the old, south german name combines the middle high german words "gugel" (see also gugel, a long-pointed hood) derived from latin "cucullus", meaning hood or bonnet, and "hupf", which literally means "to hop" or "to jump". the brothers grimm wrote that the "hupf" may be a reference to the "jumping" of the dough caused by the yeast, but no firm etymological evidence exists for this. the earliest known gugelhupf recipe, in marx rupolt's 1581 cookbook, describes a "hat cake" with the distinctive shape and ornamentation recommendation, suggesting a similarity or intentional imitation of the shape of a medieval hat.