German Apple Cake (Apfelkuchen)
A tender, buttery German apple cake with cinnamon-spiced fruit and a light crumb topping. Simple enough for weeknight baking, impressive enough for guests.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Servings
- 8
- Calories
- 412
- Protein
- 5g
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 whole eggs
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
- 4 whole apples, firm varieties (Granny Smith or Honeycrisp)
- 1.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
- ¼ cup flour (for topping)
Instructions
- 1
Set the oven to 350°F and wait until the heating indicator light turns off, about 10 minutes.
- 2
Grease a 9-inch round cake pan by rubbing softened butter inside the bottom and up the sides, then line the bottom with parchment paper.
- 3
Wash the apples, cut them in half from stem to bottom, scoop out the core with a spoon, then place each half skin-side up on a cutting board.
- 4
Slice each apple half crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick slices, like cutting a roll of bread, keeping the pieces loosely together as you work.
- 5
In a large mixing bowl, add the 0.5 cup softened butter and 0.75 cup sugar, then beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 3 minutes until the mixture looks pale and fluffy, like frosting.
- 6
Add the 2 eggs one at a time, beating on low speed for 30 seconds after each egg until fully combined.
- 7
In a small bowl, whisk together the 2 cups flour and 1.5 teaspoons baking powder until no lumps remain.
- 8
Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir with a rubber spatula, using long strokes, until no flour streaks are visible, about 1 minute.
- 9
Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan using an offset spatula or the back of a spoon, smoothing the top until level.
- 10
Arrange the apple slices on top of the batter in overlapping rows, like roof shingles, covering the surface completely.
- 11
In a small bowl, mix the 1.5 teaspoons cinnamon with the 0.25 cup flour and 3 tablespoons cold butter using your fingertips until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs (pea-sized pieces), about 2 minutes.
- 12
Scatter the cinnamon-crumb mixture evenly over the apple slices, pressing gently so some bits stay on the surface.
- 13
Place the cake pan in the preheated oven and bake for 35 minutes, until the top looks golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the batter (avoiding apples) comes out clean with no wet crumbs.
- 14
Remove the pan from the oven using oven mitts and set it on a cooling rack for 10 minutes before turning out or serving from the pan.
Tools you’ll need
- 9-inch round cake pan
- parchment paper
- chef's knife
- cutting board
- large mixing bowl
- electric mixer
- small mixing bowl
- whisk
- rubber spatula
- offset spatula or spoon
- oven mitts
- cooling rack
- toothpick
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