German Apple Cake

This German Apple Cake is rich, moist, loaded with apples and flavored with almond paste and extract. As much as I love a good old apple pie, this apple almond cake is my new favorite apple dessert of the season.

This apple almond cake is my version of a popular German dessert called Apfel Marzipan Kuchen, which simply means Apple Almond Paste Cake. I based my recipe mainly off of Dave Lebovitz’s with inspiration from several other recipes I read.

Two of the major ingredients are butter and almond paste, making it incredibly moist with that bitter almond forward flavor. If you’re a fan of apple muffins and almond croissants, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll love this cake.

One tip I took from Dave is brushing the hot, out-of-the-oven cake with apricot jam. This step definitely seems French in influence. The apples become beautifully glazed with a little added sweetness and acidity. Quite a few recipes I read involve dusting cinnamon sugar on the top instead, so I decided to add cinnamon into the cake. That along with less almond extract, more salt, vanilla extract and a swap out of lemon zest for orange zest made this apple almond cake my own.

Did I mention the apples in this cake? I used honey crisp which were really tasty, but I’m sure a number of varieties of seasonal apples would be delicious. There are actually both diced up apples folded into the cake and sliced apples shingled on top, making this cake full of apples in every bite. I think this would be a beautiful addition to a Thanksgiving table and also happens to make a great breakfast item along with some coffee or tea. And hey, who doesn’t want an excuse to eat cake for breakfast.

German Apple Cake

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• Author: Sabrina Russo
• Prep Time: 50 minutes
• Cook Time: 70 minutes
• Total Time: 2 hours
• Yield: 1 cake, 10 servings 1x

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Description

This German Apple Cake is rich, moist, loaded with apples and flavored with almond paste and extract.

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Ingredients

• 4 medium apples (~1 ¾ lb), peeled, cored
• 1 lemon
• 7oz almond paste
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 14 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for pan
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• ½ tsp orange zest
• ½ tsp almond extract
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup + 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
• ½ cup + 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp heaping kosher salt
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ cup apricot jam

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Instructions

1. Heat oven & prep pan: Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch round springform pan. Line bottom with parchment and butter again.
2. Cut apples: Slice 2 apples into 1/3 inch thick slices. Cut the remaining 2 apples into ½ inch cubes. Keep separate. Toss with lemon.
3. Beat almond paste & sugar: Grate almond paste on a box grater into the bowl of a standing mixer. Add sugar and beat, using the paddle attachment, until beginning to look paste-like.
4. Add wet ingredients: Drizzle in melted butter while slowly mixing. Increase speed to combine completely. Incorporate eggs one at a time, beating over medium speed. Beat in zest and extracts until combined.
5. Mix dry ingredients: In another bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (flour through cinnamon). This can be done while the sugar and almond paste are mixing. Incorporate dry ingredients into wet ingredients in 3 additions. Do not over mix. Gently fold in chopped apples.
6. Place in pan: Transfer to the prepared springform pan. Starting in the center and working outwards, shingle the sliced apples on top of the cake in a spiral pattern.
7. Bake: Place in center rack of oven and bake approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
8. Brush with jam: While the cake is still hot, warm the apricot jam for about 20-30 seconds in the microwave, or until fluid. Push through a sieve to remove any chunks. Brush warm jam over top of cake.
9. Remove from pan: After about 10 minutes, run a knife along the sides of the cake and remove the ring of the springform pan.
10. Cool: Cool completely over a wire rack. Remove bottom of springform pan and parchment. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream, if desired. Enjoy.

Notes

This recipe was adapted from David Lebovitz.

• Category: Dessert
• Method: Bake
• Cuisine: German

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 slice (1/10 of cake)
• Calories: 421
• Sugar: 48.5 g
• Sodium: 151.6 mg
• Fat: 23.8 g
• Saturated Fat: 11.2 g
• Carbohydrates: 48.5 g
• Fiber: 3.2 g
• Protein: 6.3 g

Keywords: german apple cake, apple almond cake, german apple almond cake