Traditional German apple cake or Apfelkuchen recipe
October is apple month! In Germany they make a delicious cake starring apples called Apfelkuchen. Why not have a go at the recipe below.
Ingredients
- 125g butter, at room temperature (plus extra for the tin)
- 220g plain flour (plus extra for dusting)
- 175g caster sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- 4 eggs
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 40g cornflour
- 100ml milk
- 800g eating apples (about 4–5 medium apples), cored and cut into wedges
- 2 tsp icing sugar (for dusting)
Method
- Prep the tin:
Heat oven to 180°C (160°C fan) or gas mark 4. Butter a 23cm springform cake tin and dust with flour. - Make the batter:
- Beat the softened butter with 115g of the sugar and a pinch of salt for 3–5 minutes until pale and creamy.
- Add the vanilla extract, lemon zest, and juice. Mix until combined.
- Separate the eggs. Place the whites in a large bowl.
- Beat the egg whites with the remaining sugar until stiff peaks form.
- Mix the egg yolks into the butter and sugar mixture.
- In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, and cornflour. Add this to the butter mixture and mix to combine.
- Stir in the milk, then fold in a spoonful of the beaten egg whites to loosen the batter. Gently fold in the rest of the egg whites.
- Assemble:
- Spoon the batter into the prepared tin.
- Press the apple wedges into the batter, cut side down, arranging them in a circular pattern.
- Bake:
- Bake for 45–50 minutes, or until golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Finish:
- Leave to cool in the tin for a while, then transfer to a cooling rack.
- Dust with icing sugar before serving if you wish.
Top tip:
This cake keeps well in an airtight container for up to three days. It’s delicious served warm or at room temperature, with cream, custard or ice cream.