sue weinstein's german apple cake.

The boy and I took a road trip this past Sunday to central Jersey for our annual apple-picking extravaganza.  I have a soft spot for apple picking since it brings to mind romantic strolls through lush orchards and sharing cups of hot apple cider.  Our adventure this past weekend wasn’t quite so cool and fall like but the weather was glorious and I still got to indulge in (cold) apple cider, cider cooked hotdogs, several cinnamon sugar doughnuts, and my fair share of apples.  My head was brimming with apple recipe ideas but before I moved on to the savory and more innovative ideas I felt the need to make something rustic, cozy, and, sweet which led me to this German apple cake.  This simple but elegant cake comes together super quickly.  The base of the cake is a subtly sweet and spiced crust (almost like a crisp cookie!), which perfectly encases the softened apples.   I love this as an afternoon snack with a glass of milk or a cup of tea but it also makes for a wonderful end to casual Sunday dinner, which is how the boy and I enjoyed it. 

Sue Weinstein’s German Apple Cake

This recipe came from my mom’s binder of recipes.  (We share an affinity for storing all recipes we come across online and in magazines that are really great in binders as an additional kind of cookbook – making it into the binder is a big deal!).   I added some ginger and a little more cinnamon to the recipe since I thought it could use a little extra spice and because I love apples with ginger.  The original recipie suggests you use the food processor to make the cake but this can easily be made the old fashioned way (by using a bowl and a wooden spoon!)

Cake Batter

¾ cup sugar

1 cup all purpose flour

4 tablespoons butter, cut into 4 pieces

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 large egg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground ginger

4 large apples (I used a combination of several types)

Cinnamon/Ginger Topping

3 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons melted butter

3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 large egg

Preheat the over to 350 degrees.  Butter well a 9-inch springform pan; set aside.  In a food processor fitted with the metal blade, place all the cake batter ingredients except the apples.  Process until the mixture resembles coarse meal.  Spread evenly on the bottom of the prepared springform pan. 

Peel and seed the apples.  Slice apples into 1/6 inch slices (uniformly thin).  Arrange the slices in layers on top of the crumb mixture.  Bake in the center of the oven for 45 minutes. 

Meanwhile, combine the remaining topping ingredients in the good processor fitted with the same metal blade. Process until smooth.  Remove cake from the oven after 45 minutes and spoon the topping mixture over the apples.  Return to oven and bake 25 to 30 minutes or until the top is firm and lightly browned.