Strudel vs. Streusel vs. Striezel

Three Words, One Confusion

At the market I hear these words swapped all the time, and honestly, I mixed them up myself when I first started paying attention. It does not help that we sell both Apple Strudel and Apple Streusel, so the names sit right next to each other on the table. Saying them out loud feels like a tongue twister. And then striezel shows up as the curve ball. They sound like siblings. They are not.

Strudel

Strudel means whirlpool, and the pastry lives up to the name. Dough is stretched paper-thin, brushed with butter, filled, and rolled into a spiral. Our Apple Strudel is the classic version, and the Kraut Strudel is the savory spin. The thin, stretchy dough is the whole point. That is why strudel is one of the cakes we cannot make gluten-free.

Streusel

Streusel is not a pastry at all. It is the crumbly topping of butter, sugar, and flour scattered over a cake before baking. It bakes into a sweet, crunchy layer. Our Apple Streusel is a cake with apples and cinnamon under exactly that kind of topping. No rolling, no stretching, just crumbs.

And streusel does not stop at apple cake. It sits on top of all kinds of German cakes. Our Poppyseed Streusel Cheesecake is a cheesecake with streusel crumbles over the top, which is such a classic German combination.

Streusel is also the word behind what Americans often call coffee cake. One item we are really excited about for the fall menu is our Pumpkin Coffee Cake. It does not just have streusel on top. There is streusel in the middle too, so you get crunch all the way through.

Striezel

Striezel is the odd one out. It is a braided yeast bread, the kind of thing you would see in a bakery window in Germany, and it is related to Christmas Stollen, which in Dresden was traditionally called Striezel. The Dresden Christmas market is even named the Striezelmarkt after it.

We do sell one: our Poppy Roll is a Mohnstriezel, yeast dough wrapped around sweet poppy seed filling. And to keep the confusion going, it is finished with almond streusel on top.

Striezel is one of the newer ones I have tried. Mary has been baking Nutella Striezels and Poppy Striezels, and I like the poppy one best. Though some people may not. Either way, our Striezels are awesome.

Which One Do You Want?

So when someone asks for "the strudel thing," it helps to know which they mean. If you want to taste the difference yourself, find us at a market or reach out directly.