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APPLE CAKE GERMAN Versunkener Apfelkuchen

Course Cakes, Desserts
Cuisine German
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 12 slices

Ingredients

  • 4 small apples
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
  • 12 cup sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla or vanilla sugar
  • 2 tsp lemon juice fresh
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups cake flour see instruction below *
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp milk
  • powdered sugar

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease the bottom of a 9- or 10-inch springform or use parchment paper.
  • Peel, quarter, and core the apples. Thinly slice each quarter lengthwise without cutting all the way through (like in the image above).
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until creamy, about 1 minute. Add sugar and mix until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
  • Add eggs one at a time and beat for 30 seconds on high speed after each addition.
  • Add vanilla sugar (or extract), salt, and lemon juice. Beat until combined.
  • Combine cake flour, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer running on low speed add half of the flour, then 1 tbsp milk, followed by the remaining flour, and then the remaining milk. Beat until just combined. Don't overmix!
  • Transfer batter into prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Distribute the apples with the sliced side up on top (see image above).
  • Bake in the lower third of the oven for 45 minutes, until lightly browned and a skewer comes out clean.
  • Transfer to a cooling rack and remove the springform ring. Let cake cool on the bottom of the springform pan to room temperature.
  • Sprinkle powdered sugar over the cooled cake and serve with sweetened whipped cream.

Notes

German Apple Cake (Versunkener Apfelkuchen) is a traditional German dessert that is so easy to make even if you aren’t totally kitchen confident! This easy coffee cake is the perfect fall dessert that tastes best with a dollop of whipped cream on top
TIPS AND TRICKS FOR MAKING GERMAN APPLE CAKE
  • Making small cuts but not cutting through the apples makes them bake quicker. Using a small knife for this work best.
  • You want to fit as many apple quarters as possible in the pan and they should be placed quite snug. This recipe doesn’t make much batter because the batter will rise up and bake around the apples.
  • This cake tastes great warm but it tasted even better the next day in my opinion.
  • You can brush the apples with hot apricot jam after you take the cake out of the oven. This adds a nice shine!
  • You need cake flour for this recipe! If you don’t have it at home you can easily make your own (see below).
*You need cake flour for this recipe. German all-purpose flour equals American cake flour. Using American all-purpose flour in this recipe would result in a dry cake.
HOW TO MAKE CAKE FLOUR FROM ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR
To make cake flour from all-purpose flour, you measure one cup of all-purpose flour, remove two tablespoons flour from the cup and add 2 tbsp cornstarch. Sift the mixture two times to evenly distribute the cornstarch.
1 cup AP flour – 2 Tablespoons AP flour + 2 Tablespoons cornstarch = 1 cup cake flour
* In Germany, vanilla sugar is used instead of vanilla extract. You can buy it on Amazon or make your own.