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In high school, learning a new
recipe (especially dessert recipes) was always my favorite
part of a foreign language and culture class. One day
during German in my sophomore year, I teamed up with two
other classmates to make German Crumble Cake from a
magazine. It was quite good, if I do say so myself. Seven
years later, it continues to be one of my favorite
desserts to bake.
Handling this German
dessert recipe is a real 'hands on' experience, as you'll
see. And like other German desserts, it contains a hefty
bit of butter. But it's worth it. Enjoy!
German Crumble Cake
Dough:
- 2 sticks of butter
- 1 cup of sugar
- 4 cups of flour
- 1 teaspoon of baking
soda (make sure it's SODA, not POWDER...I made that
mistake once and...ick!)
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
Extract
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon of
cornstarch
Filling:
- 3 cups of fresh fruit or
a can of fruit
- 1 teaspoon of Vanilla
Extract
- 1 tablespoon of
cornstarch
- sugar for flavor
1) Mix all ingredients for
the dough together by hand so that it becomes crumbly.
(You can use a baking board or a large bowl).
2) Grease a cake pan and
press half of the crumble into the bottom of the pan.
3) Cook fruit with
cornstarch in a medium pot or pan for 2 minutes, and
spread the fruit filling on the dough.
4) Sprinkle the rest of the
dough onto the fruit, and bake for about 40 minutes at
around 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Remember, ovens may vary.
Yours may be faster or slower or require less or more
degrees Fahrenheit. It also depends on how dark the pan
you use is. Be sure to keep checking on the crumble cake
every few minutes. When the top is nice and brown, then it
should be ready.
Even if your German Crumble
Cake didn't turn out exactly right, not to worry. Nobody
says you have to be a professional. I'm certainly not. My
philosophy with food has always been "As long as it
tastes good, I don't care if it's imperfect."
Try experimenting with the
recipe. I usually never follow recipes to the letter. For
this one, I use a bigger glass pan and only 2 cans of
fruit. Figure out what works for you. Practice making this
German dessert recipe and any other desserts, and you'll
eventually settle into your own style of baking, like
every other individual.
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