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In leu of big heavy goals this year, the only proclamation I made was to make a new recipe from my ever growing stack of vintage cookbooks. It’s fun, it do-able, and its tasty. I decided on this Fresh Apple Kuchen Recipe for my first!

I’d had never heard of a “Kuchen” before, but have since learned (from my amazing friends on Tiktok) that it’s German for “Pie” and is also the state dessert of South Dakota. This particular recipe creates something that feels a bit like a cross between an apple cobbler and a dense coffee cake. The cake itself is a yeast-y flavor, not very sweet, but it balanced out by the very sweet crumb topping.

I would absolutely make this again! It feels like the perfect dessert to bring to a friends house or to a party.

Fresh Apple Kuchen

Adapted from Margaret Rudkins Pepridge Farm Cookbook from 1963

Cake Ingredients

• 1/4 Cup Very Warm Water
• 1 Package of Dry Yeast
• 1/2 Cup (1 Stick) of Butter
• 1/2 Cup of Sugar
• 1/2 Teaspoon of Salt
• 3 Eggs
• 1/4 Cup of Milk
• 1 3/4 Cup of Flour

Topping Ingredients

• 2 Cups of Fresh Apples sliced
• 2/3 Cup of Sugar
• 1/2 Cup of Flour
• 2 Tablespoons of Cinnamon
• 6 Tablespoons of butter

Directions

1. Proof yeast in the warm water and let sit while you cream the butter.
2. Cream the butter thoroughly in the bowl of an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
3. Gradually add the sugar and the salt to the butter and cream together.
4. Add in the proofed yeast, eggs, and milk. Beat at medium speed until well blended.
5. Gradually add in the flour while beating at medium speed. Beat until well blended.
6. Spread the dough in a well-greased square pan (9×9 or 8×8)
7. Arrange apples on top
8. Mix the sugar, flour, and cinnamon together for the topping. cut in butter and ix until crumbly.
9. Sprinkle topping mixture over apples
10. Cover and let sit in warm, dry place for 1 hour until doubled in size.
11. Bake in 376F oven for 40-45 minutes.
12. Serve warm

Tips

• Take my advice and add way more apples. I did just a single layer side-by-side, but next time I would really crowd the apples and lay them overlapping!
• Don’t over bake. I was a little afraid mine wasn’t done and left it in. It was still great, but I would definitely pull it out after no more than 45 minutes next time!
• I let the eggs sit out for a bit so they were almost room temperature, and warmed the milk just slightly in the microwave before I added them to the dough. I did this to keep the yeast growth from slowing down. I learned this a long time ago and, to be honest, I’m not 100% sure whether it’s necessary or not, but that’s what I do!
• Have ice cream on hand. Seriously. This was my biggest mistake. This dessert is the perfect ice cream companion.

Watch the recipe video on tiktok!

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