How to Make Easy Streusel Topping
This streusel topping is my favorite way to top cakes and muffins. It is a crumb topping that is super crunchy and makes simple baked goods look and taste irresistible! Made with only a few pantry staple ingredients, you can add it to your baked goods before baking or bake it on its own and treat it like a fancy granola!
This streusel recipe was made from a total experiment. I was baking mini berry coffee cakes and had some leftover streusel. I didnt want it to go to waste so I baked it to see what would happen. As a trained pastry chef I experiment a lot in the kitchen- some times things work and sometimes they don’t! This time it did!
Streusel is a crunchy crumb topping that is sprinkled over cakes and muffins to add a crunchy and sweet texture. Sometimes it’s made with oats and sometimes nuts. The base though will usually use a combination of brown sugar, white sugar, cold butter, and flour which is what I use in this recipe. This recipe does not use oats.
I usually sprinkle streusel on top of desserts like banana coffee cake, apple pie cheesecake, and these carrot cake crumb muffins before baking. For this recipe, because I had leftover streusel- I baked it to see what would happen. Turns out after it bakes, it tastes just as good as if it was baked on a muffin!
This was so much fun to discover because the next day I used it like I would granola. No more wasting leftover streusel!
This recipe is also really easy to make- there is no reason to use a pastry cutter- you can just use your fingers to pinch together the butter.
Ingredients you need
This crumb topping recipe does not use oats but rather:
- Brown sugar- gives a deep flavor to the streusel and helps to keep it together.
- White sugar– adds a bit more sweetness.
- Flour– Binds the streusel.
- Butter– Keep the butter cold! If the butter is room temperature or soft, it wont make a crunchy topping.
- Salt- Ups the overall flavor.
- Cinnamon– adds a warm and cozy flavor.
Pinching the butter
A lot of crumb toppings use a pastry cutter to “cut in the butter”. To cut in the butter means to incorporate the butter into the dry ingredients, and a pastry cutter is a tool that can help.
Not many people have a pastry cutter- me included so instead all you have to do is pinch the butter between the dry ingredients to create little clumps.
No pastry cutter needed!
Cold butter
Take that butter straight from the fridge! The butter has to be cold. This helps the streusel form the clumps it needs to turn into those crunchy sweet bits. If the butter is at room temperature or melted, it will not have the crunchy texture you want.
HOW TO MAKE STREUSEL TOPPING
- Simply add flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, salt, and diced cold butter to a bowl.
- Using your fingers, mix the butter into the dry ingredients until you form small clumps. If you are using your fingers, pinch the mixture until it resembles coarse sand. You don’t want the clumps to be larger than pea size.
- Put in the freezer for 20 minutes to chill.
- Sprinkle the streusel over your coffee cakes or muffins before baking. Or sprinkle onto a baking sheet and bake by itself for 10-12 minutes to add a crunchy topping.
- You’ll know the streusel is done when it is golden brown and crispy looking.
OTHER WAYS TO USE IT
If you’re baking streusel on its own, there are endless ways to use this crunchy streusel topping! Treat it like granola!
- Add it to your morning yogurt with some golden raisins.
- Top off your ice cream sundae with streusel and a dollop of whipped cream.
- Mix into rice crispy treats.
- Top off your morning oatmeal with a side of coffee.
HOW TO STORE
Store in an airtight container at rom temperature for up to a week. I do not recommend freezing the streusel.
Recipe Tips
- If the streusel isn’t crumbly it’s likely because there was too much butter, or the clumps of butter were too big. If the clumps are too big, the butter will just melt and not turn into streusel crumbs.
- Streusel too greasy? It’s because the mixture was mixed evenly or you need more flour.
- You can add chopped nuts for added crunch and flavor or layer it in cakes.
- It’s so easy to make and a perfect kiddo recipe because you can use your fingers to mix in the butter. They will love making streusel topping with you!
How to Make Easy Streusel Topping
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4-1/2 tsp cinnamon, depending on preference
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 6 tbsp cold butter, diced small
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl combine the 1 cup flour, 1/2 brown sugar, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 -1/2 tsp cinnamon, and 1/4 tsp salt.
- Pinch the butter into the mixture with your fingers gently until small clumps are formed no larger than the size of a pea. The texture should be like coarse wet sand with clumps in it.
- Put it in the freezer for 20 minutes to chill.
- Spread chilled streusel over any baked good and follow recipe directions for baking.
- To bake ahead- spread the streusel onto a prepared baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. If there were larger chunks of butter and they melted, that's ok, you'll break it up anyways!
- Once streusel has cooled, break up larger clumps and sprinkle over desserts.
Excellent recipe!! Thanks!
So glad to hear! Thanks for leaving a rating and comment Jane!