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In high school, learning a new recipe (especially dessert recipes) was always my favorite part of a foreign language and culture class. One day during German in my sophomore year, I teamed up with two other classmates to make German Crumble Cake from a magazine. It was quite good, if I do say so myself. Seven years later, it continues to be one of my favorite desserts to bake.

Handling this German dessert recipe is a real 'hands on' experience, as you'll see. And like other German desserts, it contains a hefty bit of butter. But it's worth it. Enjoy!

German Crumble Cake

Dough:

• 2 sticks of butter
• 1 cup of sugar
• 4 cups of flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda (make sure it's SODA, not POWDER...I made that mistake once and...ick!)
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon of cornstarch

Filling:

• 3 cups of fresh fruit or a can of fruit
• 1 teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
• 1 tablespoon of cornstarch
• sugar for flavor

1) Mix all ingredients for the dough together by hand so that it becomes crumbly. (You can use a baking board or a large bowl).

2) Grease a cake pan and press half of the crumble into the bottom of the pan.

3) Cook fruit with cornstarch in a medium pot or pan for 2 minutes, and spread the fruit filling on the dough.

4) Sprinkle the rest of the dough onto the fruit, and bake for about 40 minutes at around 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Remember, ovens may vary. Yours may be faster or slower or require less or more degrees Fahrenheit. It also depends on how dark the pan you use is. Be sure to keep checking on the crumble cake every few minutes. When the top is nice and brown, then it should be ready.

Even if your German Crumble Cake didn't turn out exactly right, not to worry. Nobody says you have to be a professional. I'm certainly not. My philosophy with food has always been "As long as it tastes good, I don't care if it's imperfect."

Try experimenting with the recipe. I usually never follow recipes to the letter. For this one, I use a bigger glass pan and only 2 cans of fruit. Figure out what works for you. Practice making this German dessert recipe and any other desserts, and you'll eventually settle into your own style of baking, like every other individual.