Colombia · South America

Cuca

Crumb-to-cake ratio precision decides whether the streusel stays crisp or sinks.

Colombian cucaColombian coffee cake

The Chemistry in This Bake

Getting the crumb-topping-to-cake ratio exact so the streusel layer bakes crisp instead of sinking.

Learn the full technique →

Ingredients

  • All-purpose flour
  • Sugar
  • Butter
  • Eggs
  • Milk
  • Baking powder
  • Vanilla extract
  • Guava paste or jam (optional)
  • Salt

Method

  1. Weigh the crumb ingredients so the topping-to-cake ratio is exact.

  2. Rub butter into flour and sugar to make a coarse streusel; chill it.

  3. Beat the cake batter with butter, sugar, eggs, milk, and flour.

  4. Pour the batter into a lined pan.

  5. Scatter the chilled crumb thickly and evenly over the surface.

  6. Bake at 180 °C for 35-40 minutes until the crumb is crisp and the cake is set.