Apfelpfannkuchen Recipe (German Apple Pancakes)

These delicious German apple pancakes (Apfelpfannkuchen) are an easy and delicious treat. These fluffy pancakes are ready in just 30 minutes. All you need are just basic pantry ingredients, a frying pan and some fresh crunchy apples. 

Freshly made and still warm from the pan is the best way of eating them. This is one of these nostalgic recipes that Omas always made best. Today we still love to eat them. Especially in Autumn when the German apple harvest begins and you can get the juiciest, crispiest apples straight from the tree. 

What are German Apple Pancakes?

German apple pancakes are sweet pancakes that are fried in a pan. They are made with fresh apples, that are peeled and cut up, and then either added to the dough or placed on top of the pancake. 

The difference to the common German pancake (Pfannkuchen or Eierkuchen) is that the dough is a lot lighter and fluffier. It almost resembles American pancakes, although the dough does not use a raising agent like baking powder. The secret for the fluffiness is the egg whites are whisked until stiff. They get carefully folded into the batter, which adds air to the dough. The result is super light and fluffy pancakes.

What are Apple Pancakes called in German 

Apfelpfannkuchen is the German word for apple pancakes. "Apfel" is the word for apple in German. "Pfannkuchen" is the word for pancake. You pronounce it as an English speaker as "APP-FELL-FAN-COOK-EN". 

What is the difference between Dutch Babies Pancakes and Apfelpfannkuchen? 

I was surprised to find a completely different recipe when I googled "German apple pancake" from what I grew up with. I quickly discovered that this is a name for another recipe that is very popular in the US. It is also called Dutch Baby Pancake. 

This apple pancake recipe is not baked in a cast iron pan in the oven. It also does not use baking powder as a raising agent. 

How to make Apfelpfannkuchen 

Ingridients: 

• 250 g/ 8.8 oz flour 
• 3 eggs
• 180 ml/ 6 fl oz milk
• pinch of salt
• 100 g/3.5 oz butter
• 3 apples
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 50 gr /1.7 oz sugar
• 4 tsp brown sugar

Recipe Steps

1. Separate the eggs. Add the egg yolk and egg whites into two separate bowls and set aside.
2. Peal the apples, core them and slice into 5mm slices.
3. In a large mixing bowl, mix the egg yolks and milk until combined. Then carefully add the flour in little portions to the dough. Mix to a smooth batter.
4. In a separate bowl ,whisk the eggs whites with a pinch of salt until stiff and you see soft peaks.
5. Using a spoon, fold the stiff egg whites into the pancake batter. Carefully mix until combined.
6. Melt a table spoon of butter in the frying pan. When the butter is melted add a ladle of pancake batter to the pan.
7. On top of the pancake batter you place the apple slices in a circular pattern. Sprinkle 1 tsp of brown sugar on top of the apples. This will help them caramelise a little.
8. Cook on a low to medium heat for approx. 3 minutes. You will notice that the pancake is ready by checking if you can life the sides.
9. To prevent the pancake from breaking, place a serving plate over the pan. Pressing down on the plate firmly with your free hand while flipping the pan over using the other hand, so that the plate catches the pancake. Now place the pan down & slide the pancake back into the pan from off the plate.Cook on the other side for a further 3 minutes.
10. To serve, sprinkle the pancake with cinnamon sugar.

How to serve Apfelpfannkuchen

In Germany, you would serve this dish as a sweet lunch or with a cup of coffee in the afternoon.

The apple pancake itself has no sugar in it. The sweetness comes from the caramelised apples and the cinnamon sugar that is sprinkled on top. However, it is also common to serve pancakes with other dessert sauces. Here are some suggestions

• vanilla ice-cream
• vanilla sauce
• fruit compote
• chocolate sauce
• vanilla pudding
• icing sugar
• whipped cream

Recipe Variations

1. Make it sweeter - like many German recipes, these pancakes are not overly sweet. The sweetness comes form the caramelised apples and the topping at the end. If you like your pancakes a bit sweater than add 2 tablespoon granulated sugar to the batter.
2. Add the apples straight into the batter. This is another way of baking these pancakes. Instead of slicing the apples and laying them on top, you can slice the apples into small chunks and add them directly into the batter.
3. Add some raisins to the batter for a bit of natural sweetness.

Storage Instructions

You can keep these pancakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. These pancakes also freeze very well. Just place them in an airtight container and freeze them for up to 6 months.

Defrost the pancakes at room temperature. You can either warm them up in the microwave or quickly fry them in a pan to crisp up again.

More German Sweet Lunch Ideas

• Milchreis (German Rice Pudding)
• Kartoffelpuffer (German Potato Pancakes)
• German Waffles
• Zwetschgenknödel (Plum Dumplings)

Did you try this recipe?

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This post was first published in March 2014 and updated in September 2021.