Tipsy Apple Cake from the Moselle Valley

I hope you feel like looking at some photos, because today I've prepared a little trip to the Moselle Valley for you, along with a recipe for a tipsy apple cake that you're sure to love. I liked it a lot. But first, a few words about where the idea for this cake came from. And it wasn't only me who loved it, Basia did too, and she came up with the idea of publishing the same recipe together.

Tipsy apple cake

The Moselle Valley, named for the left tributary of the Rhine, is an area surrounded by countless vineyards that invite you not only to taste the delicious Riesling, but also to go on wonderful walks. The river winds for miles among magnificent steep hills dotted with dozens of vineyards, which makes for unforgettable, often breathtaking views. I still can't get over how these vineyards are kept up. How much work and effort it takes to produce such good wine! Despite the rocky, steep terrain, the grapes have a wonderful climate here, which favors the production of light and delicate wines. If you'd like to read more about wines, I invite you to visit Dawny_Basik, who presents the wines from that region and with whom I had the chance to explore these wonderful places. Basia, thank you again for the time we spent together, and I'm happy we've met!

Along the riverbank stretch smaller and larger towns, often rich in charming Prussian buildings. One of those towns is Pünderich, where we stayed. Even though we were there for only 2 nights, we rested a lot and recharged our batteries. I'm glad we were there outside the tourist season, which let us enjoy the area without rushing or jostling. Every town has something special about it. Not far from Pünderich is Zell, where a black cat, the Schwarz Katz, "lives." The cat shows up there literally everywhere, thanks to the legend of the black cat. The legend tells of merchants who came to a winery (unknown at the time) to buy a barrel of wine. They tried different ones and couldn't decide. Suddenly a black cat ran out of the house and sat down on one of the barrels. When the owner wanted to pour wine from it, the cat started hissing. Everyone wondered why the cat was behaving that way, and it was taken as a sign that this barrel held the best wine. After a while the merchants came back for more wine from the "Black Cat" winery, and so it has remained ever since.

We left this area very reluctantly. To stretch the trip out a little longer, we drove to Koblenz to see where the Moselle flows into the Rhine. This happens at a historic spot called the "German Triangle" (Deutsches Eck), which owes its name to the knights of the Teutonic Order. The place was chosen by Wilhelm II, who decided to put up a monument there to his grandfather Wilhelm I, who unified the German Empire.

We didn't manage to see Koblenz itself properly, because the kids were most interested in the cable car that takes you up to the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, from where we admired the views of Koblenz and the surrounding area. We liked the city very much and we'll definitely go back to stroll through its little streets. I'm sure it's worth it.

I'm leaving you with a few more photos from the museum inside the fortress, which of course is all about wine.

But to bring us back to the kitchen, together with Dawny_Basik I've prepared a tasty cake straight from the Moselle Valley, made with wine of course, which reigns in the restaurants there not only as a drink, but also in Moselle cuisine.

Tipsy apple cake

The cake is delicious, fluffy and disappears fast. On top of that, it's very easy to make. In the original recipe I changed the temperature (it says 150°C (300°F) there), the baking time (45 minutes instead of 35), and the soaking time for the apples. I think apples soaked longer simply taste better :) And if you have any left over, they'll go well with another dessert or with muesli :)

Tipsy Apple Cake from the Moselle Valley:

Peel the apples, cut them into wedges and pour the wine over them. Soak for about 30 minutes (longer is fine).

Cream the butter with the sugar until light and creamy, then add the eggs one at a time, followed by the lemon juice. Sift the flour with the baking powder and add it gradually to the batter, mixing constantly. Add the milk and a pinch of salt and mix.

Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F). Grease a 24 cm springform pan and dust it with flour. Pour in the batter, arrange the apples on top, placing them tightly in overlapping rows, and bake on the middle rack for about 45-55 minutes (I had to bake it for an hour, because I baked at a lower temperature). Before taking it out, check that a toothpick stuck into the cake comes out dry. Remove from the oven, let it cool, and dust with powdered sugar mixed with cinnamon.

Enjoy!