German Apples & Cream Cake
One of my favorite parts about having this blog is getting to share pieces of my childhood with you all! That’s exactly what this recipe is about: my mom’s sweet and nostalgic apple cake. I have an endless list of things I admire about my mom, but among the top is how she always finds a way to put wholeness and simplicity at the core of her cooking. We did not have a fancy kitchen growing up so I mean it when I say this is the kind of recipe anyone can make. No fancy tools or ingredients required here. We would make this on Saturday mornings, so we could be sure to have something sweet for the whole weekend with just enough left over for Monday mornings.
You read the title right - there is no batter! You won’t have to worry about creaming, alternating ingredients, resting and so on. This cake is a perfect balance of creamy and crumbly. A simple apple custard filling encased in a sweet, buttery crust; this cake is the true definition of rustic. Just in case you are having a “this is too good to be true” moment (just like I did), I included some photos of what the process should look like so you can easily follow along. They featuremy mom’s hands so you know it was made with love! I am pretty sure you already have all of the ingredients. So what are we waiting for? Let’s get started!
A few notes before jumping in…
Use your favorite type of apple! There is no correct, “chosen” apple for this recipe. Gala apples are my go-to!
All you need is a cake pan, a bowl, a fork and a countertop to make this happen.
This recipe offers two portions of dough crust. You can freeze any remaining dough for up to 3 months, just be sure to thaw before using. The dough is versatile and you can even use it to make shortbread cookies!
Flour your hands before working with the dough!
Our Ingredients…
2 large eggs
1 stick unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1 extra stick of unsalted butter, melted
3 cups of all purpose flour, plus a spoonful extra for the filling
2 cups of sugar (to be used for both the dough and filling)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon of vanilla
ground cinnamon
Zest of half a lemon
4 apples, peeled
8 ounces of sour cream
Instructions
Let’s make the crust! Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a clean counter top, layer 3 cups of flour, 1 1/2 cups of sugar, baking powder, and salt onto a small pile. use your fingers to lightly combine and create a well. Add one egg and your vanilla to the center of the well. Next, add dollops of your softened butter around it (pictured above). Now using your hands, get messy and combine into a ball! Wrap in plastic wrap and place it in the freezer for a quick 10-15 minutes. We’ll move onto out next steps in the meantime.
To make the cinnamon sugar mix, combine 3 tablespoons of cinnamon with 1/2 cup of sugar. Next, cut your peeled apples into 1/4” slices.
Prepare the cake pan. Remove the dough from the freezer and cut in half. Save the remaining half for a rainy day! After flouring your hands, work the dough a bit to soften it up. Place it in the center of a buttered cake pan, and use your thumb to press the dough in, upwards against the inner rim of the pan. Poke a few holes into the dough using a fork.
Add your sliced apples. Place the apples in an even layer across the dough. If you have any extra apples stack new layers on top of one another. Sprinkle about 3 tablespoons of your cinnamon sugar mix over the top, save some of the mix for later!
Time to make the filling. In a separate bowl, use a whisk to combine sour cream with 1 egg, 2 tablespoons of flour, 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder, lemon zest, 1/2 tsp of vanilla, and a generous amount of your remaining cinnamon sugar mix. While continuing to whisk, add your melted butted to this mixture. Once fully combined, pour this mixture over your apples.
Bake, cool and serve! Bake for 40-45 minutes, until the top is golden and no batter is left on the utensil when poking into the cake. Cool for 10 minutes, garnish with your cinnamon sugar and enjoy! I love to serve it with a dollop of fresh homemade whipped cream or French vanilla ice cream.
