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German Apple Cake

This is a great cake to make if you have extra apples in the house. If you don't have any apples, you can substitute peaches or plums. From the book "Mad Hungry," by Lucinda Scala Quinn (Artisan Books).
Mad Hungry, October 2010
  • Yield Makes 1 8-inch square cake
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Ingredients

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon coarse salt
  • 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 1/3 cups sugar
  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • Juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 3 to 4 tart apples, such as Granny Smith, Cortland, or Winesap

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter an 8-inch square pan or equivalent-size baking dish.

  2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and 1 cup of the sugar. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and beat until combined. Spread the mixture evenly in the prepared pan.

  3. In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1/3-cup sugar with the cinnamon. Squeeze lemon juice into a medium bowl. Peel, core, and slice the apples into the bowl. Add the cinnamon-sugar mixture and toss to thoroughly coat each apple slice. Arrange the apple slices on top of the batter in overlapping rows, pressing lightly into the batter. Bake for 45 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Recipe Reviews

Reviews (3)

  • hellcat
    8 Oct, 2011

    Just realized I baked it at 350 instead of 375. Probably my fault it collapsed. In that case, I will try it again.

  • hellcat
    8 Oct, 2011

    Cake was good....my cake collapsed also. I think I'll go with a different German cake recipe the next time. Not a keeper for me.

  • lemonlovertoo
    20 Oct, 2010

    This rustic cake was very tasty, but I'm not sure why when I took it out of the oven it had colapsed down. I didn't forget the baking powder. Nonetheless, it was still very delicious.