Cherry Cheese Kuchen

Yield: 1 9.5″ kuchen

# of Servings: 6

Ingredients:

½ recipe Sweet Yeast Dough 

1 recipe Cream Cheese Filling

1 recipe Crumb Topping

3 ½ cups (15.5 oz / 439 g) frozen sweet cherries, defrosted and drained

Butter, as needed for greasing the cake ring or springform pan

Special tools and equipment needed

• One 9.5″ by 2 â…” stainless steel cake ring¹ or 10″ springform pan
• Half-sheet pan or large cookie sheet, lined with a silpat sheet or parchment.
• Small pastry wheel or pizza wheel

Directions
Day one: 

1. Make the Sweet Yeast Dough and refrigerate overnight.
2. Make the Crumb Topping and Cream Cheese Filling and refrigerate overnight.
3. Defrost cherries in a colander over a bowl. Once thoroughly defrosted, place on a paper towel-lined plate and store overnight in the refrigerator. Pat dry with fresh paper towels the next day.

Day two: 

1. If using the cake ring, butter the inside of the ring and place on a silpat or parchment lined pan. If using a springform butter the sides and bottom of the pan.
2. Remove the cream cheese filling from the refrigerator.
3. Take 14 oz of the yeast dough and roll into a 10″ circle. Let the dough rest for two minutes.
4. Using the cake ring or the bottom of the springform as a guide, cut a circle of dough. If the dough circle shrinks slightly press or roll it outwards so it’s touching the edges of the pan.
5. Using small offset spatula or plain rubber spatula, spread the cream cheese filling evenly over the yeast dough circle.
6. Remove the cherries to another plate with fresh paper towel to absorb any excess cherry moisture.
7. Place the cherries evenly over the cherries evenly over the cheese filling.
8. Sprinkle the crumb topping over the cherries.
9. Let the kuchen rise in a warm spot, just until the dough gets puffy, about 1 hour.
10. Preheat oven to 350 °F.
11. Bake the kuchen for 40 to 45 minutes, until the dough edges are golden brown, the top springs back, and an instant read thermometer reads 205 °F.
12. Remove from oven and place on cooling rack. In 10 minutes, remove the ring using pot holders, or open the outside of the springform pan.
13. Once lukewarm, slide the bottom of a loose-bottomed tart pan underneath and move to a serving plate.