Christmas Eve in Bruculinu : A Fancy Name for Crumbs

Delectable desserts topped with sweet pastry crumbs called streusel are popular in much of eastern Europe. The crumbs add an irresistible touch to all sorts of pastries and cakes, from sweet Russian yeast breads and German cheesecakes to Czech apple pies and Polish plum cakes.

The classic streusel preparation is a mixture of butter, sugar and flour rubbed together by hand to form crumbs. They traditionally are used to add pizzazz to plain yeast cakes. Old-fashioned recipes call for making a yeast dough, letting it rise, spreading it in a cake pan, preparing a crumb mixture and sprinkling it over the dough.

But there is a much easier way to make these crumb-crowned desserts. You can make a pastry base and a crumbly topping from one mixture instead of preparing two separate doughs. Simply blend the ingredients for a sweet dough in the food processor until they form a friable mixture. Save part of it as the streusel topping. The rest becomes the base for a cake when you pat it out in a pan. You don’t even need a rolling pin.

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When you would like to entertain with a scrumptious homemade sweet at short notice, these crumb-topped treats are a great choice. With this technique, you can quickly and easily make enticing cheesecakes or fruit pies. Top the bottom layer with a cheese filling to make a cheesecake, such as pine nut and orange cheesecake or with sliced sweetened apples to make apple pie. The crumb topping is a tasty, delicately crisp contrast to the sweet, tender filling.

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The simplest way to use this pastry and topping is to make bar cookies. These appealing sweets don’t even require a filling mixture. After you pat out the cookie dough, spread with raspberry preserves, then scatter the crumb topping over the top. For even further embellishment, I like to add a layer of chopped semisweet chocolate or chocolate chips just under the topping. The resulting chocolate-walnut bars are a tempting treat for a holiday sweet table or a simple snack with coffee or milk.

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For these quick and easy bar cookies, part of the walnut cookie dough is turned into a crumbly topping that is sprinkled over the chocolate-raspberry filling.

CHOCOLATE-WALNUT BARS 1 1/4 cups walnuts 3 large egg yolks 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons vanilla 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest 1 cup unsalted butter, well-chilled, cut into 16 pieces 2 cups flour, sifted 1/2 cup raspberry preserves 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, cut into very small chunks

To prepare dough, coarsely chop nuts in food processor. Reserve 1/4 cup nuts for topping. Finely chop remaining nuts in processor and transfer to bowl.

Combine egg yolks, 1/2 cup sugar, salt, vanilla, lemon zest and butter in processor. Process with 10 quick on/off pulses, then process continuously 5 seconds until nearly blended. Add finely chopped walnuts and 1 3/4 cups flour. Process 2 seconds. Scrape down bowl. Process 3 seconds or until dough forms sticky crumbs but does not come together in ball.

Place dough in plastic food bag and press together to shape into rectangle. Refrigerate 1 hour. Clean and dry food processor.

Cut off 1/4 of dough and refrigerate. Pat out remaining dough in bottom of unbuttered 13x9-inch baking pan.

To prepare filling, stir preserves. Spread preserves gently over dough with rubber spatula, leaving 1/4-inch border. Sprinkle chocolate evenly over top.

Cut reserved dough into 10 pieces. Return to food processor along with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and 1/4 cup flour. Process with few on/off pulses until sugar and flour are blended in but dough is still very crumbly. Crumble dough quickly between fingers to separate any lumps and sprinkle evenly over chocolate. Sprinkle with reserved 1/4 cup chopped walnuts.

Bake at 350 degrees 30 to 35 minutes or until crumbs are firm and light brown. Cool in pan on rack until lukewarm. Cut into 1 1/2x2-inch bars in pan, using sharp knife. Makes about 24 bars.

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Pine nuts lend an exotic note to the streusel topping of this creamy cheesecake.

PINE NUT AND ORANGE CHEESECAKE 2 1/2 cups flour Sugar Dash salt 1 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces Grated orange zest 3 large eggs 1 pound cottage cheese 1 pound cream cheese 2 large eggs 2 large egg yolks 1/2 cup whipping cream 1/3 cup pine nuts

To prepare dough, briefly process flour, 1/2 cup sugar and salt in food processor to blend. Scatter butter pieces over mixture. Using on/off turns, process until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons grated zest. Beat 1 large egg and pour evenly over mixture and process with on/off turns, scraping down occasionally, until dough forms sticky crumbs. Do not allow mixture to come together in ball.

Sprinkle 2/3 of crumbs evenly in lightly buttered 9-inch springform pan. Freeze remaining crumbs. With floured hands, press crumbs in pan together and pat 2 inches up side of pan. Chill lined pan in freezer.

Meanwhile, prepare filling. Press cottage cheese through strainer. Beat cream cheese with 3/4 cup sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and yolks, one by one. Stir in cottage cheese, cream and 5 teaspoons orange zest.

Pour filling into prepared pan. Remove crumbs from freezer. Crumble mixture between fingers and sprinkle on top of filling. Sprinkle with pine nuts. Pat very gently so topping adheres to filling.

Set springform pan on baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees about 1 hour and 15 minutes or until set. If topping is not brown enough, broil about 30 seconds, checking every few seconds, until golden brown. Cool completely. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. Serve cold. Makes 10 servings.