Easy German Apple Cake

Instructions

PREPARE: Grease the sides and line the base of a 26cm / 10 in. round springform pan. Heat the oven to 180°C / 350°F / Gas 4 with a rack in the bottom third of the oven.
PEEL AND SLICE THE APPLES: Peel the apples, cut them into quarters and remove the cores. Slice each quarter 5-6 times lengthways, keeping the slices together. Set aside.
CREAM BUTTER AND SUGAR: Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy using an electric mixer. Beat in the vanilla, cinnamon, lemon zest and salt. Add the eggs one by one, beating well between each addition.
ADD THE DRY INGREDIENTS: Sift over the flour and baking powder, add the milk, and mix until just combined. This is a fairly stiff batter (which stops the apples from sinking too far), but if it is extremely dry, add a splash more milk.
ASSEMBLE THE CAKE: Use a silicone spatula to spread the cake batter evenly over the base of the prepared cake pan. Place the sliced apples on the top of the batter, starting on the outside and working your way into the middle, keeping the apple halves as much in their original shape as possible.
BAKE: Bake in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes until the cake has risen and is golden brown. A skewer inserted into the thickest part of the cake should come out clean or with perhaps a few crumbs attached.
COOL AND SERVE: Allow the cake to cool completely on a wire rack before dusting it with icing sugar and serving with whipped cream (or a scoop of vanilla ice cream!)

Notes

Smaller apples work best for a cake like this as they will look more beautiful in the finished cake.

Storage: Store this delicious cake in an airtight container. It is best kept in the fridge if it is warm where you live or the house is warm. You may even find it tastes better on the second day!

Pro tip: Different apples can be more or less juicy. If you insert the skewer and the cake is clearly not cooked, it may be that you have very juicy apples. You'll simply need to increase the baking time a little bit and tent loosely with some foil if it is browning too rapidly.