Apple Cake with a Sweet Riesling Glaze and Whipped Cream

This easy apple cake celebrates the fall harvest and echos the tart apple notes in the Schmitt Sohne Sweet Riesling. The “sunken apple “cake is spiced with fragrant cardamom and vanilla paste, topped with a sweet wine glaze and served with homemade Riesling-scented whipped cream. The cake borrows it’s style from a traditional Versunkener Apfelkuchen [German dessert] but the flavors are fresh and contemporary—the perfect pairing for today’s sweet Riesling.

Serves 8

Ingredients:

4  medium-to-large* Honeycrisp apples

Juice of 1 lemon

3/4  cup or 6 ounces unsalted butter at room temperature

3/4  cup granulated sugar

2  tsp vanilla paste

Zest of a lemon

3  tsp fresh lemon juice

3  large eggs

1 1/4  cups ap flour

2 tsp  baking powder

1 teaspoon cardamom

1/4  tsp salt

Sweet Riesling Glaze:

¼ cup Schmitt Sohne Vineyards Sweet Riesling

1-1 ½ cup confectioners sugar

Pinch of salt

Pinch of cardamom

Riesling Whipped Cream:

1 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons Schmitt Sohne Vineyards Sweet Riesling

1 tablespoon confectioners sugar

Method:

Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare a 9-or 10-inch springform with Baker’s Joy.

You can make this cake with any size apples*, if you have smaller apples, peel and cut them in half and core them. If they are larger, peel, cut the sides as close to the core as possible, you will have 2 large sides and 2 smaller pieces that you can use if necessary if you don’t have room for the larger ½ apple piece. Thinly score each apple piece lengthwise without cutting all the way through. Toss with lemon juice and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until creamy, about 1 minute. Add sugar and mix until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time and beat after each addition. If the batter looks curdled, don’t worry, it’s because the eggs are colder than the butter and sugar. It will smooth out when you add the flour. Add vanilla paste, lemon zest and lemon juice. Beat until combined.

Mix flour, baking powder, cardamom and salt together. With the mixer running on low speed add the flour a little at a time and beat until just combined—taking care not to overmix. Make sure you use a spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is incorporated and smooth.

Spoon batter into prepared springform pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Place the apples equal-distance from each other in a pattern, with the sliced side up on top. You can place them in a circle around the perimeter of the pan and put your largest half in the center.

Make the glaze while the cake bakes by mixing the wine, 1 cup of powdered sugar and spices until smooth, and set aside. If it is too loose, add more sugar until you like the consistency.

Bake in the middle of the oven for about 60-70 minutes, until lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean.

Transfer cake to a cooling rack and immediately glaze the cake by spooning the glaze over the hot cake until you don’t have any glaze left. If you don’t like the cake to be too sweet, only use half the glaze. Make sure to fully glaze the apples.  Let sit for 10 minutes to let the glaze set and remove the springform ring—the bottom will remain and will support the cake as you serve it. Let cake cool to room temperature.

While the cake cools, make the whipped cream. Combine cream, wine, sugar and vanilla paste in a chilled metal bowl.  Beat on medium high until soft peaks form.  Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 2 hours, beating softly just before serving.

Serve cake with the Riesling-Sweetened Whipped Cream.

Recipe created by Elizabeth Karmel for Schmitt Sohne Vineyards Riesling