German Apple Cake (Apfelkuchen)

• servings: 8
• total time: 1.5 hours

Ingredients

130 grams (1 cup) all-purpose

3 large eggs, room flour, plus more for the pan temperature

1½ teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

214 grams (1 cup) white

2 small Granny Smith apples sugar, plus 2 tablespoons (about 12 ounces total), for sprinkling peeled, cored and halved

lengthwise

4 ounces almond paste, broken into rough ½-inch

Powdered sugar, to serve

pieces

¼ teaspoon table salt

8 tablespoons (1 stick)

salted butter, cool room

temperature

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 375°F with a rack in the middle position. Mist a 9-inch spring-form pan with cooking spray, then dust with flour: tap out the excess. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder.

2. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix the 214 grams. (1 cup) sugar, almond paste and salt on low until the paste has broken into crumbly bits, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the butter and mix until combined, about 30 seconds. Increase to medium-high and beat until the mixture is pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed. Reduce to medium, then add the eggs, one al a time, beating for about 20 seconds after each addition.

3. Scrape down the bowl, then add the vanilla and continue mixing on medium until well-combined, about 2 minutes, Reduce to low, add the flour mixture and mix just until the batter is evenly moistened, about 10 seconds; it will be thick. Using the spatula, scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl and give the batter a few folds to ensure no pockets of butter or flour remain. Transter to the prepared pan and spread in an even layer, smoothing the surface.

4. Slice each apple half into ⅛-inch-thick

half circles; do not separate the slices.

With your hand, gently press down on

each half to fan the slices. Divide the

fanned apples into 8 equal portions

without undoing the fanned effect. Slide

a thin spatula or butter knife under the apples, then slide the slices off the spatula near the outer edge of the cake with the slices fanning outward from the center. One at a time, position another 6 sets of slices on the cake, creating an evenly spaced spoke pattern. Place the last set of apple slices in the center. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar evenly over the top.

5. Bake until the edges of the cake are deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Run a paring knife around the inside of the pan to loosen, then remove the pan sides. Serve warm or at room temperature; dust with pow- dered sugar just before serving.

Notes

Start to finish: 1½ hours, plus cooling / Servings: 8

Apfelkuchen, or apple cake, is a classic German sweet of which there are numerous versions. We were particularly fond of Luisa Weiss' recipe in "Classic German Baking," which is her adaptation of a recipe she found on a package of almond paste. Almond paste gives the cake's crumb a custardy richness, a moist, tender texture and a pleasant- but not overpowering-almond fragrance and flavor. Tangy-sweet sliced apples are fanned on top of the batter and baked into the surface to elegant effect. You will need an apple corer to punch out the cores from the apples before halving them. If you don't own one, halve the apples, then notch out the cores with a paring knife. This recipe was developed with a conventional-not nonstick- springform pan. If yours is nonstick or otherwise has a dark finish, to prevent overbaking, heat the oven to 350°F and begin checking for doneness on the low end of the time range.

Don't use marzipan in place of the almond paste. Marzipan is sweeter than almond paste. Also, make sure the almond paste is fresh and pliable, not dried out and hard, or it won't break down properly during mixing. The apples can be peeled, cored and halved before you make the cake batter, but don't slice the apple halves until the batter is in the pan. If sliced sooner, the apples may discolor.