Berry Streusel Cake

Streusel, or sweet crumb topping, is often used not only to decorate baked goods but also as a delicious layer on its own. Unlike a soft cake base, it adds a wonderful crunchy texture. Berry pies especially benefit from this contrast when the berries are covered with a layer of crisp streusel 

Today I made two cakes — one with cherries and one with blueberries. The cakes are not very large, so you can make two of them when expecting guests, or simply double the recipe. I used frozen berries. The cherries should be thawed in advance and the juice drained. The blueberries do not need to be thawed.

Ingredients (for 1 cake)

For the Base

• 1 egg

• 1/3 cup milk (80 ml)

• 56 g butter, at room temperature

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/3 cup sugar (80 g)

• 1 cup flour (125 g)

• 1 tsp baking powder

For the Filling

• 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen berries (I used frozen)

For the Streusel

• 1/3 cup flour (40 g)

• 1/4 cup sugar (60 g)

• 56 g butter

Steps

Base

1. Beat the butter with the sugar

2. Continuing to beat, add the egg

3. Add the milk and mix

4. Add the flour and baking powder and mix

5. The batter will be sticky

Streusel

6. Combine the flour and sugar

7. Grate the butter using the large holes of a box grater and add it to the dry ingredients

8. Rub together with your hands until coarse crumbs form

9. Pour the batter into the baking pan, cover with the berries, and then sprinkle with the streusel

10. Bake in a preheated 180°C (350°F) oven for 50 minutes