German Apple Cake is a favourite in our family! I was given the recipe from my Austrian friend, Karin, when I was in high school, and have been making it ever since. The vanilla cake is studded with delicious slices of apples that have been coated in cinnamon sugar. It is perfect with a cup of tea, and also works well with a scoop of ice-cream or cream for dessert.
German Apple Cake is very easy to make and never fails. It is delicious warm from the oven. It freezes well in an air tight container. Over the years, I have made it with lots of different apple varieties, including granny smiths, gala, and red delicious. You can also substitute pears for the apples for a different flavour.
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar (granulated)
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup plain (all purpose) flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 4 large apples, peeled and cored
- Beat butter, sugar, and eggs. Add flour, baking powder, and vanilla. Mix in well. Pour into a greased and lined springform tin (23 cm diameter/9 inch).
- Slice apples thinly and combine with extra sugar and cinnamon. Arrange slices on top of cake and press in lightly.
- Bake for 50 β 60 mins in 180 deg C (350 deg F) oven. Cool. Serve dusted with icing (confectioners) sugar.
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Check out our other apple recipes:
Barbara says
O my. That sounds delicious! I am definately adding this recipe to my to-try list!
Barbara
Primroses Attic says
Thank you for this recipe. I will try this as soon as I have time.
Rosezeeta.
Britt-Inger says
This recipe is similar to the apple cakes that we have making for long times in Sweden. Thanks for sharing so maybe it could even be called Swedish!!!!
Lot haakt says
Nomnomnomnomnom! That’s what we make in Holland to and is realy very delicous! and is also perfect with a cup of coffee π
You know what I learned from the German? Serving this warm with some (or a lot!) vanillasauce. Nomnomnomnomnom, that is even more delicous π
Laura Maffe says
I have to try this, it looks so yummy!
laura p. says
Molto buona!!!
Complimenti
Ciao, Laura
Sheryl says
Yum! can’t wait to try this recipe…. just stumbled across your blog and wow!!… the last two posts a cake and a gorgeous hand towel, be coming back to visit again… Found your Mary Poppins pic on another blog and thought ooh this looks good, then saw the Eiffel Tower and then German apple cake and thought French or european… imagine my excitement when I saw you girls are in Perth, not so far away after all……;) lovely blog!
Sheryl says
Oops!! disregard that last bit of my comment about Mary Poppins, got totally muddled as to where I found you….lol….
Mina says
Definitely will be trying this!
Pam says
Including this in my recipes. Looking forward to making this very soon!
Handmade in Israel says
This looks so delicious! Your photography is simply stunning!
Kriza says
Thank you for the recipe, it was a great success here, in Hungary too π I will definitely make it again and again and again..
Love your blog, I made your pencil case for my daughter’s teachers as end of year presents, and they LOVE it, and anyone else too, who I presented with one, too!
Thimbelina says
This cake was soooo good…. I made it on the weekend and it was a huge hit!
Finally I have that great apple cake recipe I’ve been searching for…. thankyou both so much! π
Quinn says
My next apple cake! One question: if you plan to freee one of these cakes, do you remove it from the pan and wrap it in foil? And how do you then serve it…just gradually thawed to room temp, or warming the frozen cake in the oven, or…??? Thanks!
sue says
This is excellent! And super easy to make. Very much like the apple cake my mother from Switzerland used to make.
Lilian D. says
I’m baking it right now. I have to say I tried some of the raw batter “by accident.” Even that was delicious—like vanilla gelato! I substituted the recipe w a gluten-free flour. My only concern is that I should’ve doubled the recipe, because it didn’t look like it would be enough for 5 adults. I also only decorated the 9 inch pan with 2 apples. I couldn’t fit anymore.
Lilian D. says
Okay, I used gluten-free baking dough, and my cake looks nothing like your photo! Though it tastes delicious! The sugar coating drench the apples, and one can’t see them at all. It looks more like an apple pancake. It tastes like an apple pancake, too, which is fine with me, because it is super moist and tasty! I would definitely double the recipe.
Andreas Munding says
Thank you very much. This is an excellent recipe, very authentic and amazing great taste. My parents were German and I lived in Southern Germany for 4 years as an adult and this is the real thing! My mom made some too but this more like what you find at a good Konditorei (pastry shop).
My Wife, from the Philippines absolutely loves it too! We ate the whole thing in two sittings and plan on baking a larger one to take to a New Years Party, here in Alabama USA (though I am also a Canadian).
My wife says thank you very much Thank you , Thank you, Thank you. (therefore a big thanks from me for that too).
A Spoonful of Sugar says
Thank you Andreas for the lovely comment! So glad that you and your wife enjoyed the cake. Apple cake is a huge favourite in our home too! Best wishes for the holiday season.
nikki eugor says
curious, I love this cake, but for some reason the bottom and sides get really crisp and dark. is there a way to eliminate that ?
A Spoonful of Sugar says
Perhaps you need to lower the temperature slightly on your oven? The top should caramelise slightly but the bottom is not dark and crisp. Try a lower temperature and I am sure you will get a better result.
Nancy says
I have been searching for an apple cake recipe similar to one we had during a recent trip to Germany. This looks like the one! Can’t wait to try it.