RECIPE - Apple Coffee Cake (Cuca de Maçã)

This recipe for a crumble-topped, apple-flavored cake is probably not all that different from the one that readers of Flavors of Brazil have in their cooking repertoire, but it is an authentically Brazilian one - one that highlights the German contribution to the cake known in Brazil as cuca.

Cucas are customer favorites in the many Teutonic-style coffee shops in the mountainous regions of Southern Brazil. Apples are extensively cultivated in these regions, so flavoring the cake with spiced apples makes good culinary sense. It also makes for a delicious cake.
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RECIPE - Apple Coffee Cake (Cuca de Maçã)

cake mix:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
4 whole eggs, separated
1/2 cup whole milk
1 Tbsp baking powder
3 ripe cooking apples

crumbled topping:
6 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
1 tsp powdered cinnamon
fresh lemon juice
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Prepare the topping:
Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl, then using a pastry blender or two knives, mix everything together, cutting up the cubes of butter and distributing them through the mixture. Reserve in the refrigerator.

Prepare the cake mix:
Core and peel the apples, then cut them into thin slices. Sprinkle with lemon juice to prevent browning. Reserve.

Beat the egg whites to the soft peak stage. Reserve.

Combine the egg yolks, sugar and butter, then beat with a hand or electric mixture until you have a homogenous, creamy mixture. Beat in the milk, then the flour in 1/2 cup batches. Mix in the baking powder, then fold in the egg whites, being careful not to overmix.

Pour the batter into a 12 inch round cake pan, greased with butter and dusted with flour. Top with the apple slices, coving the entire surface of the batter. Finally, sprinkle the pre-mixed topping mixture over the surface, covering it completely.

Bake in a preheated 350F (180C) oven for 35-40 minutes, or until the topping is golden and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven, cool in the pan on a wire rack.