German Butter Cake for My Grandpa

My German grandfather always talks about two of his favorite baked goods at the holidays: Stollen (kind of like fruitcake) and butter cake. Since I am not a fan of fruitcake, and I wanted to make him a special treat for the holidays, I decided to try my hand at making a butter cake. This is not really a cake, actually. It's a yeast bread that needs to rise, but with a crumb topping made with sugar, cinnamon, and slivered almonds for sweetness. My grandpa said that it was better than the one his German mother would make for him as a kid, so I think that's pretty high praise, indeed!