Sisters and authors, Maria and Eva Konecsny are founders of Gewürzhaus Spice House, a boutique chain of herb and spice merchants, and they joined The Morning Show to share a delicious dessert recipe inspired by their grandmother.
CLASSIC GERMAN APPLE CAKE – KLASSISCHER APFELKUCHEN
SERVES 10
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INGREDIENTS –
150 g salted butter, at room temperature, plus
30 g melted butter
150 g white sugar
3 eggs
3 tsp ground cassia*
¼ tsp ground cloves*
¼ tsp ground nutmeg*
1 tsp dried rose petals, crushed by rubbing between your fingertips*
150 g (1 cup) self-raising flour
75 g (¾ cup) ground almonds
1–2 tbsp full-cream milk, if needed
4–5 small to medium apples
2–3 tsp icing sugar
ice cream, cream or custard, to serve
SPICE SHORTCUTS*
4½ tsp Gewürzhaus Apple Cake Spice
METHOD –
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan-forced. Grease and flour a 23 cm round spring form cake tin and tap out the excess flour.
Using electric beaters, cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl for about 5 minutes, then add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Once combined, add the spices and rose petals and beat thoroughly for a few minutes. Sift in the flour and add the ground almonds, then beat until combined. The batter should be quite firm. However, if it is too stiff, you may need to add a few tablespoons of milk to loosen it. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared tin.
Peel the apples, cut them in half and remove the cores. With their flat-sides down, cut slits a few millimetres apart into each apple half, stopping just shy of the centre. Take care not to cut right through.
Place the apple halves, slit-side up, in a circle around the edge of the cake, with one in the middle, and gently press them 5 mm into the batter. Brush the apple with some melted butter and bake for about 30 minutes.
Remove the cake from the oven and brush with the remaining melted butter, then bake for a further 10–15 minutes, until golden brown. Insert a wooden skewer into the centre of the cake and if it comes out clean, the cake is cooked.
Cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.
When the cake is cold, shake the icing sugar over it with a sieve. The cake is best served with ice cream, cream, or custard. It will keep for 1 week in an airtight container stored in a cool place.
COOK’S NOTES: To make this gluten-free, replace the flour with buckwheat flour and add 2–3 tsp gluten-free baking powder