German Apple Almond Cake

A luscious, creamy, typical German apple cake with meringue and cream. A very popular apple almond cake to serve to guests.

ALMOND CREAM CAKE

This apple almond cake is heavenly! I like it so much I could eat three pieces at once.

It is so creamy, yet slightly crunchy thanks to the almonds. It is sweet, yet refreshing due to the apples, it is just amazing. You really have to give it a try, it involves quite a few different steps, but they are all easily managed and the result is really worth it!

I had this almond cream cake for the first time at my friend’s Petra house and I liked it so much I immediately had to have the recipe. I would say it is a typical German kind of cake: a sponge base, fruit with pudding and whipped cream, a reliable, delicious tasting cake, which is sure to make everybody happy.

INGREDIENTS

The German apple almond cake is a cake worthy to serve at any kind of gathering: from simple visits from friends or family to birthday parties either for children or adults.

It is the kind of cake that everybody likes, no fancy ingredients, lots of tangy apples, sweet meringue and comforting whipped cream. Yet, despite its having many layers and a rather long-looking list of ingredients this apple almond cake is really cheap to make.

• You will need the typical cake ingredients like flour, sugar, butter, and eggs to make the batter.
• For the filling and the meringue, all you need are some more eggs, slivered almonds, the apples, a small amount of cornstarch and some vanilla extract.
• The topping is plain whipped heavy cream. You might add the cream stabilizer, if necessary.
• The cream stabilizer is not always necessary, you will have to decide if the whipped cream is stable enough or not.
• The cream stabilizer can be replaced with a mixture of icing sugar and cornstarch in a 1:1 ratio. For the almond cream cake, you will mix 4 teaspoons icing sugar with 4 teaspoons cornstarch and use exactly as described in the recipe.
• If you live in Europe, you can replace the cornstarch with the easily available Dr. Oetker vanilla pudding and cook that with water just as described in the recipe. In this case, halve the needed vanilla extract amount. Otherwise, cornstarch and vanilla extract is perfect.

TIPS FOR MAKING THE APPLE ALMOND CAKE

Always use a kitchen scale when baking. Cup measuring is ok when cooking, but baking requires exact measuring.
Make the German apple almond cake step by step or layer by layer to avoid confusion.

Batter and meringue layer:

• Start with the batter and the meringue. Unlike other cakes, the batter and the meringue are baked together. You will first make the batter, pour it into the prepared springform and immediately make the meringue.
• Make sure to clean the beaters of the handheld mixer thoroughly before making the meringue. Any trace of batter will ruin the meringue, the egg whites will not get stiff.
• Spread the meringue over the unbaked batter in the springform and sprinkle with the slivered almonds.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the batter is cooked through and the almonds are golden about 25-30 minutes.
• The cake needs to be completely cool before you add the apple layer.

Filling:

• While the cake cools make the apple filling.
• Start with the cornstarch mixture. Once cooked pour it into a large bowl and let it cool completely as well.
• Peel and grate the apples. Adding lemon juice prevents them from getting brown.
• Mix the cornstarch pudding with the apples. Taste and add more vanilla extract if you find it necessary. Spread the mixture over the cake.

Topping:

• Whip the heavy cream and spread it over the apple layer.
• Sprinkle with cinnamon, if desired.

Serve:

• Make sure that the filling is set enough before cutting the apple cake.
• Three to five hours should be enough.
• The almond cream cake can be served immediately or be kept in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

MORE GERMAN CAKES

APPLE CRUMBLE CAKE – A soft and moist German apple crumble cake with a crisp crumb topping, a perfect autumn cake recipe.

PASSION FRUIT CHEESECAKE – This passion fruit cheesecake is a typical German cheesecake made with quark and cream.

GERMAN PLUM CAKE WITH STREUSEL – German plum cake or Zwetschgenkuchen with streusel, a standard recipe in any German kitchen or bakery.  

RED CURRANT STREUSEL CAKE – A typical German streusel cake loaded with fresh red currants and topped with a delicious and easy to make coconut streusel.

MANDARIN ORANGE CAKE WITH CREAM – Another mother-in-law typical German recipe, one of my favorite cakes ever!

German Apple Almond Cake

Yield: 12

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes

A luscious, creamy, typical German cake with apples, almond meringue, cream.

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Ingredients

• Batter:
• 100 g/ 3.5 oz/ scant ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 100 g/ 3.5 oz/ 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 eggs, separated (medium Germany, large US)
• 125 g/ 4.4 oz/ 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• Meringue:
• 3 egg whites from the eggs above
• 150 g/ 5.3 oz/ ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 100 g/ 3.5 oz/ scant 1 cup slivered almonds
• Filling:
• 300 ml/ 10 fl.oz/ 1 ¼ cups water
• 150 g/ 5.3 oz/ ¾ cups granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, more to taste
• 40 g/ 1.4 oz/ 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 2 eggs (medium Germany, large US)
• 4-5 apples, depending on size
• 400 ml/ 13.5 fl.oz/ 1 ¾ cups heavy cream
• 2 packets whipping cream stabilizer, optional (See note)
• some cinnamon, optional

Instructions

Batter:

1. Always use a kitchen scale when baking. It ensures the best results.
2. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius/ 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter and flour a springform 26 cm/ 10.2 inches diameter. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites. Set the egg whites aside for the meringue.
3. Beat together the soft butter and the sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the egg yolks, one by one, whisking well in between, until each egg yolk is fully incorporated.
4. In another bowl weigh the flour and the baking powder. Sift them over the butter mixture and carefully fold in. Pour the batter into the prepared springform.
   

Meringue:

1. Wash the beaters of the mixer very well with soap and hot water to remove any rests of the batter you whisked before.
2. Beat the egg whites until quite stiff. Gradually add the sugar and continue whisking until the meringue is stiff again and glossy.
3. Spread the mixture over the batter in the springform and sprinkle with the slivered almonds. Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until the batter is cooked through and the almonds are golden.
4. Leave the cake in the springform for about 15 minutes, then carefully remove and let cool completely on a wire rack.

Filling:

1. Make the filling in the meantime. In a small saucepan bring half of the water to a boil. Whisk the rest of the water with the cornstarch, sugar and vanilla extract until there are no more clumps.
2. When the water boils, take it off the heat, whisk in the cornstarch mixture, place on the hob again and bring it to a boil again while whisking continuously. Add the two eggs while whisking continuously and bring to a boil again.
3. Remove from the heat and leave to cool completely. Peel and grate the apples and mix them with the lemon juice. Add them to the cold cornstarch mixture and fold in. Taste and add more vanilla extract if you find it necessary. Pour the mixture over the cold cake.

Topping:

1. Whisk the heavy cream until stiff (gradually using the stabilizer, if using). Spread it over the cake.
2. Place in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or until the filling is set.
3. Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon just before serving.
   

Notes

The cream stabilizer is not always necessary, you will have to decide if the whipped cream is stable enough or not. The cream stabilizer can be replaced with a mixture of icing sugar and cornstarch in a 1:1 ratio. In this case, you will mix 4 teaspoons icing sugar with 4 teaspoon cornstarch and use exactly as described in the recipe.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1 slice
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 465Total Fat: 25gSaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 133mgSodium: 82mgCarbohydrates: 56gFiber: 3gSugar: 41gProtein: 7g

Nutritional information is not always accurate.