Christmas Glazed Apple Cake (Weihnachten Gedeckter Apfelkuchen)

Covered Apple Cake (Gedeckter Apfelkuchen) is one of the cakes you’re sure to find in almost every single bakery across Germany. To make it, you line a springform pan with a sweet short pastry, fill the crust with a chunky cooked apple filling studded with raisins and flavored with cinnamon and lemon, and then use the same crust dough to make a lid for the cake. I sometimes wonder if it isn’t the precursor to America’s apple pie, though in this cake, even after baking, the pastry remains soft and cakey thanks to the moist, cooked apple filling and a lemon glaze that is brushed on the top crust after baking.

Gedeckter Apfelkuchen from industrial bakeries tends to be unbearably sweet. In fact, I always thought I didn’t much care for it until I tried making it at home, and now I’m smitten. I like to use apples that have a good balance of sweetness and acidity for the filling and I leave them unsweetened, which gives a nicely tart contrast to the sweet, glazed crust. Here, I've adapted it for the Christmas holiday, swapping out the traditional raisins for fresh cranberries, and using lebkuchen spices to add a festive flavor.