German Poppy Seed Cake with Cherries & Streusel
Try this traditional recipe for German Mohnkuchen – that’s Poppy Seed Cake with Cherries and Crumble topping – a classic German cake with homemade poppyseed filling. Can be made with fresh or frozen cherries.
Ingredients
For the Base & Streusel:
- 300 g 2 1/2 cups flour
- 100 g 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 pinch of salt
- 220 g 1 cup butter
- A bit of butter for the pan
For the Filling:
- 1 liter 4 cups milk
- A Splash of rum
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 packet bourbon vanilla sugar or 1 tbsp vanilla paste
- 2 tsp grated lemon zest
- 250 g 2 1/4 cups ground poppy seeds
- 100 g 1/2 cup semolina
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 150 g 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 jar sour cherries drained weight 350 g (12 oz)
- 1 egg size M
Instructions
Step 1: The Base and Streusel
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First, mix 300 g (2 1/2 cups) flour, 100 g (1/2 cup) sugar, and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Then cut the butter into small cubes and knead it into the flour mixture with your hands until you have nice streusel/crumble. Thoroughly grease a 26 cm (10-inch) springform pan and press two-thirds of the streusel mixture into the pan to form a base and a roughly 5 cm (2-inch) high edge. Place this prepared springform pan in the fridge while you work on the filling.
Step 2: The Delicious Filling
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Bring 1 liter (4 cups) of milk to a boil in a large pot. Once it begins to simmer, add the rum, cinnamon, vanilla sugar or vanilla paste, and lemon zest. In a separate bowl, mix the ground poppy seeds, semolina, cornstarch, and sugar. Carefully stir this mixture into the boiling milk and let it simmer on low heat for about two minutes. I like to add a tablespoon of soft butter at this point. Then, transfer the mixture to a bowl and let it cool for five minutes.
Step 3: The Finale
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While the poppy seed mixture is cooling, drain the sour cherries well in a sieve. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (160 degrees Celsius fan-forced, 350 degrees Fahrenheit). Stir the drained cherries and the egg into the poppy seed mixture. Pour this mixture into the prepared springform pan, smooth it out, and sprinkle the remaining streusel on top.
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Now, bake the cake for about 50 minutes on the middle rack of the preheated oven. It will be hard to ignore the tempting aroma that will soon fill your kitchen! Once the cake is done, let it cool completely. If desired, you can dust the cake with some powdered sugar before serving.