Name: Apfelkuchen Blech
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: 16 servings
Cuisine: German
Ingredients: 250 g butter, softened; 250 g caster sugar; 5 eggs; 300 g plain flour; 2 tsp baking powder; 100 ml milk; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1 lemon, zest; 1.2 kg tart apples, peeled and sliced; 3 tbsp apricot jam; 2 tbsp caster sugar mixed with 1 tsp cinnamon

Apfelkuchen Blech

A tray bake of sponge batter packed with sliced apples and baked for 45 minutes at 180C, sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon.

1 hr 10 min total Serves 16 servings Easy

Before You Start

Use firm tart apples.

Press the slices in at an angle.

Brush with jam while warm for a glaze.

Making Apfelkuchen Blech

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Heat the oven to 180°C / 355°F and line a 30 x 40 cm tin.
Beat the butter and 250 g sugar for 5 minutes until pale. Beat in the eggs one at a time.
Fold in the flour, baking powder, milk, vanilla and zest. Spread in the tin.
Press the apple slices into the batter in tight overlapping rows.
Bake for 45 minutes until golden and springy.
Warm the jam and brush over the cake. Sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar. Cool and cut into squares.

Why the Method Works

Does an apple cake need a pastry case? Not when the batter is soft enough to hold the fruit. Apfelkuchen vom Blech is a German sheet cake that feeds sixteen, a simple sponge mixed in one bowl and covered with rows of apple slices that sink in as it bakes.

Use firm, slightly tart apples, which keep their shape. Peel and quarter them, then slice each quarter thinly across the curve, or score the rounded side in a criss cross pattern. Press the slices into the batter at an angle, in tight rows, so they overlap and cover the surface. The batter rises around them in the oven and holds them in place.

Bake at 180°C / 355°F for 45 minutes until the sponge springs back and the apples are golden. While it is still warm, brush with warm apricot jam for gloss and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Cut into squares when cool. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla sauce, or alone with coffee.

Storage and Reheating

Keeps for 3 days in a tin. Freeze for 2 months.

Good With

Whipped cream
Vanilla sauce
Coffee