The German Kitchen » Oetker

Streuselkuchen – Streusel (Crumb) Cake Recipe

Lisa — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 02:23:37 +0000

This is a wonderful, easy to make crumb cake, in which you can prepare your own fruit for a filling, or use canned pie filling. Filling the cake with apple or cherry are my two favorite options, but I have also used peaches. This is as close to pie as Germans get, and honestly, this is much better with a strong cup of coffee than American pie. Enjoy!

Difficulty: Easy.
Preparation Time: 70 minutes.
Portions: 10 slices.

Ingredients:

3 1/3 c. all-purpose flour (400 grams)
1 c. sugar
1 Tbsp. vanilla sugar (or 1 tsp. vanilla extract)
1/4 tsp. double acting baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 whole eggs
14 Tbsp. butter or margarine (250 grams)
one can of pie filling, or prepared fruit as for a pie

Preparation:

If making your own fruit filling, prepare ahead of time. Also, the best pan to use is a 9-inch springform. In a pinch, you could use a 9-inch flat bottomed brownie pan, etc. Either butter, or spray pan entirely on the inside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
To prepare the streusel, mix the flour, sugar, vanilla sugar, salt and baking powder together in a bowl. Add cold butter chunks and the eggs. Mix by either rubbing the ingredients with your hands, or use a mixer on low speed. Alternatively, you can use dough hooks if you have them. Mix until crumbs are formed.
Press 2/3 of the crumbs into the bottom and up the sides of the springform pan. Make the sides at least 1 inch tall. Make sure the dough is packed and no holes remain.
Spoon the fruit filling over the dough, leaving about 1/4 – 1/2 inch from the edge of dough to filling center. Do not overdo it with the liquid, or else the cake will turn soggy.
Using the remainder of the streusel dough, spread evenly over the entire top, and be sure to fill in the sides as well. The cake should generally be even across the top when you are finished.
Bake in preheated oven for 45 – 55 minutes, or until the top is a golden brown.
Allow to cool completely before serving, or else the cake may be runny. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

**If the cake will not be finished in the first 48 hours, I would recommend placing in the refrigerator, and lightly warming in a toaster or warm oven. Only lightly! Otherwise you will over bake the crust and it will become hard.

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What IS that stuff?? German Cake & Gelatin?

Lisa — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 14:51:53 +0000

I’ve seen some people inquire as to what the gelatin mixture is that is placed over fruit on German tortes. It really isn’t that mysterious, and there are two ways you can achieve this at home.

Your first option is to make it from scratch. The most difficult part is to continually mix and not overheat the mixture. Here is the recipe.

Fruit Torte Jelly/Gelatin

Ingredients:

1/2 tsp. gelatin (plain, unflavored gelatin – can be found in the baking aisle of any grocer)
1 cup water OR apple juice (be aware this will add some extra flavor)
2 tbsp. sugar
Optional: 1 tsp. red food coloring

Preparation:

Soak gelatin in 2 tbsp. cold water for 10 minutes.
Heat over low heat until it becomes liquid.
Add 2 tbsp. sugar and the remainder of water and heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved.
Remove from heat and cool until it is just pourable (20 – 30 minutes).
Spoon over finished cake shell with fruit already arranged over the top.
Allow whole cake to set for at least one hour before serving. For extended life, refrigerate to prevent fruit from molding.

Okay, so you say this sounds too tedious, and you want a quick and dirty solution? Try Tortenguss. You can purchase a dry mix, which still needs to be heated, but is a little less finicky. My personal favorite can be bought from German Deli: Dr. Oetker Tortenguss Klar (Clear Cake Glaze). It is sold in a 3-pack, and I will stock up on a few at a time.

See? Isn’t it great when one of life’s little mysteries can be solved so simply?

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Himbeertorte – German Raspberry Cake Recipe

Lisa — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 19:56:09 +0000

A typical cake served for German coffee time. It is best to use a special pan, that when flipped, leaves a recess in the cake, much like shortcake cups, but any 11″ pan should work.

Difficulty: Moderate.
Preparation Time: 2 hours.
Portions: 4 – 6. 12 pieces.

Ingredients:

Cake Batter

2 eggs
2 tbsp. warm water
6 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla sugar
1 pinch salt
7 tbsp. all purpose flour
6 tbsp. cornstarch

Topping

1 1/2 pint raspberries
3/4 cup whipping cream
2 tsp. sugar

Jelly

1/2 tsp. gelatin
1 cup water
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. red food coloring

Preparation:

Grease pan and lightly dust with flour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Separate eggs. Beat egg whites with salt until stiff, but not too dry. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat egg yolks with water until foamy, and pale yellow. Gradually add sugar and vanilla. Beat until the sugar is dissolved, and the batter has visibly increased in volume.
Sprinkle in flour and cornstarch ad blend well with yolks.
Using a rubber spatula, fold egg whites into the batter until just blended.
Pour batter into cake pan (form) and bake in lower oven for 16 minutes, until golden yellow.
Let cake rest in pan for 10 minutes before removing. Allow cake to cool completely.
To prepare jelly: soak gelatin in 2 tbsp. cold water for 10 minutes. Heat over low heat until it becomes liquid. Add 2 tbsp. sugar and the remainder of water and heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and cool until it is just pourable (20 – 30 minutes).
To prepare topping: whip the cream with 1 tbsp. sugar until stiff. Spread evenly over cake.
Arrange berries on top of cream. Pour jelly over fruit. Let jelly set for 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

You can also make extra whipped cream to garnish the top of the cake. This cake MUST be refrigerated if there are leftovers.

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Amazon for German Groceries

Lisa — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 18:26:27 +0000

The depth and breadth of products and services at Amazon never ceases to amaze me. While poking around their Grocery section, I found not just German grocery items, but German grocery items in bulk. I want to share a few things that I try to keep around the pantry when I get my hands on them. While cooking things from scratch can be fun and tasty, it is sometimes a great time and sanity saver to keep some quickie products on hand. Here are a few of my favorites:

Panni Bavarian Potato Dumpling Mix – makes a decent dumpling that can be served with main dishes such as Schweinebraten, Sauerbraten, or Gulasch. Kids love these little things, and they are easy to make and prepare.

A package of 12 is under $28.

Black Forest Girl Homemade Spaetzle – A great spaetzle that is quite popular in our house. I have tried several, but many of the ones you can get in the U.S. get too chewy, or taste bland. Black Forest Girl is really good. Here’s a tip – when you drain after cooking, rinse quickly with cool water. This gets rid of some of the excess starch, and ‘sets’ the spaetzle. Simply pour it back into the hot pan, add a touch of butter, and mix over the still warm burner (don’t turn it back on). Perfect spaetzle!

A bulk box of 30 packages (about two meals from each bag for a family of 3) is under $64.00!

Dr. Oetker German Streusel Cake Mix – This is a favorite cake in our house. I usually use cherry filling, but it is also really good with peach and apple filling. It is very easy to make, and is yummy with afternoon coffee on the weekends.

Amazon has an 8 pack for less than $23!