This German Applesauce Cake recipe falls under the heading “Pantry cake,” meaning you probably have everything you need to bake this cake already on hand (if you are a regular baker). Flour, Sugar, Butter, applesauce. You don’t even need an EGG! Better yet… the cake is prepared, baked, and on the table in an hour. Perfect for Sunday Kaffeeklatsch, or any cake emergency…like a bad day at work or a Tuesday. Before you know it, you are digging your fork into crunchy streusel and smooth applesauce. YUM!
It LOOKS like your average Apfelstreusel Kuchen (Apple Streusel Cake)… but the filling is Applesauce instead of Apple slices. (That’s right, Apple SAUCE takes the place of Apples… no peeling, coring, or slicing!) I found the original for this recipe on a Dr Oetker site, but I made a few adjustments to make it easy to make in an American kitchen.
What makes this German Applesauce cake recipe so easy?
Instead of a different recipe for top and bottom, it’s just one recipe for the base and the streusel. I mixed it up in a food processor, so it zipped together! But a mixer or pastry fork and some elbow grease will work just as well. While the base is getting a pre-bake, just mix jarred/frozen/homemade applesauce with a few ingredients. Pour it into the shell, top it with the rest of the streusel, then tidy the kitchen while it bakes. Easy.
Let the cake cool enough to not burn your tongue before slicing into it!
German Applesauce Cake Recipe with Streusel
German Applesauce Streusel Cake Recipe
Equipment
- 1 9" Springform Pan
Ingredients
Base and Streusel
- 2 ½ Cups Flour 350 gram
- ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 Cup Sugar 200 gram
- 1 Cup Butter (room temperature) 220 gram
Applesauce Filling
- 24 ounces Applesauce approx. 680 gram
- 3 Tablespoons Cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F
- In a mixer or food processor or bowl... combine the flour, baking powder, and sugar. Slowly add the butter 1 Tablespoon at a time. Pulse/mix/cut the butter into the dry ingredients. You want it to look like wet sand... and clump when you pinch it.
- Divide this streusel mixture into ⅔ and ⅓. Press the ⅔ into the bottom and approximately 1 to 1½ inches up the side of a springform pan. You don't want it TOO thick in the corners, so press it in. Thickness should be about ¼ - ⅓ inch across bottom and sides.
- Bake this for 15 minutes
- While the shell is baking, combine the Applesauce, Cornstarch, Vanilla Extract, and Cinnamon in a medium bowl. Make sure not to leave any lumps of cinnamon or cornstarch.
- Add the applesauce mixture to the pre-baked shell.
- Crumble the rest of the streusel mixture over the applesauce evenly. Use your fist to squeeze it so you get bigger bits as well as just crumbs.
- Bake 35 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool on a rack.
Notes
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How Many Apple Cake Recipes Do you NEED??
All of them!
There really is a German Apple Cake recipe for every occasion.
Gedeckter Apfelkuchen (Covered Apple Cake)
Apfel Streuselkuchen (Apple Streusel Cake in a Sheet Pan)
Versunkener Apfelkuchen (Sunken Apple Cake)
Step by Step German Applesauce Cake Recipe with Streusel
Combine the Streusel ingredients. Press 2/3 into the bottom and an inch up the sides of a 9 inch Springform Pan.
Bake 15 minutes.
DO NOT SKIP THIS!!! From personal experience, the bottom will fall out.
Combine the Applesauce with cornstarch, vanilla extract, and cinnamon.
Fill the Baked Shell
Crumble the rest of the Streusel mix over the Applesauce.
Squeeze it in your fist to get some bigger crumbs
Bake 35 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes on a wire rack, then remove the sides.
Let cool until it’s cool enough to eat without burning your mouth
Enjoy! with a cup of Kaffee!
They all look wonderful, but who wants to turn the oven on in this heat. Not me. We been having up to 111 degree. I’m about to melt away. I move as little as posibel. Shoot, I misspelled that word. Guess the Spellcheck is not in the mood giving me the correct spelling. I do have my A/C on, plus all my floor fans. It’s still hot in here. If our electric goes off, I’m cooked. When my husband was alive, we had a large swimming pool. After he died, I couldn’t keep up with the cleaning and repairs. In time the wind demolished it. After a large hail storm, I had it torn down. I actually cried when it was torn down. So many nice memorise are attatched to it. Specially on the 4th of July. I cooked for 3 days. I’m so glad I had 2 refrigeraters. Hope you all can read my writing. So far I wrote 4 words wrong. Mostly some more are on the way. I think it’s the heat. Have no other excuse. Karen, how much is 180 Celsius in Fahrenheit? Seen some German recipes on You Tube. Please tell me if you know. Thank you Karen,
180°C is 356°F (just use 350)