Göttinger Apfelkuchen — Göttingen apple cake for Kaffeestunde
A moist cake with tart apples, scented with cinnamon and lemon zest, dusted with sugar. The companion to four-o'clock coffee in Hilbert's academic Göttingen.
A moist cake with tart apples, scented with cinnamon and lemon zest, dusted with sugar. The companion to four-o'clock coffee in Hilbert's academic Göttingen.
In Göttingen, the afternoon belonged to coffee and cake—it was there, over a slice of Apfelkuchen, that we solved more problems than at the blackboard, believe me. The apples from the orchard, nice and tart, the cinnamon, a lemon zest: nothing complicated, but everything must be right. Wir müssen wissen, wir werden wissen—we must know, we shall know—but first, a good slice of cake and a walk.
- •Tart orchard apples — three or four (filling, acidity)
- •Wheat flour — two cups (batter)
- •Butter — a good knob (richness)
- •Sugar — one cup (sweetness)
- •Eggs — three (binder)
- •Cinnamon — a pinch (spice)
- •Lemon zest — one (fragrance)
Göttinger Apfelkuchen — Göttingen apple cake for Kaffeestunde
A moist cake with tart apples, scented with cinnamon and lemon zest, dusted with sugar. The companion to four-o'clock coffee in Hilbert's academic Göttingen.
Why this dish? In Göttingen, where Hilbert taught for nearly forty years, scientific life happened as much around blackboards as around coffee tables and walks. The ritual of Kaffee und Kuchen structured the afternoons of university families—an apple cake, a discussion of the infinite.
In Göttingen, the afternoon belonged to coffee and cake—it was there, over a slice of Apfelkuchen, that we solved more problems than at the blackboard, believe me. The apples from the orchard, nice and tart, the cinnamon, a lemon zest: nothing complicated, but everything must be right. Wir müssen wissen, wir werden wissen—we must know, we shall know—but first, a good slice of cake and a walk.
Ingredients (period version)
- Tart orchard apples — three or four (filling, acidity)
- Wheat flour — two cups (batter)
- Butter — a good knob (richness)
- Sugar — one cup (sweetness)
- Eggs — three (binder)
- Cinnamon — a pinch (spice)
- Lemon zest — one (fragrance)
Ingredients
- Tart apples (Boskoop, Reinette) — 3 large (filling)
- Flour — 200 g (batter)
- Softened butter — 150 g (richness)
- Sugar — 150 g (sweetness)
- Eggs — 3 (binder)
- Baking powder — 1 tsp (leavening)
- Cinnamon — 1 tsp (spice)
- Lemon zest — 1 (fragrance)
Method
- Beat the softened butter with sugar, add eggs one by one, then flour, baking powder, and lemon zest.
- Pour the batter into a buttered pan.
- Peel and slice the apples; arrange them in a fan or push them into the batter, sprinkle with cinnamon and a little sugar.
- Bake at 180°C for about 40 minutes, until a knife comes out clean.
- Let cool slightly, dust with powdered sugar; serve with afternoon coffee.
How it was made : Without widespread baking powder, egg whites were often beaten to a stiff peak to aerate the batter; sugar, more costly, was used sparingly. Local tart apples (reinettes) were preferred, and cinnamon remained the most common festive imported spice.
The contemporary twist : Arrange the apple slices in a regular spiral like a mathematical curve: a 'Hilbert spiral' Apfelkuchen for a wink.
David Hilbert · Charactorium