Deciding what to bake is a constant balance between the urge to try something new and the comfort of returning to a trusted favorite, perhaps with a small twist. A couple of years ago I made the Smitten Kitchen sunken apple and honey cake for the first time and was instantly smitten. It’s a take on the German versunkener apfelkuchen—apple halves scored partway through like hasselback potatoes, arranged over a lightly sweet, airy batter. The look is charming and a little whimsical, which I adore.
Smitten Kitchen’s version includes honey in the batter and a salted honey glaze, which is fantastic. I experimented by swapping honey for maple syrup and liked the result, but the cakes (both honey and maple versions) felt ever so slightly dry to me. This year I tried to address that by creating a maple-almond variation: I replaced part of the all-purpose flour with blanched almond meal, added a hint of almond extract, and scattered flaked almonds between the apple halves. The changes added moisture, texture, and a complementary almond note that works beautifully with maple and apple.
The result was exactly what I hoped for: a slightly moister cake with a pleasing almond-maple-apple harmony. For the cake pictured here I used the last of some pink-fleshed apples I found at a farmers’ market, but any crisp, flavorful apple will do—choose small to medium specimens for the right scale. This cake is ideal with afternoon tea or coffee, makes a slightly indulgent breakfast, or serves as a not-too-sweet dessert.
Maple-Almond Sunken Apple Cake
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen.
Dessert
maple almond, maple almond apple cake, sunken apple cake, versunkenerapfelkuchen
Ingredients
The apples:
- 4 smallish apples
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp sugar
The batter:
- 125 g unsalted butter at room temperature
- 75 g sugar
- 1/4 c. maple syrup (preferably robust or extra dark)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp almond extract
- 3 large eggs separated
- 1/4 tsp table salt or fine sea salt
- 2 tsp baking powder (aluminum free preferred)
- 120 g all-purpose flour
- 30 g blanched almond flour
To finish:
- 2-4 tbsp flaked almonds
- powdered sugar
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan and line the bottom and sides with parchment.
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Peel, halve, and core the apples. Place each half cut-side down and make parallel thin cuts halfway through, so the slices remain attached (a chopstick alongside the apple helps prevent cutting through). If an apple does fall into separate pieces, simply arrange them together on the batter.
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Toss the scored apple halves with the lemon juice and 2 tablespoons sugar in a medium bowl.
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Whisk together the all-purpose flour and almond flour in a separate bowl and set aside.
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Cream the butter and 75 g sugar with electric beaters until light and fluffy. Add the maple syrup and mix to combine. Beat in the egg yolks, vanilla, and almond extract until just incorporated. Sprinkle in the baking powder and salt and mix until they are evenly distributed. Fold in the flour mixture in two additions until just combined.
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In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks.
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Fold a quarter of the beaten egg whites into the batter to lighten it, then gently fold in the remaining whites with a rubber spatula until barely combined—some faint streaks are fine.
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Spread the batter in the prepared pan and smooth the surface. Arrange the apple halves on top; you don’t need to press them in, they will sink as the cake bakes. If any sugary lemon juice remains, drizzle it over the apples. Scatter flaked almonds between the apples.
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Bake 45 to 50 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
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Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack. After 10–15 minutes you may release the springform sides if you like, but wait until the cake is completely cool before transferring to a serving plate. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
Recipe Notes
- Use any crisp, flavorful apple that holds its shape when baked; pink-fleshed apples are lovely if you can find them.
- Although the original recipe suggests very small apples, four small-to-medium apples (eight halves) fit nicely and give a generous apple-to-cake ratio.
- “Robust” or “extra dark” maple syrup (formerly called Grade B) offers a stronger maple flavor; regular syrup works too but is milder.
- If you don’t want to wash beaters mid-recipe, whisk the egg whites first with clean beaters and refrigerate them while you make the batter—no need to rewash.
- Oven temperatures vary; the original bake time of 35–40 minutes may be optimistic. Begin checking at 35 minutes if your oven runs hot, but many ovens will need closer to the stated 45–50 minutes.
