German Sunken Apple Cake (Versunkener Apfelkuchen)
Slices of sweet-tart apple bake to tender perfection inside a moist, buttery vanilla cake. A simple, delicious way to enjoy the bounty of fall.
Servings 15
Equipment
- 9×13-inch baking pan
- 2 medium bowls
- large mixing bowl
- kitchen scale
- electric mixer
- sharp knife
Ingredients
- 250 g flour
- 7.5 g Backpulver see notes
- 200 g sugar
- 14 g Vanillezucker see notes
- 224 g butter room temperature
- 5 eggs room temperature
- 5 apples cored, halved lengthwise, and thinly sliced
- Rum apple juice, or cider for soaking apples, optional
- Sugar or cinnamon sugar for sprinkling optional
Instructions
- Combine the flour and Backpulver in a medium bowl; set aside.250 g flour, 7.5 g Backpulver
- Combine the sugar and Vanillezucker in a second medium bowl; set aside.200 g sugar, 14 g Vanillezucker
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Slowly add the sugar mixture and beat until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating to combine after each addition.
- Gradually add the flour mixture and mix just until incorporated.
- Spread the batter evenly in a 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Press the apple slices vertically into the batter, with the cut edges down and the curved edges facing up.
- If desired, sprinkle the surface lightly with sugar or cinnamon sugar.
- Bake until golden and the center springs back lightly when touched, about 50 minutes in a glass pan. See notes for metal pans.
- Allow to cool before slicing and serving. Store leftovers tightly wrapped in the refrigerator.
Notes
- Pan: If using a metal 9×13-inch pan instead of glass, expect the cake to bake about 10 minutes faster. Begin checking for doneness around 35 minutes; mine were fully baked closer to 40 minutes.
- Backpulver: German baking powder can be replaced with standard American baking powder. Do not substitute baking soda.
- Vanillezucker: German vanilla sugar can be replaced with 1 teaspoon vanilla extract added with the wet ingredients.
- Apples:
- The apples should be small or "lunch box" size if shopping in the United States - the loose, bulk apples in American stores are much larger and you will need fewer of them.
- The apple slices may be used as-is or soaked in rum, apple juice, or cider before adding them to the cake. I tested soaking the slices in cider just while mixing the cake batter and overnight - both options worked well. I would stick to the shorter soak if using rum.