Versunkener Apfelkuchen | Sunken Apple Cake
Among all the fruits that grow in Germany, apples are a top favourite. Hence, it is no surprise they are the most consumed fruit in the country, and there are countless apple cakes in the country. The Versunkener Apfelkuchen is among the more popular of them and also in my opinion a very easy cake to bake.
“Versunkener Apfelkuchen”, pronounced Pfer-soon-kanar Apfel-koo-chan, translates to Sunken Apple Cake. It is a plain batter cake in which slit quartered apples are laid on top of the batter. As the cake bakes, the batter rises around the apples and encases them. This gives the impression of the apples peeking out of the golden brown crust. This cake belongs to a category of cakes known as “Mittwochskuchen”, which means Wednesday cake as these cakes can be prepared at a short notice in the middle of the week when time is short.
This cake is served with a dusting of powdered sugar on top. The Germans enjoy it with an additional mandatory serving of a dollop of sweetened whipped cream. You can enjoy it fresh out of the oven as soon as it has cooled to room temperature but, you won’t be wrong in trying it a day later as well. It tastes divine! The plain sponge with the sweet moist tartness of the apples makes a fantastic combo.
This cake works better with cake flour than all-purpose flour as the batter contains no additional wet ingredients and hence all-purpose flour would yield a dryer cake. I’ve mentioned in the recipe how to substitute cake flour using all-purpose flour and cornstarch.
Sunken Apple cake-baking prep 
Sunken Apple Cake – fresh from the oven
What apples to use for Versunkener Apfelkuchen?
You can use any apples for this cake. Ensure that they are ripe as you do not want too much of a tart taste in every bite. Also, smaller sized apples cook well by the time the batter bakes. Pack them snugly in the baking tin. I used Gala apples as they are crisp with a mild sweet flavour. Peel the apples, quarter them and slice them thinly and as deep as possible without breaking the quarter. This ensures that the apples cook well by the time the cake bakes and also they open up slightly like an accordion, which is a visual treat.
Another tiny detail, which I would like to mention here is that German’s usually use Vanilla Zucker (Vanilla sugar) instead of Vanilla bean or vanilla extract/ essence in baking. You can make this easily at home by placing a slit Vanilla pod in a jar of sugar and let it infuse. If you have no access to Vanilla sugar, use vanilla extract.
I hope you will enjoy baking this cake as much as I did. Please leave your feedback in the comments. Happy baking!
Versunkener Apfelkuchen
Equipment
- Ø26 cm Spring-form pan
Ingredients
- 120 gms Butter, unsalted (at room temperature)
- 100 gms Sugar, granulated
- 3 Eggs, large (at room temperature)
- 2 tsp Vanilla Sugar (can substitute with vanilla extract)
- 1 tbsp Lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 200 gms Cake flour (see below for substitution using all-purpose flour))
- 2 tsp Baking powder
- ½ tsp Salt
- ¼ cup Milk (at room temperature)
- 4-5 Apples, small (I used Gala)
- Powdered Sugar, as needed (for dusting)
to make Cake Flour:
- 200 gms All-purpose flour
- 3 tbsp Cornstarch
to Grease the pan:
- 2 tbsp Butter, unsalted (at room temperature)
- 2 tbsp All-purpose flour
Instructions
making Cake Flour:
- From the 200gms of all-purpose flour, remove 3 level tsp of flour and add 3 level tsp of cornstarch
making the Versunken Apfelkuchen:
- Preheat oven to 180°C, top and bottom heat
- Grease the pan with 2tbsp butter and then dust it with 2 tbsp of flour until all the surfaces of the pan are well coated
- In a large enough mixing bowl, beat the butter for a couple of minutes on low speed until it turns creamy
- Add sugar and beat it well on high speed for 2 to 3 minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating the mixture well for 30-40 secs after each addition
- Add the vanilla sugar and lemon juice. Beat until well combined
- In another bowl, sift the cake flour along with the baking powder and salt
- Add about a third of this flour mix to the beaten mixture and beat on low speed
- Follow this with about a third of the milk and beat again on low speed
- Repeat this until all the flour and milk is added. Beat on low speed until the mixture just combines (see notes)
- Peel the apples and quarter them
- Thinly slice each quarter on the outside, as deep as possible, without breaking the quarter
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and flatten it with a spatula
- Place the apples snugly over the batter, with the sliced sides facing upwards, filling the whole pan (refer image above)
- Place the pan in the oven and bake for about 45 minutes until the top of the cake is golden brown and a skewer inserted into the cake, comes out clean
- Transfer to a cooling rack and let it cool down a bit. remove the spring-form ring and let the cake cool completely
- Dust the cake with powdered sugar. Slice and serve it with whipped cream (sweetened)
Notes
- It is important to ensure all ingredients are at room temperature
- After adding the flour, beat the mixture only at low speed or even better, use a spatula and fold it slowly
- Beat it/ fold it until it just combines. Avoid over-mixing the batter
- Peel, quarter and partially slice the apples at the very end, to avoid browning them
Tried the sunken apple cake, was too good, over in a jiffy, want to make it again next week. Perfect with tea/coffee.
Glad you loved the cake. Thank you for trying it and giving feedback. Much appreciated!