Streusel Küchen

A delicious German apple cake with a buttery streusel topping. This traditional dessert features thinly sliced Golden Delicious apples layered over a delicate vanilla-lemon cake base, crowned with a crispy brown sugar and walnut streusel.

8 servings

2 hr 20 min

Published October 4, 2025

Ingredients

•1 cup all purpose flour
•⅔ cup brown sugar
•⅓ cup walnuts
•¼ teaspoon salt
•6 tablespoons unsalted butter
•2 whole Golden Delicious apples
•½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
•⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
•1⅝ cups cake flour
•⅓ cup cornstarch
•1½ teaspoons baking powder
•¼ teaspoon salt
•1⅛ cups unsalted butter
•2 cups powdered sugar
•1 tablespoon lemon peel
•1 whole vanilla bean
•3 whole eggs

Cooking Instructions

1.
Mix first 4 ingredients in medium bowl. Add melted butter and stir with fork until moist clumps form. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.
10 min
2.
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 325°F. Butter and flour 10-inch-diameter springform pan. Toss apple slices, cinnamon, and cloves in medium bowl. Sift flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt into another bowl. Combine butter, powdered sugar, and lemon peel in large bowl; scrape in seeds from vanilla bean.
15 min
3.
Using electric mixer, beat butter mixture until well blended. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating until well blended after each addition; beat in egg yolk. Add flour mixture and beat just until blended. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan (cake layer will be thin). Slightly overlap apple slices atop batter in concentric circles. Sprinkle streusel evenly over apples (streusel will cover apples).
20 min
4.
Bake cake until streusel topping is crisp and tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 1 hour 20 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack 15 minutes. Remove pan sides; cool to lukewarm. Serve lukewarm or at room temperature. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool completely. Wrap cake in foil and store at room temperature.
95 min

Ingredients

•1 cup all purpose flour

•⅔ cup brown sugar

•⅓ cup walnuts

•¼ teaspoon salt

•6 tablespoons unsalted butter

•2 whole Golden Delicious apples

•½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

•⅛ teaspoon ground cloves

•1⅝ cups cake flour

•⅓ cup cornstarch

•1½ teaspoons baking powder

•¼ teaspoon salt

•1⅛ cups unsalted butter

•2 cups powdered sugar

•1 tablespoon lemon peel

•1 whole vanilla bean

•3 whole eggs

Cooking Instructions

Mix first 4 ingredients in medium bowl. Add melted butter and stir with fork until moist clumps form. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.

10 min

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 325°F. Butter and flour 10-inch-diameter springform pan. Toss apple slices, cinnamon, and cloves in medium bowl. Sift flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt into another bowl. Combine butter, powdered sugar, and lemon peel in large bowl; scrape in seeds from vanilla bean.

15 min

Using electric mixer, beat butter mixture until well blended. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating until well blended after each addition; beat in egg yolk. Add flour mixture and beat just until blended. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan (cake layer will be thin). Slightly overlap apple slices atop batter in concentric circles. Sprinkle streusel evenly over apples (streusel will cover apples).

20 min

Bake cake until streusel topping is crisp and tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 1 hour 20 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack 15 minutes. Remove pan sides; cool to lukewarm. Serve lukewarm or at room temperature. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool completely. Wrap cake in foil and store at room temperature.

95 min