Most Kuchen have eggs, flour and sugar as common ingredients while also, but not always, including some fat.

Source:[4] People who trace their ancestry to the group known as Germans from Russia call a pastry like the first half of this definition "Kuchen."

These are called Pikante Kuchen, with examples such as Zwiebelkuchen, Speckkuchen, and Kartoffelkuchen (often paired with fresh wine or beer).

They are usually filled with nuts and raisins, with a pastry composed of cheese curds and sour cream.

Kuchen dessert recipes are presumably handed down from people of German heritage and as such are often popular in many areas of which currently speak or formerly spoke the German language in the United States, particularly Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Indiana, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.

Kuchen was introduced into Chilean cuisine when German immigrants settled southern Chile in the 1850s.

In Brazil it is called "cuca", or less commonly, "cuque" and can be found in areas of German settlement, like Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná and Santa Catarina states.