German Streusel Apple Pie

This German apple pie is the best, seriously. It makes many appearances in my house every year, especially around Thanksgiving. My whole family loves it so much that we had to make two for Thanksgiving this year because we finished the first one so quickly! My family never really liked apple pie, but this one changed everything. The crust is so easy to make, and it’s tender and soft, sort of like a coffee cake. The pie is filled with lots of apples and topped off with the perfect, melt in your mouth streusel. It’s so hard to resist eating all of the streusel before it even makes it onto the pie.

German Streusel Apple Pie vs American Apple Pie

You might be wondering, how is this German apple pie different from traditional American apple pie? While they are both pies made with apples, there are some key differences.

Crust: The biggest difference is the crust! This German apple pie uses a cake-like crust that is super soft and tender. It has a similar texture to a coffee cake and it is made using a batter. American apple pie is usually made with a flaky crust that is rolled out from a dough. I love the tender and rich flavor and texture of this cakey pie crust, and it’s so much easier to make! Instead of grating butter, rolling out dough, and keeping things cold, this no fuss batter is super easy to whip up!

Topping: American apple pie is usually topped with that same flaky pie crust that I mentioned above, but this German apple pie is topped with streusel. The streusel is so easy to make and I love the texture. It’s super crisp and tender, which adds the perfect crunch to the top of the apple pie. I love the contrast between the gooey and soft apples and the crisp streusel topping!

Apples: While American apple pie usually uses thinly sliced apples in the filling, this apple pie uses diced apple cubes. Feel free to use sliced apples instead of diced ones in this German apple pie, if you prefer.

The best apples for apple pie:

I recommend using a variety of apples because there is a mixture of sweet and sour and also a variety of textures. Here are some apples that are especially good for baking:

• Honeycrisp
• Jazz
• Braeburn
• Jonagold
• Pink Lady
• Fuji
• Granny Smith

Although some apples are better than others for baking, they will all work in a pinch! No matter what type of apples you use, this german streusel apple pie will come out amazing.

Tips:

I recommend using a variety of apples because there is a mixture of sweet and sour and also a variety of textures. If you only have one type of apple though, don’t worry! The pie will still taste amazing.

It’s very important to dice these apples small so they have time to soften in the oven. If your pieces are too large, you may have pieces of crisp apple in your pie!

When making the streusel, it’s super important that your butter is softened to room temperature but not melted. This will help you achieve the perfect streusel texture.

The hardest part about making this pie is probably getting the crust mixture to stick to the sides of the pie pan. Unlike traditional pie crust, this crust is a wet mixture so it can be a little hard to get it to stay. The best method I’ve found is to push the batter up the sides using a spatula and then quickly pour in the apples to force the batter up the sides. This doesn’t have to be perfect, even if the batter doesn’t make it all the way up, the pie will still be delicious!

If your pie starts to brown too quickly in the oven, just cover it loosely with a sheet of aluminum foil and continue baking.

If you liked this German streusel apple pie, you might also like…

• Cinnamon apple bread
• Apple cider donuts
• Healthy apple muffins

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5 from 1 vote

German Streusel Apple Pie

The best apple pie ever. It has a delicious streusel topping that adds a nice crunch and balances out the softened apple filling. The crust is almost cake like (some say it's the best part).

Prep Time25 minutes mins

Cook Time40 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 1 minute min

Course: Breakfast, Dessert

Keyword: apple, apple pie, pie, thanksgiving

Servings: 1 Pie

Author: Half the Sugar Baker

Ingredients

For the apple filling

• 5 medium apples diced into small pieces*
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves optional
• 1/4 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or lemon juice optional
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch or substitute flour

For the streusel topping

• 1/4 cup butter room temperature
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons milk

For the crust

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled
• 2 tablespoons apple sauce
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup + 3 tablespoons corn starch
• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract optional

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 360º F. Grease a pie tin with butter.

Mix the apple filling:

• Add the diced apples, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, vinegar, and cornstarch. Stir until the apples are evenly coated. Set aside.

Make the streusel topping:

• In a medium bowl, combing the 1/4 butter, 1/3 cup sugar, and 3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon flour. Using your fingers or a fork, mix the ingredients together so they are well combined. Add the 2 teaspoons milk and mix until there are lumps around the size of peas. It’s okay if there are some bigger or smaller pieces. Set aside.

Make the crust:

• In a large bowl, combine the 5 tablespoons butter, applesauce, and eggs. Whisk until combined. Then add 1/2 cup sugar, corn starch, 1 1/4 cups flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, milk, and vanilla extract. Whisk until everything is incorporated.
• Pour the batter for the crust into the greased pie tin and use a spatula to spread it out evenly over the bottom and sides of the tin. Pour in your diced apples and spread out evenly. You can use the apples to push the batter against the sides of the pan. Finally, top with the streusel mixture by sprinkling the crumbs over the apples. When adding the streusel, I like to gently smush the crumbs together to get some bigger pieces.
• Bake the pie in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.
• Once done baking, let the pie cool briefly on a wire rack and enjoy! I recommend serving with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Notes

I recommend using a variety of apples so there are different flavors and textures.