This is the best streusel topping! Making streusel for muffins, quick breads and pies is simple and adds a delicious layer of crunchy sweetness. All you need for this recipe is butter, brown sugar, flour and a few spices.
You may not think of it too often, but adding a layer of streusel to your recipes can make them totally different!
I recently had this revelation when working on my recipe for blueberry bread. The first couple of times I made the recipe, I just made the bread itself. Don't get me wrong, it was insanely delicious alone, but I felt like it was missing something.
When it dawned upon me that adding a crunchy, cinnamon-sugar layer of streusel might be something neat to explore, I quickly got to work testing it out.
BAM.
It turned out that streusel was JUST the thing to take my blueberry bread from whoa to whoahwhoahoaaaa.
What is streusel topping made of?
Streusel topping is made of butter, sugar and flour. Adding cinnamon, a touch of nutmeg and salt will take your streusel above and beyond.
Additionally, using brown sugar in place of white granulated sugar will make it better too.
This simple streusel topping is the best because of the brown sugar. Brown sugar adds lots of flavor and keeps the streusel more tender than using only white granulated sugar would.
I added a hefty amount of cinnamon, because you can't have streusel without cinnamon. I love to use ceylon cinnamon, which is the only type of cinnamon I keep in my pantry.
Ceylon cinnamon has a bright and mild flavor, almost a bit floral. I really like the flavor profile of ceylon cinnamon vs. cassia or Saigon types.
How to Make Streusel Topping
Making streusel topping is SO easy and fast to make. You can literally whip it up in no time to add to your favorite baked treats.
Essentially, all you need to do is soften some butter, add the brown sugar, spices and then flour. Mix and top whatever your baking!
Baked goods that need streusel
If you're not sure what to add your streusel topping to, here are some ideas! This recipe is great for all kinds of desserts.
Quick breads
Muffins
Pie
Coffee cake
Fruit crisps
Tip: when you're adding streusel to breads, muffins or cakes...anything that needs to rise, be cautious about how much you add.
Too much streusel can weigh down your batter, making it hard to bake properly.
Be sure to add a nice, even layer (a few big crumbles are OK!)
This is the best streusel topping! Making streusel for muffins, quick breads and pies is simple and adds a delicious layer of crunchy sweetness. All you need for this recipe is butter, brown sugar, flour and a few spices.
This recipe will top once 9" cake, a loaf pan. Double for more topping as needed.
TIP: When you're adding streusel to breads, muffins or cakes...anything that needs to rise, be cautious about how much you add.Too much streusel can weigh down your batter, making it hard to bake properly.
Be sure to add a nice, even layer (a few big crumbles are OK!)
Streusel is similar to crumb topping and the terms are often used interchangeably. Traditionally, the two have different ratios of the same ingredients, with streusel containing more flour, and crumb topping more sugar, so they offer a different texture and flavor on top of baked goods.
A well-made crumb should be firm yet tender, and chewy, with big chunks—like granola. The best way to achieve this is to use cold cubed butter. Using room-temperature or melted butter will cause the topping to spread out and flatten when it bakes, rather than standing pert and perky.
Why is my streusel not crumbly? Often this happens if the crumb topping is over-mixed or if the butter was much too hot. Over-mixing will leave you with a pasty, batter-like mixture rather than the crumbly topping you are aiming for.
Crumble topping is a combination of only 3 simple ingredients: butter, flour, and sugar. It adds the perfect sweetness and crunch to any muffin, quick bread, or pie!
Toss butter pats in dry ingredients, distributing them evenly throughout the bowl and fully coating each piece of butter. Using the pastry cutter and a "mashing" motion, begin to cut the butter pieces up in the flour. Continue until butter pieces are the desired size listed in your recipe (i.e. "pea-sized pieces").
When adding to cakes, be sure to add it to thick, dense batters. Thin, liquidy batters will cause the crumble topping to sink instead of staying on top of the cake.
Just place the large clumps of streusel in a plastic baggy and put them in the freezer. After it is frozen solid, place one at a time in the food processor and process just until it's broken into small pieces again. Refreeze for when you need it again in the future.
A crisp contains oats in the topping, while a crumble does not. Baking powder can also be added to a crumble topping (like it is here) to ensure it's extra light and tender.
Sprinkle the streusel over your coffee cakes or muffins before baking. Or sprinkle onto a baking sheet and bake by itself for 10-12 minutes to add a crunchy topping. You'll know the streusel is done when it is golden brown and crispy looking.
This can't be easier for perfect results every time. If you are wondering what the difference is between crumb topping and streusel, not much is the answer. Both are crumb toppings containing the same ingredients but streusel often has more sugar, cinnamon, nuts and or oats included.
For a traditional take on this classic dessert, try the Neelys' Peach Cobbler (pictured above). This all-American dessert features a crumbly topping of butter, sugar and flour that is rubbed together (possibly with oats, nuts or cookie crumbs), then sprinkled over a fruit filling before baking.
A crumble is just a crisp without oats in the streusel. It may feature nuts, but the streusel topping is usually a simple combination of butter, flour, and sugar that is more clumpy than that of a crisp. Favorite Crumble Recipes: The Ultimate Berry Crumble.
The term streusel comes from the German word streuen, which means to scatter or sprinkle. Streusel is a very common addition to German and Austrian desserts like kuchen and crumb cake.
Easy to confuse due to the similar names, strudel and streusel are actually different types of dessert. An apple strudel has thin sheets of pastry wrapped around the filling, while streusel is a crumbly sweet topping of sugar, flour, and butter that is often layered over pies and cakes.
Introduction: My name is Duane Harber, I am a modern, clever, handsome, fair, agreeable, inexpensive, beautiful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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