sisters irma and lisa, dear customers kindly shared
their german apple cake recipe…
beautifully written out by hand and mailed.
how sweet and thoughtful is that?
unlike anything i have baked before…
not like the cakes we know, not quite a tart, not a pie,
crisp or cobbler…it is so lovely!
not too sweet, but rich and quite sophisticated...
maybe because it is european?
it looks a little rustic…which i love.
the pastry is like a shortbread crust.
and the idareds are that perfect flavour and texture.
more fruit than anything…good for an apple farmer i love!
here is their recipe:
german apple cake
you will need a 26cm spring form pan
the dough
250 g all purpose flour 1 1/3 cup
120 g unsalted butter 1/3 cup
80 g sugar 1/3 cup
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
dry breadcrumbs 2 ish tablespoons
the apples
1 kg tart apples about 6 or 7 idared apples
(cortland, jonagold, or mutsu will work too)
60g sugar and cinnamon mixture 1/4 cup or less
the streusel
butter crumb topping
300 g all purpose flour 1 2/3 cup
175 g sugar 1/2 cup plus 1/3 cup
1 package of dr.oetker’s vanilla sugar.
*i always have a vanilla bean in my sugar jar,
so i didn’t add this. it is 1 tablespoon extra
1 teaspoon of the sugar and cinnamon mixture
125g cold unsalted butter a generous 1/2 cup
this topping is enough for 3 or 4 cakes…
it keeps well stored in a tightly closed glass jar in the fridge.
to make the dough
sift flour and baking powder onto pastry board or flat surface.
make a well in the centre.
combine eggs and sugar
pour this into the well and mix a little flour into the center to make a thick paste.
cut cold butter into small pieces over the the egg and sugar paste.
put a little flour over the butter.
this will keep the butter from sticking to your hands.
irma wrote that it is very important to work with cold hands.
don’t hold the dough too long in your hands
or the dough will be too soft.
work all the ingredients together to form a soft smooth dough.
*i was a little afraid of all this getting the dough too warm thing
and combined the ingredients with my big flat scraper tool to start.
my dough never looked soft and smooth,
but the ingredients were combined and looked polka dotted with butter.
it is quite a dry dough but irma assured me that it is ok
because it will absorb some of the apple juice too!
roll out the dough to a circle about 1 inch larger than the pan
carefully place it in the baking pan.
press dough to the bottom and sides and with a fork
pull excess dough up the sides to crimp.
i patched extra pieces into the sides to fill in gaps and even up the height.
*you don’t want the sides too tall or they will burn.
prick the bottom with a fork several times.
sprinkle breadcrumbs lightly over the bottom.
let stand in a cool place for 2 hours. *i put it in the fridge.
streusel butter crumbs
combine the flour and sugars
cut butter into small pieces and cut further into
the flour and sugar mixture.
prepare the apples
wash, peel and core the apples.
slice in halves and then in 3 sections
and slice each section 1 cm along the top but not through.
place sections along the edge of the pan and
continue until the form is fully covered.
fill any empty spaces with small apple pieces.
*this will be covered..so it doesn’t have to look pretty...
much to my chagrin
take a piece of cold hard butter and rub on each apple.
sprinkle with the cinnamon and sugar mixture.
cover the apples with about 1 cup of the streusel butter crumbs.
*this looks really dry...but it will combine with the delicious
juices and make a lovely topping!
bake
bake in the low or middle rack of your oven at
177˚c 350˚f convection or 200˚c 400˚f for 45 minutes.
*400˚ seemed too high...i baked mine at 350˚in a regular oven.
if the apples are not yet soft, bake for 15 minutes more.
when done, remove from oven and remove side ring.
let the cake rest for a few minutes and slide it from the base.
*i have a glass bottom pan and kept mine on it.
enjoy warm with a friend... or the next morning for breakfast!
i did both!
thank you so much irma and lisa!
i now have a new favourite dessert to share.
happy thanksgiving…
enjoy the long weekend!
