One of the classics of German baking. Streuslkuchen is a lovely coffee cake that is easy to prepare.This cake is especially moist and crumbly due to its creamy sauce.
1 baking tray (approx 28cm -32 cm / 11" x 12") It is not exact. I always say better too much dough than to little and you can always divide this cake into two smaller trays.
Ingredients
500gflour17.5 oz Germany type 405, UK plain flour, USA pastry flour
Heat the milk to a lukewarm temperature. Stir in the sugar and yeast and leave to rest for 10 minutes. The yeast should activate and you will be able to see bubbles appearing on the surface. If the bubbles do not appear, the milk might have been too hot and damaged the yeast.
Preheat your oven to the lowest setting.
In a separate bowl, add the flour and salt. Pour over the yeast mixture and add the butter and egg. With a hand or stand mixer, knead the dough for about 10 minutes until you achieve a smooth, not too sticky dough.
Turn off the oven. Place the dough in a bowl, and cover it with a moist tea towel. Leave to rise for about an hour in the warmed-up oven. After an hour, the dough should have doubled in size.
To make the streusel
Melt the butter on low heat on the stove. Remove it from the heat. Now add in the flour, sugar, and vanilla sugar. First stir the mixture with a spatular, until combined. Then you can crumble the mixture with your fingers. Place in the fridge and set aside for later.
For the cream sauce
Place the cream, butter and sugar in a saucepan. Gently warm up the mixture until the butter has melted. Remove from the heat. The mixture should not boil.
Assembling the cake
Remove the dough from the oven and preheat your dough to 180°C/356°F top to bottom heat.
Using a rolling pin, roll our the dough on some baking parchment (this will make it easier to transfer it to the tray later on).
Transfer the dough and baking parchment to the tray (approx. 28cm -32 cm / 11" x 12")
Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the dough. The cake needs to rest for another 30 minutes.
Bake the cake for appoximately 25 to 30 minutes. The streusel should turn golden in colour.
Remove from the oven and while the cake is still hot, evenly pour over the cream sauce. Do not worry it will not make it soggy, as you pour the sauce over when the cake comes out hot from the oven. The base will absorb all the moisture and the streusel will stay nice and crunchy.
This cake is best enjoyed warm. You can sprinkle the cake with icing/confectioners sugar before serving.
Notes
Storage Instructions
This cake will stay good, stored in an airtight container, for up to three days. The cake tastes best lukewarm. You can warm it up in the microwave or oven.You can freeze this cake and keep it in an airtight container for up to three months.
Baking with Yeast: Steps for Sucess
Baking with yeast is not rocket science. Here are my best tips to ensure that your yeast dough rises every time.
Use lukewarm milk. The microorganism in the yeast will activate through heat and sugar. The ideal temperature of the milk should be around 30-35°C / 86-95 °F. If the temperature rises above 45°C/113°F, the cells will die and your dough will not rise.
Make sure your yeast is in-date. Using out-of-date yeast is a common reason for the dough not rising.
35°C/95 °F is the perfect temperature for the dough to rise. The temperature should not get hotter than 40 °C. If your kitchen is cooler, then preheat the oven to the lowest setting. Turn the oven off and place the dough in the oven. Cover it with a moist tea towel so it does not dry out. (If your lowest setting is hotter than 40 like mine 50, leave the door open for a couple of minutes before placing the dough in)
Knead the dough thoroughly - To ensure that the cake becomes light and fluffy you need to knead it for a long time. A well-kneaded dough hardly sticks. After the dough rises it is important to knead it again, as during the rising process gas bubbles form. This will ensure that your bread bakes evenly.