The German cuca is a cake – or sweet bread – with German origins.
Its original name, Streuselkuchen, can be translated as crumb cake.
The German version of the German cuca is known for its three-layer structure: the first is a sweet dough made of flour, butter, sugar, eggs, and yeast, the second is seasonal fruit or jam (often plums, apple, or pear) or creams, and finally, the third is a kind of crumble with butter, sugar, flour, and sometimes dried fruit, which after being baked, is crumbled, called streusel, indeed.
Historians claim it originated in Silesia, a region located between Poland and Germany. Its arrival in Brazil dates back to the period of German colonization, when it was introduced as a traditional dish in the states of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina.
In Brazil, milk is added to the dough, and favorite enrichments range from grapes, bananas, coconut, chocolate, guava, but also cheese, cream, and sausage, with the topping that Brazilians define as “sugar farofa”, meaning sugar and butter.
The recipe I propose is precisely with banana, German Banana Cuca.
The recipe also resembles an Italian dessert from Mantua and an American dessert typical of Georgia, as well as the classic English crumble…
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 20 Hours
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 6 people
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Brazilian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 2.5 cups flour
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon margarine (or butter)
- 1 pinch salt
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon biological yeast
- 1 large banana (or 2 small bananas)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable margarine (or butter)
- 3/4 cup sugar
Steps
Mix the egg with the sugar, salt, and margarine or butter, add the milk and flour gradually, and finally the yeast (it can also be dissolved in milk).
Let it rise for 20 minutes.
Create the sugar farofa by mixing the butter or margarine with the sugar by hand.
Spread the dough in the baking pan, slice the bananas on top, add a little flour, and cover with the farofa.
Bake in the oven at 350°F for 20 minutes.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
What is the difference between bolo and cuca?
The bolo is the traditional cake.
The fermentation method, as well as the presence of sugar farofa, are the main differences between bolo and cuca. The cuca is fermented like bread, with biological yeast.What is the difference between streusel and crumble?
The streuselkuchen is characterized by a base, optional filling, and crumbled topping while the crumble is a topping without a base.
Therefore, a streusel without a base can be considered a crumble.
