Apple Cake with a Marzipan Topping

Ingredients:

9x11 (30x40 cm) Pyrex or deep baking dish or 12 inch (28 cm) springform

Some grease

Pie Crust:

220 g all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

75 g sugar

110 g (1 stick) soft butter or margarine

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 package vanilla sugar

2 tablespoons milk

Filling:

750 g or 1.5 pounds apples

Topping:

100 g marzipan

4 tablespoons calvados

75 g soft butter or margarine

75 g sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 package vanilla sugar

150 g sour cream

100 g sliced almonds

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven so 180 degrees Celsius (350 F). Grease bottom of baking dish or springform.

2. Mix flour and baking powder, then sift into a bowl. Add remaining ingredients and using the knead hooks of an electric hand mixer until a dough has formed. Chill in refrigerator until ready to use.

3. Peel apples, cut into quarters and remove core. Cut apples into thick slices.

4. Use 2/3 of the pie crust batter and put on bottom of baking dish or springform. Form a long rod of the remaining batter and line the edge of the baking dish or springform about 2 cm or 3/4 inch high.

5. Put apples on top of bottom and bake for about 25 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius (350 F).

6. Topping: Whisk marzipan and calvados until smooth. Add butter or margarine, sugar, vanilla sugar and sour cream and keep whisking. Lastly, stir in almonds and spread on top of hot apples.

7. Bake cake for an additional 15 minutes of until toothpick comes out clean.

Comments:

1. The original recipe uses 1 egg in the batter for the pie crust. I prefer to leave it out; the batter is less crumbly without it.

2. I didn't have any calvados, so I used amaretto instead.