I can never decide whether to enjoy this cake for breakfast or dessert, so I usually end up having it twice in one day. It’s a nice fruity wake-up for your taste buds in the morning; add a scoop of ice cream on top and your last course is served. Either way, it tastes like Christmas to me. No doubt it’s the cranberries punctuated by a hit of orange zest in the nut filling. Well, that, and we also try to make it on every Christmas Eve for Santa’s arrival. Santa likes Cran-Apple Kuchen–who knew!
If you’re not familiar, Kuchen is a German coffee cake. It has a dense crust topped with nut filling and it’s usually loaded with fruit. It’s a hearty confection that improves on standing. I think it’s best the day after it’s made, but sometimes it’s rare thing to have leftover Kuchen. There are several steps to this scratch-made recipe, but it’s not much trouble to put together.
Step 1:
First, combine flour, sugar and baking powder in a large bowl.
Step 2:
Whisk until ingredients are evenly dispersed.
Step 3:
Add the butter and cut in with a pastry blender. If you don’t have a pastry blender, you can use two knives or even a round cookie cutter.
Step 4:
Blend until the mixture forms coarse crumbs.
Step 5:
Combine the egg, water and vanilla extract.
Step 6:
Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and stir until just combined. You might not be able to incorporate all the flour, so don’t worry if it looks a little dry.
Step 7:
Knead the dough until all the flour is incorporated and a solid dough is formed.
Step 8:
Press the dough into the bottom of a greased 9-inch cake pan. Chill the pan of dough for 15 minutes.
Step 9:
For the nut filling, you’ll place the nuts, sugar, flour and zest in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the nuts are chopped fine and the zest is evenly dispersed.
Step 10:
Next, add the egg and butter to the bowl.
Step 11:
Process again until a consistent nut paste is formed.
Step 12:
Spread the nut filling over the chilled crust evenly.
Step 13:
For the cranberry filling, mix the whole berry cranberry sauce with the orange juice in a small bowl. Mix until the cranberry sauce loosens slightly.
Step 14:
Spread the cranberry filling over the nut filling, leaving a 1-inch margin around the edge of the pan.
Step 15:
Quarter the apples and then cut slits in them lengthwise. Cut to, but not through the cored side. If you’ve ever made hasselback potatoes, you’ll have no problem with this task!
Step 16:
Arrange the apple quarters cored-side-down around the outside edge of the dough crust so the apples are just touching.
Step 17:
Now the cake is ready to bake. It takes about an hour, and you’ll know it’s done when the crust turns golden and the apples fan slightly.
Ingredients
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Crust
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1 1/2cups Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour
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1/3cup granulated sugar
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3/4teaspoon baking powder
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1/2cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
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1egg
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2teaspoons water
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1teaspoon vanilla
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Nut Filling
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1/2cup chopped pecans
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1/2cup granulated sugar
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3tablespoons Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour
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1teaspoon orange peel
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1egg
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1tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
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Cran-Apple Topping
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1can (14 oz) whole berry cranberry sauce
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1tablespoon orange juice
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2large apples, peeled and cored
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Powdered sugar
Directions
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1Grease 9-inch cake pan or springform pan with butter.
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2In large bowl, mix 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/3 cup granulated sugar and the baking powder with whisk. Add cold cubed butter; cut in with pastry blender or 2 knives until coarse crumbs are formed.
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3In small bowl, beat 1 egg, the water and vanilla. Pour over flour mixture, and stir until just moistened; mixture will be dry. Knead mixture until flour is incorporated and consistent dough forms. Press dough in bottom and 1 1/2 inches up side of pan. Refrigerate 15 minutes.
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4Place pecans, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 3 tablespoons flour and the orange peel in food processor fitted with steel blade attachment. Cover; process until nuts are finely ground. Add egg and softened butter; process again until blended. Spread mixture over chilled crust.
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5Heat oven to 350°F.
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6In medium bowl, mix cranberry sauce and orange juice until well combined and cranberry sauce is loosened. Spread over nut mixture, leaving 1 inch border.
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7Cut apples into quarters, and place them cored side down on cutting board. Cut thin lengthwise slits in each quarter cutting to, but not through the cored side. Arrange apple quarters around outside edge of dough crust so they are just touching. Bake about 1 hour or until crust is lightly browned. Cool 10 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving. Store covered in refrigerator.
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