Kugelhopf is a traditional eastern European fruitcake. A few people asked me if it is related to noodle kugel. While from a culinary point of view it clearly isn't, I was curious about the name, so I did a little research. Apparently Kugel means ball or sphere in German. It was used to describe the puffed-up-ness of the classic noodle kugel and the ring shape of a kugelhopf. So there you go, it is related.
That said, a kugelhopf is nothing like a noodle kugel. Firstly, it doesn't have noodles. Secondly, it is a cake not a pudding-like casserole. It's really a dense bread-like cake (or perhaps cake-like bread) speckled with rum soaked raisins and candied orange peel. There are almonds on top that are actually baked into the cake by putting them in the pan and pouring the batter/dough over them. It's served dusted with powdered sugar and a cup of strong tea or coffee (well I think it goes with tea or coffee, I suppose that isn't actually part of the recipe.) Yum!
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