Apple Kuchen

Recently I received a a teaser for this recipe via the New York Times Cooking section and I just had to try it. Of course, that means I needed to rework the recipe for one or two servings so I would not be eating an 8 to 12 serving kuchen by myself! So I went to work and the results were simply amazing. So amazing in fact, I just had to share them with you. This kuchen is wonderfully flavored with lemon, honey, ginger… and naturally apple. This recipe is easy to prepare as well; the toughest part is waiting for the kuchen to cool so you can enjoy it!

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Apple Kuchen

Prep time: 45 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 1 hour 15 mins

Serves: 2

Ingredients

Kuchen

¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup all purpose flour
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp honey
1 large egg
1½ tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp crystallized ginger, minced
¼ tsp lemon zest
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
½ Granny Smith apple, peeled and thinly sliced (approximately 12 slices of ⅛ inch)
1 tbsp turbinado sugar

Glaze

2 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tbsp honey
1½ tsp lemon juice

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Butter and flour two 4 inch springform pans.
In a small bowl, sift the flour, ground ginger, salt, and baking powder together.
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy.
Add the honey and whip to combine.
Add the egg and whip for 2 minutes.
Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined into a thick batter.
Split the batter between the 2 prepared pans.
Place the apples on edge in a row into the batter.
Sprinkle the apples and batter with the turbinado sugar.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the edge of the apples comes out clean.
Whisk together the glaze ingredients in a small glass bowl.
Warm gently in the microwave (1 to 1½ minutes at 30% power) to liquefy the mixture.
Cool the kuchen on a wire rack for 15 minutes before applying the first glaze.
Cool for another 15 minutes before removing from the springform pans.
Brush the remaining glaze over the kuchen and serve.

Notes

This recipe is based on David Tanis' Apple Kuchen with Honey and Ginger recipe available on the New York Times Cooking site.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour two 4 inch springform pans. In a small bowl, sift the flour, ground ginger, salt, and baking powder together. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the honey and whip to combine. Add the egg and whip for 2 minutes. Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined into a thick batter. Split the batter between the 2 prepared pans. Place the apples on edge in a row into the batter. Sprinkle the apples and batter with the turbinado sugar. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the edge of the apples comes out clean. Whisk together the glaze ingredients in a small glass bowl. Warm gently in the microwave (1 to 1½ minutes at 30% power) to liquefy the mixture. Cool the kuchen on a wire rack for 15 minutes before applying the first glaze. Cool for another 15 minutes before removing from the springform pans. Brush the remaining glaze over the kuchen and serve.