Streuselkuchen is the quintessential German afternoon treat (a tradition known as 'Kaffee und Kuchen').
Similar to a Cherry Crumble this easy German recipe is foolproof. It's a light and airy cake with a layer of jam and is topped with creamy-buttery crumbs and crunchy sliced almonds.
It's an easy recipe that's ready to go into the oven in less than 20 minutes. Serve it with whipped cream (try mint whipped cream for a delicious twist), a side of vanilla ice cream - or both!
Streuselkuchen is the world's easiest layer cake. The bottom is an easy kind of sponge cake, the middle layer consists of your favorite jam or marmalade, and the top layer is an easy crumble.
Perfect as a quick breakfast snack or an afternoon treat with a cup of coffee, or, hot chocolate. Need to feed a crowd? No problem. Simply double batch the recipe.
What You'll Need To Make This Recipe
One of the reasons to love this recipe is that chances are you have all of the ingredients in your fridge and pantry!
Apricot preserve works beautifully with this recipe. But you can also experiment with strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, sour cherry, or any other preservative you have on hand. The possibilities are limitless.
Wet Ingredients
- Butter, unsalted
- Eggs
- Vanilla Extract
Dry Ingredients
Toppings
- Apricot preserve or jam/preservative of choice
- sliced Almonds
How To Make Streuselkuchen from Scratch
Making Streuselkuchen from scratch is incredibly easy! It breaks down into two major steps: making the batter and making the topping.
How to Make The Batter
- Use a hand mixer to cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla extract.
- Add the dry ingredients mix until all of the ingredients are well combined.
- Ladle the batter onto the baking sheet. Spread the batter evenly.
- Top the batter with the jam or preserve of your choice.
How to Make The Streusel (Crumb Topping)
- Combine flour, sugar, and melted butter to make the crumb topping.
- Layer the sweet crumb topping over the preserve spread.
- Bake the Streuselkuchen for 25 minutes at 350° Fahrenheit. Remove the cake from oven and insert a toothpick to make sure the cake has fully baked
Can You Freeze It?
Yes, Streuselkuchen freezes beautifully. Allow the cake to cool down completely and cut it into individual slices. Cover each slice with plastic wrap. Put the wrapped slices into a freezer-safe zip lock back.
Ready to enjoy a slice of frozen Streuselkuchen? Simply take it out of the freezer and allow it to thaw at room temperatures. You can also reheat it in the microwave for a few seconds if you prefer a warm slice of cake.
More German Favorites
- German Cheesecake
- Classic Sandkuchen. German Bundt cake.
- Cinnamon Twists
- German Strudel Cookies
Streuselkuchen
Ingredients
Dough
- 12 tablespoons butter softened
- 1½ cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1½ cups all purpose flour
- ½ tablespoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 15 ounce preservative/jam choose favorite flavor
Crumb Topping
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 8 tablespoons butter melted
- ½ cup almonds sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Making The Batter
- Use a hand mixer with the whisk attachment (or a stand mixer and the paddle attachment) to cream butter and sugar at medium-high speed. Add eggs and vanilla extract and continue to beat on medium speed until the batter is smooth and creamy.
- Add the flour, the baking powder and the salt. to the batter and turn the mixer back to medium speed. Beat until all the ingredients have been well combined. The batter should be thick and creamy.
- Pour the batter onto the baking sheet and spread it evenly.
- Spread your favorite preserve, jam or marmalade over the batter.
Making The Streusel
- Combine flour, sugar, and melted butter. Use your hand mixer and combine until the dough turns into crumbs
- Layer the sweet crumb topping over the preserve spread and top with sliced almonds.
- Bake the Streuselkuchen for 25 minutes at 350° Fahrenheit. Use a toothpick to check the doneness. If the toothpick comes out clean, remove the cake from the oven.
Scarlet
This sounds really fun to try. I am pinning your Streuselkucken recipe to try Saturday!
Sharon Foster
Do you use baking powder or baking soda in the German Crumb Cake? The ingredients call for baking powder, but in the instructions it says add the soda. Thanks. I’m so excited to find this recipe.
Maike
Hi Sharon, I just emailed you, too. Yes, there was a typo and I fixed it. You'll just need baking powder. Happy Thanksgiving.
Candy Cole
So my son is taking German this year, and his assignment was to make a German dessert. He made this recipe and it was delicious and easy to make. Everyone loved it!
Maike
Oh, that's great! Thank you so much for sharing, Candy. Tell your son: "Guten Appetit" 😉
Tanya
Is this a moist or dry cake?
Also, what is the size of the "baking sheet" (length x width x height)?
Thanks!
Maike
These are great questions! Thank you.
Generally, I use a Jelly Roll pan from Nordic Ware (15x10x1). But you could also try a quarter sheet pan (13x9x1) which would make the Streuselkuchen a bit higher, and might actually turn out nice, too. The cake should be on the moist side. I'll update the recipe with the baking sheet recommendation. Please let me know if you have any other questions. ~ Maike 🙂