A Gugelhupf or Gugelhopf is a southern German, Austrian, Swiss and Alsatian term for a marble cake or Bundt cake. The part "Gugel-" is a variation of the Middle High German word Kugel ("ball" or "globe"). The part "-hupf" relates to the verb "hüpfen" (jump) and is a reference to the cake surface going up while being baked.
In Hungary, Croatia, Serbia and western Slovenia the spelling is kuglof, in France kouglof and in Romania it's called guguluf. In Central and Eastern Slovenia it is called kugluh, in the Czech Republic and Slovakia bábovka, and in Poland babka. In the Republic of Macedonia the cake is known as куглоф (transliterated, kuglof). In Upper Austria it has a different name: "Wacker" or "Wacka".
Gugelhupf is a big cake, derived from the Groninger Poffert, and has a distinctive ring shape or the shape of a torus. It is usually eaten with coffee, at coffee breaks.
Gugelhupf consists of a soft yeast dough which contains raisins, almonds and Kirschwasser cherry brandy. Some also contain candied fruits and nuts. Some regional varieties (Czech, Hungarian and Slovenian) are also filled, often with a layer of sweetened ground poppy seeds.
It is baked in a special circular pan with a central tube, originally made of enamelled pottery. Similar pans are used for making Bundt cakes, a cake baking pan shape in the US derived from the Gugelhupf.
The Gugelhupf was the sweet chosen to represent Austria in the Café Europe initiative of the Austrian presidency of the European Union, on Europe Day 2006.