Delicious sheet cakes with crunchy streusel topping are so popular in the Czech Republic, Germany, and Poland; in fact in the whole of Central Europe! On sweet pastries, the sprinkles form the final layer that takes the dish to the next level. In this simple recipe, I will show you how we make the perfect topping in the Czech Republic.
First things first. What is actually streusel topping?
The streusel topping is a crumbly mixture made of flour, sugar, and butter. Prepared by simply mixing all the ingredients, the buttery crumb topping is sprinkled on the surface of fruit coffee cakes, traditional Czech kolaches, on top of your favorite muffins, quick bread, or any kind of sheet cake.
FUN FACT: The Czech name for streusel topping is "drobenka", whereas the Czech word "drobky" means crumbs. Other Czech words are "posypka" (sprinkles) and "žmolenka".
MY TIP: Use your crumb for this fantastic plum cake with poppy seeds (it tastes so good!)
➜ Ingredients
An easy recipe for streusel calls for a few basic ingredients:
- All-purpose flour; or plain flour in the UK.
- Unsalted butter; take the cold butter out of the fridge and leave it on the kitchen counter for about an hour to warm up to room temperature
- Granulated sugar; instead of white sugar, use brown sugar for deeper flavor
The best ratio for the right streusel is close to 1 part sugar, 1 part butter, and 1.5-2 parts flour. A well-made streusel topping forms uneven pea-sized crumbs. It is not too powdery or sand-like, but not with large crumbs of greasy chunks either.
✅ You’ll find the exact amount of ingredients below in the recipe card, which you can also print out.
➜ Instructions
- Put the flour and sugar in a large bowl.
- Using a knife, carefully cut the butter into small cubes and add them to the dry ingredients.
- Work all the ingredients together using your fingers until you have a sand-like mixture with firm, irregular lumps.
If you prepare the streusel in advance, put it in a bowl in the fridge to stay chilled. Sprinkle streusel on the cake just before baking.
Do you want a crunchy topping that stays that way the next day? Add an egg yolk to it when preparing. Then you'll need to add a little more flour and sugar to make the crumbs less dense.
My extra tip: Immediately after you take the streusel cake out of the oven, drizzle its surface with melted butter into which you have stirred two tablespoons of spiced rum.
➜ How to twist the streusel topping?
Here are some tips and tricks to help you perfect your streusel:
- Add ground oats that you have briefly toasted in a pan (chill them before using).
- Add a teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the flour mixture. A cinnamon streusel topping is especially good for fruit pies, for example, those made with plums or apples.
- Stir in the ground or finely chopped nuts; almonds, walnuts, or hazelnuts.
- Add crushed biscuits to the streusel: coconut biscuits, hazelnut biscuits, or any non-filled biscuits with your desired flavor. Crush the cookies with a rolling pin in a sturdy plastic bag or between two sheets of parchment paper.
➜ Leftover streusel
If you have any leftover topping, store it in an airtight container in the fridge. It will keep for about a week.
Streusel topping freezes perfectly. Spread it in a large bag in a thin layer and leave it in the freezer for about 20 minutes. Afterward, shake the crumbly topping in a bag or a freezer-safe container together and let it freeze completely.
Prepared this way, the crumbs won't stick each other into a compact mass, instead, the individual pieces will remain separate and the frozen streusel mixture can be used without any problems.
➜ Useful tips
- Use a pastry blender or pastry cutter to process the streusel topping; it can make your job easier and keep your hands clean.
- A food processor is not suitable for making European-style streusel. We want beautiful, uneven crumbs, not a uniform sandy mass.
- Cakes with overripe fruit on top require more streusel topping because this fruit is juicy, and streusel absorbs the juice.
➜ FAQs
The classic streusel topping is made from flour, coarse sugar, and butter in a ratio of 2:1:1.
In Europe, coffee cakes are most often baked on large baking sheets. The usual size of such a pan is about 16x12 inches (40x30 cm). For a cake baked in this size, you will need a topping made of about 1 cup of flour, ½ cup of granulated sugar, and ½ cup of unsalted butter. Use two-thirds of that amount for a 9x13-inch (23x33 cm) pan.
Add one yolk while making it to keep the streusel crunchy even the next day. Add proportionally more flour and sugar to achieve the right texture.
The problem is in adding too much butter. Try adding a tablespoon of flour and sugar to break up large chunks of crumbs.
More sweet recipes:
Best Streusel Topping
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Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ⅔ stick butter cut into smaller pieces
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
Instructions
- Put the 1 cup all-purpose flour and ⅓ cup granulated sugar in a large bowl.
- Using a knife, carefully cut ⅔ stick butter into small cubes and add them to the dry ingredients.
- Work all the ingredients together using your fingers until you have a sand-like mixture with firm, irregular lumps.
Notes
- Makes a batch of streusel for a large coffee cake baked in a pan of size 16x12 inches (40x30 cm). Use two-thirds of that amount for a 9x13-inch (23x33 cm) pan.
- If you prepare the streusel in advance, put it in a bowl in the fridge to stay chilled. Sprinkle streusel on the cake just before baking.
- Do you want a crunchy topping that stays that way the next day? Add an egg yolk to it when preparing. Then you'll need to add more flour and sugar to make the crumbs less dense.
- If you have a leftover topping, store it in an airtight container in the fridge. It will keep for about a week.
- Streusel topping freezes perfectly. Spread it in a large bag in a thin layer and leave it in the freezer for about 20 minutes. Afterward, shake the crumbly topping in a bag or a freezer-safe container together and let it freeze completely.
Tara Mckeithen says
I need the recipe to the blueberry coffee/breakfast cake. My grandmother would make a cake sprinkled with this streusel topping on it .. the recipe here with blueberries is too thin .. my grandmother passed in 1983 and i haven’t had it since .. PLEASE HELP ME!
Petra Kupská says
Ahoj Tara, thank you for your comment; I'd be happy to suggest recipes for streusel coffee cakes that might work well with blueberries. Please try these: Plum streusel coffee cake or Apricot streusel sheet cake, both are tried and tested recipes using streusel topping that I can highly recommend. Best wishes, Petra
Sarah says
This is a really easy way to spice up your fruit pies! They have always been a bit bland for me, but after I discovered drobenka and tried it my pies have been much better received.
Petra Kupská says
This Czech drobenka / posypka topping is most often used on fruit pies, and you're right. When you sprinkle streusel on a pie, you elevate it a level higher! 🙂
Melanie Goad says
I have tons leftover after making kolaches is there a way to save the leftovers?
Petra Kupská says
Stored in the fridge, the streusel topping will definitely keep for at least a week. I'm not sure if the drobenka topping can be frozen effectively. Apparently so, but I don't have any own experience with it.
I would try adding some flour to the crumbles to make the topping more "dusty", and then I would make a small cake in the sense of this recipe: Crumble sheet cake
Something like:
1. layer of streusel topping
2. layer sweetened cottage/tvaroh/farmers cheese diluted with a little milk poured over streusel topping
3. layer of fruit (small pieces of any fruit)
4. a final layer of little streusel topping (if any left)
Then bake the cake in the oven until done. The baking time depends on the cake size.
I hope this helps!
Melanie says
Thank you so much for your reply! My great-grandparents came to the states from Beharovice in Moravia and I am really enjoying discovering the food from their country through your blog. Thank you for doing this in English!
Bonnie says
Grandmother was from Czechoslovakia and she made the greatest donuts. I was also told she once worked in bakery? They were fried and stuffed with some called pot cheese or farmers cheese. They were stuffed before she even fried them. The toppling was some sort of streusel topping. Unfortunately no one has the recipe.
Are you familiar with these type of donuts?
Anicka Cooklikeczechs.com says
Thank you for the interesting tip, I believe your grandmother's donuts tasted great. Unfortunately, I can't think of any recipe that is similar to these doughnuts right now. With topping they make "vdolky", but they are not filled before frying.
Rick says
my family uses little bit of vanilla flavored sugar to add the extra kick
Anicka Cooklikeczechs.com says
Thank you for the feedback!