I love making these German streuseltaler pastries because the flavor combination possibilities are endless. Switch up the ingredients in the filling and the streusel by adding different spices, nuts, and fruits. I posted various versions on the blog such as rhubarb, pumpkin, black forest and today I’m making blackberry/rhubarb.
The name of today’s pastry was inspired by the round shape of the ‘taler’, a silver coin used throughout Europe for almost four hundred years. Its name lives on in the currency called ‘dollar’.
Taler is a German word for ‘coin’, so the name of the dessert literally translates to ‘streusel coin’. Basically, a free form tart made with a yeast dough topped with a huge amount of streusel, sometimes filled with custard and often with a sugar glaze.
A traditional German streusel (streusel meaning something ‘strewn or scattered’ in German) bakes up into shortbread balls. It makes a crunchy, cookie-like top but is soft on the bottom where it meets the cake or fruit.
Streusel was first popularized in Germany. In its simplest form, it consists of flour, sugar and butter but gets even better with the addition of oatmeal, cinnamon and nuts …. just my opinion of course!
I can’t tell a lie; Brion & I love streuseltaler so I’m sure I’ll keep on coming up with another flavor combination to try.
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ROLLS
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- 1/2 cup butter, cold & cubed into 1/4-inch pieces
- 1 cup flour
- 1/4-1/3 cup sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla
- 1 Tbsp active dry yeast
- 2/3 cup lukewarm water
- 1/3 cup sugar (use 1 tsp from this in yeast)
- 3 1/2 Tbsp (50 gm) butter, melted
- 1 egg, slightly beaten
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- pinch of salt
- 3/4 cup (85 gm) powdered sugar
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- dust with cardamom spice, optional
Ingredients
Streusel Topping
Dough
Glaze
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- In a bowl, place COLD, cubed butter, add flour, cinnamon, sugar & vanilla. With your fingertips work streusel until crumbles form. Spread out on a large tray & set aside in freezer until ready to use.
- In a small dish, combine yeast with lukewarm water & 1 teaspoon of sugar. Allow to sit for a few minutes until frothy.
- In a large bowl, slightly melt butter; cool for a couple of minutes then whisk in egg. In another bowl, whisk together flour, salt & remaining sugar. Add yeast mixture to butter mixture, whisking together. Add flour mixture, combine then turn on a floured work surface & knead for about 5 minutes. Dough will be very soft but not sticky.
- Lightly grease bowl, place dough ball in it & cover with a towel. Place in a draft-free place & allow to rise for about 20 minutes.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place dough on a lightly floured work surface & divide into 12 pieces. Form each piece into a ball & allow it to rest for about 5 minutes.
- Space out the balls on parchment lined baking sheet. With fingertips, press out each ball to about 4-inch diameter. Add about 1 Tbsp of blackberry/rhubarb compote to each dough piece & spread leaving a border around the outside.
- Divide streusel topping evenly between the pastries & allow to rise for about 15-20 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Bake for about 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack. In the meantime, you can prepare the glaze.
- In a small dish, whisk powdered sugar & lemon juice to a thick glaze. When streuseltaler are cooled, drizzle with glaze.
- Being lovers of cardamom spice, I dusted our streuseltaler with it using a wire mess strainer.
- I should mention, making the compote the day before needed will speed up your baking process.
- These streuseltaler are incredibly soft & so good!