Fall

Apple Strudel Cake

by:
September 20, 2016
5
1 Ratings
Apple Strudel Cake
Photo by Sunnycovechef
  • Serves 8
Author Notes

Apple Strudel Cake or Apfelkuchen as we call it in Germany is a delicious and mouth-watering treat to celebrate the change of the season or any other occasion. —Sunnycovechef

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • The Crust
  • 1 3/4 cups all purpose organic white flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 9 tablespoons cold butter
  • 1 egg at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest
  • a pinch of salt
  • the Filling and Glaze
  • 1 ½ pounds firm apples
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 3 tablespoons bread crumbs
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup golden raisins
  • ¼ cups toasted and slivered almonds
  • ½ cups powdered sugar
  • 3 tablespoons lemon juice
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 375º Fahrenheit ( 200 degree Celsius). To make the dough by hand, put the flour on a flat surface and make a bowl in the middle for the egg, sugar, vanilla, lemon zest, and salt. Cut the butter into ½ inch small pieces and place on top of the mound of flour. Think of a volcano with some butter on the ridge and a hole in the middle. Starting from the outside, mix the ingredients into a ball. Use the palm of your hand to smear some of the butter. DO NOT OVER MIX. It is okay to have some pieces of butter left in the dough. Flatten the dough and make two disks, one a little bit larger than the other, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for ½ hour or overnight. The bottom piece needs more dough to build up the sides of the pan.
  2. In the meantime , peel and core the apples and thinly slice them. Sprinkle the lemon juice over the apples.
  3. To roll out the dough, cut out four 14-inch square pieces of plastic wrap or parchment paper. Put two pieces of plastic wrap on baking surface, sprinkle flour on the plastic wrap . Put the dough in the center and cover with the two other plastic wrap pieces and roll the disk into a 9-inch circle about 1/8-inch thick. Roll from the center. If the dough starts to stick, peel off the plastic wrap and put it back on, continuing to roll out the disk. Roll from both sides by flipping the dough over. This will prevent the dough from sticking to the wrap. Remove one sheet of plastic wrap and invert the dough into a 9 inch cake pan with a removable bottom Then remove the remaining plastic wrap. Press the dough into the pan and up on the sides, cutting off any dough overhang. Use the dough scraps to patch any cracks.
  4. Mix the sugar and the cinnamon in a bowl and set aside. Sprinkle the bottom of the dough with breadcrumbs, mix the apples with the raisins and the almonds, add to the cake, don't add the juices that have accumulated in the bowl. Sprinkle with the sugar cinnamon mixture. Roll out the second disk of dough and cover the apple filling with it. Make a cross slit in the center of the cake and put the cake on a cookie sheet (to catch any drippings).
  5. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 45 minutes until the dough is lightly colored.
  6. To make the glaze, mix the powdered sugar and lemon juice to make a smooth glaze. Add some more powdered sugar if the glaze is too thin.
  7. As soon as you take the cake out of the oven, remove the outer ring of the tart form. Cool slightly and spread the glaze evenly over the cake.
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  • Anna Cortese
    Anna Cortese
  • Sunnycovechef
    Sunnycovechef
  • aargersi
    aargersi
  • mstv
    mstv

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11 Reviews

mstv
mstv September 26, 2018
This turned out really well. Very delicious. I enjoyed the texture and flavor of the crust and filling. I will make it again. I might use a little less sugar in the filling (2 T).

It came together surprisingly quickly. The baking time is shorter than a pie, so I started preparing this a bit after 7:30 pm and we were enjoying a slice by 9:30 pm.

I made the dough and while it was chilling I had plenty of time to prep the filling and preheat the oven. I followed the recipe fairly closely. However, I was out of golden raisins so I used (dried) currants, subbing an equal amount. I used a mix of apples to make up 1.5 lbs. I found I needed much more powdered sugar to make the glaze the right consistency with 3 T lemon juice. When I make this again I will start with the powdered sugar and just add amount of lemon juice needed for the right consistency as the extra powdered sugar made the finished product a little sweet for my taste.

Overall, a wonderful recipe for a delicious pastry!

p.s. Do try this dough, it is different from a pie crust.
 
Sunnycovechef
Sunnycovechef September 26, 2018
Started with the powdered sugar and adding lemon juice for the right consistency is a good idea.
 
mstv
mstv October 3, 2018
Made this again last night for my aunt's birthday. It was a hit! Everyone cleaned their plates and some asked for seconds (but there were none). I did reduce the sugar in the filling to 2 T. and started with the powdered sugar for the glaze, adding lemon juice until I got the right consistency. I used currants again, since I had them on hand (instead of golden raisins). I didn't have almonds so I used finely chopped toasted walnuts and that worked with no problems. Finally, I was in a bit of a hurry so I made the dough in the food processor, being careful not to overmix. Thank you for this great recipe!
 
Sunnycovechef
Sunnycovechef October 4, 2018
I baked the cake today too and since I was not in my kitchen at home I also used the food processor . My apples from my friends tree were very sweet and I could have reduced the sugar to two Tablespoons but I didn’t. If you ever make it again serve it with whipped cream. That’s what they do in Germany and it is delicious. I have the recipe with the whipped cream on my blog.
I am so glad you liked me my cake
Gerlinde
 
mstv
mstv October 4, 2018
My apples were somewhat sweet so I think that is one reason it worked for me with less sugar. What variety of apples do you typically use? My aunts offered ice cream with the pastry but I think whipped cream would be very good. I will serve that next time. I am enjoying looking at your blog (and other recipes). I see you have some wonderful apricot recipes. I love apricots so I will tuck those away for when I can get some. Thank you for sharing this recipe. My aunts have already asked that I make this pastry again!
 
Sunnycovechef
Sunnycovechef February 27, 2019
I mostly use apples that I have in the fridge, sorry I don't use a specific variety.
 
Anna C.
Anna C. October 16, 2016
Can we use store bought pie dough as a shortcut when in a pinch? Thanks
 
Sunnycovechef
Sunnycovechef October 17, 2016
I don't know Anna, my crust is more like a cake or cookie crust. You can use a food processor for making he dough. If you decide to use store bought pie dough let me know how it turned out.
 
Sunnycovechef
Sunnycovechef September 22, 2016
Thank you Abbie, I did miss it and I'm glad you caught it. I was copying and pasting from my blog and had a heck of a time.
Right now I can't edit because the recipe is in a contest but I will as soon as I can. Maybe Food 52 can fix it. Here is the missing step and thank you again.

To roll out the dough, cut out four 14-inch square pieces of plastic wrap or parchment paper. Put two pieces of plastic wrap on baking surface, sprinkle flour on the plastic wrap . Put the dough in the center and cover with the two other plastic wrap pieces and roll the disk into a 9-inch circle about 1/8-inch thick. Roll from the center. If the dough starts to stick, peel off the plastic wrap and put it back on, continuing to roll out the disk. Roll from both sides by flipping the dough over. This will prevent the dough from sticking to the wrap. Remove one sheet of plastic wrap and invert the dough into 9 inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Then remove the remaining plastic wrap. Press the dough into the pan and up on the sides, cutting off any dough overhang. Use the dough scraps to patch any cracks.
 
aargersi
aargersi September 22, 2016
I think you missed a step - rolling out the bottom dough, and pan size? Looks great!!!
 
Sunnycovechef
Sunnycovechef October 17, 2016
Thank you aargersi