My favorite German pastry is a “streusel coin” or streuselthaler. These large yeasted cookie disks are packed with a thick layer of streusel on top and covered in glaze. Here are my Fall inspired interpretation, German Pumpkin Streusel Pastries, of these yummy German baked treats.
When I’m back in Germany, I limit myself to eating just one per trip. Kamps bakery chain has my favorite version. Theirs are plain with no fillings, huge in size and completely covered in glaze. No sissy drizzling there.
Make your own pumpkin pureé:
For these German Pumpkin Streusel Pastries, I used freshly roasted pumpkin pureé. You can use the canned but make sure you use pure pumpkin pureé and not the pumpkin pie filling. It’s easy to make your own and it tastes much better than the canned version. Just slice a pumpkin into quarters and roast until tender. Scrape off the skin and pureé the pumpkin flesh in a blender or food processor. I’ve included more specific instructions in the recipe below.
The breakdown:
This is how this pastry breaks down. First, a plain yeasted cookie base topped with pumpkin pie spice streusel. Spiced fresh pumpkin pureé on top and then a simple sugar glaze drizzled over the top. I piled a lot of pumpkin pureé on top, you can use less. Additionally, the pureé does not contain any sugar, just the sweetness from the pie pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice and a bit of kosher salt to pop the flavor.
The steps may seem too many but they go quickly. The yeasted cookie base needs a 20 minute rise time during which you can make the streusel and stir up the pumpkin pureé. The glaze takes 20 seconds to come together over the stove.
German Pumpkin Streusel Pastries (Streuselthaler)
Ingredients
Cake Base:
- 2+1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 package of activated dry yeast
- 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3+1/2 tablespoons butter, room temperature, cut into pieces
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons warm milk
Pumpkin Pie Spice Streusel:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1+1/3 cups white granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 cup butter cut into small pieces
Pumpkin filling:
- 1 cups pumpkin puree*
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Glaze:
- 2 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 5 tablespoons of water
Instructions
For the cake base:
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Whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in the bowl of a mixer.
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Add the butter, egg, and milk and mix with the hook attachment.
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When the dough is smooth, remove bowl from mixer, cover and leave in a warm place for 20 minutes.
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Return the bowl to the mixer and knead again using the hook attachment until the dough is smooth and elastic.
For the streusel:
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In a separate bowl, whisk flour, sugars, and pumpkin pie spice together.
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Add butter and rub the ingredients together with your hands until it becomes the consistency of streusel crumbs.
For the glaze:
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In a saucepan heat sugar and water together whisking until sugar is dissolved and the mixture is smooth.
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Keep mixture warm until ready to use so it doesn't harden and crack.
Assemble the pumpkin streusel pastries:
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
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Sprinkle flour on a work surface. Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces. Use a kitchen scale to do this, if you have one.
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Take a piece and roll into a ball between your hands. Use a rolling pin to roll out a circle 5" in diameter. The thickness should be less than a raw sugar cookie cutout but not paper thin. Somewhere in between.
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Place on a baking sheet and repeat with the rest of the dough.
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Remove about 3 tablespoons worth of streusel from the bowl. From the main portion, pile a generous amount of streusel on each disk, spreading it evenly around.
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Stir the pumpkin pie spice and salt into the pumpkin puree. Spoon the pumpkin mixture onto the streusel, spreading it out slightly. Sprinkle the reserved streusel crumbs on top.
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Place in the preheated oven and bake for about 13 minutes or until the edges just start to turn golden.
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Transfer to a wire rack and set the rack over the parchment lined baking sheet. Let cool completely.
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Drizzle the glaze over the tops. Let the glaze harden, then plate and serve. These are best if eaten the day they are made.
Recipe Notes
*For the roasted pumpkin purée:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Place the whole pumpkin on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and roast for 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven and carefully slice off the stem and cut the pumpkin into quarters.
- Return the pieces to the oven and roast for another 40 minutes or until you can easily run a fork through the flesh and skin of the pumpkin.
- Remove the pumpkin pieces from the oven and let cool completely.
- Scrape out the stringy flesh and seeds and set aside.
- Use a spoon to scoop out the flesh and transfer to a food processor. Discard or compost the outer skins.
- Purée the pumpkin flesh in the processor until smooth.
Like these German Pumpkin Streusel Pastries? Try my plum Pastries with spiced streusel:
