“You don’t know from kugel,” my Jewish buddy Ginger likes to say. And it’s true. The thought of a candy pasta dish by no means appealed. Too many variations had hard-to-chew, incinerated noodles on prime, and the fillings typically 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 wish to smear throughout my physique.
Nonetheless, “candy kugel” has been one of the vital searched-for recipes on LC for years, so I’ve been trying and looking out and looking out.
After consuming my method by way of 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 will defend the noodles from turning into these little brown noodle fingernails.
Not solely did it maintain the noodles smooth, however the sugar and butter candied the cornflakes so that they have been crispy and crunchy with a phenomenal sheen.
Let’s face it, although: The filling makes a kugel, and I’ve to say, this one was smooth, creamy, candy, with only a little bit of tang.
☞ SUGGESTIONS FROM JUNIOR JEWS (Ginger’s nickname for us)
- As a substitute of raisins, suppose golden raisins, dried cranberries, or currants.
- Go wild on the toppings. Under within the FAQs, I recommend some variations.
- I attempted this kugel heat, room temp, and chilled. I most well-liked it heat. It was most like a bread pudding then. I preferred it least chilled. I favor my chilly noodles Asian and spicy.
Why Our Testers Cherished This
The testers have been delighted to find this straightforward candy noodle kugel recipe. They praised it for being “custardy, comforting, and completely candy.” They have been additionally happy it didn’t require any fancy elements and got here collectively “rapidly and affordably.”
What You’ll Must Make This
- Sugar–The recipe requires each brown and granulated sugar. The unique recipe contained considerably extra sugar within the custard, however it made your entire dish too candy. If you happen to like your kugel very candy, you possibly can 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 suggest utilizing a unique kind of pasta.
- Cream cheese–Use full-fat cream cheese right here for the most effective outcomes. Decreased-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 will provide you with a wealthy kugel that holds collectively nicely when cooled.
- Raisins–These might 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 mix rather than the cornflakes. You can too substitute crushed saltine crackers.
Tips on how to Make This Recipe
- 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 elements.
- 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 elements 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.
Widespread Questions
Kugel is a standard Jewish baked casserole normally created from noodles (lokshen) or potatoes baked in custard. It has a texture just like bread pudding or strata, and could be made candy or savory.
Kugel originated in Germany over 800 years in the past and have become a staple of the Jewish weight loss program in Japanese Europe. The unique variations would typically embrace farmer cheese or non-dairy elements.
Jewish immigrants introduced the favored candy noodle model to America, and it has advanced over time, with variations within the fruit and sort of topping, primarily based on what was accessible and common.
This candy kugel is regularly served at Jewish holidays corresponding to 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 might be a tasty twist. However, as all the time, be conscious of Jewish dietary legal guidelines in the event you’re observant.
Useful Ideas
- To halve the recipe, cut back all elements by 50% and put together the candy noodle kugel in an 8-by-8-inch baking dish. Additionally, in the reduction of 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 could be saved within the fridge, lined with plastic wrap, or in an hermetic container, for as much as 3 days. Leftovers could be loved chilly or reheated in a 325°F oven or microwave.
- This recipe is appropriate for vegetarian diets.
Extra Excellent Jewish Vacation Recipes
Write a Evaluation
If you happen to make this recipe, or any dish on LC, think about leaving a evaluate, a star ranking, and your greatest photograph within the feedback under. I really like listening to from you.–David
For the noodles and custard
Forestall your display screen from going darkish
Make the noodles and custard
-
Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Slick a 9-by-11-inch (23-by-28-cm) baking dish with cooking spray.
-
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 velocity for two minutes. Add the cream cheese and proceed to combine till easy, 1 minute extra.
-
Add the eggs, vanilla, cottage cheese, and raisins, and blend gently to mix.
-
Boil the noodles in a big pot of salted water in line with the bundle instructions, about 5 minutes. Drain in a colander.
-
Use a spoon to stir the drained egg noodles into the custard.
Make the topping
-
Mix the melted butter, cornflake crumbs, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl.
-
Pour the kugel into the ready baking dish. Sprinkle the cornflake topping evenly excessive of the kugel.
Bake the kugel
-
Bake, uncovered, till barely puffed and golden on prime, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool earlier than serving. The kugel could be served heat or at room temperature.
- Halving the recipe–Assemble the kugel in an 8-by-8-inch baking dish and cut 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 could be saved within the fridge, lined with plastic wrap, or in an hermetic container, for as much as 3 days. Leftovers could 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
Diet info 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’ Critiques
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 do-it-yourself 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 straightforward Saturday afternoon exercise with elements which can be straightforward to search out in your typical grocery retailer. It makes your complete 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 successful 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 pals who had been consuming kugel their complete lives beloved it and have been reaching for seconds, so I’ll take that as the most effective signal of approval.
