Apple Kuchen (German Apple Cake)
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A traditional German dessert made of a ‘not too sweet’ cake, a layer of fresh apples sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, and drizzled with vanilla glaze. Heavenly!
You guys. Don’t walk, RUN to the store and get yourself the ingredients for this one. It’s simply amazing!
I can’t believe it’s almost October and I hadn’t posted anything with apples yet?
What the heck is wrong with me??
Typically, in my food world – September is for apples and I save the pumpkin for October – but this year I just dove right into it!
This past weekend, we had a big tailgate for our Nebraska Cornhuskers football game against the Oregon Ducks. It also marked the first day of Oktoberfest and my step-dad’s birthday! We grilled Brat Burgers and I needed a dessert that was German and yummy for a birthday.
I went to pinterest and typed in “German Desserts” — lots of them popped up. Then I saw this one and clicked on it before I even realized who’s blog I was headed for. When I landed on Chocolate, Chocolate and More — I knew this recipe would be a winner, and I was right.
My only regret was that it was gone too fast, and I didn’t get a picture of it sliced. But never fear, I will make this one again and make sure that happens! 😉 That’s what you call “taking one for the team.” Ha!
After lining your 9×13 baking dish with parchment paper, spread the cake batter inside. Top with thinly sliced apples and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Bake and drizzle with glaze. Serve warm or cold — it’s truly amazing!
Looking for other German Recipes? Here are my tried and true favorites!
German Onion Pie {Zwiebelkuchen}
Sauerkraut, Bratwurst and Potato Soup
Let’s get to the recipe! 
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Apple Kuchen (German Apple Cake)
Ingredients
- For the Cake:
- 4-5 medium Granny Smith Apples
- 1/2 cup butter room temperature
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups Flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- For the Topping:
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- For the Glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons milk
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper.
- Cream butter and sugar together in your mixer until light and fluffy. Add in eggs one at a time, add vanilla.
- Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
- Add flour mixture and sour cream, alternating, starting and ending with flour. Mixing just until each addition is incorporated into batter.
- Spread batter into prepared pan.
- Peel, core and slice apples into thin slices (about 16 slices per apple) place apples in a single layer across top of batter.
- Combine sugar and cinnamon for topping. Sprinkle over top of apple layer.
- Bake for 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
- Remove cake from oven and let cool 30 minutes.
- Prepare glaze: combine powdered sugar, milk and vanilla, stirring until smooth. Drizzle over top of cake. Serve cake still warm or can be served cooled.
- Store in refrigerator.
I really like the look of this cake. A very fun way to serve it.
My mouth is WATERING! This looks absolutely amazing! Gosh, I love Fall! Thanks for another fantastic recipe my family will LOVE!
This looks absolutely delicious! I am saving this recipe to try!
Our 4-H Teen Cooking group made this recipe and devoured it. It was pretty simple to make and tasted excellent. We have gluten and dairy free members, so we used coconut milk, butter substitute, sour cream substitute, and a gluten-free flour mix. It turned out perfect.
I love this! Perfect for apple season and all things fall. 🙂
I am SO ready for all of the apple desserts! This cake looks amazing and I can’t wait to try it!
I haven’t had a good German Apple Cake in ages. I can’t wait to give this a try. I shall indeed run, not walk, to the shops 🙂
I love that this recipe isn’t too sweet and that the flavors of the apples and spices really come through! Just delicious!
What a heavenly dessert. The sliced apples are so gorgeous laid out on top like this. Faboulous recipe!!
This sounds like my perfect dessert! I’d love a slice right now.
This is the perfect cake for fall…or almost fall! I’m already doing fall baking. This cake had a such warm flavors and wasn’t complicated to make, but it looks like it is. Great recipe, thanks!
This sounds SO good! I’ve been on the hunt for an apple dessert that isn’t pie so this is perfect!
You definitely did dive right in! This cake looks incredible with that cinnamon sugar topping and vanilla glaze!
Oh yeah! You had to at “not too sweet”. I’m crazy about cake, but I love it when it’s lightly sweetened, allowing for other flavors to be realized. This recipe is a winner!
I make this cake twice already, the comments from my family is „“SUPER“. It’s really yummy, thank you for your recipes ❤️❤️?????
Super is a great compliment! Happy you enjoy it!