“You don’t know from kugel,” my Jewish buddy Ginger likes to say. And it’s true. The concept of a candy pasta dish by no means appealed. Too many variations had hard-to-chew, incinerated noodles on prime, and the fillings usually clotted and clumped.
Now…give me a savory kugel, and I’ll be knocking over Bubbie to get to the vacation desk. I’d by no means met a pasta casserole I didn’t need to smear throughout my physique.
Nonetheless, “candy kugel” has been probably the most searched-for recipes on LC for years, so I’ve been trying and searching and searching.
After consuming my means via a truckload of kugel wherever I went, I lastly stumbled upon this one from Shannon Sarna. The recipe appeared promising. I used to be curious concerning the cornflake topping. I questioned if that may protect the noodles from turning into these little brown noodle fingernails.
Not solely did it preserve the noodles comfortable, however the sugar and butter candied the cornflakes so that they had been crispy and crunchy with a wonderful sheen.
Let’s face it, although: The filling makes a kugel, and I’ve to say, this one was comfortable, creamy, candy, with only a little bit of tang.
☞ SUGGESTIONS FROM JUNIOR JEWS (Ginger’s nickname for us)
- As an alternative of raisins, suppose golden raisins, dried cranberries, or currants.
- Go wild on the toppings. Beneath within the FAQs, I counsel some variations.
- I attempted this kugel heat, room temp, and chilled. I most popular it heat. It was most like a bread pudding then. I preferred it least chilled. I choose my chilly noodles Asian and spicy.
Why Our Testers Beloved This
The testers had been delighted to find this simple candy noodle kugel recipe. They praised it for being “custardy, comforting, and completely candy.” They had been additionally happy it didn’t require any fancy substances and got here collectively “rapidly and affordably.”
Notes on Substances
- Sugar–The recipe requires each brown and granulated sugar. The unique recipe contained considerably extra sugar within the custard, nevertheless it made your entire dish too candy. When you like your kugel very candy, you’ll be able to add an additional 1/4 to 1/2 cup of granulated sugar to the custard.
- Egg noodles–These are the normal base of noodle kugel. We don’t advocate utilizing a unique sort of pasta.
- Cream cheese–Use full-fat cream cheese right here for the perfect outcomes. Lowered-fat cream cheese doesn’t soften in addition to full-fat.
- Cottage cheese–Use full-fat or 4% cottage cheese. The upper fats content material gives you a wealthy kugel that holds collectively effectively when cooled.
- Raisins–These may very well be changed with dried cranberries, dried cherries, crushed pineapple, or drained fruit cocktail.
- Topping–This candy noodle kugel recipe makes use of cornflakes for the topping, however for a barely sweeter topping, use 3/4 cup crushed graham crackers, Biscoff cookie crumbs, cranberry biscotti, or a mixture instead of the cornflakes. It’s also possible to substitute crushed saltine crackers.
Step-by-Step Directions
- Mix the butter and sugar in a stand mixer.
- Beat the sugar and butter till mild and fluffy.
- Add the cream cheese and beat till mixed.
- Gently combine within the remaining custard substances.
- Boil the noodles in salted water till tender.
- Drain the noodles and switch them to the custard.
- Stir the drained noodles into the custard.
- Mix the topping substances in a separate bowl.
- Pour the kugel into the ready baking dish.
- Scatter the topping evenly excessive. Bake at 375°F till puffed and golden. Cool earlier than serving.
Frequent Questions
Kugel is a conventional Jewish baked casserole normally created from noodles (lokshen) or potatoes baked in custard. It has a texture much like bread pudding or strata, and will be made candy or savory.
Kugel originated in Germany over 800 years in the past and have become a staple of the Jewish weight-reduction plan in Japanese Europe. The unique variations would usually embody farmer cheese or non-dairy substances.
Jewish immigrants introduced the favored candy noodle model to America, and it has developed over time, with variations within the fruit and sort of topping, primarily based on what was obtainable and well-liked.
This candy kugel is steadily served at Jewish holidays resembling Yom Kippur or Shavout, when it’s conventional to eat dairy.
Oy, so many issues! Tester Anna Scott used crushed biscotti. I feel crushed Biscoff cookies, graham crackers, or vanilla wafers would work properly. As would toasted coconut. And suppose out of the field–granola or muesli may very well be a tasty twist. However, as at all times, be aware of Jewish dietary legal guidelines in case you’re observant.
Professional Ideas
- To halve the recipe, scale back all substances by 50% and put together the candy noodle kugel in an 8-by-8-inch baking dish. Additionally, reduce the cooking time to about half-hour.
- If the highest of your kugel is browning too rapidly, cowl it loosely with aluminum foil.
- Leftover kugel will be saved within the fridge, coated with plastic wrap, or in an hermetic container, for as much as 3 days. Leftovers will be loved chilly or reheated in a 325°F oven or microwave.
- This recipe is appropriate for vegetarian diets.
Extra Very good Jewish Vacation Recipes
Write a Evaluation
When you make this recipe, or any dish on LC, contemplate leaving a evaluation, a star score, and your finest picture within the feedback beneath. I like listening to from you.–David
For the noodles and custard
Make the noodles and custard
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Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Slick a 9-by-11-inch (23-by-28-cm) baking dish with cooking spray.
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Utilizing a handheld mixer and a big bowl or a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter and granulated sugar on medium pace for two minutes. Add the cream cheese and proceed to combine till clean, 1 minute extra.
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Add the eggs, vanilla, cottage cheese, and raisins, and blend gently to mix.
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Boil the noodles in a big pot of salted water in accordance with the package deal instructions, about 5 minutes. Drain in a colander.
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Use a spoon to stir the drained egg noodles into the custard.
Make the topping
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Mix the melted butter, cornflake crumbs, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl.
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Pour the kugel into the ready baking dish. Sprinkle the cornflake topping evenly excessive of the kugel.
Bake the kugel
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Bake, uncovered, till barely puffed and golden on prime, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool earlier than serving. The kugel will be served heat or at room temperature.
- Halving the recipe–Assemble the kugel in an 8-by-8-inch baking dish and scale back the cooking time to about half-hour.
- Cooking the kugel–If the highest of your kugel is browning too rapidly, cowl it loosely with foil.
- Storage and reheating–Leftover kugel will be saved within the fridge, coated with plastic wrap, or in an hermetic container, for as much as 3 days. Leftovers will be loved chilly or reheated in a 325°F oven or microwave.
- Dietary–This recipe is appropriate for vegetarian diets.
Serving: 1 portionEnergy: 489 kcalCarbohydrates: 81 gProtein: 15 gFats: 12 gSaturated Fats: 6 gMonounsaturated Fats: 3 gTrans Fats: 0.04 gLdl cholesterol: 150 mgSodium: 371 mgFiber: 2 gSugar: 43 g
Vitamin data is robotically calculated, so ought to solely be used as an approximation.
Recipe © 2022 Shannon Sarna. Photograph © 2023 David Leite. All rights reserved.
Recipe Testers’ Opinions
Custardy, comforting, and completely candy, we adored this candy dairy noodle kugel, each heat from the oven and chilly the next day for a breakfast deal with with espresso. It makes use of primarily pantry and fridge staples, so it comes collectively rapidly and affordably.
I used golden raisins as my fruit add-in. I had home made biscotti within the freezer, so I floor them into crumbs in my meals processor for the topping. (I didn’t add further sugar, salt, or butter to my crumb topping, seeing that my biscotti already contained sugar and salt, and the custard was already so wealthy, I didn’t suppose it wanted something however the crumbs on prime.
A buddy invited me to her home for a potluck Passover dinner. Not being Jewish, I searched the web for what to make, and when this recipe for candy noodle kugel turned up for testing, it match the theme properly.
This was a simple Saturday afternoon exercise with substances which are simple to search out in your typical grocery retailer. It makes your entire home scent like vanilla and sugar whereas it’s baking…very cozy! For extra distinction, I used golden raisins and made a crumble topping with brown sugar, crackers, and butter.
General, this was a success with everybody on the dinner. The noodle kugel was candy, creamy, and decadent and contrasted properly with the crunchy topping. Personally, I don’t have a degree of reference, however my Jewish mates who had been consuming kugel their entire lives beloved it and had been reaching for seconds, so I’ll take that as the perfect signal of approval.
