Streuselkuchen vom Blech

Streuselkuchen sits on the German coffee table, cut from a Blech, the baking sheet, and carried to church coffee, a workplace birthday, or Sunday at three. Saxony and old Silesia claim the plain yeast version hardest: a soft base under a thick rubble of butter, sugar, and flour. In the Rhineland you'll see fruit more often, in the south quark or plums sneak in, and some bakers use a richer cake base. Im Norden anders, im Süden anders. I keep this one Saxon and Silesian: yeast dough, butter crumbs, no fuss.

The technique that decides it is the temperature of the streusel. Cold butter makes crumbs that hold their shape in the oven; soft butter melts into paste, and paste bakes into a hard lid. Rub the butter in until you have uneven gravel, some peas, some sand, then chill it while the dough rises. The cake wants contrast, not a neat blanket.

The base gets one good rise and a short second rest on the sheet, because yeast dough needs time to relax or it pulls back and bakes tight. Das braucht seine Zeit, not a whole day, but enough. If rhubarb is in season, use it. If sour cherries are in the larder, use them drained. Out of season, leave the cake plain and let the streusel do its work.

Bake until the edges are pale gold and the crumbs are dry and crisp at the top. Don't chase dark colour. This isn't a roast. Schön ist, was schmeckt.