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Apple Custard Bars

Prep
10 min
Bake
40 min
Total
50 min
Makes
16 slices

Ingredients

Cake Base

  • 1 stick plus 3 tbsp150 gunsalted buttersoftened. German butter is unsalted and has about 82 percent fat. In the US use unsalted butter; European-style unsalted butter is closest. In the UK, unsalted butter.
  • ¾ cup plus 1 tbsp170 ggranulated sugar
  • 2 tspvanilla sugar1 packet = 2 tsp (8 g). Sugar flavored with vanillin (artificial vanilla), sold in small packets of about 8 g. In the US use 1 tsp vanilla extract plus 2 tsp sugar for each 8 g packet; in the UK, vanilla sugar sachets, or 1 tsp vanilla extract plus 2 tsp sugar per sachet.
  • 1 pinchsalt
  • 5large eggsat room temperature; German size M
  • 2 ⅓ cups300 gall-purpose flourIn German recipes plain flour means soft wheat flour Type 405 unless stated otherwise. In the US use all-purpose flour; in the UK, plain flour.
  • ½ cup50 gnutsground
  • 2 tspbaking powderGerman baking powder is sold in 15 g packets, each meant for about 500 g (4 cups) of flour. In the US and in the UK use regular baking powder (1 tbsp plus ¾ tsp per 15 g packet).
  • 18 oz500 gapplesdiced; Fuji or Cox

Cream

  • 1 ¾ cups plus 1 tbsp450 mlmilk
  • ⅓ cup45 gcornstarch or vanilla custard pudding powderCornstarch is a fine starch, usually made from corn, used to thicken creams and lighten cakes (UK: cornflour). German custard pudding powder is a packet of flavored starch (about 37 g) that is cooked with 2 cups (500 ml) of milk and sugar into a thick pudding. In the US use about ⅓ cup (40 g) cornstarch plus 1 tsp vanilla extract per packet; in the UK, custard powder, about 40 g per German packet (it is unsweetened, so it swaps 1:1 by weight).
  • 4 tbspgranulated sugar
  • 1 stick plus 3 tbsp150 gunsalted butter
  • ground vanilla or vanilla sugara little ground vanilla, or 4 tsp vanilla sugar (2 packets, 16 g)

Glaze

  • 2 packetsclear cake glazeA powder that sets fruit juice or water into a clear glaze over fruit tarts. In the US use clear cake glaze powder (sold online), or fruit juice thickened with about 1 tbsp cornstarch per cup; in the UK, quick-set cake glaze sachets, or fruit juice thickened with about 1 tbsp cornflour per 250 ml.
  • sugara little
  • apple juice

Decoration

  • heavy creama little. German cream for whipping has about 30 to 32 percent fat. In the US use heavy cream or heavy whipping cream; in the UK, whipping cream (double cream also works but whips faster, so watch it).
  • apple slices
  • cinnamon

Method

Nut Base

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (170°C) convection (fan). Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. My pan measures 13 × 9 inches (33 × 23 cm).

  2. Beat the butter with the salt, vanilla sugar & sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each.

  3. Briefly mix the dry ingredients, sift them through a coarse sieve over the batter and stir them in.

  4. Pour the batter into the pan, spread it out evenly and top with the apples.

  5. Bake for about 40 minutes. In the meantime, make the cream.

Vanilla Cream

  1. Bring the milk and sugar to a boil. Before you do, take out a good splash of the milk and dissolve the cornstarch in it.

  2. As soon as the milk starts to boil, stir in the starch mixture and let it bubble for about two minutes, stirring all the time.

  3. Take the thickened cream off the heat, stir in the butter and let it cool a little.

  4. Once the base is only warm, spread the cream over it. The cream can still be hot or warm at this point.

  5. Now let the cake come to room temperature.

Apple Glaze

  1. Prepare the clear cake glaze according to the package directions, spread it over the cake and let it set. Decorate with whipped cream, apple slices and cinnamon.

From German Pastry Chef. Full recipe with photos: germanpastrychef.com/recipes/apple-custard-bars/