Apple pie is touted as a traditional American dessert–as traditional as it gets. But America isn’t the only place in the world where the apple is the star component of a delightful traditional dessert. Immediately comes to mind French tarte tartin with its caramel coated apples or Polish szarlotka with it’s crumbly, buttery pastry crust. Here is a photo of a Polish szarlotka, baked by my husband, ruler over all szarlotka baking.
When it comes to the German take on the apple cake, different versions abound. I scoured a mountain of recipes before tumbling on this gem from David Lebovitz’s site (see apfel-marzipan-kuchen). He has a wonderful write-up about this German-Almond apple cake, developed by Luisa Weiss’s in her cookbook, Classic German Baking. This cake is denser than other apple cakes I’ve tried, perhaps from the almond paste that is used. Almond paste is a key ingredient in this cake–elevating it from a regular, everyday snack cake, to a beauty you can serve at a dinner party.
Almond paste, almond paste, oh where art thou, almond paste?! Nope, I didn’t have to go to a far off gourmet store, but just to my local, non-ritzy grocery store. It was one up from the bottom shelf, next to the marzipan, which was next to the pie filling. The stuff is pretty tasty just by itself! I used the whole 8 oz. package, even though the recipe called for a bit less. Not much beats the flavor of almonds in desserts, except maybe hazelnuts and chocolate (read “Nutella”), as my son would attest to.
Here’s a block of almond paste. I broke it up with my fingers into little pieces.
Some of the apples are cut up into pieces to be mixed with the batter, while the rest are cut up into thick slices to adorn the top of the cake. I didn’t quite get the look I wanted on top of this cake. The apples in the middle should have formed a circle. Next time.
So when the cake comes out of the oven, it looks plain.
Ah, but that’s where warmed and strained apricot jam comes into play. Just brush that sweet jam on top and you have a golden, shiny, picture-perfect cake.
A slice of cake (or two) washed down with a fine dessert wine fits the bill on a cold fall or winter’s night.
Servings |
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- 4 medium to large tart apples (e.g., Granny Smith)
- 1 lemon, zest and juice
- 8 ounces almond paste (e.g, Solo brand)
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons confectioner's sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 14 tablespoons butter, melted (1 stick + 6 tablespoons)
- 4 large eggs, lightly beaten with a fork
- 1 1/2 cups cake flour
- 2/3 cup cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/3 cup apricot jam
Ingredients
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- Preheat oven to 350⁰F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- Slice two of the apples into ½ inches slices and place in a bowl with half of the lemon juice. Toss to coat. Chop the other two apples into small cubes and place them in a separate bowl. Sprinkle the chopped apples with the remaining lemon juice and mix with your fingers.
- Break up the almond paste with your fingers and place in a large bowl of an electric mixer. Using the paddle attachment, mix the almond paste, sugars, and salt at medium speed
- Add the melted butter, almond extract, and lemon zest and beat well. Beat in eggs until fully incorporated.
- Meanwhile, combine cake flour, corn starch and baking powder in a separate bowl. After the eggs have been incorporated into the almond paste mixture, stir in the flour mixture by hand or at the lowest speed of the electric mixer. Fold in diced apples.
- Transfer batter into prepared springform pan. Starting at the middle, arrange sliced apples on top of the batter. Press slices slightly into the batter. Bake cake for about 1 hour and 5-10 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the top is golden brown.
- Five minutes before baking is completed, warm jam in a small saucepan and press through a sieve using the back of a spoon. Immediately after removing the cake from the oven, spread or brush strained jam over the top of the cake. Remove sides of the springform pan after the cake has completely cooled. Cut into wedges to serve.
This recipe is adapted from David Lebovitz's post at: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/apfel-marzipan-kuchen-german-apple-almond-cake-recipe/ , and is based on Luisa Weiss’s recipe in her book, Classic German Baking.
2 Comments
Ania,
What an accomplishment. Cathy and I are tremendously impressed. All mouth-watering creations.
I hope that you will share musical talents in the family as well via our email address now supplied.
Affectionately,
David
Thanks so much! I’m thrilled that you are enjoying the website. I hope to delve more into the Early American kitchen and look forward to any historical tidbits you might have come across during your past research. I will share some videos of our piano recordings pronto! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and Mrs. Maxey. Warmest wishes, Ania