Give a german coffeecake-Struesselkuchen-a try

When I was 16 years old, I was a Rotary Club foreign exchange student in Freiburg, Germany. It was an amazing time but still difficult in many ways. One of the things I did to help cope with being lonely, was to be sure I tried or did one new thing every day. The other thing I did was to save each of my one and five pfennig coins. When I had approximately 40, I could stop at a local bakery and get a treat. There really are very few Germany pastries I would turn down but a favorite was struesselkuchen. This is best described as a German coffeecake but unlike most of the coffee cakes you have eaten before, this one is a yeast dough and is also not seasoned with cinnamon. The flavor comes from the huge quantities of butter.  At home it is make on a cookie sheet but in Germany, I would buy it in rounds in what looked like large cupcake wrappers. It is supposed to be thin and is delicious for breakfast or dessert.  This is easy to make and even though a yeast dough, it is not time consuming.  Let’s eat (and, of course, this is one of the 1000 Foods you need to Eat before you die….).

Streusselkuchen

  • Servings: 10-12
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print
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Ingredients for dough:

  • 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 package of dry rapid-rise yeast
  • 1/8 cup of sugar
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 1 egg + 2 additional egg yolks
  • 1 cup of milk, lukewarm
  • 2 sticks butter, melted and allowed to cool slightly
  • (an optional item is to include sliced apples-if this is desired, core, peel and thinly slice four baking apples)
  • ¼ cup powdered sugar (if desired)
  • mixture of 1/4 cup milk and one egg yolk for brushing on dough

Ingredients for crumble:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
  • 12 tablespoons (1.5 sticks) butter, softened

Preparation:

Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm milk along with a tablespoon of the sugar.  Let sit until you see bubbles start to rise-approximately 5 minutes.  Meanwhile, combine the flour, salt, remaining sugar, eggs, butter, and the yeast/milk mixture.  Kneed with the kneading hooks of your machine or by hand until the dough pulls away from the bowl-approximately two minutes.  The dough will be smooth and elastic.  Lightly cover with towel and allow the dough to rise and double which will take approximately one hour

While the dough is rising, combine the streusel ingredient.  Mix by hand, breaking up the clumps so that the dough pieces are pea-sized.  Line a rimmed baking sheet (approximately 18 x 13) with parchment paper.  Preheat the oven to 475 degrees C,

After the dough has risen, spread to the edges of the tray with your hands.  If the dough is sticky, coat your hands with flour to assist in the spreading process.  If apples are desired, spread the sliced pieces over the dough.  Lightly brush the dough with the milk/egg yolk mixture.  Spread the crumb topping over the dough and let the dough rest for an additional 15 minutes.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until the topping is lightly browned. Sprinkle with powdered sugar (if designed).  Slice and enjoy.

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