Swabian Apple Cake

Hailing from Swabia in Germany, Swabian apple cake or Schwäbischer Apfelkuchen is another German dessert perfect for Thanksgiving.  Apfelkuchen or German Apple Cake is something that conjures up memories of Oma’s favorite cake recipe for many Americans. It’s no secret, over the years many German apple cakes have made their way to Thanksgiving tables all across America.

German bakers are the masters of the “less is more” philosophy. Consequently, in many German desserts, a few simple ingredients produce the tastiest results. This allows the true flavor of the star ingredient to shine through.

The Swabian Apple Cake cake is reminiscent a deep dish or mile high apple pie. Its delicious apple, raisin almond filling is covered with a pie-like crust, then covered with a top layer of dough. A hot butter, sugar, and almond combination are poured over the top and baked in. As a result, this step adds sweetness and crunch to the cake.

Mix in a tablespoon or two of liqueur to the apple, raisin, almond filling itself. Calvados, Apple Jack, or any apple brandy, as well as dark rum or whiskey, would all work well.

This recipe is from the Swabian part of Germany. Simple, hearty, unpretentious food is a trademark of that region. The Swabian dialect is often hard to understand even by native German speakers. However, Käsespätzle is also from this region. So a special shoutout to Swabians for this much beloved German “mac-n-Cheese” creation.

Hands down, this is one of the best apple cakes I have ever made. Consequently, I highly recommend it for your holiday table. Also, it is an excellent and delicious way to use up extra apples you may have lying around.

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Swabian Apple Cake

Course Dessert

Cuisine German

Keyword Apple Cake

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Chill Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes

Servings 8

Author Lora Wiley-Lennartz

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-sized pieces divided into 3/4 cup (12 tablespoons) and 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons)
• 1 egg slightly beaten
• 4 medium-sized apples, peeled, cored and sliced into small pieces (I used a combination of Braeburn and Gala apple varieties)
• 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
• 1/3 cup raisins
• 1/3 cup chopped whole raw almonds

Instructions

1. Whisk together flour, 1/4 cup of the sugar and salt.
2. Place dry mixture in a food processor. Add 3/4 cup of the butter pieces and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
3. Pulse in the beaten egg until the dough becomes smooth and forms a ball.
4. Remove the dough ball from the food processor and wrap in plastic cling film. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
5. In a separate bowl, stir together the apple pieces, freshly squeezed lemon juice, fresh lemon zest and half of the chopped almond pieces.
6. Make sure everything is evenly combined. Here is where you would add a tablespoon or two of your favorite liqueur.
7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
8. Grease a 9" springform pan with baking spray or vegetable shortening.
9. Remove the dough ball from the fridge and roll out on a lightly floured work surface into a large circle.
10. Wrap the dough circle around the floured rolling pin and fit it into the greased pan making sure the dough covers the sides of the pan.
11. Spoon the apple, raisin filling combination into the pan.
12. Gather the remaining dough together and once more, roll out into a circle on a floured work surface.
13. Wrap the dough circle around the floured rolling pin and place it over the apple-raisin filling, sealing off the cake. Trim the edges of the dough to fit the pan. Discard the dough scraps or use them to cut out shapes with a cookie cutter to place on top of the cake for decoration.
14. In a small saucepan, heat the remaining 1/4 cup of unsalted butter pieces. When the butter melts, add the remaining 3/4 cups of sugar and stir until combined.
15. When the sugar has liquefied, add the remaining 1/4 cup of almonds and brown them slightly.
16. Pour the hot sugar, butter, almond mixture evenly over the top of the cake.
17. Place the cake in the oven and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until the top crust has caramelized and has turned a lovely brown color.
18. Remove from oven and let the cake cool completely in the pan.
19. Release the cake from the pan, place on a serving platter. Keep at room temperature until ready to serve.

Like this Swabian Apple Cake? Try these other delicious apple cake recipes:

Baked Apple Chocolate Nutella Cake

Apple Cardamom Cake with Caramelized Almonds