Cinnamon Apple Gooey German Butter Cake

I think I’ve mentioned before (probably many times. I’m getting old and forgetful. Hey, did I mention that I’m getting old and forgetful?) that I was lucky enough to live in Germany for three years in the mid 80’s. Yes, I’m well aware that many of you were barely crawling in the mid 80’s. Just get me my Geritol and call me Granny.

I had my first two children while there and when my oldest was little, one of my favorite things to do was to go to the local Konditorei and by a pastry or nine two. My sons favorite was always one that was similar to American Mallomars but 900 times better. It had a thin wafer bottom covered with a mound of fresh soft marshmallow then coated in chocolate. It was delicious.

My favorites however were anything gooey, messy and preferably with crumbs on or in it. No way to go wrong with gooey and/or streusel, now is there?

German Butter Cake is one of those desserts that you can also serve for breakfast based simply on the fact that it resembles a coffee cake/crumb cake and it is a yeast based cake. Anything with yeast means it’s a bread and you can always serve bread for breakfast. This gooey cake is, as I said, yeast based instead of baking powder, but don’t let that scare you away. It’s extremely easy to toss together. The most time consuming part of this recipe is peeling, slicing and sauteing the apples. The rest is pretty much wham, bam, thank you ma’am.

This isn’t the prettiest cake but it’s delicious. I covered the base with a layer of sweet buttery sauteed apples before I coated it all with the crunchy, crumbly topping. The topping stays partly gooey, as it’s supposed to, but it also get a nice crunchy, crackly edge.

Serve this as it or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. You’ll devour it no matter what. 🙂

You know the drill… git to cookin’!

Apple Cinnamon Gooey German Butter Cake

• Cake-
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temp
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1 packet dry yeast
• 1/2 cup milk, warmed to between 110-115 degrees
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon each of cloves, cardamom and nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• Apples-
• 4 small Granny Smith (or other tart) apples, peeled and thinly sliced
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup sugar
• Topping-
• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temp
• 2/3 cup flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon Fiori De Sicilia flavoring (optional. If you don’t have it, don’t sweat it)
• 2 eggs

1. Start your apples first so they have time to cool. In a medium pot, melt your butter. Add in the sliced apples and cinnamon. Cover the pot and saute the apples over low heat until the apples are crisp tender.
2. Toss in the sugar, mix well and crank the heat up to medium. With the cover off, saute until they start to caramelize, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool.
3. Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk. Let sit for five minutes.
4. For the cake, in the bowl of a stand mixer (this can all be done by hand or hand mixer if need be), combine the butter, sugar and salt. Mix on low speed until creamy. Add in the milk mixture, then the egg and vanilla extract, then the flour and spices.
5. Put your dough hook attachment on and let it knead the dough for a minute or two. It is not a dry dough, so expect it to be a bit sticky and tacky. Remove it to a small bowl and let it rise until double, about one hour.
6. In the stand mixer bowl with the beater hook, combine the butter, flour and sugar. Mix on low for a minute; just to get it all combined.
7. Add in the eggs, vanilla and Fiori De Sicilia (if using). Beat at low speed until you have a mixture that rather resemble s crumbly cake batter. Set aside.
8. Spray a 13×9 inch pan with cooking spray. Punch the dough down and then press it onto the bottom and half an inch up the sides of the pan. Pour the cooled apples and any saucy mixture in the pot over the top of the base. Use your fingers to arrange the apples so they cover the bulk of the dough.
9. Carefully spread the topping over the dough, taking care to not move the apples all over the place. After this is done, let the cake alone for 20 minutes or so so that it can rise a bit. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
10. bake the cake at 375 degrees for about 20 to 25 minutes, just until the base is cooked through and nicely golden brown. The topping will still look gooey. Thus the name 😛
11. Let cool for about 20 minutes before trying to cut it or it will just ooze everywhere and you’ll end up with half the topping in the pan rather than on the cake.

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