Krimmelkuche – Saarland Streusel Sheet Cake

Description

A yeast-dough sheet cake under a thick layer of buttery crumbs. 'Krimmel' is the Saarland word for streusel, and the cake is baked above all for the Kirf or Kerb, the local church consecration feast.

1. 1

   For the yeast dough, warm the milk until lukewarm, dissolve the yeast in it and add a teaspoon of the sugar. Cover and leave for 10 minutes, until bubbles appear.

   ⏱️ approx. 10 min

   💡 Tip: The milk must be no more than hand-warm. Above about 40 °C the yeast dies and the dough will not rise.

2. 2

   Knead 500 g of flour, the remaining sugar, the egg, a pinch of salt and 80 g of soft butter together with the yeast mixture until you have a smooth, elastic dough. Cover and let it rise in a warm place for about 60 minutes, until doubled in volume.

   ⏱️ approx. 15 min
3. 3

   For the Krimmel, mix 300 g of flour, 150 g of sugar, the vanilla sugar and a pinch of cinnamon. Add 150 g of cold butter in pieces and quickly rub everything into coarse crumbs with your fingertips. Chill until baking.

   ⏱️ approx. 10 min

   💡 Tip: Cold butter and quick fingers are the key: if the mixture warms up it binds into a dough and you get no crumbs at all.

4. 4

   Roll the risen dough out onto a greased baking sheet (about 30 × 40 cm), press it into the corners and let it rest, covered, for another 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180 °C conventional heat.

   ⏱️ approx. 10 min
5. 5

   Scatter the Krimmel evenly and generously over the whole surface. They may lie thick – the topping is what makes this cake.

   ⏱️ approx. 5 min
6. 6

   Bake on the middle shelf for 30 to 35 minutes, until the Krimmel are golden. Let the cake cool on the sheet and dust with icing sugar before cutting, if you like.

   ⏱️ approx. 35 min