German Apple Pie - Gedeckter Apfelkuchen
A traditional German apple pie, that is not too sweet, filled with a generous amount of apples, raisins and a good pinch of cinnamon. Quick and easy to make.
Ingredients
For the dough:
400 g flour
2.5 tsp baking powder
220 g butter (at room temperature)
120 g sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract or 1 pk vanilla sugar
pinch of salt
some butter to grease the baking tin
For the filling:
1.3 kg apples (ideally apples that are not too sweet)
70 g raisins
50 g chopped almonds
1-2 tbsp cinnamon
50 g sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
For the glazing:
250 g icing sugar
1 lemon
You need:
medium-large round baking tin
large pot
rolling pin
large bowl
spatula
Method
In a large bowl, mix 400 g flour, 2.5 tsp baking powder, 220 g butter at room temperature (or slightly melted in oven or microwave), 120 g sugar, 2 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla extract (or 1 pk vanilla sugar) and a pinch of salt. Knead with your hands until the dough comes together.
Form a ball, wrap the dough with cling film and place it in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes.
Meanwhile: Soak 70 g raisins in water.
Peel and cut 1.3 kg apples into small cubes. Place them into a large pot.
Add raisins, 50 g chopped almonds, 1-2 tbsp cinnamon (depending on how Christmassy you’d like this cake to taste) and 50 g sugar. If your apples are sweet, you can add 2 tbsp lemon juice if your apples are sweet.
Cook the apples for 15 minutes on low heat
Preheat the oven to 200 °C.
Divide the dough into 2 balls - one slightly larger than the other one. With your hands, knead the balls into disks and use a rolling pin to roll them out to roughly the size of your baking tin. (tipp: Instead of dusting your work surface, you can place the dough onto a large piece of cling film which you cover with a second piece of cling film. This way you are able to roll the dough out without it sticking to the rolling pin.)
Grease a baking tin with butter and place the larger half of the dough in the tin.
Gently fit the dough into the pan, pressing the edges up the lip of the pan, forming it into an even edge as you work your way around.
Use a fork to poke little holes into the dough and bake it on the middle oven rack for 15 minutes.
When the cake base has baked, pour the apple filling on top and cover it with the smaller half of the rolled dough. Tuck the dough in around the rim so it is connected with the edges of the base. Poke little holes into the fresh dough as you did before and bake for 15-25 more minutes until lightly browned. Let the cake cool down (unless you prefer having it warm).
Pour 250 g icing sugar into a medium-sized bowl and whilst stirring, slowly add lemon juice until you get the right texture for your glaze. Make sure it is not too runny but liquid enough to be spread over the cake with a spatula.
Enjoy!
