How To Make Streusel (Crumb Topping)

Finally! Learn how to make streusel (aka crumble topping) very quickly with just three ingredients you have on hand. Follow the simple steps and see how to use the crumble whenever you want.

Do you love to bake and make recipes, your own or those of others? So much so that the word “streusel” is an essential part of your baking?

For me, I cannot live a day without streusel-topped banana bread. Does it sound like a lot? Of course, but I cut into my favorite dessert every day throughout the week, then by Saturday evening, the bread is gone.

It seems that I cannot get enough of banana flavor and the most delicious crumble on top.

Don't you agree that every cake, muffin, or sweet bread tastes twice as good with a crunchy topping?

Nothing is easier than to mix flour, butter, and sugar and sprinkle the streusel mixture on top of the loaf.

Except that this simple act can turn into something magical with the right touch and care.

A quick note: those streusel-topped slices above are ones of my Apple Crumble Bread!

What's more? I even created a FREE Streusel Recipe Template to help you create hundreds of crumble recipes!

Jump to:

• What is streusel?
• Streusel origin
• Why you should try this recipe
• Streusel ingredients
• How to make streusel topping
• Recipe variations
• How to use streusel
• Storage instructions
• Expert tips
• Frequently asked questions
• Love streusel-topped desserts? Try these next!
• Need to adjust your baking pan size?
• Recipe card
• Comments

What is streusel?

Streusel is a crumble topping made of flour, butter, and sugar.

The term streusel comes from the German word "streuen," which means "sprinkle."

It usually exists in that very definition as sprinkled or scattered on top of the baked goods (quick breads, cakes, muffins, tarts, etc.) to add crunchiness, richness, and texture.

It can also be baked solo on a baking sheet and served with ice cream and yogurt.

The savory version of streusel is served with salads, soups, or even pasta.

Streusel origin

As for the origin, streusel was first popularized in Germany.

According to food historians, it was adopted by Alsace-Lorraine at the time of Reischland.

Interestingly, besides streusel as a crumble topping, a popular Alsatian dessert - streusel brioche, is topped with the streusel dough.

Why you should try this recipe

1. This simple recipe uses basic ingredients: flour, sugar, and butter.
2. Crumble dough is guaranteed to succeed even for beginners.
3. Streusel topping brings the baked goods to the next level.
4. It makes a pefect breakfast served with milk or yogurt too; so it is worth including streusel in meal plans.

Streusel ingredients

Here is a quick overview of what ingredients you will need. Follow the full recipe below for exact amounts and instructions. I recommend making the recipe as written for the best results.

Butter: it is a secret ingredient. Why? Because the streusel is all about the butter: butter quality and quantity.

The top-quality butter with a high-fat content (European-style butter) is preferable.

Use salted or semi-salted butter or unsalted butter with a pinch of salt. Substitute it with vegan butter, margarine, or butter spread, such as Earth Balance for vegetarian recipes.

Top tip: ideally, butter must be cold, cut into small cubes, not softened at room temperature. And it should be added as the last ingredient.

Just remember that cold (and softened) butter makes stable large crumbs.

Melted butter works as well, but it makes fine crumbly crumbles. And with liquid butter, I recommend using a fork to toss ingredients.

Flour: the recipe calls for all-purpose flour, but the streusel recipe can be adapted and modified in many ways (the recipe instructions and variations are below).

Sugar: use golden brown sugar or dark brown sugar to bring a caramel flavor to your streusel. Replace it with white caster sugar or granulated sugar if desired.

Nuts: this ingredient is optionally added to the basic streusel recipe, but it improves the topping's crunchiness.

Use toasted chopped hazelnuts, slivered almonds, flaked almonds, chopped unsalted pistachios, pine nuts, walnuts, or pecans.

Ground cinnamon: it spices up the crunch topping.

How to make streusel topping

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F/150 degrees C.

Place dry ingredients such as all-purpose flour, sugar, and chopped nuts in a medium bowl. Optionally add spices and mix.

Add cold butter, cut into cubes, and work with your fingertips until you get coarse crumbs. The texture will look like wet “sand.”

Try to "sand" the dough quickly not to heat the butter. Crumbling the dough with fingers makes the butter crumbs less uniform and more delicious.

Alternatively, you can mix the crumble dough in a food processor or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.

Or you can work all the ingredients with a rubber spatula, a fork, or a pastry blender.

Then use a special tool - spaetzle maker - or spider skimmer with large holes to grate the streusel dough. Drop the filaments on the baking sheet and spread them out.

Or form a dough ball and chill it in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours. Then grate the dough using a grater with large holes. This version gives the dough a thicker consistency.

Spread the crumbles on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the desired color. Let cool.

Or sprinkle the crumble topping on top of muffins, cake, tart, pie, etc., and bake as directed in the recipe.

Recipe variations

To make a classic streusel topping recipe, streusel purists use three simple ingredients like flour, butter, and sugar.

Some bakers use the shortcrust pastry formula 3: 2: 1, where three parts flour to two parts butter and one part sugar. 

Some use less butter as two parts flour to 1 part butter and 1 part sugar. Others use the ratio 1: 1: 1.

In my opinion, the best way to make the crumble topping rich and crunchy is to take two parts flour to 1 part butter and 1 part sugar.

The ratio 2: 1 :1 is easy to remember and gives the best streusel texture ever.

So, how to customize this easy streusel topping. The variations are endless!

You are free to replace all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour, gluten-free flour, chestnut flour, or whole grain corn flour.

You can swap brown sugar for muscovado sugar (light or dark) for the deeper caramel flavor.

Or simply use white sugar: superfine baker's sugar, granulated sugar, or icing (powdered) sugar. Or omit the sugar at all and make a sugar-free streusel topping.

Then, add hazelnut meal or almond flour (as the fourth ingredient) as much as all-purpose flour.

It will result in a different texture (more tender) of the streusel. A great example is this Banana Bread With Streusel.

Top tip: make ground nuts yourself and then toast them at 335 degrees F/170 degrees C for 10 minutes in the oven. I find that it brings a more pronounced taste compared with the purchased nut flour.

Or, to provide more crispiness to the streusel toppings, add shredded coconut, quick oats (oatmeal), muesli, wheat semolina, quinoa, or sesame seeds.

Spice up the basic butter-flour-sugar mixture with your favorite flavors: ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, a dash of ground nutmeg, ground ginger, cardamom, pumpkin pie spice, allspice, or vanilla seeds scraped from a vanilla bean.

Or bring a tangy taste to your crumble topping by adding finely chopped or zested lemon, orange, or lime rind.

Add the unsweetened cocoa powder as ⅓ from the amount chosen for flour to make the chocolate streusel.

Finally, add chopped nuts and small pieces of dried fruit to make the crumble topping even more interesting for variations. The streusel toppings recipes are infinite and versatile!

In the end, play with the size of crumbs. The German consider that the larger pieces of the crumbs, the more delicious streusel.

Use your fingers, rub the dough, and press the smaller crumbs together. As a result, the crumb topping is coarser with bigger crumbs.

Can't get enough of that delicious streusel? Check out my recipe template, "The ONLY Streusel Recipe You'll Ever Need."

I know it sounds too good to be true! But this really can be the only recipe you need to create your own streusel recipes.

When you mix and match ingredients, there are endless options! By swapping just one thing out of three basic ones (flour, sugar, butter) with another new addition, you will get hundreds of recipes - impressive, right?!

So what are you waiting for?

Get FREE Streusel Recipe Template Now >>

How to use streusel

The recipe for homemade streusel is really versatile, which means you can use it in different ways.

You can sprinkle streusel on fruit (strawberries, rhubarb, etc.), making fruit crisps or crumble, quick breads, fruit pies, coffee cakes, homemade muffins (blueberry muffins as an example), bundt cakes, or brioche as a topping, and bake.

Or, as the Alsatians, you can bake the streusel in a single even layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment.

Then cool it completely and crumble over your favorite ice cream, yogurt, or macerated fruit. Or serve it with whole milk as a cereal for your breakfast.

Want more ideas on how to use the streusel? You can make a tart or tartlet base - a "reconstituted shortbread" - using a technique by Thierry Bamas.  

Or use it as a crumble for glass desserts or original decorations for tarts, bread, and cakes.

Storage instructions

Store baked streusel crumb in an airtight container, bag, or jar for several days.

You can keep the unbaked crumble tightly closed in the refrigerator for up to three days.

Can you freeze the streusel? Yes, absolutely. Spread the leftover streusel (unbaked) on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat and freeze it for at least one hour.

Then transfer it to a Ziploc freezer bag, label, and freeze for up to 3 to 6 months.

Once ready to use, spread the frozen streusel on your cake and bake it according to the recipe. 

If you want to prepare the crumble for a topping, bake it as in the basic recipe below.

Expert tips

1. The streusel recipe can be made with softened butter at room temperature. In this case, mix the ingredients very quickly to prevent the dough from overheating with your fingers. Remember: the softer the butter, the finer the crumble will be.
2. If you want to make the recipe with melted butter, use a fork to toss the ingredients. 
3. Look for the sandy texture of the crumbs: under-mixing results in a dry streusel, over-mixing end ups in a too cohesive crumble.
4. Cover the bowl with plastic and keep the streusel in the refrigerator until ready to use. The chilled crumbles will keep their shape when baking.
5. Sprinkle your streusel with ice-cold water 3 to 5 minutes before the end of the baking time. It gives them a golden brown color, makes them extra crispy, and refines the salt note.
6. Extra tip: alternatively, dust the streusel with a little bit of icing sugar about 10 minutes before the end of the baking time. It will caramelize the crumble - simply fantastic!
7. This recipe makes enough streusel to top one bread loaf, 12 regular-sized muffins, or 48 mini muffins.

Frequently asked questions

Love streusel-topped desserts? Try these next!

Print

Recipe card

The nutritional information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator such as Verywellfit.com and is intended for informational purposes only. These figures should be used as a general guideline and not be construed as a guarantee.