Auf Wiedersehen Germany, Streuseltaler and Choice Jet Lag Treats

by Lora Wiley-Lennartz
So here it is. Off to the next chapter of our lives. Off to a helluva town, to bite the big apple in the city that never sleeps. We’re trading in the cow neighbors for human ones. Lots of them. As Dr. B has accepted a new position at the United Nations headquarters, my next post will be from NYC.
I am thrilled he is finally getting out of Iraq but have mixed feelings about leaving Germany. It’s been exhilarating, inspiring, educational and so darn fun living in Europe these past ten years and it will always be my home. My passport reassures me of that with it’s permanent residency sticker. Going back to NYC, a place I’ve loved and lived in already for many years (12!) is like donning a pair of familiar, comfortable, yet fabulously stylish shoes.
But this time it will be different. I lived there as a single woman and am returning as a married one. To experience what New York City has to offer all over again with Dr. B by my side will be yet another exciting adventure.

We still have our home in Germany. It is our anchor with the family where we can travel to with no suitcases. A familiar place we can come back to, kick off our shoes and luxuriate in the beautiful countryside. After all, Auf Wiedersehen doesn’t mean “goodbye”, it means “until we see each other again”.

For years I frequently shuttled back and forth between continents. I commuted between LA and Munich for a few years and then between Germany and NY. So going back for a long weekend is no problem if we are homesick.
This brings me to, of course, the topic of jet lag treats. Chinese food delivery is my first phone call after arriving in NYC. When I touch down in LA, I drive directly to Astro Burger from the airport. 
On the other side of the pond, when arriving home to Munich, a fresh butterbrezl always called out to me the minute I stepped off the plane. After my luggage, this Bavarian treat of a warm buttered pretzel was the first thing I searched for. Later when I moved to this part of the country, with no fresh buttered pretzels in sight, a streuseltaler became my jet lagged breakfast treat of choice.
Almost all bakeries in this part of Germany make a version of a streuseltaler. Kamps Bakery chain makes my absolute favorite.
Of course I waited until the last minute to take a picture of our local Kamps store.
It was raining and the bakery was closed.
Kamps at Düsseldorf airport the day I flew to NYC
Theirs are HUGE, packed with streusel and smothered in glaze. Other bakeries can be quite anemic with the streusel and the glaze and that just makes me, well, grumpy and grumpy is not were you want to be on top of jet lag.

The Kamps version is a perfect streusel sugar bomb. Even I can’t finish one at one go. I usually eat half and then the rest later in the day or when I wake up in a jet lagged haze at 4am. I have made no secret of my streusel love and combined with sweet hard icing and soft moist cake, this people, is heaven in a pastry.

A streuseltaler starts with a yeast cake base, then is covered with a generous portion of large crumbs of streusel. After baking, it is then brushed with a glaze icing.

As moving day drew near, I became obsessed with creating the perfect streuseltaler on my own because soon there would be no Kamps to run to for those in between jet lag cravings. I searched and searched the internet for a recipe that looked like it would yield the same result as Kamps. There are lots of those anemic versions out there. When I finally found a promising one buried deep in the message boards of chefkoch.de, a popular cooking site in Germany, I almost did the chicken dance.

My version is not as perfect as the Kamp ones (perhaps I overdid it a tad on the streusel crumbs and the glaze amount) but it’s darn close and I am sure you will find them delicious.

I like the plain ones but there are other versions available, mostly with different jam flavors. I don’t like jam or anything else standing between me and my streusel. However since I was sharing with my family, I made both. It was also the perfect excuse to use up partially filled jars of jam in my fridge.  The flavors I used were apricot, black currant and my MILs homemade rhubarb.

Having pretty much nailed the recipe down, I am inspired to future streuseltaler experiments. All sorts of flavor possibilities come to mind like cinnamon, peanut butter, lebkuchen and chocolate. The glaze can also be adjusted to include many flavors.

Auf Wiedersehen Germany! Looking forward to my next Kamps Streuselthaler jet lag breakfast when we do see each other again. 

My NYC jet lag dinner special of cold noodles with sesame sauce, spare ribs and vegetable dumplings is waiting on the other side of the Atlantic. 

Oh Chinese Szechuan food, how I’ve missed you. 

Fickle, aren’t I?

Streuseltaler
For this recipe, please visit my German Food page on about.com.
    Big fat streusel crumb
      I like a LOT of  streusel so I really piled it on.

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      12 comments

      Rich R December 15, 2012 - 8:11 pm

      thank you so much for that recipe! I just spent a week in Germany for the first time, and went nuts over the streuseltaler, of course. Immediately came back and found your website, and made some yesterday. Fantastic! My wife was flabbergasted, and I gave some to our neighbors this morning. I made the "plain" ones, and a couple with apricot jam, and a couple with some leftover streusel from a Thanksgiving pie my wife had made (brown sugar, pecans, and brown butter) combined with the regular streusel. All incredible. I am directing all friends and relatives to your site to find out what I'm talking about.

      Reply
      Anonymous March 3, 2012 - 10:52 am

      I am fairly new to Germany and have been eyeing the Streuseltaler at Kamps for several weeks now. I'm glad to hear your recommendation and will definitely pick one up today. I am also excited to try this recipe when I have more people over to share it with. Great post!

      Reply
      Randolf February 29, 2012 - 6:44 am

      I have first tasted them in Warnemunde Germany when i was working onboard ships and i have since connected them with "happiness" my then girlfriend and i shared these sweet delights and took turns buying them for each other..there were the nut topped one's and cheese butter combinations and fruit jams!!! now that i no longer ply the 7 seas i have searched these in the internet and you have found it!!! Good job!!! and many thanks!!! No decent self confessed sugar addicts and diabetics can resist these sugar high of all highs :)!!!! again thank you!!

      Reply
      C&C Cakery August 11, 2011 - 2:47 am

      I love finding sweet treats from different countries. I'll bet you'll miss all those lovely sugar bombs from Germany – but, don't worry, I'm sure NYC has it's share. Thanks for showing us the way of the streuseltaler 🙂

      Reply
      raquel @ erecipe August 6, 2011 - 12:54 pm

      looks good, and creamy.

      Reply
      Deeba PAB August 6, 2011 - 1:42 am

      So thrilled to see Mr Man man is back and you are together again. Have a great time in NYC, a city I love to love. xo

      Reply
      Joanne August 5, 2011 - 7:41 pm

      Have a safe trip my dear! NYC is going to welcome you with open arms and tons of Chinese food. So long as you hand over some of these treats.

      Reply
      shaz August 5, 2011 - 1:24 pm

      All the best in the Big Apple with Dr. B, Lora! Psst, I'll be in your neck of the woods in September. Cannot wait, it is so, so exciting 🙂 In the meantime I gotta make me some of that Streuseltaler.

      Reply
      Jamie August 5, 2011 - 6:48 am

      Oooh you are so lucky to be moving to NYC! I have dreamed of it for ages and wanted husband to find a nice job there. To no avail. So I'll live there vicariously through you! But one thing I know is…jet lag. These are fabulous wowee treats! Gosh just decadently gorgeous! And like you, living and leaving a country we must learn to make ourselves the treats we've learned to love. Good luck with the move!

      Reply
      Lauren Hairston August 5, 2011 - 2:32 am

      Yum! yum! yum! They look amazing. I can't wait to hear about your new adventures in New York.

      Reply
      The Vanilla Bean Baker August 4, 2011 - 11:08 pm

      You amaze me! Getting ready for this big move across the Atlantic and you are baking! What a lovely post and a great looking homemade streuseltaler! Those jams look pretty darn inviting too. Safe travels to you and Dr. B and enjoy that feed of Chinese when you arrive in NYC!

      Reply
      SprinkleBakes August 4, 2011 - 6:28 pm

      They look delicious! A sugar bomb,indeed!

      Best of luck to you and Dr. B 🙂

      Reply

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