunking pieces of the Nusskasten in his coffee!
Making a Nusskasten starts with an enriched dough that can be made either by hand or using an electric hand whisk. I love kneading dough with my hand, so even if that takes longer to do, I often prefer that method. When making the dough, it is important to add the butter last, as this will bring the dough together completely. After a prove, it’s then just a matter of rolling out the dough, spreading over the chocolate and hazelnut filling and shaping!
It’s actually a lot easier to shape the Nusskasten as you might think at first. The dough is filled, rolled, cut and plaited exactly as the Hazelnut and Chocolate Babka from the May Bake Off Box. As a visual explanation is often a lot easier to follow, why not check out the video of the babka to see how it’s done!
After one final prove the Nusskasten is then proved one last time before baking. And then the end result is drizzled with some water icing before serving – yummy!
Check out how to shape the Nusskasten below:
Recipe Tips
For this recipe you will have to halve a medium-sized egg in order to use half for the dough and half for the filling. To do that, crack your egg into a pre-weighed bowl. Whisk the egg so that the yolk and egg white are combined. Re-weigh your bowl and see what the difference is (a medium egg weighs roughly 50g). Simply calculate how much half of the egg weighs and weigh that amount into a second bowl. And there you have it – a half medium egg in each bowl.
This recipe is extremely versatile, and I actually use the same/similar recipe to make this bake in a lot of different shapes and sizes! You can also use this recipe to make a Nusszopf, a large plaited version of this bake, or Nussschnecken. Think of them as cinnamon buns but filled with a chocolate and hazelnut filling instead!
More German Baking Recipes
Having grown up in Germany, I have had a lot of exposure to German baking and have very much enjoyed baking things traditional to the country. There are loads more recipes for other German Baking Classics on my blog, so make sure to check out some of my favourites listed below:
- Black Forest Gateau | “Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte”
- Laugenbrezeln | German Pretzels
- Baked Chocolate Cheesecake | “Russischer Zupfkuchen”
- Seeded and Carrot Loaf | “Muntermacher”
- Strawberry Flan Cake | “Erdbeerboden”
- Marbled Traybake with Cherries and Chocolate | “Donauwellen”
- Beesting Cake | “Bienenstich”
- Enriched Dough Plait filled with Chocolate and Nuts | “Nusszopf”
- German Baked Cheesecake | “Käsekuchen”
- Bauernbrot | Classic German Bread Baking
- “Haselnussbrot” – Hazelnut Shortbread Biscuits dipped in Chocolate
- Chocolate-Orange Crescent Biscuits | Schoko-Orangen Kipferl
- Plum Crumble Cake | Zwetschenkuchen mit Streuseln
- Kirschlikuchen | Cherry and Chocolate Cake
- Neujahrsbrezel | Enriched Dough Plait for New Year’s Day
- Laugenzöpfe | German Breakfast Rolls
- Chocolate and Hazelnut Bundt Cake | Nusskuchen mit Nussglasur
Nusskasten für Papa | German Baking Classic
Recipe
Ingredients
FOR THE DOUGH
- 250g plain white flour
- 40g sugar
- 4g dried fast action yeast (or 21g of fresh yeast, if you can find it)
- Pinch of salt
- ½ medium egg (see how to half the egg in the recipe tips above)
- 125ml look warm milk
- 40g softened butter
FOR THE FILLING
- ½ medium egg
- 70g ground hazelnuts
- 70g chopped hazelnuts
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
- 1 heaped tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon (or a little more, depending on how much you like)
- 1-2 tbsp milk, as needed
FOR THE ICING
- 75g icing sugar
- Lemon juice or water
Method:
- To make the dough, place the flour, sugar, salt and yeast into a large bowl and mix. Then create a little well in the middle. Beat the egg in a small bowl and then use roughly half for the dough, saving the rest for the filling. Then add the egg and lukewarm milk to the boul. Start mixing with the dough hook attachment of your electric mixer a wooden spoon.
- Once the dough starts to come together, add in the softened butter. Continue to beat until the dough comes together in a ball.
- Either continue kneading the dough with an electric mixer, or tip onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough for a few minutes until it is smooth. Once the dough is ready, shape it into a ball and place into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with clingfilm and leave it to rise in a warm place for 30-60 minutes, or until doubled in size.
- Whilst the dough is proving, make the filling. Place all the dry ingredients, egg and a tablespoon of milk into a bowl and mix. You want the mixture to be moist, but not wet. Add a bit more milk if you need it.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, lightly grease and line a 900g/2lb loaf tin with a strip of baking paper along the longer base and edges of the tin so that it overhangs at the ends of the tin.
- Lightly dust the surface with flour. Roll out the dough into a rectangle, roughly 0.5cm thick and 40x30cm in size.
- Spoon on the filling and spread it evenly over the dough. Then, roll up the dough from the longer side into a sausage. Pull the dough slightly at the ends to make them neat.
- Push together the sausage from both ends to make it a bit thicker. Place on the baking tray. With a large knife, cut down half of the sausage lengthwise. Lay open the two created strands and place them over one another, creating a plaited effect. Once you have done on side, repeat on the other.
- Carefully lift the plaited Nusskasten into the prepared loaf tin and leave to prove in a warm place for a further 30 minutes until puffed up.
- Near the end of the second proofing time, preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan. Bake the Nusskasten in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and fully baked. If the top is browning too quickly, cover it with tinfoil and continue to bake the Nusskasten until the dough is baked.
- Remove the Nusskasten from the oven and leave in the tin until cooled completely. Then carefully lift it out by the overhanging ends of baking paper and place on a wire rack.
- To make the icing, slowly add small amounts of lemon juice to the icing sugar and mix well. Keep adding lemon juice until the icing reaches a smooth, thick consistency. If it´s too runny, add more icing sugar.
- Drizzle the icing over the cooled Nusskasten. Then leave the icing to harden for about 30 minutes before transferring the Nusskasten to a plate. Slice to serve and enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea!
