Two layers of tender pastry with a generous helping of fragrant apples and cinnamon in between. These apple slices are a simple, classic tray bake that’s perfect with coffee or as a weekend treat for the whole family. The dough is pleasantly soft thanks to butter, eggs, and milk, while lemon zest and juice add a subtle freshness. You can adjust the filling to taste depending on the sweetness of your apples, and feel free to add raisins.
What You’ll Need
For the dough:
- 250 g plain flour,
- 250 g semi-coarse flour,
- 120 g fat – for example, butter or margarine,
- 120 g sugar,
- 2 whole eggs,
- 8 tablespoons milk,
- 1 baking powder,
- a pinch of salt,
- grated lemon zest,
- juice of half a lemon.
For the apple filling:
- apples, depending on the size of your baking tray,
- sugar to taste,
- ground cinnamon,
- vanilla sugar,
- optional: raisins.
For finishing:
- icing sugar for dusting.
Step-by-Step Preparation:
1. Prepare the apples: Remove the cores from the apples, peel them if you like, and grate them coarsely.
2. Flavour the filling: Sweeten the grated apples according to their natural sweetness, add ground cinnamon and vanilla sugar. If you like, mix in some raisins.
3. Make the dough: In a bowl, combine plain and semi-coarse flour, sugar, baking powder, a pinch of salt, fat, eggs, milk, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
4. Work the dough: Knead everything into a smooth dough. Divide the finished dough into two roughly equal parts.
5. Roll out the first sheet: Roll out one half of the dough to fit your baking tray. Place it on a tray lined with baking paper.
6. Apple layer: Spread the prepared apple filling evenly over the first sheet.
7. Second layer of dough: Roll out the second half of the dough and carefully place it over the apples.
8. Seal the edges: Gently press the edges of both sheets together so the filling stays inside during baking.
9. Baking: Bake the slices in a preheated oven at 180 °C for about 30 minutes. Watch the colour – the pastry should be lightly golden.
10. Finishing: Let the baked slices cool completely and dust lightly with icing sugar before serving.
How to Achieve a Juicy Filling
If your apples are very juicy, you can gently squeeze out some of the excess juice after grating. However, don’t dry the filling out completely – it’s the juicy apples that give the slices their moistness.
What Can Go Wrong
The dough tears when transferring: It might be too soft. Lightly flour your work surface or chill the dough briefly.
The bottom layer is too wet: The apples may have released too much juice. With very juicy varieties, drain off some of the liquid before layering.
The top browns too quickly: Every oven bakes a little differently, so keep an eye on the slices towards the end and take them out a few minutes earlier if needed.
Final Tip
The slices are even better the next day, when the apple filling and pastry meld together even more. For a more intense flavour, you can add a bit more cinnamon or a few extra drops of lemon juice to the apples.
Enjoy!
