Apple Kuchen

Every German should have a secret Kuchen recipe ... even if your German ancestry is but a drop. Here's mine.


Serves 6-8 (unless it's my family -- my husband and I both get a slice and our teenage son gets the rest).

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened to room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 Roma or Fugi apples, peeled, cored and sliced into sixteenths

Topping:

1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray 8-inch cake or tart pan with non-stick spray.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until it becomes light and fluffy. Add the egg and mix until thoroughly combined.

Add the flour and baking powder and mix until just combined.

With floured fingers, press dough into the prepared pan, pushing the dough slightly up the edges. Arrange the apples in concentric circles and press into the dough. Sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar topping.

Bake in 350-degree oven for about 45 minutes or until nicely browned. Let cool completely.

Drizzle with an Icing Glaze made up of confectioner's sugar and water.