Description
A classic German cake my grandma already loved to bake: a simple & easy Apple Sauce Crumb Cake. Loaded with apples and super delicious!
Ingredients
For the apple sauce:
about 30–32 oz. (850-900g) apples
1 tbsp. lemon juice
some water
For the streusels:
12.4 oz. (350g) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (150g) sugar
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 pinch of salt
7.8 oz. (220g) cold butter, in pieces
For the filling:
about 26.5 oz. (750g) of the apple sauce
1.6 oz. (45g) cornstarch
1 tsp. apple pie spice
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 medium-sized apples, diced
some sliced almonds (optional)
Instructions
1. Start with the apple sauce. Peel the apples, cut them into quarters, remove the cores, and then cut them into small pieces. There should be about 28 oz. of apples left after peeling. Add the apple pieces together with lemon juice and a bit of water to a small saucepan and heat up. Let the apples simmer over medium-high heat for about 10-12 minutes, stirring regularly. The apples get soft and partly falling apart. Remove the saucepan from the heat and purée the apples using an immersion blender* – it’s fine if there are some larger pieces visible here and there. Let cool down completely. The apple sauce can be prepared in advance and then stored in the fridge.
2. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line round a 9-inch baking tin with a loose bottom* with baking parchment and grease lightly. Set aside.
3. For the streusels, mix the flour with the sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add the cold butter in small pieces to the bowl. Cut it into even smaller pieces using a pastry blender* or a knife, then rub everything between your fingers until you get different-sized streusels. Transfer about 2/3 of the streusels to the prepared baking tin and press them to the sides and bottom of the tin. You want the sides of the cake base to be at least 1.5-2 inches high. Prick the base several times with a fork, then pre-bake for about 15 minutes. The sides of the cake base will slide down a little, but that’s ok.
4. While the cake base is in the oven, prepare the filling. Mix about 26.5 oz. of the cooked applesauce with the cornstarch, apple pie spice, and vanilla extract – mix until there are no more lumps of starch visible. Peel the apples, quarter, core, and cut them into small pieces. Add them to the apple sauce and mix in.
5. Take the baking tin out of the oven (careful, it’s very hot!) and fill in the apple sauce mixture. Smooth out the top, sprinkle the streusels evenly all over the filling, as well as some sliced almonds (optional). Bake the cake for about 45-50 minutes – the streusels should have slightly browned. Take the cake out of the oven, place it on a wire rack, and let the cake cool down completely inside the tin – for at least 3-4 hours.
Notes
Have fun in the kitchen!