A six inch, single layer cake topped with overlapping apple slices sits on parchment paper.

Apple Kuchen

I'd never imagined making an upside down cake in a microwave from scratch. Well, that's not true. I did make a Blueberry Upside Down Cake. But it's honestly not as pretty and fancy looking (but still tasty) as this Apple Kuchen. Kuchen is a German word for cake.

The first kuchen I made was a recipe from the first Martha Stewart Cookbook. The kuchen is easy and simple yet impressive looking. I think the recipe was a cherry or plum kuchen. I substituted cranberries. It's a cake that adapts to whatever is in season.

The kuchen was and is my go to cake. I adjusted it for the microwave and made it an upside down cake. Why? So the top of the cake would be flat and retain the apple's pattern. Cakes tend to rise unevenly in the microwave. And I wanted to replicate the look of an oven baked kuchen.

Mission accomplished.

Apple Kuchen

Text and Photo by Jac Kyles Baker

Makes one 6 inch cake

Ingredients

1 small apple*, cored, quartered and thinly sliced

1 TB light brown sugar

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup granulated sugar

3 TB + 2 tsp unsalted butter, softened

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg, lightly beaten

Preparation

Butter the sides of a 6 inch round microwave safe pan. Combine 2 tsp butter and light brown sugar. Spread on the bottom of the pan.

Prepare apples:

Place apples in a microwave safe bowl. Cover. Microwave on HIGH for 1 minute. Carefully remove cover. (CAUTION: hot steam). Drain liquid into a separate bowl. Set aside.

Microwave apples on HIGH for 1 minute. Cook until apples are tender but hold their shape. Drain excess liquid into set aside bowl.

Set aside apples to cool.

Make cake:

In a separate bowl: beat 3 TB sugar, salt and remaining butter until light and creamy. Add vanilla. Beat in egg. Stir well.

Whisk flour and baking powder together. Make a well in the bottom of the flour bowl. Add about a third of the liquid mixture to the well. Stir in some of the flour. Repeat until all the liquid and flour is mixed into a smooth batter.

Cover the bottom of the prepared pan with cooled apple slices in an overlapping, spiral pattern. Spread the cake batter evenly over apples.

Microwave on MED HIGH (70% power)** for 4 minutes, checking cake's progress every minute. Microwave on HIGH power for 1 minute. Test doneness by sticking a toothpick into center of cake; it should come out clean.

Cool pan on rack for five minutes. Invert pan on a plate. Remove cake from plate. Cool completely on rack.

Cook's Notes

* I used a small Gala apple.

** Microwave power varies. Adjust power and times accordingly.

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