Streuselkuchen

I made 4 of these this week alone. Two for a bake sale, and two more for a Friday treat for Tim's coworkers and family distribution. And home use.

White flour, white sugar and butter: so what's the big deal?

The big deal is that this stuff is unexpectedly addictive. It's not quite as dramatic as Anton Ego's flashback in 'Ratatouille', but biting into this conjured memories of Grandma Kueffner's yeast doughnuts and the yeast rolls she shaped into bunnies for Easter. And I must have done something right, because a coworker reported that her German-born husband declared this to be almost as good as his mother's Streuselkuchen.

This is Ellen's recipe (for the plain cake--fruit can be added as desired). It comes together quickly, especially if she buys you that nice little digital scale from IKEA.

500 g flour (plus some extra if the dough gets sticky)
1 package active dry yeast or 1 cake fresh yeast
¼ Litre milk, warm, but not hot
60 g Butter
2 eggs
3-4 tbsp sugar
1 pinch of salt

Streusel:
300 g flour
250 g butter
150-200 g sugar
pinch of cinnamon
1 tbsp of vanilla sugar

Dissolve sugar in warm (110-115F) milk. Proof yeast in milk. Place flour and salt in large mixing bowl. Add milk yeast mixture along with melted butter and lightly beaten eggs. Mix until dough comes together. Knead 5-10 minutes. Cover and let double, or refrigerate overnight (I prefer the overnight rise for all my yeast doughs for more flavor and yeastiness).

For streusel, combine all ingredients in a large bowl and blend using pastry cutter until crumbly. It looks like a lot. And it is. That's a good thing.

Spread dough in jelly roll pan which has been greased or lined with parchment paper. I actually use both---the grease (shortening) sticks the paper in the pan, and the paper helps with removal after baking. Sprinkle streusel evenly over dough and let rise until puffy. Bake 350F for 30 minutes, or until golden.



























I used jarred sour Morello cherries. I poked depressions into the dough and stuck the cherries in before burying it all in streusel. I'm told plums can be spread on top, too. That makes me wonder what the possibilities would be if you took things like blueberries or jam or lemon curd or Nutella...