Last Updated on November 24, 2020 by Chef Mireille
Versunkener Apfelkuchen – German Sunken Apple Cake is a show stopper dessert fit for any special occasion and done in under an hour. The perfect holiday dessert or when you need a quick sweet treat!
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Are you a baker or a decorator or both? Cake decorating is an art that takes both practice to develop these skills and patience. With time, I could probably develop the first. However, patience is a virtue I am low on.
Can you bake a mean cake that maybe doesn’t always look as good as it tastes without the pretty decorations? Well, you are not alone!
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I don’t consider myself the most artistic of bakers. Sure I can bake cakes, cookies and pastries, but have you noticed the lack of frosted cakes here? I try to get away with it by making glazes that I can just pour over the cakes – way simpler.
What if I could introduce you to a cake that would wow your guests but is super easy and simple – No difficult techniques like fluting pastry and done in under an hour? This German Sunken Apple Cake fits the bill.
What’s great is this cake is the decoration itself. All it needs is a little powdered sugar on top if you like and decorating done!
So when you need a show stopper cake for holidays like Christmas right, this German Sunken Apple Cake is perfect!
If you still haven’t baked up your Christmas desserts, consider this cake. With basic ingredients but a WOW look to the end product, this is the cake for every special occasion.
If you’d like, you can garnish it with some powdered sugar when it comes out of the oven, but so not necessary.
Here are a few other showstopper cake recipes you might like to try!
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- Saffron Ricotta Cake
- Cuca de Banana – Brazilian Banana Crumb Cake
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- Baath – Indian Semolina Coconut Cake
- Chocolate Chestnut Tea Cake
- Banana Upside Down Cake
Easy Weekday Cake
As many of you know, my family is originally from the Dutch Caribbean and half my extended family now lives in the Netherlands, 3 generations in!
With the Netherlands and Germany as neighbors, many of the recipes and especially delicious cakes and desserts, easily get enjoyed over the border! Cakes like these are often referred to as Mittwochskuchen or midweek cakes. They are so quick and easy to put together they can easily be made during the week.
When I visit my family in the Netherlands, this cake often makes an appearance for our evening snack, usually had about 2 hours after dinner with a cup of tea.
This is the perfect cake to serve for a weekday birthday or really just when you want to whip something sweet and delicious but don’t want to spend yours in the kitchen.
What should you serve German Sunken Apple Cake with?
- fresh whipped cream
- vanilla ice cream
So let’s see what we need…
Ingredients
- 3 apples
- 1 lemon
- butter
- sugar
- vanilla extract
- eggs
- salt
- whole wheat pastry flour
- baking powder
- milk
- raw brown sugar
- powdered sugar
TO REMEMBER
Butter needs to be room temperature, so take it out in advance to make this cake as soon as you’re ready!
Suggested Tools:
This is a fork and knife cake, so definitely fit for those fancy shmancy occasions!
Such a delicious and pretty cake needing no fancy decorations.
Versunkener Apfelkuchen – German Sunken Apple Cake
Ingredients
- 3 apples peeled, cored and quartered
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 8 tablespoons softened butter
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 3 eggs
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups whole wheat pastry flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 2 tablespoons raw brown sugar Demarara
- Powdered sugar optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a springform pan with non stick spray.
- Slice the apples ¾ of the way through, leaving the base attached. Toss apples the lemon juice.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and creamy.
- Add vanilla extract and lemon zest. Mix until combined.
- Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- In a medium bowl, combine salt, flour and baking powder. Mix to combine.
- Add dry ingredients to batter in 2 batches, mixing well after each addition.
- Add milk and mix until thoroughly combined.
- Transfer batter to prepared pan and spread in an even layer.
- Place apples on top of the batter, pressing slightly into the batter.
- Sprinkle demarara sugar on top.
- Bake for 45 minutes, until a tester inserted comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
- Remove the outer shell of the springform pan.
- Garnish with powdered sugar on top, if desired.
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Your description surely sold this dish to me, wish I can work on eggless options now..very beautifully baked Mir!
you can use any basic eggless yellow cake recipe you have and just add the lemon flavoring
Mir I love it. Fits my skill sets perfectly.
exactly it looks so fancy but so easy to put together
What a beauty ! Perfectly baked cake , love the flavors and yes the cake looks pretty artistic !
A merry Christmas to you as well .
thank you so much
Such a gorgeous and beautiful cake. How soft it looks. Very attractive cake to enjoy for an evening snacks.
thanks – yes perfect with a cup of tea
That is a show stopper cake Mir. Looks absolutely amazing. Pinned!!
doesn’t it and yet so easy to put together!
Those sunken apples on top of cake looks divine.
thanks – its a great show stopper cake
This is awesome. I like the apples sunken into the cake. Bookmarking this recipe to try it out soon
I am sure you are going to love it
Your cake looks so delicious. Adding apples into the batter sounds such a cool idea. Be great eaten warm with cream or custard.
ooh what a fab idea. I am sure this would be delicious with some custard!
What a lovely bake. Though I have baked apple cake before, this us totally different. Specifically I loved the way you have arranged the apples. And yes, I am not a big fan of cakes with icing. This ll be my choice for sure.
a girl after my own heart – I am so NOT an icing or frosting person either!
Love the simplicity of the cake and the way apples have. sunk into the cake. A great bake for Fall and the holidays.
yes as its apple season, the perfect time to make this cake!
I love fall for the apples! One of my favorite fruit to cook with and this apple cake sounds delicious. Such an elegant looking cake and those apple pieces on top is beautiful!
Thank you. I couldn’t agree more 🙂
Cake looks brilliant mir! though i can do a bit of frosting on cakes, but i love simple cakes that doesnt need any cream on top, love how you have arranged the apples on top, makes it more pretty!
I have seen some of your cakes – definitely a better decorator than I!
Such a beautiful cake, I can’t wait to try it. Loved the sunken apples on top.
I am sure you are going to love not only the way it looks but the delicious taste.
Such a beautiful bake Mireille. I too don’t like frosting and am so bad at decorating cakes. However, naturally attractive cakes like yours are a winner anytime.
I couldn’t agree with you more 🙂