German-style apple cake (Apfelkuchen-inspired)
🍰❄️🤔 Did you know that homemade apple cakes freeze well? Either whole or portioned, allow apple cake to completely cool, wrap it well, pop it in the freezer, and keep it there until you’re ready to serve (for up to 4 months-ish). This zero-waste hack from Grandma Sita is a valuable addition to any household. So let’s bake delicious German-style apple cake!
🌱🇩🇪 Ellen joined A Grandchild in My Kitchen, Grandma Sita’s plant-based cooking consists of twisting worldwide family dishes into plant-based meals, and they baked Ellen’s family recipe that combines apples with a rich yeast dough and streusel over the top like most traditional cakes the ingredients are simple but the outcome is wonderful.
🍎😋 This plant-based recipe is inspired by the popular Apfelstreuselkuchen (apple streusel cake), a classic German dessert. There is no standard recipe, each German family twitches it according to their taste buds.
INGREDIENTS
6 apples, cut into quarters/halves
*For the yeast dough I.
500g flour
⅛ l plant-based drink (water is also fine)
30g yeast
*For the yeast dough II.
⅛ l plant-based drink (water is also fine)
1/2 50g plant-based butter/margarine
100g honey or sugar
A bit of salt
*For the crumbles
400g flour
200g cold plant-based butter/margarine
200g sugar
Tip: You can use rhubarb, apricots, plums, or other fruit instead of apples. But Ellen loves this cake when there is a sweet and sour contrast.
METHOD
*For the yeast dough I.
1. Put the flour into a bowl and create a small deepening in the middle.
2. Mix the yeast into ⅛ l lukewarm plant-based drink. Then cautiously pour the mixture into the deepening.
3. Knead some of the flour with the yeast milk mixture until it becomes a thick paste. Sprinkle some flour on top and let it sit for 15 minutes.
*For the yeast dough II.
1. Blend the butter, honey/sugar, and salt into ⅛ l lukewarm plant drink.
2. Pour this mixture into the risen dough.
3. Knead everything to a smooth consistency and let it sit for 45min.
*To cut the apples
1. While waiting for the dough, cut (and peel if necessary) the apples into quarters or halves.
*To prepare the crumbles
1. Put all ingredients into a bowl and carefully knead them into more or less even crumbles.
*To assemble the cake
1. Spread the dough onto an oiled and floured baking sheet on a baking tray.
2. Place the pieces of apples on top. Then spread the crumbles evenly.
3. Bake the cake at 180C in the preheated oven for about 35-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
4. Let stand 10 minutes before serving, and Bon appetite!
👵💚 Grandma Sita’s tips:
*Apple is a common fruit in German baking. But for this recipe, you can substitute with pears, apricots, plums, or peaches, and have fun experimenting.
*To thaw an apple cake, transfer wrapped pieces from the freezer to the refrigerator a day ahead of serving although cake generally thaws within 8 hours.
📗Apple cakes are a common and popular dessert worldwide and have a huge number of variations. Apples are used in cakes to add moisture and sweetness, often as a partial substitute for refined sugar.
🚜 Apples are the most popular fruit all year long, but especially during peak season from August to November. There are more than 7,500 known cultivated varieties of apples. Fresh, locally produced apples, are a good reason to visit your local market!
♻️ Apples are often hailed as one of the world’s top popular fruits, but 1.3 million apples are thrown away each year, contributing to climate change. So next time think twice about tossing extra apples into the trash and consider how to use them, share them, compost them, or just like Grandma Sita and Ellen, bake a yummy apple cake, not waste!