Apfelkuchen (German Apple Cake)
One 10” Cake (springform pan required)
Freely adapted from a classic German recipe
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 Tbsp nut flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill Hazelnut Flour)
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp Chinese Five-Spice
½ tsp fine sea salt
1 cup granulated sugar (plus 2 Tbsp more to sprinkle over the apples before baking)
4 ounces almond paste
8 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla paste
2 tsp orange flower water
2 Gala or Pink Lady apples, cored and sliced 1/8” thick
1 ½ cups fresh cranberries
Confectioner’s sugar to dust the finished cake
1) Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
2) Butter a 10” springform pan and line with a circle of parchment that comes 1/2” over the top edge of the pan.
3) Whisk together the flour, nut flour, baking powder, five-spice and salt. Set aside.
4) In a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, mix together the sugar and almond paste until no large lumps of paste remain. Add the butter and cream together on medium speed for 3-5 minutes until smooth.
5) Lower the speed and add the eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl to ensure an even mix. Add the vanilla and orange flour water.
6) While still on low, add the dry mix, a bit at a time, until the mix is smooth again.
7) Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the fresh cranberries (reserving about five to use for garnish). Spread the batter into the prepared pan. It will be thick!
8) Core the apples, cut in half and then into 1/8” slices. I leave them unpeeled. Arrange the apple slices in a circular pattern covering the entire top of the cake. Sprinkle 2 Tbsp sugar over the apples.
9) Bake 50-55 minutes until the cake feel firm and the apples are slightly browned.
10) Let the cake cool in the pan. Before serving, remove the springform ring and dust the top with confectioner’s sugar.
Note – to make candied cranberries – Use a toothpick to pierce and hold each cranberry. Coat the berry with clear corn syrup and then roll in granulated sugar. Set the sugared cranberries on a piece of parchment paper to dry for one hour before using.
