Streusel Topping

Buttery, crunchy streusel topping. Perfect for coffee cakes, quick bread, muffins, and even folding into ice cream!

Why you'll love it

The best part of most baked goods is that buttery crumb topping. Just about everyone likes to secretly break off a couple of extra crumbs when they make a quick trip into the kitchen. It it the perfect topping for just about any baked good or dessert you can imagine. It gives everything a much needed added crunch and texture while also giving you an irresistible sweet, buttery flavor party. This easy streusel topping requires only a few simple ingredients and a few minutes of your time. 

It stores very well so you can make it in batches to have ready any time you feel you want to add a bit more texture and flavor to your treat. 

What is streusel?

It is a buttery crumb topping that originates from Germany. The term allegedly translates to "scattered, sprinkles, or strewn" in reference to how you add it to the top of many desserts. Traditionally, it is made without oats, but over time it became a common addition as well as chopped nuts.

Ingredients

You only need a few simple ingredients to make the perfect streusel. It can be divided and multiplied as much as needed for any particular need.

• Flour - We need all-purpose flour for this recipe, but you can use bread or cake flour in a pinch. Regular or white whole wheat flour can also work. 
• Old-fashioned oats - This is optional, and I typically only use it if I want to turn my streusel into a crisp topping. To add some in, substitute some of the flour for the oats.
• Sugar - I like a mix of brown and granulated sugar, but you are welcome to use all of one type.
• Salt - A healthy pinch of salt is all you need to liven things up and really make the crumb so irresistible.
• Cinnamon - You don't need to add ground cinnamon if you don't like it, but I think it adds a welcome dimension to the mixture.
• Butter - You don't need to splurge on fancy butter for this, but please only use unsalted butter.

A note on butter

There are three ways you can change your streusel texture, and it all involves on the temperature of your butter and how you add it to your other ingredients.

• Cold - This is the traditional way to use butter in this recipe. It leaves you with the crispiest texture.
• Room temperature - This method makes it easier to incorporate the butter into the flour. It can leave you with a less crisp topping, but you can fix that by chilling the streusel before using.
• Melted - This is both the easiest and hardest way to make the topping. You can accidentally develop gluten when mixing the melted butter into the flour and you need to work to make your crumbles. I do not recommend this method

How to make

Putting together the streusel is so easy. Most people prefer to use cold butter, but I find this method works better for me to fully incorporate the butter into the flour fully so you get lots of large crumbs.

1. Mix together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl and stir well.
2. Cut up the butter and let it get to about room temperature.
3. Use your hands or a pastry cutter to rub or cut the butter into the dry ingredients.
4. Press the mixture together tightly to ensure it can stick together well. 
5. Refrigerate for at least 20 - 30 minutes.
6. Grab large chunks and gently break apart over your recipe.

If you want to bake the streusel on its own to fold into something like ice cream, Crumble on a lined baking sheet and bake at 350F until it is golden brown.

Amanda's expert tips

Making streusel can be a bit messy using your hands. i recommend using a pastry cutter or fork to work the butter into the dry ingredients until it forms large crumbs. A food processor can also make quick work of the job. It should take no more than a handful of pulses to bring the streusel together. 

You can make streusel topping ahead of time. It will keep for about 3 days in the refrigerator, or up to a month in the freezer as long as you store it inside an airtight container. I always like to keep some handy to add to muffins and other treats.

How to use

You can add a streusel topping to just about anything you think would be improved with a buttery, crunchy crumb topping. Here are some of the most popular uses:

• coffee cake like my banana coffee cake or blueberry sour cream coffee cake
• fruit crumbles like this apple crumble
• fruit crisps like blueberry crisp
• quick bread like apple cinnamon bread
• doughnuts like this brioche doughnut
• top of muffins like this coffee cake muffin
• baked sweet potatoes
• and yes, even sprinkle on top of ice cream, see my peach crumble ice cream for example

Variations

There so many ways to switch up your easy streusel topping with just a couple of simple ingredients mixed in. 

• add a teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice for a seasonal change 
• use warm spices like a chai spice mix to give a cozy and comforting feel
• incorporate a teaspoon of fresh lemon zest for a bright flavor that pairs well with recipes like blueberry muffins

Recipe FAQs

Related recipes

Now that you have some amazing streusel, you can put it to good use with some of these recipes. Try starting with this blueberry crisp, banana coffee cake, pumpkin coffee cake, cinnamon roll coffee cake, apple crumble, or these carrot cake muffins.

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