Apple Kuchen

 It had been a while since I baked the

French Laundry Apple Kuchen.

I forgot how good it was.

It was our New Year's Day dessert.

Very easy cake to bake.

Served with a warm cream sauce. 

APPLE KUCHEN

Print Recipe

Source: The French Laundry Cookbook - Thomas Keller

Kuchen

6 tablespoons (3 oz.) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus butter for baking pan

3/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 cup milk or light cream

3 to 4 Gravenstein or Golden Delicious apples

1 cup cranberries or firm blueberries

Cinnamon sugar: 1 tablespoon sugar mixed with 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Hot Cream Sauce

2 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup sugar

8 tablespoons (4 oz.) unsalted butter

For the kuchen:

Preheat the oven to 375?F. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan.

In a mixer bowl or by hand in a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar, and egg together until the mixture is fluffy and lightened in texture.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Add the dry ingredients and the milk alternately to the butter mixture. Do not overbeat; mix just until the ingredients are combined.

Peel and core the apples. Slice them into 1/4-inch wedges.

Spoon the batter into the pan. Press the apple slices, about 1/4 inch apart and core side down, into the batter, working in a circular pattern around the outside edge (like the spokes of a wheel). Arrange most of the cranberries in a ring inside the apples and sprinkle the remainder around the edges of the kuchen. Sprinkle the kuchen with the cinnamon sugar.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a cake tester or skewer inserted in the center of the kuchen comes out clean. Set on a rack to cool briefly, or let cool to room temperature.

For the hot cream sauce: Combine the cream, sugar, and butter in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat (to reduce the chances of scorching or boiling over) and let the sauce simmer for 5 to 8 minutes, to reduce and thicken slightly. Serve the hot sauce with the kuchen.

Makes 8 servings.