Butter Cake with Currants and Streusel Recipe
Butter cake with currants and streusel is a classic Polish summer afternoon treat. Sweet, buttery cake is paired with tart currants and a crunchy streusel topping. You’ll find similar bakes in many countries, but in Poland currants have a special place in gardens and jars, so this kind of cake often smells like childhood at grandma’s house.
This cake combines three textures and flavors: soft, buttery sponge, juicy tart currants, and a crisp streusel topping. It’s deeply rooted in Polish home baking traditions, where currants from the garden often end up in simple but unforgettable cakes like this one.
Chef's tips
Use room-temperature ingredients for the batter so it mixes evenly and rises well. If you’re using very juicy fruit, you can lightly dust it with flour before sprinkling on the cake to help prevent the juice from sinking into the crumb too much.
How to serve
Serve as an afternoon treat with coffee or tea. For a more elegant dessert, plate a square of cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of fruit sauce or a few fresh berries.
Ingredients
- soft butter for the cake - 150 g
- sugar for the cake - 130 g
- eggs at room temperature - 3 piece
- flour for the cake - 220 g
- baking powder - 2 teaspoons
- milk at room temperature - 80 ml
- red or black currants fresh or frozen, without stems - 250 g
- vanillin sugar for the cake - 1 teaspoon
- flour - 80 g
- sugar for streusel - 50 g
- cold butter for streusel - 50 g
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (top and bottom heat). Line a baking tin of about 20×30 cm with baking paper.
- Prepare the streusel: put 80 g flour and 50 g sugar into a bowl, add cold butter cut into small cubes. Rub with your fingers until crumbs form that resemble wet sand. Place the bowl with the streusel in the fridge while you prepare the cake.
- Wash the currants, dry them, and remove them from the stems. If using frozen currants, do not thaw them beforehand.
- Beat the butter for the cake with the sugar and vanillin sugar using a mixer until light and fluffy (this will take about 4–5 minutes on medium speed).
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until well combined with the butter mixture.
- Mix 220 g flour with the baking powder. Add it to the butter mixture alternately with the milk: a bit of flour, a bit of milk, mixing briefly on low speed just until combined. Do not overmix, or the cake may turn out dense.
- Transfer the finished batter to the prepared tin and smooth the top with a spoon or spatula.
- Scatter the currants evenly over the top. Then sprinkle with the chilled streusel, rubbing it between your fingers if it has clumped together.
- Place the cake in the preheated oven and bake for about 35–40 minutes, until the streusel is golden and a skewer inserted into the center comes out dry or with a few crumbs (but no wet batter).
- After baking, remove the cake from the oven and leave it to cool completely. It’s best to slice it once fully cooled, as it holds together more neatly.
Storage
No storage information available for this dish.
This is one of those bakes that instantly brings back memories of summer holidays and the smell of cake in grandma’s kitchen. It’s simple, forgiving, and works with almost any seasonal fruit, but currants give it that unmistakably Polish character.
