Yeast Cake with Fruit and Streusel

When summer fruit starts piling up on the kitchen counter, Czech bakers reach for one answer: kynutý koláč s ovocem, a yeast cake covered with fruit and buttery streusel. It is the cake of Czech weekends, baked on a big sheet and cut into generous squares, and if your family has Czech roots, one bite may taste strangely familiar.

What is a yeast cake? In Czech baking, it is a sheet cake made from soft, sweet yeast dough that is pressed onto a baking sheet, covered with a thick layer of seasonal fruit, and finished with a streusel crumb of flour, butter, and sugar; Americans would call it a yeast coffee cake. Blueberries star in the photos here, but apricots, plums, peaches, or a mix of berries work just as well, and frozen fruit, scattered on straight from the freezer, turns it into a year-round cake.

The dough asks for a little patience, it rises for about an hour depending on how warm your kitchen is, but every step is simple and I walk you through each one, so do not let yeast scare you off. I have baked this cake more times than I can count, and it disappears fastest while still slightly warm, next to a cup of coffee.

➜ Why this recipe works

• One dough, a whole season of fruit. The dough and streusel never change; only the topping follows the season - see the tips below. Frozen fruit goes on straight from the freezer, which makes this a year-round cake.
• The raised rim does the work. A low edge pressed around the sheet keeps the fruit juices on the cake, not on the bottom of your oven.
• Three ways to knead, all of them right. A stand mixer with a dough hook, a wooden spoon (vařečka) the way Czech grandmothers did it, or your own hands on a floured board. Give the dough about 10 minutes of work, and all three give the same result: a smooth, elastic dough.

"This recipe turned out AMAZINGLY and tasted just like my babicka and maminka would make it when I was a little girl in the 1970s in Canada."

Andrea, Vancouver

One sheet feeds a crowd, which makes this cake a natural for potlucks, church coffee hours, or a visit from the grandchildren. If homey Czech yeast bakes speak to you, try Czech kolaches with their filled centers, or the peach buchta sheet cake baked with canned peaches, next.

Jump to

• ➜ Why this recipe works
• ➜ The story behind this cake
• Czech pronunciation
• ➜ Ingredients you will need
• Equipment
• ➜ How to make a Czech yeast cake
• ➜ Which fruit to use
• ➜ How to store yeast coffee cake
• ➜ How to store
• ➜ FAQ
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

➜ The story behind this cake

In the Czech Republic, cakes like this one are a weekend tradition. We have two names for it. Kynutý koláč s ovocem means "yeast cake with fruit" and describes what it is, while koláč na plech, literally "cake on a baking sheet," describes how it is baked and served. The fruit on top follows the seasons: whatever is ripe goes onto the dough. Similar cakes are found all across Central Europe, from German Streuselkuchen to the beloved fruit cakes of Poland and Hungary.

My favorite topping is blueberries. The ones we pick in the forests of northern Bohemia, where I live, are not the plump cultivated kind but wild bilberries: tiny, dark all the way through, and packed with flavor. They stain your fingers purple as you pick, and gathering them is slow work, so I treat it as a social event. I usually head into the woods with my mom or my brother, and while our buckets slowly fill, we catch up on family news and laugh over old memories.

Apricots and peaches, on the other hand, are the pride of South Moravia, the warm southeastern corner of the country. And many families simply bake with whatever is growing in their own gardens. At my father-in-law's cottage, we pick currants, raspberries, and jostaberries into one bowl, and the sweet-tart combination makes an unforgettable summer cake.

➜ Ingredients you will need

✅ See the recipe below with step-by-step photos and many helpful tips. Scroll down for the full printable recipe in both US cups and metric measurements.

Yeast dough:

• All-purpose flour, the standard cake flour in Czech kitchens, where it is sold as hladká mouka (UK readers: plain flour). It gives the dough its structure and soft crumb.
• Active dry yeast, or fresh yeast; both work. And if you have seen "cake yeast" in an old American recipe, that means a small cube of fresh compressed yeast, not a cake. Using fresh yeast? Crumble it into the sweetened lukewarm milk; it activates a little sooner than dry yeast because it holds more moisture.
• Milk, lukewarm to wake the yeast, never hot.
• Granulated sugar, for a gently sweet dough.
• Egg yolks, for a more tender dough; set aside a little of the egg white to brush the edges of the cake later.
• Unsalted butter, softened at room temperature so it blends into the dough easily; melted and cooled also works.
• Lemon zest, freshly grated, only the yellow layer; the white pith underneath is bitter.
• Salt, a pinch to balance the sweetness.

Fruit topping:

• Seasonal fruit, fresh or frozen; blueberries star in the photos, and the full fruit guide is below.
• Granulated sugar, a sprinkle over the fruit.

Streusel topping:

• All-purpose flour, granulated sugar, and unsalted butter, rubbed together into buttery crumbs. New to streusel? See how to make Czech drobenka.

➜ How to make a Czech yeast cake

STEP 1: Activate the yeast. Pour ¼ cup of the lukewarm milk into a glass; lukewarm means about body temperature (around 100°F / 38°C). Stir in a teaspoon of the granulated sugar and the active dry yeast. Set the glass in a warm, draft-free place for 10-15 minutes, until foamy.

If the mixture does not foam, the yeast is past its prime - start over with fresh yeast before you waste the flour.

STEP 2: Mix the wet ingredients. Melt the butter in a small saucepan and take it off the heat. Pour in the rest of the milk to cool it down, then whisk in the egg yolks with a fork. The mixture should be lukewarm, not hot.

STEP 3: Mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, the remaining sugar, the lemon zest, and the salt.

STEP 4: Bring the dough together. Make a well in the middle of the flour with a spoon. Pour in the butter mixture and the foamy yeast, and roughly combine everything with a fork.

STEP 5: Knead the dough. There are three ways to do it.

• With a stand mixer and the dough hook: the lowest speed for 1-2 minutes, until the dough comes together, then medium-low for about 8 minutes.
• The way Czech grandmothers did it: beat the dough in the bowl with a wooden spoon until it no longer sticks to the spoon and small blisters appear on the surface.
• Or knead by hand on a floured board for about 10 minutes.

However you work it, the dough is ready when it is smooth, elastic, and sticks to your fingers only a little.

STEP 6: Let the dough rise. Place the dough in a plastic bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and let it rise in a warm, draft-free spot for about 1 hour, until doubled in size. My favorite spot is a briefly warmed, switched-off oven; see how to make dough rise in the oven.

STEP 7: Make the streusel. While the dough rises, place the butter, sugar, and flour in a bowl and rub them between your fingers until crumbs form.

STEP 8: Shape and rest. Turn the risen dough out onto a floured board, knead it briefly, and shape it into a ball. Cover it and let it rest in a warm place for about 15 minutes.

STEP 9: Spread the dough. Grease the half sheet pan with butter, or line it with parchment paper. Press or roll the dough thinly to the sides, and shape a slightly raised rim around the edge with the side of your palm. Let the dough rest on the pan for about 15 minutes while the oven preheats to 350°F (180°C).

STEP 10: Top with fruit and streusel.

TIP: Lightly whisk the leftover egg white until smooth and brush the raised rims; they bake up glossy.

Then scatter the fruit in a thick layer over the dough; cut fruit such as apricots or plums lies cut side up. Sprinkle the fruit with sugar, more generously if it is tart, and cover it with the streusel crumbs.

STEP 11: Bake. Bake at 350°F for 35-40 minutes, until the edges turn golden brown.

TIP (optional): For a fantastic twist, drizzle the hot cake with melted butter stirred with two tablespoons of spiced rum right after it comes out of the oven.

➜ Which fruit to use

The dough and streusel stay the same; only the topping changes with the season. There should be enough fruit to cover the dough in a thick, generous layer; the weight in the recipe card is your guide. Choose from what is ripe:

• Blueberries, whole. This is the classic Czech blueberry cake, and the version in the photos here; wild bilberries, if you can find them, give the deepest flavor and color.
• Apricots, halved, pitted, and laid cut side up. If this is your favorite version, I have a full recipe for Czech apricot sheet cake.
• Peaches, pitted, cut into smaller pieces, and laid cut side up.
• Plums, halved or quartered, pitted, cut side up. Try them in a Czech plum streusel cake.
• Raspberries, whole.
• Currants, black or red, stemmed. They are tart, so sugar them generously.
• Gooseberries and jostaberries, whole. Also tart; be generous with the sugar.
• Apples, in thin slices. They are the fall variant, once the berry season has passed; their flavor is gentler than the summer fruit.
• A garden mix. Combining tart fruit with something sweeter gives the most balanced cake; currants with raspberries is a classic pairing from Czech gardens.

Frozen fruit works any time of year: scatter it over the dough straight from the freezer, and do not thaw it first.

➜ How to store yeast coffee cake

Let the cake cool for a while before cutting; then slice it into squares of about 4×4 inches (10×10 cm). Fresh from the oven, the fruit layer is still soft and juicy, so serve the warm squares on small dessert plates with a spoon. Once the cake cools completely, it firms up, and a square holds nicely in your hand.

For a bakery-pretty finish, dust the cooled cake with confectioners' sugar. Pour a cup of coffee or tea alongside, and you have a true Czech afternoon. Dobrou chuť!

➜ How to store

Cover the cooled cake with plastic wrap, aluminum foil, or a clean kitchen towel. It will keep in a cool spot at room temperature for about 3 days.

The whole sheet will not fit in a refrigerator, so cut the cooled cake into squares first. Stored in an airtight container, they keep in the fridge for up to 5 days; let a square come back to room temperature before eating, because the cold stiffens yeast dough.

Freezing works well. Pre-freeze the squares in a single layer, then stack them in an airtight container and return them to the freezer. The pieces will not stick together, so you can take out exactly as many as you need. They keep for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature, then warm the squares in a 300°F (150°C) oven for a few minutes to crisp up the streusel and soften the dough.

➜ FAQ

More Czech yeast baking to try: loupáčky (sweet crescent rolls), Czech buchty (filled buns), and dukátové buchtičky with vanilla sauce.

📖 Recipe