This German Apple Kuchen is a cross between bread and coffee cake. A yeast bread on the bottom, topped with an apple pie layer, and finished with a sweet streusel coffee cake top.
This month I’m baking with the Bread Baking Babes. The Bread Baking Babes Kitchen of the month is Gretchen, Provecho Peru, and she chose Holiday Apple Kuchen. I served my Kuchen for breakfast, but Gretchen served it with a luscious cream cheese topping, which dresses it up nicely for dessert.
I added old fashioned oatmeal to the streusel topping because I like the extra texture it gives streusel. You can omit the oatmeal if you’d like.
This recipe isn’t super sweet like most coffee cakes, which my daughter really liked. She can’t handle eating very much sugar in the morning. If you like a less sweet dessert, I think you’d like this one too.
Holiday Apple Kuchen
Ingredients
Crumb Topping
- ½ cup flour
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup old fashioned oats
- 3 tablespoons butter melted
Apple Kuchen
- 4 cups apple slices about 4 medium baking apples
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon quick cooking tapioca
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- 2 ¼ - 2 ¾ cups flour divided
- 1 package active dry yeast
- ½ cup milk I used lowfat
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup butter
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
Instructions
- Crumb Topping
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, and oatmeal. Add melted butter and mix with a fork or your hands until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.
- Apple Kuchen
- Grease a 13x9x2 baking pan; set aside. In a large bowl, combine apples, brown sugar, tapioca, lemon juice, cinnamon and allspice.
- In a small saucepan, heat and stir milk, granulated sugar, butter and salt just until mixture is warm (120F-130F) and butter almost melts.
- In large mixing bowl, combine 1 cup of the flour and the yeast. Add milk mixture and eggs to flour mixture. Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed for 30 seconds, scraping sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat on high speed for 2 minutes or until smooth. Beat in as much of the remaining flour as needed to make a stiff batter.
- Spread batter into the prepared baking pan. Place apple mixture on top of the batter. Sprinkle with Crumb Topping. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
- Bake in a preheated 375ºF oven for 30 minutes or until top is browned and apples are tender. Cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes.
- Cut into 12 pieces and serve warm or at room temperature.
More apple desserts you might like:
Perfect Apple Crisp, Barbara Bakes
Torta di Mele (Apple Cake), Barbara Bakes
Baked Apple Pie Egg Rolls, Cookin’ Canuck
Apple Tarte Tatin, The Comfort of Cooking
Caramel Apple Blondies, Gonna Want Seconds
Helene Dsouza I Masala Herb
nice! That remind me of my friends house in Europe. Their mothers used to make those when we were kids. Interesting topping idea Barbara. We usually stir fry breadcrumbs with brown sugar raisins etc and use that in strudel and even as a topping for apple cake squares as yours.
I wish you a Happy New Year!
Angie@Angie's Recipes
The apple slice looks fabulous!
Happy New Year!
Lisa
This apple kuchen looks delectable, Barb! I love the crumb topping! Wishing you and your family a Happy New Year!
Elizabeth
This looks so delicious!!
Natalie
Oh my goodness this looks incredible. I love apple recipes and this one is definitely different from a lot of the one’s i have seen/tried before. Can’t wait to test it out 🙂
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella
Those layers look so lovely mum! I could definitely handle a slice or two of that any time of the day 😀 xxx
Gretchen Noelle @ Provecho Peru
Looks just delicious! So glad you all enjoyed this dessert/breakfast treat! Thanks for baking along with us!
Cookin' Canuck
What a beautiful dessert (or breakfast!) You always know the way to my sweet tooth, Barbara.
Valérie (Franche-Comté)
Très très gourmand 😉
Bonne soirée
Valérie.
Kelly
Yummy pretty! I put oatmeal in my topping too, so good with butter on top for breakfast. 🙂
The Contessa (Linda)
This looks delicious. Pure comfort food. Drop by my kitchen for a visit. Happy New Year!
Ala
Absolutely scrumptious–I can’t wait to give this a try with all the apples filling up my fridge! We literally have shelves full of them at the moment. Thanks for sharing, Barbara!
carrian
oh, yes! I love this. Plus, my family is German so I better learn how to make it and keep my roots alive. 😉
Jamie
Yours is beautiful, Barbara. I also liked the less sweet cake but it needed a crunchier topping so next kuchen will have more of a crisp topping.
Elizabeth
How lovely! I really like that your oatmeal topping is so beautifully golden. This really is delicious for breakfast, isn’t it? We served ours for breakfast too – with a little plain yoghurt.
Carol
Ohhhhhhhh do I wish I had a piece of that to go with my morning coffee. That looks WONDERFUL. I love oatmeal in toppings too.
Thank you Barbara,
Carol
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar
Mmm what an awesome looking dessert!
Rosa
It looks amazing! I wish I could have a slice of it right now…
Cheers,
Rosa
Miriam @ Overtime Cook
This looks fabulous! I am a total sucker for apple desserts!
Averie @ Averie Cooks
A yeast bread bottom with a streusel coffee cake top – I am in heaven! This is perfect! And of course, with apples worked in. I love this one.