Streusel Kuchen

A streusel kuchen vom blech made with a quark-öl teig (quark oil dough) and a blackberry, ginger topping! These bars are full of flavor but still light because of the cake like base!

Easy Blackberry Ginger Streusel Bars

Traditionally a streusel kuchen is made from a yeasted dough; but this variation is made from a quark-öl teig meaning that the base use quark and oil for its moisture and texture and does not use yeast to rise. They are also normally cut into larger pieces and eaten as cake but I like cutting them into bar size so they can be eaten any time!

The bars are topped with blackberries and candied ginger that work so well together and create the perfect soft filling between the streusel and the base.

Tips for making Blackberry Ginger Streusel kuchen

1. Unlike with most yeasted doughs, when kneading this dough, it does not need to come together into a smooth ball. Instead we are just looking for all of the ingredients to be fully incorporated.
2. Once the dough is ready to go, you will want to get it into the oven as soon as possible so I recommend having the ginger chopped, the blackberries washed, and the streusel ready to go.
3. Because this dough is very wet, it can be somewhat challenging to spread out in the bottom of the pan. 1) be patient – it will spread out 2) when needed/when the dough won’t stop sticking to the rubber spatula or offset spatula, spray the spatula with oil or a baking spray and then continue to smooth out the batter.
4. When pouring the streusel on top, grab the streusel and form it into larger clumps before layering it over the blackberries and ginger. This will give you nice clumps of streusel rather than just thin crumbly bits.

Ingredients for Blackberry Ginger Streusel kuchen

• 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 dough.
• Milk: The dough uses milk as the liquid in the dough; however, it will also work with non-dairy milks such as almond or light coconut milk.
• Oil: The oil in this recipe is the main source of fat in the dough. I use a neutral vegetable oil.
• Eggs: I use regular store bought large eggs.
• Quark: In this recipe, quark adds structure and moisture to the dough.
• Ground Ginger: While most of the ginger flavor comes from the chopped crystalized ginger on top of the dough, I like to add 2 tsp. of ground ginger to the dough as well for an extra little kick.
• Baking Powder: Always make sure that your baking powder has not expired. It acts as the main leavening agent for this recipe so it is important that it is working.
• Vanilla Extract & Salt: These both add flavor to the dough.
• Crystalized Ginger: This may sound like an odd addition, but once the ginger has been finely chopped and baked with the blackberries, it becomes soft and chewy!
• Butter: Butter is only used in the streusel of the streuselkuchen; make sure it is soft to make mixing the streusel easier.

How to make easy Streusel bars?

Make the Streusel

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

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Prepare the toppings

1. Chop the crystalized ginger into 1/4″ cubes and set aside.
2. Rinse all blackberries and a set aside to dry.

Make the quark dough

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and ground ginger. Whisk together until all ingredients are fully combined. Then add the milk, oil, quark, egg, and vanilla extract and knead with the dough hook on medium speed until the ingredients are fully combined.
2. Grease a 9×13 metal pan and spread the dough all the way to the corners. *See tips on how to do so.

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Assembling the streusel kucehn

1. Spread the blackberries out over the dough, followed by the finely chopped crystalized ginger.
2. Next, layer on the streusel over the blackberries and ginger. To achieve larger chunks of streusel, first make clumps of it with your hands before layering it over the blackberries and ginger.

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Baking

1. Bake for 45-50 min until the streusel is golden brown.
2. Then transfer the pan to a cooling rack and allow the bars to cool fully before cutting and serving.