Raspberry Streusel Pastry (German Breakfast Pastry)

Tart and sweet, this Raspberry Streusel pastry or Streuseltaler, have a soft yeasted dough base, a layer of raspberries, and topped with big, delicious streusel plus a little lemon glaze.

What are Streuseltaler?

Growing up, my mom, my sister, and I would go to Germany in the summers to visit family, and eat all of the yummy food that Germany has to offer! Every morning we would go to the closest bäkerei (bakery) and pick out a pastry to have as our breakfast.

One summer we discovered these Waldbeerflecks and we fell in love! They are a variation of the classic streuseltaler – these German breakfast pastries have a soft yeasted dough base, traditionally with a layer of mixed berries, including red currants, and topped with big, delicious streusel. What’s not to love?

What is German Streusel?

Streusel is a combination of butter, flour, sugar and sometimes vanilla. It is sort of a softer version of a shortbread cookie that is crumbled up and makes the perfect topping for any pastry. The full streusel recipe is listed below in the raspberry pastry recipe!

Can I use fresh raspberries instead?

Yes, definitely. I would mash the raspberries slightly first, with a fork so that they are more of a spreadable consistency.

Tips for making German Breakfast Pastries

1. When making yeasted dough, ensure that you allow your mixer to fully knead the dough, until it forms a smooth ball and the sides of the bowl are cleaned.
2. Don’t worry about cleaning the mixing bowl in between making the yeasted and shortcrust dough!
3. Allow the shortcrust dough to chill fully, if it isn’t cold enough, the dough will be too sticky when you knead the two together.
4. You can use any berries available to top these raspberry streusel pastries! My favorites are raspberry and red currants, as the streusel makes these pretty sweet, it is nice to have the tartness of the berries to balance it out. If you are using frozen berries, make sure to defrost and drain them before using!
5. For the streusel, make sure to layer it on in nice large chunks, this way you will end up with nice large pieces of streusel!
6. Do not roll the dough out too thin, it should be about 1/2″ thick. If it gets too thin, shape it back into a ball and re-roll it out.

Ingredients for Raspberry Pastries

• All Purpose Flour: Any all purpose flour will work for these! I have not yet tried any other flours with this recipe.
• Sugar: This recipe uses granulated sugar in the yeasted dough as well as powdered sugar in the shortcrust dough and glaze.
• Milk: The streuseltaler use milk as the liquid in the yeasted dough; however, it will also work with non-dairy milks such as almond or light coconut milk.
• Butter: The butter in both doughs adds moisture to the pastries as well as makes them softer! It’s important that the butter for the yeasted dough is at room temperature, otherwise it will cool down the dough and be difficult to incorporate. On the other hand, the butter for the shortcrust dough should be cold! The butter in the streusel should be very soft – this will make it much easier to incorporate all of the ingredients.
• Eggs: I use standard large eggs from the store. This recipe uses one full egg in the yeasted dough and one egg yolk in the shortcrust dough. The egg yolk adds extra richness to the dough.
• Yeast: In this recipe, instant yeast is used. However, if you are using active dry, simply bloom the yeast in the milk alone first and then proceed with the recipe.
• Lemon Zest (optional): Lemon zest is optional but it adds delicious flavor to the dough!
• Vanilla Extract: I like to use a combo of vanilla extract and lemon zest to give the base dough an extra boost of flavor.
• Raspberries: While these taste amazing with red currants, they can be hard to come by so I have included the option to use raspberries instead. I usually use frozen raspberries because they are less expensive!
• Lemon Juice: The lemon juice in this recipe is simply for the glaze to add a little zing on top of these sweet pastries.

How to make German Raspberry Streusel Pastries

Streusel

• Combine all streusel ingredients into a medium bowl. Rub the butter and vanilla into the dry ingredients by hand until there are no dry bits left. Set aside.

Prepare the fruit

• If using frozen fruit, defrost the fruit in the microwave until no longer frozen. Don’t cook the fruit just simply defrost it, then strain in a sieve until it is time to use them.

Yeasted Dough

• Combine flour and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk together. Make a well in the center and pour in the yeast and the warmed milk. Mix the milk and yeast together with a spoon, slowly add in a little bit of the flour/sugar mixture.
• Cover the bowl with a towel and let bloom for 10 minutes. After ten minutes have passed, the milk/yeast/flour/sugar mixture should be bubbling
• Using a rubber spatula, give the contents of the bowl a quick stir and then add the remaining ingredients for the yeasted dough
• With a dough hook, knead the mixture on low speed for 15-20 minutes until smooth. Shape the dough into a ball and place in a greased bowl that is at least twice the size of the dough. Cover the bowl with a towel or plastic and place somewhere warm to rise for 45 minutes.

Shortcrust Dough

• Combine all shortcrust dough ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix with the paddle attachment until just combined. Start on low speed and increase to medium as the ingredients begin to mix.

Combining the Doughs

• After the yeasted dough has risen for 45 min (it should have doubled in size), place the dough back in the bowl of the stand mixer and start kneading with the dough hook. Crumble the shortcrust dough into the bowl, adding it about a 1/4 cup at a time – continuing to knead on low until both doughs are fully combined.

Assembling the Raspberry Streuseltaler

• Divide the dough into 12 portions and shape each portion into a ball. Always starting with the same piece of dough, roll each ball out into circles that are about 4″ in diameter and a 1/2″ thick.
• Transfer the disks onto three parchment (or silicone mat) lined baking sheets. Evenly divide the defrosted and drained fruit onto the disks. Then top each disk with large clumps of streusel. You should use up all of the streusel and make sure to cover the entire disk with berries and streusel – including the edges.

Baking

• Preheat the oven to 350 F.
• Let the raspberry streuseltaler rise for 30 min while the oven heats up. Then bake the pastries for 20-25 minutes. Rotate the baking sheets after 15 minutes so they brown evenly.

Final Touches

• While the pastries are baking, make the glaze by whisking together the powdered sugar and lemon juice. Not all of the lemon juice will be needed so add it slowly until you reach the consistency of smooth peanut butter.
• Once the streuseltaler have become a light golden brown, remove them from the oven and place on a wire cooling rack for 10 minutes. Then drizzle the pastries with the glaze.
• Transfer the pastries from the baking sheets to cooling racks to finish cooling.