When I last visited Germany, I took time to have some Kaffee und Kuchen every day (sometimes more than once!). I went to many different bakeries and cafes, some chains and some independent, but there were a few items that were universal to almost every one. Of those, the only one that I wasn't accustomed to from my mother's German cookbooks was Mohnstriezel, a delicious pastry filled with poppyseed and topped with streusel and glaze. It rapidly became one of my favourites, seeing as I love all things with poppyseeds. It's a bit like the Polish makowiec I make every Christmas, but sweeter and with less seasonings distracting from the flavour of the poppy filling.
The yeast dough is just rich enough without being too soft- once cool, you can slice it quite thinly and eat it out of hand without it falling apart. The poppyseed filling is more custard-like than the ones in the pastries I had in Germany, but it makes a very good contrast to the other ingredients, especially with some plump rum-soaked raisins. The streusel contains slivered almonds for some additional crunch- almonds go together naturally with poppyseeds. Lastly, the glaze gives it an additional layer of texture and sweetness- normally I prefer a simple dusting of powder sugar, but in this case a glaze feels necessary for the complete experience.
It's important to remember that the poppyseeds must be ground- I bought frozen ground poppyseed at Starsky, but it can also occasionally be found in packets or cans (make sure it isn't pre-sweetened). Alternatively, you can mill whole poppyseeds in a spice grinder or other grinder suitable for small particles.
This cake reminded me of some other recipes for German bakery staples to take note of for the future- an afternoon cup of tea or coffee is much nicer with something sweet.
Mohnstriezel
Adapted from Backen macht Freude
For the Dough:
200 ml. Milk
150 g. Butter
500 g. Flour
1 Yolk
21 g. Fresh yeast, or 2 1/4 tsp. Active dried yeast
75 g. Sugar
1 Packet (2 tsp.) Vanilla sugar
Pinch of salt
For the Filling:
300 g. Ground poppyseed
500 ml. Milk
1 Package Dr. Oetker vanilla pudding
2 Eggs
Zest of 1/2 a lemon
75 g. Sugar
60 g. Cream of Wheat
1/4 C. Light raisins soaked in rum, optional
For the Topping:
1 Egg white
75 g. Flour
75 g. Sugar
75 g. Butter, cold but soft
75 g. Slivered almonds
For the Glaze:
100 g. Powder sugar
1 TBSP Lemon juice
1-2 TBSP Water
Heat the milk until steaming and add the butter to dissolve. Let cool.
Once lukewarm, add the yeast. Mix the flour, sugar, salt and vanilla sugar and pour in the milk mixture. Add the yolk and knead until smooth. Let rise about 1- 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled.
To make the filling, bring 400 ml. of the milk and the poppyseed to a boil, then let cool for 10 minutes. Mix the remaining mix, pudding powder, sugar, lemon zest and eggs. Whisk in and return to medium heat, cooking until thickened. Let cool.
Preheat the oven to 190℃. Roll out on a floured surface into a 40 cm x 30 cm rectangle. Sprinkle evenly with the cream of wheat and raisins, if using. Spread with the cooled filling, leaving a couple of centimetres free around the edges. Roll up and tuck the corners of the dough underneath the seal in the filling. Press the trailing edge of the roll (the exterior edge) against the roll with a bit of egg white to help it seal. Brush the entire roll thoroughly in egg white.
Mix the butter, sugar, flour and almonds in a small bowl with fingertips until crumbly, chilling for 10 minutes if the butter starts to melt or become too soft. Press evenly onto the roll.
Bake for 30 minutes, then reduce to 180℃ and bake for another 30 minutes. Cover with aluminium foil once golden brown to prevent further browning. Let cool for 15 minutes.
Whisk together the powder sugar, water and lemon juice into a thick but runny glaze. Drizzle over the slightly cooled roll. Let cool another 45 minutes before cutting.
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