German Coffeecake Recipes

STREUSELKUCHEN (CLASSIC GERMAN CRUMB CAKE)

Steps:

• Warm the milk in the microwave or on the stove. It needs to be warm but not hot or boiling.
• In a large mixing bowl, add the flour and the instant dry yeast (check the instructions on the package to be sure it doesn't have to be dissolved in water or milk first). Add the sugar, and then the lukewarm milk. Knead the contents of the bowl together using the spiral dough hooks of your hand mixer until everything is mixed together.
• Then add the vanilla extract, soft butter, egg, and a pinch of salt to the bowl. Keep kneading the dough for another 5 minutes until the dough no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl. Use your hands to form it into a nice ball. If your dough is too sticky, you can add a bit more flour. If the dough is a little too dry and crumbly, add a little more milk to the mix.
• Take a towel or a lid and place it over the bowl with the dough inside. Set the bowl in a warm place without a draft to allow the dough to rise. This should take approximately one hour.
• Around the 55 minute mark of the dough rise timeline, get your baking pan ready by lining it with parchment paper or by greasing it.
• Once the hour is up and the ball of dough has increased in size noticeably, remove it from the bowl. Sprinkle your countertop with flour and give the dough a quick knead with your hands. Then roll out the dough using a rolling pin to fit your baking sheet/pan. We typically use a baking pan that is around 13.5 x 9.5 inches. Once the dough is rolled to size, place the dough onto the baking sheet. Let it rest for another 15 minutes.
• In the meantime preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare the streusel for the topping. For this, place butter, sugar, and flour into a bowl. Using the spiral dough hooks or your hands, quickly knead the ingredients until small crumbs form. Press them together lightly with your hands, then set them aside.
• Once the 15 minutes of rest are up, lightly brush the dough with some water or milk. This will allow the streusel to stick better.
• Then evenly place the streusel on top of the dough.
• Bake the cake on the middle rack of your oven for around 25-30 minutes until the crumbs are lightly golden brown.
• Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool. You can dust the cake with powdered sugar before serving.

THE BEST HOMEMADE COFFEE CAKE

Steps:

• Get all of the ingredients out and easily available
• Scald the Milk. This can be done on the stove or in the microwave. You want the milk to have a film on top. For the microwave: Put the milk in for 2 minutes for 1 cup or 3 minutes for 2 cups. For the stovetop: Stir the milk and then let it sit. Eventually a film will develop. Do this on medium heat. PRO TIP: If you blow on the milk, you will be able see a film when the milk has scalded.
• Mix warm water with the yeast. The water needs to be warm (but not hot!) in order to activate the yeast. Stir in the yeast. If the water is hot, it will kill the yeast which will make the bread fail to rise. PRO TIP: Add a pinch of sugar if the yeast is not activating within the first two minutes. The extra sugar will allow the yeast to activate. If this does not work, likely the water was too hot or too cold, and it would be best to do this step over again.
• Mix sugar, salt, scalded milk, and Crisco (or butter) to create a batter.
• Add a cup or two of flour until you have a thick batter. You only add enough flour to make the batter thick typically no more than 2 of the 5 cups of the flour.
• Beat the two eggs together in a separate container.
• Add the yeast in water mixture and beaten eggs into the thick batter.
• Add the remainder of your flour slowly. (Subtract the number of cups you added previously from 5 to get the number to add here). Add cup by cup. By the last cup, you may want to put some flour on the countertop and put the batter on top; then, you can need the last cup of flour into the dough.
• Knead until smooth and holds a ball shape. (However, do not knead past this point, this may cause the dough to fail to rise).
• Grease the edges of a large bowl with butter. Then, place the dough in the bowl and lightly coat the dough with butter.
• Allow the dough to rise until it has roughly doubled in size. Cover the bowl with a towel. This should take an hour to an hour and a half. PRO TIP: If you do not have a proofing setting on your oven, turn the oven on low and put your bowl with dough on top of the oven - NOT IN IT! The warmth coming from the empty oven will come up as hot air rises and create a warmer environment around the oven for your dough to raise. Bonus: This image is after the dough has been pushed down slightly. It will raise to be larger than this.
• Then punch the dough to get the air out. Take the dough and divide it into two large pans or three circular pans.
• Spread the dough so that it covers the entire pan. Cover it with a towel and allow it to rise (proof) a second time. Again this should be about an hour to an hour and a half.
• Melt some butter. Take sugar and add cinnamon until you get a darker mixture, cinnamon sugar.
• Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit.
• Take the melted butter and brush it onto the newly risen dough. Then, liberally sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on top.
• Open up on of the containers of sweetened condensed milk. Using the back of the spoon create a divet and fill it with sweetened condensed milk. Do this across the dough. PRO TIP: You can never have too many sweetened condensed milk holes!
• Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven. PRO TIP: If you put the pan to close to the top of the oven, it will brulee the cinnamon sugar. You do not want this to happen, so it is best if you bake the pans on the bottom rack of the oven. PRO TIP: You do not want to overbake. If the bread looks done, take it out!! Overcooked coffee cake is much worse than underdone coffee cake. If it is underdone, you can always put it back in.
• ENJOY!! Eat the coffee cake with friends, family, share a pan with a neighbor, or eat the entire thing by itself straight out of the oven. PRO TIP: It is best right out of the oven!

CINNAMON STREUSEL COFFEE CAKE

Steps:

• Make the streusel topping: Mix together flour, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cut in butter using a pastry cutter or rub in with your fingers until small to medium clumps form. Mix in 1/2 cup pecans. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Make the streusel center: Mix together remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1 cup pecans.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make the cake: Butter a 9-inch tube pan with a removable bottom. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt into a bowl.
• Beat butter and granulated sugar with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, then vanilla. Beat in flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour. Continue to beat until well combined.
• Spoon half the batter into pan. Sprinkle streusel center mixture evenly over batter. Top with remaining batter, and spread evenly using an offset spatula. Sprinkle streusel topping mixture evenly over batter.
• Bake until cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack, and let cool completely. Remove cake from pan, and transfer to parchment.
• Make the glaze: Mix together confectioners' sugar and milk. Drizzle over cake, and let drip down sides. Let set for 5 minutes before serving.

BUTTERKUCHEN

Steps:

• Butter a 9x13 inch pan and set aside. In a small mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. Place milk, 1/2 cup sugar, salt and 1/2 cup butter in saucepan. Heat until sugar dissolves and butter melts. Cool to lukewarm. Add dissolved yeast and set aside.
• In large bowl combine flour, eggs and yeast mixture. Stir until smooth and blended. Pour into a buttered 9x13 inch pan, spreading dough evenly. Let rise in warm place for 45 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup butter, 1 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. mix together and sprinkle over the dough. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden and syrupy.

OLD-FASHIONED GERMAN COFFEE CAKE

Steps:

• For cake, dissolve yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in water. Let stand 5 minutes. In a large bowl, combine shortening, sugar and egg. Gradually mix in 2 cups flour, milk and yeast mixture. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down. Divide in half and press each half into a greased 11x7-in. baking pan. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Combine all topping ingredients except peaches. Sprinkle over dough. Top with peach slices. Bake at 375° for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

GERMAN COFFEE CAKE

Steps:

• First Step.
• Mix this and let set for 10 minutes.
• Then add second step to this.
• Knead and let this raise.
• Third Step.
• Divide dough into your greased pans and let raise again.
• Fourth Step.
• Melt more butter, spread over tops of raised cakes and sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar mixture before butter runs down.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until done.
• Fifth Step.
• Make sauce for baked cakes.
• Boil until about as thick as cream. Spread hot sauce over hot baked cakes and sprinkle with more cinnamon/sugar on top.