Sean, your post got me recollecting a buttercake I've had from Rindelaub's. Someone may yet come up with one they've actually made. But I went searching on the web for German Butter Cake and came up with a bunch that were very similar to each other. I'm posting the addresses, but they're random and there are a lot more if you Google.
http://www.cooking.com/recipes/static/recipe1792.htm http://www.recipesource.com/ethnic/e...erkuchen1.html http://www.britannia.org/recipes/german/ http://www.geocities.com/NapaValley/6579/recipes/58.txt
None of these, however, are like the one I've had which does not have the nuts, streusel, etc, and is only an inch or so thick, very rich and buttery, like a pastry. It seems more like a recipe I kept from the NYTimes for a Breton buttercake which I'm posting for you.
Breton Butter Cake (NYT 4-4-01): 9" cake - serves 8; time: 1 hour 15 minutes + 2 1/2 hours for rising and chilling this is the same cake as below, but a more recent printing. This one looks less "bready" than the ones I found on the web
1 1/8 tsps dry yeast
3/8 tsp orange flower water, more for sprinkling
1 1/3 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
2 Tbs cake flour
1/8 tsp coarse salt
3/8 cup chilled butter, preferably French, more for buttering bowl
3/8 cup sugar, more for plate and top of cake
1 1/2 Tbs melted butter
1. In a small bowl, combine yeast with 2/3 cup water and the orange flower water. Let sit until bubbly. In a large bowl, combine the flours, salt and yeast mixture. On a lightly floured surface, knead dough until smooth. Butter a large bowl and add dough. Cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled, 30 to 60 minutes. Place in
refrigerator to firm up, about 30 minutes.
2. On a lightly floured surface, pound chilled butter into a 5" square. Cover with plastic wrap and let come almost to room temperature; it should have an icing-like texture. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough into a 10" disk. Place butter on top and fold dough up and around it to cover.
3. Working quickly, roll out dough so that it is 2 feet long and 1 foot wide. Using a pastry brush, brush off excess flour. Sprinkle with 3 Tbs sugar, and fold into thirds as if folding a business letter. Turn 90 degrees, sprinkle with 3 Tbs sugar,
roll out to 2 feet long and 1 foot wide, and fold into thirds. Repeat 2 more times, scraping up sticky areas. Avoid using too much flour.
4. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Butter and sugar a 9" glass pie plate. Place dough in plate, tucking corners under. Let rise in a warm place until soft and puffy, 1 to 2 hours. Brush surface with melted butter, and sprinkle with a generous amount of sugar and a little orange flower water. Bake until risen and golden brown, 25 to
30 minutes. If top browns before bottom, cover with foil. The bottom should be hazelnut brown. Remove from oven, slice and serve warm.
german buttercake 
