german apple cake

With a hint of sweet and delicious crumble on top, this German Apple Cake is the perfect dessert. Made from just a few simple ingredients like apples and cinnamon, this fancy looking crumble cake is actually fairly easy to make!

German Apple Cake (Apfelkuchen)

butter (at room temperature)

sugar

vanilla extract

all-purpose flour

baking powder

salt

apples

cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Grease and flour a 9.5-inch cake springform pan. You can also line the bottom with parchment paper.

Beat the butter, sugar, and vanilla extract with your hand mixer in a large bowl. Add the egg and beat again.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and a pinch of salt. Add the mixture to the liquid ingredients in small increments while using your hand mixer (and later your hands) on a low setting to avoid the flour from making a mess. You'll have to stop using your mixer about halfway through since the dough will become quite sticky. Just use your hands for the last bit and make sure not to overmix! Stop once everything is well combined and there are no lumps.

Take the dough and roll it out with a rolling pin until it is slightly bigger than your springform pan (you&#39;ll need it for the edge/crust!). Make sure to put some flour on the surface and on the rolling pin first to avoid unnecessary sticking. Alternatively, you can also flatten the dough with your hands, then place it directly in the springform pan and form it to the bottom of the pan and up the sides (for crust). Make sure the dough has an even thickness and also make sure you have an approximately 1.5 inches high edge along the removable ring part of the springform pan (this is the crust).

Peel the apples, remove the cores, and cut them into approx. 1/4-1/2 inch-sized cubes. Place the apple cubes into a bowl, add the cinnamon and mix well. Now evenly place the apple cubes over the cake base.

For the crumbles, mix butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and flour using your hands (not your mixer!). The dough should be quite crumbly but the flour should be fully mixed in with the other ingredients (there should not be a lot of white flour spots). This might take a couple of minutes. If your dough feels too soft/sticky, add slightly more flour until it reaches the desired consistency (this shouldn't happen though).  Rip the dough into small pieces and place it on top of the apples.

Bake the cake for approximately 50 - 60 minutes. Since every oven is different, your baking time might vary slightly. Once the cake is done baking, remove it from the oven and let it cool in the springform pan. Remove the cake from the pan once it has cooled sufficiently.

Gedecketer Apfelkuchen is a super delicious and relatively easy German apple cake recipe that&#39;s similar to an American apple pie in a way that it has a bottom and top crust and an apple pie-like filling, except it&#39;s glazed and really not like pie at all! The kids and I love it and I am sure so will you!

Gedeckter Apfelkuchen: German Apple Pie

flour (plus more for rolling out the dough)

almond flour

eggs (medium)

butter (plus some more for greasing the pan)

kilograms tart apples (Granny Smith work best in my opinion)

lemon (juice only)

sliced almonds

flour

powdered sugar

lemon juice

Prep

Preheat the oven (conventional setting) to 200° C or 390° F. Grease your springform pan with some butter (I also like to use parchment paper on the bottom layer before clipping it in). Knead together all dough ingredients.

Dough

Set aside ⅓ of the dough and roll out the rest in a large circle to cover the inside and some of the sides (about 2 inches tall) of the springform. Poke the bottom crust several times with a fork. Put in the fridge to stay cool.

Make the Dough

Apples

Peel, quarter, remove the core, and cut apples into 1/4 inch wide wedges. Mix with the lemon juice.

Filling

Toast the almond slices or flour in a pan on medium heat, stirring occasionally. Then toss together with the apples and remaining filling ingredients and distribute onto the bottom crust.

Crust

Spread them out and push down on the apples to create a somewhat uniform top. Roll out the top crust and lay over the apples, then cut around the rim and push the edges down (I use a spoon to help get the edges straight.

Bake

Bake for about 50 minutes, then allow cooling completely in the form (about 2 to 3 hours).

Make the Filling

Glaze

Remove the cake from the pan and transfer to a cake plate. Stir together the powdered sugar and lemon juice for the glaze and brush onto the baked top layer.

Garnish

If desired, garnish with more toasted almond slices. If you have any leftover crust, you could also cut out some fun shapes with cookie cutters and garnish the cake with those too. I meant to do that and completely forgot :-D.

Let Cool &amp; Glaze

An old-fashioned German Apple Cake or Apfelkuchen that&#39;s exquisitely delicious and perfectly moist!

unsalted butter (, softened at room temperature)

eggs (, room temperature)

milk

Vanillezucker

Preheat oven to 350 F.   Butter a 10 to 11 inch springform pan or a pan with a removable bottom.

Peel the apples, remove the core, dice/slice them (not too thick), place them in a bowl and stir in a tablespoon or two of lemon juice (to prevent browning).  Set aside until the batter is ready.

In a small bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.  In a large mixing bowl beat the butter, sugar, milk, vanilla extract, and cinnamon until pale and creamy/frothy.  Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly before adding the next egg.  Stir in the flour mixture until combined but don&#39;t over-stir.Pour the apples into a colander and let them drain.  Set aside a few pieces/slices to press into the top of the cake at the end.  Stir the apple pieces into the batter and scoop the batter into the greased pan.  Use the apple pieces you set aside and press them into the top of the batter.  Bake for 40-55 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake until comes out clean.  Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes and then remove it to let it cool completely.

If using the sugar cinnamon or apricot jam toppings (see blog post &quot;Optional Toppings&quot; for instructions), apply it while the cake is hot and then let the cake cool.  If using powdered sugar, sprinkle it over the cake once it&#39;s cooled.  Serve the cake on its own, with some whipped cream, homemade German Vanilla Sauce, or serve it with vanilla ice cream and/or a drizzle of homemade Caramel Sauce.Store the cooled cake in a cake saver or airtight container.  This cake will be even more moist the next day.  Will keep at room temperature for up to 3 days or can be refrigerated a little longer.

Very tasty. A lovely, light, buttery cake. Pairs well with slightly tart apples

Excellent recipe. Comes out just exactly how it should.  I set aside a few apple slices to decorate the top in a pinwheel pattern, (and, I confess, I don't peel the apples. I like the peels, and I slice the apples super thin so they're soft and unobtrusive.) 

I made it to entertain my German S.O., and it disappeared *extremely* quickly.

This has become one of our family's favorite cakes. It's simple to make and the flavor and texture is just wonderful.  We love it and highly recommend!

This was absolutely delicious!  I've been on a German cooking roll lately (just made your sauerbraten, spaetzle, and rotkohl last week - deeelicious!) and your site is always my first stop for all things German.  This German apple cake was scrumptious.  So moist and flavorful.  I used to treat myself to a slice of Apfelkuchen at our local bakery just down the street from us in Wiesbaden and your wonderful recipe took my right back.  Thank you!

What a delicious Apfelkuchen, I had two slices my first serving :)  Danke, danke for this wonderful recipe, Kimberly.

This was so delicious!  It didn't even last the day and my family has already requested it again.  Nice and moist, flavorful, and not too sweet.  A very authentic Apfelkuchen.

This was wonderful!  So moist and flavorful.  Thank you for sharing your recipe.  Not one of them has failed me yet.

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German Apple Cake (Apfelkuchen)

Gedeckter Apfelkuchen: German Apple...

German Apple Cake (Apfelkuchen)

Top 3 german apple cake recipes from across the web

The most viewed german apple cake recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

German Apple Cake (Apfelkuchen)

Gedeckter Apfelkuchen: German Apple...

German Apple Cake (Apfelkuchen)

The most viewed german apple cake recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine