This is a proprietary, bakery-style streusel crumb topping engineered to produce a fine, melt-in crumb with controllable clusters—the kind used in professional bakeshops for danishes, coffeecakes, kuchen, muffins, and fruit-based pastries.
This is NOT a New York crumb cake “boulder crumb.”
Not a thick, dry, floury crumb layer.
Not a crunchy granola-style topping.
This is buttery, tender-crisp, and designed to adhere cleanly, bake evenly, and finish with a classic crumb texture that can be kept fine or clustered based on mixing and chilling technique.
This recipe is beginner-friendly, but it is written with professional results in mind.
Because streusel texture is affected by how you cut in the butter, you’ll get the best results by following the mixing cues (fine vs clumped), keeping the streusel cold, and using the timing guidance for when to add it during baking.
No specialty equipment required—just accuracy and a cold butter workflow.
A bakery streusel crumb formula (fine, melt-in, not NY-style)
A 32 oz deli-container batch size (my personal “keep-on-hand” amount)
Instructions for:
fine crumb vs clustered crumb
chilling/freezing for clean clumps
topping application
storage + freezer use
Courtesy volume measurements included in parentheses
Suitable for professionals, cafés, cottage bakers, and experienced home bakers
NOT New York crumb cake topping
NOT an extra-thick crumb “blanket” intended to be the main feature
NOT a streusel designed to be baked for 40+ minutes uninterrupted on top of delicate bakes
NOT a one-style-only crumb (this is a controllable system)
✔ Bakers who want a real bakery streusel (not home-blog crumb)
✔ Anyone making danishes, coffeecakes, kuchen, muffins, scones, fruit bakes, slab pies, and bars
✔ Bakers who want a streusel that can be kept fine or formed into defined clusters
✔ Bakers who like keeping a premium topping on-hand for fast production days
Use this streusel on:
Dakota Kuchen (custard + fruit styles)
Danishes (cream cheese, fruit, almond, maple pecan, etc.)
Coffee cake / crumb cake (bakery-style, not NY boulder crumb)
Muffins (blueberry, apple, pumpkin, lemon, banana, etc.)
Scones (especially fruit or glazed scones)
Quickbreads & loaf cakes (as a mid-bake topping)
Fruit crisps / crumbles
Pie bars, slab pies, fruit bars
Sweet rolls or buns (as a finishing crumb topping)
There’s no single “required” amount—use as little or as much as you want depending on your style and the item you’re topping. Scale the batch down or up anytime.
I personally do not like baking streusel for the full bake time on items that run 35–40 minutes (or longer). For most longer bakes, I prefer to add streusel with about 25 minutes left so it stays buttery-tender and bakery-crispwithout drying out or over-browning.
If the bake time is 25 minutes or less, I’ll add streusel at the beginning.
If the bake time is longer than 25 minutes, I add it mid-bake (around the 25-minute-remaining mark).
This is optional—but it’s the method I use for the most consistent “premium bakeshop crumb.”
Butter differences
European-style butter often forms cleaner clusters and bakes slightly crisper due to higher fat/lower water.
American-style butter may melt/spread a touch more (still excellent—just slightly less sharp definition on big crumbs).
This streusel is best used cold.
Store airtight in the refrigerator for up to 1 week
Store airtight in the freezer for 2–3 months
Keep it in clumps (optional), and break into the size you want right before topping.
The contents of this recipe file are the intellectual property of Carter’s Bakeshop.
Purchase grants the buyer rights to use the recipe for personal or commercial baking, but not to resell, share, upload, distribute, or publish any portion of the file.
Unauthorized reproduction or distribution is strictly prohibited.
This is a proprietary, bakery-style streusel crumb topping engineered to produce a fine, melt-in crumb with controllable clusters—the kind used in professional bakeshops for danishes, coffeecakes, kuchen, muffins, and fruit-based pastries.
This is NOT a New York crumb cake “boulder crumb.”
Not a thick, dry, floury crumb layer.
Not a crunchy granola-style topping.
This is buttery, tender-crisp, and designed to adhere cleanly, bake evenly, and finish with a classic crumb texture that can be kept fine or clustered based on mixing and chilling technique.
This recipe is beginner-friendly, but it is written with professional results in mind.
Because streusel texture is affected by how you cut in the butter, you’ll get the best results by following the mixing cues (fine vs clumped), keeping the streusel cold, and using the timing guidance for when to add it during baking.
No specialty equipment required—just accuracy and a cold butter workflow.
A bakery streusel crumb formula (fine, melt-in, not NY-style)
A 32 oz deli-container batch size (my personal “keep-on-hand” amount)
Instructions for:
fine crumb vs clustered crumb
chilling/freezing for clean clumps
topping application
storage + freezer use
Courtesy volume measurements included in parentheses
Suitable for professionals, cafés, cottage bakers, and experienced home bakers
NOT New York crumb cake topping
NOT an extra-thick crumb “blanket” intended to be the main feature
NOT a streusel designed to be baked for 40+ minutes uninterrupted on top of delicate bakes
NOT a one-style-only crumb (this is a controllable system)
✔ Bakers who want a real bakery streusel (not home-blog crumb)
✔ Anyone making danishes, coffeecakes, kuchen, muffins, scones, fruit bakes, slab pies, and bars
✔ Bakers who want a streusel that can be kept fine or formed into defined clusters
✔ Bakers who like keeping a premium topping on-hand for fast production days
Use this streusel on:
Dakota Kuchen (custard + fruit styles)
Danishes (cream cheese, fruit, almond, maple pecan, etc.)
Coffee cake / crumb cake (bakery-style, not NY boulder crumb)
Muffins (blueberry, apple, pumpkin, lemon, banana, etc.)
Scones (especially fruit or glazed scones)
Quickbreads & loaf cakes (as a mid-bake topping)
Fruit crisps / crumbles
Pie bars, slab pies, fruit bars
Sweet rolls or buns (as a finishing crumb topping)
There’s no single “required” amount—use as little or as much as you want depending on your style and the item you’re topping. Scale the batch down or up anytime.
I personally do not like baking streusel for the full bake time on items that run 35–40 minutes (or longer). For most longer bakes, I prefer to add streusel with about 25 minutes left so it stays buttery-tender and bakery-crispwithout drying out or over-browning.
If the bake time is 25 minutes or less, I’ll add streusel at the beginning.
If the bake time is longer than 25 minutes, I add it mid-bake (around the 25-minute-remaining mark).
This is optional—but it’s the method I use for the most consistent “premium bakeshop crumb.”
Butter differences
European-style butter often forms cleaner clusters and bakes slightly crisper due to higher fat/lower water.
American-style butter may melt/spread a touch more (still excellent—just slightly less sharp definition on big crumbs).
This streusel is best used cold.
Store airtight in the refrigerator for up to 1 week
Store airtight in the freezer for 2–3 months
Keep it in clumps (optional), and break into the size you want right before topping.
The contents of this recipe file are the intellectual property of Carter’s Bakeshop.
Purchase grants the buyer rights to use the recipe for personal or commercial baking, but not to resell, share, upload, distribute, or publish any portion of the file.
Unauthorized reproduction or distribution is strictly prohibited.
