Streuselkuchen (crumb cake) is a German specialty. Traditionally it is made of a yeast dough covered with crumbs. The term “streusel” (a German word meaning “something scattered or sprinkled”, refers to a crumb topping of butter, flour, and white sugar. This yeast dough can be topped with any of your favorite fresh fruits, be it apples, plums, apricots, cherries, or any of the berries. The streusel gives the cake a nice crunch and the added sweetness balances the slight tanginess of the fruit.
Ingredients:
For the dough:
400 g flour
30g fresh yeast or 2 teaspoons dry yeast
150ml milk, lukewarm
80g sugar
1 egg, large
100g butter or margarine
pinch of salt
For the topping:
1.2 kg apples, about 5-6, each cut into 8 pieces
For the streusel:
175 g butter
250 g four
200 g sugar
1 packet vanilla sugar
Method:
- Prepare the dough by dissolving the yeast and a pinch of sugar in the milk. Keep aside till you start seeing bubbles and froth on top of the solution. Combine the flour, sugar, eggs, butter, frothed yeast and a pinch of salt and knead with the kneading hooks of your machine or simply with your hands. The dough should be smooth and silky. If kneading by hand, take your time and knead well till smooth. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise in a warm dry place till it doubles in volume – approx. 1 hour.
- For the streusel, melt the butter. In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar and vanilla sugar. Add the hot melted butter and mix with the flour until you form pea-size crumbs.
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C, and prepare a baking tray by lining it with some baking paper.
- Once the dough has risen, spread the dough out to the edges of the baking tray (39 cm X 32 cm) using floured fingers. Spread the apple pieces over the dough without leaving any gaps in between. Now spread the crumble topping and let the dough rest for another 10-15 minutes.
- Bake in a preheated 200 degrees C oven for 30 minutes. Remove and let cool.
