Old Fashioned German Streuselkuchen
Submitted by cowgirl on August 07, 2007 at 4:47 am

DESCRIPTION
Old-fashioned German Streuselkuchen

SUMMARY
Yield 0 File under cakes

INSTRUCTIONS
For dough:
3 cups + 2 heaping tbs. AP flour (400 gr);
1/3 cup sugar (75 gr);
1/2 cup milk or I like buttermilk (125 ml);
5 tbs. melted, cooled butter (75 gr);
2 lg. eggs;
1/2 tsp. salt;
1 package dry yeast (25 gr. fresh yeast);
grated peel of one lemon;

For Streusel:
2-1/2 cup + 2 tbs. AP flour (330 gr);
1/2 oz. (15 gr) cornstarch;
1 cup less 1 tbs. sugar;
13 tbs. butter, soft but still cold;
1/8 tsp. baking powder;

Make the dough: Warm the milk to lukewarm, measure all dry ingredients into mixer bowl, whisk a couple times to distribute the yeast evenly and with the mixer running on low add milk, butter and eggs. It will be a rather soft dough, if it's very sticky add some flour but not too much as the butter will firm up things once it cools.Knead about 4 minutes by mixer scraping bowl once or twice. Don't overknead though, it's not a bread dough. The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom.
If using fresh yeast (which really does give a more yeasty taste) combine dry ingredients,except lemon peel and sugar, make a well in the centre, pour milk in, add crumbled yeast and a pinch sugar and stir in some flour to make a slushy batter, like poolish. Cover with some flour from the rim and let rise appr. 15 min. until flour cover gets crackly and you see bubbles. With mixer running on low add all other ingredients, proceed as above.
Put dough in greased bowl, put in a plastic bag and let rise for appr. one hour. Don't choose a too warm place, regular room temp. is fine.

Make the Streusel: Put flour, starch, sugar, a pinch of salt and baking powder in food processor, pulse half a minute to combine, add butter cut in pieces and pulse until streusel are forming.
Don't overprocess, you might rather want to put the mix in a bowl afterwards and rub with your fingertips until Streusel form.
Place Steusel in the fridge.

After dough has risen punch down on floured work suface, knead a couple times and let rest 5 minutes. Roll out on lightly greased, rimmed baking sheet. Form a little rim. Cover with damp towel and let rise 15 min. more.
Heat oven to 400°, meanwhile prick dough with fork, spread or mist very lightly with cold water and scatter Streusel over.
Press on very lightly. Let rise more while oven is heating.
Put in the oven (middle--high rack) and immediately lower heat to 375°. Bake appr. 35 min., don't let Streusel brown.

THis cake is best eaten after slightly cooled but freezes beautifully.
You can add virtually any fruit to it but best & classic are apples or prunes.