• Apfelkuchen mit Mandeln •
A vegan version of the classic German Apple Cake, featuring a layer of moist cake topped with tart apples and smothered with sweet, toasted almonds.
There are so many ways to make apple cake. I’ve made them using applesauce, shredded fresh apples, sliced apples intricately arranged as a topping, and even using sliced apples on the bottom of a cake pan, similar to how you make pineapple upside-down cake. I’ve also made cakes with chunks of apples mixed into the batter.
The problem you can run into with apple cake, or any cake with added fruit, is that the excess moisture in the fruit can leech out into the batter and make the cake overly wet. This cake follows a baking method that employs a high temperature to dry out the apples on top, thus avoiding gumminess.
Indeed, this cake is unusual in that it has a staggered baking process. You bake it initially for 20 minutes, then remove it from the oven, add the boiling almond topping, and quickly throw it back into the oven to finish baking. The first step ensures that the apples have enough time to dry out before they get covered with the almond topping. It also prevents the almonds from browning too much before the cake underneath is cooked. The end result is a lovely, dense German Apple Cake that’s perfect for Kaffee und Kuchen!
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup nondairy milk
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 Tablespoons ground flax seeds (preferably golden flax) mixed with 6 Tablespoons of water
- ¼ cup oil (any neutral oil--I used sunflower)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 large apples, peeled, cored and sliced thin (grannysmith, fuji, or golden delicious are all good)
- ¼ cup sugar
- 3 Tablespoons nondairy milk
- 4 Tablespoons vegan butter or coconut oil
- ½ cup sliced almonds
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- In a small bowl, combine the flour and baking powder. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the nondairy milk, sugar, flax seed mixture, oil, vanilla, lemon zest, and salt until completely blended. Set both bowls aside and peel, core, and slice the apples.
- Now that everything is ready, combine the flour mix into the wet mixture and whisk until combined (The batter is a bit thick). Pour the batter into a greased 9-inch round cake pan or springform pan. Scatter the sliced apples evenly over the top of the batter and bake for 20 minutes.
- After the cake has been in the oven for 15 minutes, make the almond topping by combining the sugar, nondairy milk, vegan butter or coconut oil, and sliced almonds in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil. Stir it occasionally and let it simmer on low until the the cake timer rings.
- Gently remove the cake from the oven and place on the counter. Pour the very hot almond mixture evenly over the top of the apples and immediately put it back in the oven for another 25 minutes.
- After 25 minutes, the topping should be golden brown and bubbling. Insert a toothpick or wooden skewer into the cake to test the doneness. The cake has now had a total bake time of 45 minutes. If you think it needs more time, leave it in for another 5 minutes.
- Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool on the counter completely before slicing and serving. It's even better the next day.
-If you use coconut oil instead of vegan butter for making the topping, you may notice that the oil may slightly solidify the next day, especially if you're in a cold environment. This doesn't affect the taste but if it bothers you, throw the cake under the broiler for a few minutes right before serving to guests. It will look like you just baked it again.
This is the best cake me and my family have ever had! Thank you so much for this recipe! I made this last week for my sister and now she is going to make another one for my mums birthday 🙂
Wow, thanks for the nice comment! I’m glad you all liked it. I think you’ll find that this cake will meet mom’s approval — my mom sure loves it! 🙂
Yum this is soooooo gorgeous!!! Sharing on FV for sure 🙂 🙂
Hi Kathy! Thank you! Looooove Finding Vegan and your blog! 🙂
this looks wonderful and yours is so pretty! if i bake it ahead of time, for a gathering, can i leave the cake out and then frost it right before serving that day? what would you suggest? does it need to be kept in the refrigerator?
Thanks Suzi! Hmm… I think it depends on your timing. Because the topping needs to be baked into the cake, you have to do it when you’re baking it.
So, if you are serving it the next day, go ahead and make the cake with the topping and just cover it well until serving. Cover it tightly with a plastic wrap (or do like I do and leave it on the counter and flip a huge mixing bowl upside down to completely cover the cake and the cake plate).
If you’re going to serve it after the second day, I would make the cake and leave it covered…then 20 minutes or so before serving, throw it under the broiler in your oven for a few minutes or until the topping starts to sizzle slightly. This will help to recrisp the almonds which get soft after a few days.
If it is going to be served after two days, I would cover, refrigerate, remove from fridge an hour or two before, and quickly broil the top before serving.
Best of luck!
well that was most helpful!!!! thanks for the extra help 🙂 sounds perfect for my sunday gathering!!
Great! 🙂 🙂
hi what type of flour did you use. Does the recipe work with an alternative to white flour? Great recipe by the way.
Thanks! I used all purpose flour, but you could use whole wheat pastry flour. Sometimes a cake made with all whole wheat flour comes out very dense. So you could use half whole wheat pastry and half all purpose for the best of both worlds. I would look for the whole wheat “pastry flour” variety though since regular whole wheat flour can make cakes very tough.
Sounds delish! 🙂
Could you please clarify what type of flour and oil you used? Thanks!
Of course. For this recipe, I used all purpose (wheat) flour.
The oil I used was sunflower, but you could use other oils like: melted coconut oil, safflower, avocado, etc.–whatever you have.
I’ll update the recipe to be more clear for others. Thanks!
What kind of nondairy milk do you use for the recipe? Thanks!
Use any nondairy milk you have. I used soy milk– but almond milk, coconut milk, cashew milk, etc. all work well. 🙂
What is the best way to get this out of the pan without dislodging the topping? Thanks.
If you have a springform pan (the kind you would make a cheesecake in), it is really easy to remove, so if you have one, definitely use it. However, if you use a regular cake pan, wait for the cake to cool down about 10 minutes, then use a butter knife to run around the sides of the pan. Have a cookie sheet and your cake serving plate ready. Put the cookie sheet on the top of the cake and quickly flip it to remove the cake. Now flip it back right-side-up onto the serving plate. As long as you move quick, the topping shouldn’t get too disturbed.
Thanks! It actually came out of the cake pan easily and I moved it to a pretty deep dish pie plate/dish and was able to take it to my brunch and reheat it before serving. Yummy!
Success! 🙂
I made two cakes for Easter and only one piece was left the next day. So amazingly yummy! Making again soon and can’t wait to try your other recipes.
Haha, that’s wonderful Susan! This cake really is a crowd-pleaser—perfect for get-togethers. Maybe next time you can wow them with the Orange Almond Olive Oil Cake! 🙂
Hi, I make this cake today, and I make a big fail. I don’t know why, but my cake doesn’t look like your cake, also I’m sure that it doesn’t taste like your cake!! maybe I used the wrong igredients, I used all pourpuse flour (unbleached white)
Oh no! Let’s try to figure out what went wrong Daniela. The flour you used is good so can you describe more what happened to the cake? Was it too soggy or too dry? Undercooked or overcooked? How did it taste? Let me know and we’ll fix it.
This cake is so good! I made some substitutions with what I had in my pantry which included white spelt flour instead of all purpose and coconut chips (The large/thin type) instead of slivered almonds and the cake was delicious. I also used coconut milk as the non-dairy milk, vegan butter for the topping, grape seed oil in the cake and a springform pan.
I definitely plan on making this cake again following the original recipe and trying the additional spice recommendations.
I like the way you think Huong—smart substitutions! Love the idea of coconut chips. I’m thinking it would be good using those and replacing the apple with pineapple?? Hmm… Time to experiment! 😀
My family loved this cake! Perfect to follow a Sunday dinner with just the 5 of us. It is easy and quick and came out great. I used regular milk and butter and substituted chia seeds for the flax! I will definitely make this again.
Great! Next time maybe add some spices for a different twist! 🙂
This cake was delicious, Omar!
We tried this out yesterday with a little cinnamon added to the recipe — And it was wholly worth it.
Thank you!
Kindly,
M.
Thanks for the comment Michael! I too like to add some spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, etc. As is, the recipe sticks to the traditional plain version, but I admit the spices make it better! 😀