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Sheet Cakes, Classics, Cakes

Moist Sheet Pan Butter Cake with Pudding, Just Like from the Pastry Shop

by Lisa

Trained pastry chef

Slice of German butter cake filled with vanilla pudding and apples, topped with almonds

5.0 (1)out of 5, 1 rating

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Prep
50 min
Bake
20 min
Total
1 hr 10 min
Makes
14 slices

Fresh from the oven, the butter in the little wells still melted, a layer of creamy vanilla pudding in the middle and a few soft apple pieces with slivered almonds on top: that's my sheet pan butter cake with pudding (Butterkuchen in German), just the way I love it best. A classic with a little twist.

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Instead of just pudding on top, mine has a real filling inside. I bake the butter cake as usual, carefully slice it in half horizontally once it has cooled, and layer the cooled pudding plus my homemade apple compote between the two halves. So what makes it special is a pastry chef's technique from the world of layered cream cakes, just on an easygoing yeasted sheet cake instead of a cream cake. Only one thing really matters: let the pudding get completely cold before it goes onto the base, or the cake will turn soggy under the cream. Here's my recipe for moist sheet pan butter cake with pudding:

Ingredients

Makes 14 slices

For the yeast dough

  • 3 cups380 gall-purpose flourGerman Type 405. In 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 cubeyeast½ cube = 21 g fresh yeast. German recipes use either a 42 g cube of fresh yeast or a 7 g packet of dry yeast; one cube equals about two packets. In the US use active dry or instant yeast; one ¼ oz (7 g) envelope replaces half a cube of fresh yeast. In the UK use fast action dried yeast (7 g sachet per half cube), or fresh yeast from a supermarket bakery counter.
  • ¼ cup50 ggranulated sugar
  • 1large eggroom temperature
  • 3 ½ tbsp50 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 use unsalted butter.
  • ¾ cup plus 1 tbsp200 mlmilkwarm

For the topping

  • 7 tbsp100 gunsalted buttercold, diced
  • ⅓ cup70 ggranulated sugar
  • 3 ½ oz100 galmondssliced or slivered

Filling

  • 3 cups700 mlmilk
  • 6 tbsp80 ggranulated sugar
  • ½ cup plus 2 tbsp80 gcornstarch or custard pudding powderCornstarch is a fine starch, usually made from corn, used to thicken creams and lighten cakes (US: cornstarch; 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).
  • 4applesFuji or Cox
  • 1 pinchcinnamon
  • 1 splashrumoptional
  • 2 tspvanilla sugar1 packet = 2 tsp (8 g). Vanilla sugar is 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.

Method

Yeast dough

  1. Make a well in the flour, add the sugar, milk & yeast and let it sit for 10 minutes until it starts to bubble, then add the butter & egg and knead everything into a dough.

  2. Cover the dough and let it rest for about 1 hour.

  3. In the meantime, cook the filling. To do this, whisk a splash of the milk thoroughly with the cornstarch & egg, and bring the rest of the milk to a boil.

  4. As soon as the milk starts to boil, stir in the cornstarch mixture and, stirring constantly, let it bubble for at least 1 minute.

  5. Transfer the pudding to another container, cover it and let it cool completely.

  6. Peel, quarter and core the apples and cut them into cubes. Cook them in a pot with a little cinnamon & the almonds until soft, then let them cool.

  7. Take the dough out of the bowl and place it on a large baking sheet (about 16 × 14 inches / 40 × 35 cm; a US half sheet pan, 18 × 13 inches, works too) lined with parchment paper. Roll it out to about ⅜ to ⅝ inch (1 to 1.5 cm) thick, then poke holes in it with a wooden spoon and fill them with butter.

  8. Let the dough rest for about 30 minutes, then preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) convection (fan) and bake until golden (about 20 minutes). If you like, sprinkle it with a little extra sugar before baking.

  9. After baking, let the cake cool and slice it in half horizontally.

  10. Give the pudding a quick stir, then fold in the apples. Spread it over the bottom layer and place the top layer on it.

Questions and answers

Can I make butter cake with pudding without yeast?
Sure, you can. If you don't feel like making a yeast dough, you can use a shortcrust dough or a quark and oil dough as the base (quark is a fresh, mild and slightly tangy cheese; in the US use full-fat Greek yogurt strained overnight, or farmer's cheese; in the UK, quark from the supermarket chiller, full-fat if you can find it). The quark and oil dough comes closest to the fluffy look of yeast dough and doesn't need any rising time. It tastes a little different, but it's super delicious and, above all, ready in no time.
How do I keep the base from getting soggy from the pudding?
The most important thing: the pudding has to be completely cold before it goes onto the base. That's why I always cook it right at the start, so it has plenty of time to cool while the yeast dough rises. If you want to be completely sure, brush the bottom layer with a paper-thin coat of white chocolate or warm apricot jam first. That seals the crumb, and the pudding won't soak in.
Which apples work best for the filling?
My favorites are Braeburn, Cox's Orange Pippin or Fuji. They have a nice tartness that balances the sweetness of the pudding, and they keep their shape when you cook them briefly. Boskoop works too; it gets a little softer and releases more juice, so I let the apple mixture cook down a little longer so it isn't too runny on the base.
How long does the filled butter cake keep?
With a pudding filling, the butter cake definitely belongs in the fridge. Well covered, it keeps there for two to three days. In my experience it tastes best on the first and second day; after that, the base slowly gets a little softer. I take it out 15 minutes before serving, so the flavors of the pudding and the butter come through better.
Can I freeze butter cake with pudding?
I wouldn't freeze the fully filled cake, because the pudding weeps as it thaws and turns crumbly. What works really well: bake the yeast dough base without the filling, let it cool and freeze it. On the day you need it, thaw the base, cook fresh pudding and briefly cook the apples, then assemble. That way you always have something on hand when friends drop by for coffee.
Do I need a different filling for the classic East Frisian version?
The East Frisian butter cake with pudding is traditionally made with sliced almonds on top (thin slices of almond; in the US sliced almonds, in the UK flaked almonds) and dollops of pudding instead of a continuous pudding layer. If you'd like to try that version, don't put the pudding in the middle. Instead, pipe small dots into the wells of the baked butter cake with a piping bag and scatter plenty of sliced almonds over the top. It looks great and tastes like a farmhouse café on the coast.