The Covered Dish - Apple Kuchen

August 24, 2022

Good by peaches, hello apples! I wasn’t done with peaches, there was still more I wanted to make and the seasons over. It will be difficult but I can slide into apple baking and apple kuchen is a perfect place to start with fall dish.
This past weekend I think I ‘lived’ in the kitchen on Sunday. There were banana cakes to bake and, a marinated salad for lunches, sausage cooked for homemade pizza night, and the list goes on! Then there’s always laundry, right? It was a fruitful day, but there was still more I wanted to get accomplished. The baking bug has totally hit!
Whether you’re making peach kuchen or apple, it’s a soul warming dish everyone is sure to enjoy. I first ran this apple kuchen recipe a couple years ago. The approach is different from most fall apple dishes. It should bring good conversation to the table and a pleased palate or two. As always the flip around to creating a peach version of this kuchen is quite doable.
Let’s look at the pronunciation of ‘kuchen’. Here we go: Koo khuh n.

First recorded recipes are around 1854. They are German cakes or ‘knocho’.

Often a form of a coffeecake, frequently it contains fruit, but it is not mandatory.

It is also frequently found as a yeast dough, though my version is not.

Usually I present the dish as a dessert, but in Germany it is usually a breakfast cake. A spring form pan is used by many cooks, for baking, as it makes a nice presentation, at serving time.
Cutting the dessert/breakfast cake is simple and it allows for a clean presentation. As you look for ways to garnish think about the flavors of the season: nuts, caramel, vanilla, rum, bourbon and cider sauces.

I haven’t gotten my fall décor out just yet, but its right around the corner. You start writing about apples and next thing you know it's time to hang the fall leaves. Then you look at the calendar and you're totally amazed at how many weekends are already filled with activities.
I hope the baking bug hits many of you these next couple of weeks. It’s a good feeling knowing you’ve got a cake or bread in the freezer for unexpected events.

Press forward my friends and tomorrow make someone’s day! Simply yours, The Covered Dish.

Apple Kuchen

1 3/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup cold butter

1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped

3 tablespoons sour cream

Filling:
1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter, softened
3 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups powdered sugar

Fruit Filling:
2 cups apples (Fuji was used for testing)
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon flour

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Topping:

1/2 cups pecans, chopped

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

5 tablespoons (1/3 cup) cold butter

Start with the base and mix all the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Add the cold butter and blend either with a mixer or a pastry cutter until mixture resembles small peas. Add the chopped nuts and lastly, the sour cream. Press into a 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes; remove from oven.

Soften the cream cheese in the microwave so that you can achieve a very smooth blend. Add the butter and eggs, blending well. Add the powdered sugar last.

To prepare the topping, cut the cold butter into the sugar, cinnamon and flour until it is well mixed; stir in the pecans.
Layer the apple filling over the baked crust and pour the filling over the apples. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 degrees and sprinkle the topping over all. Bake an additional 25 minutes. Serves 12-15