This is a simple and delicious cake you cannot beat – perfect for an afternoon coffee hour. This recipe follows traditional German apple crumb cakes which tend to have a thicker cake base layer – soft and perfect in combination with the apples.

Preparation time: 25 minutes + 35 minutes for baking

What you need:

For the batter:

1 stick (120g) butter (soft, room temperature)

½ cup (100g) sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla sugar (you can substitute with 2 teaspoons vanilla extract)

1 egg

1 ½ cups (250g) white wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

For the apple layer:

4-5 medium apples (peeled, cored, quartered, and sliced); you can use any apple type, but try to avoid mealy variations

1 teaspoon cinnamon

For the crumbs:

1 stick (120g) butter (soft, room temperature)

¼ cup (80g) sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla sugar (you can substitute with 2 teaspoons vanilla extract)

1 ¼ cups (200g) white wheat flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Pinch of salt

How to do it:

Grease and flour an 8inch (20cm) springform. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375F (190C)

For the batter:

In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, vanilla, salt and baking powder with a handheld mixer. Add butter and egg and mix well until smooth.

Put the cake batter into the springform. Press it in with your hands to ensure that the bottom of the form is entirely covered by the batter.

For the apple layer:

Add apple slices on top of the batter and distribute evenly. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

For the crumbs:

In a medium bowl mix butter, sugar, vanilla, flour, salt and cinnamon and combine with your hands until you get crumbs. They will vary in shape and size. Sprinkle them on top of the apples.

Bake the cake in the oven for 30-35 minutes, or until the crumbs are lightly browned.

Guten Appetit!