I still had quite some of the apples left I got from my friend, so I thought take advantage of it and introduce you to this delicious covered apple cake. It is a classic German cake, my mother often made for the Sunday afternoon coffee/tea. But it is perfect to be served as dessert with a dollop of (coconut) whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.
But what I like best in this cake is the  wonderfully balanced combination of the slightly sweet, buttery, biscuit like short crust and the soft, medium tart apple filling. And for a long time, it was my favorite birthday cake!  But before we go to the cake,Â
let’s compare apples to apples here for a moment.
You know, apples are a pretty complex matter with all the many varieties available or, for that matter, NOT available. Back in Germany I knew my apples for baking, eating, juicing or making apple sauce or Apfelmus as we call it in German. And it varied depending on what part of the country I was living at the time. But the perfect baking apple had to be tart and full of apple aroma for my grandmothers “Apfel Strudel” or this delicious covered German apple cakes. And not just tart or sour like Granny Smiths, if you know what I mean!
When I came to Colorado, I did not know what kind of apples to use for baking. So, I did some research. But I have not found my “ideal” baking apple – yet! I a looking for a tart apple with an intense apple taste that keeps its shape with baking and is not getting mushy or turns into apple sauce.
A good list of “comparing apples to apples” I found here. But unfortunately, I did not find any of the varieties she recommended for baking in the grocery stores or farmers markets here in Colorado. I was told that there are so many wonderful heirloom varieties grown in Washington and in California. But what about here in Colorado?
I really do need your help here.
I would love to get your recommendations for a good, tart and tasty, preferably locally Colorado grown, apple for baking. Or, maybe you are using a combination of apples? I would love to learn and know.
You can shoot me an email at magdalena@handfulandapinch.com or even better, leave a commend and share your favorite apple for baking with all of us? Would you?
Now, let’s get to this delicious covered apple cake. Â
For this covered apple cake, I was using the apples I still had, locally grown here in Colorado. This time I peeled the apples and cut them in 3/4″ cubes and covered them immediately with the lemon juice to prevent them from browning.
For the crust, is the same short crust I used for my apple tart.
If you are making a small cake as I did for the cake above (in a 6″ springform pan), it is the perfect amount of dough for the crust and the cover. That’s good for about four pieces of cake and you are using about 4 – 5 medium apples.
But, if you have a bigger family or lots of friends you want to share this cake with, you need a bigger cake, right! The recipe below is perfect for a 9″ – 10″ springform  pan or a quarter sheet pan 9″x 13″ and about 8-10 pieces.
Wanna decorate the top?
If you have a little bit of dough left, you can roll it out and with a small cookie cutter make some heart-shapes. And use the egg wash to “glue” them on top of the cover layer. In case you are planning to bake this cake for the holidays, just cut stars, moon or tree-shapes instead.
I would love to hear how you like this cake. Just leave a comment underneath. And if you baked it, take a picture and post it on Instagram with #handfulandapinch  to share it with our community. I am looking forward to see your creations.
covered apple cake
a classic German apple cake my mother used to make, a perfect balance of a slightly sweet, buttery, biscuit like short crust and a soft, slightly tart apple filling
Ingredients
short crust for a 9"-10" springform pan or a 1/4 sheet pan
- 3 C 330 g white spelt flour you can use GF flour if needed or any pastry flour
- 2 sticks 225 g very cold butter cut in small cubes
- 1 extra-large egg or 2 small eggs
- 1/2 C 110 g sugar or coconut sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp vanilla powder or lemon zest from 1 organic lemon
filling
- 7-8 or medium apples 6 C apples cubed
- 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
- 1/2 C 75 g dried unsweetened cranberries or raisins
- 1/2 C apple sauce unsweetened
- 1/3 C 50 g coconut sugar or brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp Ceylon cinnamon powder I prefer the milder more subtle Ceylon cinnamon over the cassia or Vietnamese cinnamon
- 1/4 C 50 g biscuit or graham cracker crumbs
egg wash
- 1 medium egg
- 1 Tbsp. heavy cream or Half+Half
glaze
- 1 C powder sugar
- 1 1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice
Instructions
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pre-heat the oven to 350 F / 175 C
short crust (can be made days in advance)
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in a food processor add the flour, sugar, salt and vanilla (or lemon zest) and puls a few times to mix well
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add the cold butter cubes and pulse until it resembles coarse meal
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add the XL egg (or 2 small eggs) and mix but do not overwork! It should still look crumbly.
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take a few crumbs and check if they stick together. That's when it's ready.
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pour the dough onto the kitchen surface and quickly push it together. Do not knead!
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now divide the crust - 1/3-rd of the dough for the cover and 2/3-rd for the crust. Cover both discs with bee's wax wrap (to avoid plastic) and chill for minimum 30 minutes or overnight.
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top layer: to make exactly the size of the cover flour a bee's wax wrap and roll the smaller disc almost to the baking pan's diameter. Now use the rim of the baking pan and push the dough with your fingers right to the edges. Take off the baking rim, cover the crust with a second bee's wax wrap and place it flat in the fridge until you need it.
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butter the baking pan bottom and sides
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to make the bottom and side crust use the rest 2/3rd short crust. Pull parts of the crust and with your hands push the dough onto the bottom to cover the bottom and about 1 1/4" (3 cm) up the rim and a thickness of about 1/4 ".
Place the baking pan in the fridge while preparing the filling.
filling
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wash, peel, core and cut the apples to about 3/4" (1.5cm) cubes and cover them with the lemon juice
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in a medium bowl mix the apples with the dried cranberries, unsweetened apple sauce, brown sugar, and cinnamon
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take the baking pan with the crust from the fridge and cover the bottom of the crust with the biscuit/graham cracker or bread crumbs to soak up the excess juice from the apples
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bounce the pan once or twice on the work surface to help the filling settle. The apples should be up to the rim of the crust
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now bring the cover crust from the fridge. Remove the top wax wrap. Now remove the other wax wrap and with your fingers gently push down the edges of the cover onto the edges of the crust sides
egg wash
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mix the egg with cream or Half+Half to make the egg-wash and brush onto the top layer. This adds a nice shine and adds browning.
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bake the cake for ~60 minutes until the top and edges are golden brown. Take it out of the oven and let it cool for about 10 minutes. After those 10 minutes use a sharp knife to cut around the edges to loosen the cake from the rim to keep the edges intact.
glaze
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in a small bowl mix the lemon juice with the powder sugar to a homogeneous glaze while the cake is cooling. After you removed the rim, brush the glaze evenly onto the top and sides of the cake. Or, just dust some powder sugar onto the cake before serving
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you can enjoy the cake slightly warm as dessert or cooled with coffee or tea. It goes really well with (coconut) whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice-cream
hi, i am magdalena and I'm so happy you are here to share my passion for mindful vegetarian cooking and a creative life.