German streusel cake is a thin sheet cake made from either yeasted dough or cake batter, and sprinkled with a sweet buttery topping. Seasonal fruits are often added for variety throughout the seasons. Streuselkuchen originated in Saxony and Silesia but is now popular all throughout Germany, as well as bordering European countries, such as Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, and Switzerland.
The recipe I’m sharing with you today is a peach streusel cake, but it can be adapted to any fresh fruit you have on hand, such as apricots, plums, cherries, berries, apples, and pears. And if you don’t have fresh on hand, swap it for canned! Two large, drained cans of fruit work just as well as fresh.
German Peach Streusel Cake | Pfirsich-Streuselkuchen
This is a thin, vanilla sheet cake topped with sliced, fresh peaches and sprinkled with a buttery crumble. This type of cake is very common in Germany for using up the current in-season fruit. You can swap out the peaches for whatever is in season-apricots, plums, cherries, berries, apples, pears, or use canned fruit in the middle of winter!
Ingredients
Cake Batter:
- 150 g unsalted butter, at room temperature 10.5 tbsp
- 100 g granulated sugar 1/2 cup
- 1 packet vanilla sugar or 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 eggs, at room temperature
- 250 g all-purpose flour 2 cups
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 4 fresh peaches, thinly sliced or 2 large cans, drained
Streusel topping:
- 200 g all-purpose flour 1 2/3 cup
- 120 g 8.5 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature 8.5 tbsp
- 100 g granulated sugar ½ cup
- 1 packet vanilla sugar or 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Beat the butter, sugar, and vanilla sugar (or extract) until light and fluffy.
- Add in the eggs one at a time, fully incorporating before adding the next one.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder. Then add it to the wet ingredients, mixing only until just combined.
- Spread the batter onto a greased and floured baking sheet and top with thinly sliced peaches.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and vanilla sugar (or extract) and then work in the softened butter with your hands or an electric mixer until all the ingredients are combined with the butter and the streusel holds together when squeezed.
- Sprinkle the streusel over the peaches.
- Bake the cake at 200° C/ 400°F for 20-25 minutes.
- Let the cake cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. It can be enjoyed warm or at room temperature, and it's even better with a dollop of whipped cream!
Video
Notes
Make sure to enjoy this cake the day it is made because it gets quite soggy from the fruit, if saved for the next day.
Leave a Reply