German Apple Pancakes (Apfelpfannkuchen)

Apples in a pancake, how can you say no to that?  Yep, you can never go wrong with these German Apple Pancakes (locally known as ‘Apfelpfannkuchen‘) —- great as a snack or dessert and always a winner year-round!

Craving for a light dessert after enjoying two servings of Kartoffelsuppe (German Potato Soup)?  Apfelpfannkuchen, or German Apple Pancake, is what you need! 🙂

Have it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream when the weather is warm and some fruit jam when the temperature drops a bit.

Or, you can just sprinkle some sugar and cinnamon powder on top of your apfelpfannkuchen — simply delicious!

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Ingredients

• Flour – all-purpose flour is all you need for making this German apple pancakes recipe.

• Eggs – medium-sized (63 to 73 grams per piece) and separate the yolks from the egg whites.

• Sugar – caster sugar or fine-textured white sugar would be excellent.

• Lemon – you would only use the lemon zest for preparing German apple pancakes.

• Milk – full cream milk, if possible.

• Apples – peeled, cored, and chopped into thin wedges.

• Butter – only for preparing the pan, not included in the batter, so salted or unsalted will work for apfelpfannkuchen.

• Ground cinnamon & vanilla extract – just use your favorite brand.

Preparation

Start making apfelpfannkuchen by preheating your oven to 200°C (400°F).

Using a large mixing bowl, sift and combine flour and ground cinnamon.

Add egg yolks, milk, lemon zest, and vanilla extract.

Mix until there are no lumps and set aside.

In a separate bowl, add egg whites and sugar.

Beat into soft peaks.

Add a third of the beaten egg white into the egg and flour batter.

Fold the egg whites to combine gently with the rest.

Repeat until all the beaten egg whites have been incorporated into the apple pancake batter.

Place a small cast iron pan (or any oven-proof skillet) on medium-high heat on the stovetop and add half of the butter.

Once the butter has melted, pour half of the batter, and arrange some apple slices on top.

Place the pan on the stovetop and adjust the heat to medium-low.

Once the sides of the apple pancake start solidifying, transfer the skillet to the preheated oven.

When your apfelpfannkuchen is cooked (but still not brown), take it out of the oven — it usually takes ten to twelve minutes.

Generously sprinkle sugar, then place it back in the oven.

Cook for three to four more minutes or until the top turns golden.

Take your apfelpfannkuchen out of the oven.

Serve with a dollop of your favorite jam or ice cream — enjoy!

Helpful tips

• I generally prefer using small apples for making apfelpfannkuchen because they’re easier to arrange them on top — feel free to do what you like.

The key point is to chop them thinly so they will cook or soften more in the oven.

• Instead of using a small pan and cooking them into two batches, you can pour the entire apfelpfannkuchen batter and use all the apples on top of a bigger skillet.

But be mindful of the cooking time; you might need to adjust it.

Recipe variation

• Tart Apples.  While slightly tart apples are traditionally used to make German apple pancakes, you can also try your favorite types and decide which ones you prefer.

• Liquor.  You can replace the vanilla extract with liquor if you want — rum is the generic choice for apfelpfannkuchen.

So how about it?  Give this German apple pancakes recipe a try this weekend!

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