German Poppy Seed Cake

Ingredients

Pastry & Streusel

• 500 g all-purpose flour 3 cups + 2 tbsp
• 200 g sugar 1 cup
• 250 g butter softened
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla sugar extract?

Filling:

• 1 l whole milk 4 cups
• 350 g ground poppy seeds 2 1/2 cups
• 160 g fine semolina finely ground – 1 scant cup
• 250 g sugar 1 1/4 cup
• 100 g butter 1 stick
• 1 tbsp rum / or vanilla essence

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 180℃ (350℉). Line a 30cm x 40cm (12” x 15”) baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a medium mixing-bowl, blend the butter, sugar, and vanilla sugar together using a hand-mixer until everything is the same texture. Blend in the egg, then once everything is homogenous again, add the flour. Continue with the hand-mixer until the little clumps of your future streusel have formed.
3. Put half of the dough on the parchment-lined baking sheet, and press it out until you’ve fully covered the baking sheet with an even layer. I use the back of a large spoon to help with this, as well as to keep the heat from my hands from melting the butter unduly.
4. Now, as for the filling: in a medium-sized pot over medium-high heat, add the milk and sugar; stirring until no crystals remain. Once that’s been achieved, begin adding in the semolina flour a couple tablespoons at a time – stirring all the while.
5. The milk has most likely come to a low boil at this point. Allow the semolina flour to cook at that temperature for 2 minutes before adding in the poppyseeds, stirring continuously until you’re confident that everything has come together nicely and had a bit of a chance to cook.
6. Add in the butter, still stirring constantly. Once the butter has melted completely and been incorporated, take your pot of filling off the heat and allow it to cool on the counter for 5 minutes. I like to add some rum (1 tbsp) or vanilla to this mix.
7. Once the filling has cooled, spread it evenly upon the dough on the baking sheet. Now take the second half of your dough, and use your hands to roughly break it up into little streusel-y bits as you spread it all across the top of your filling. Bake for about 40 minutes. Allow to cool before serving.