METHOD
1. To make the dough, dissolve the yeast in the milk with the extra teaspoon of sugar and leave for 15 minutes in a warm place.
2. Place the flour in a large bowl or in the bowl of a standing mixer with the dough hook attachment and stir in the yeast ferment. Add the egg and yolk, vanilla, salt and the remaining sugar and beat until smooth. Add the butter cut into a few pieces and knead the dough by hand or in the mixer until it becomes smooth, elastic and shows strands of developed gluten. Dust with more flour as you knead if it’s very runny. Cover with cling film and place it in a warm place for an hour, or overnight in the fridge but bring it back to room temperature before proceeding the next morning.
3. In the meantime roast the apples: peel and core them, cut in quarters or eights if very large and toss with the melted butter and the sugar. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas 6.
4. Spread the apples on a large glass or plastic (not non-stick) baking tray, slide into the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes turning them around occasionally. The edges of the baking tray should show caramelisation but the released liquid should have evaporated again.
5. Remove the apples from the tray onto a plate with a slotted spatula. Pour the breadcrumbs into the tray and scrape all the bits of caramelised sugar and butter into the crumbs; scrub the flavours off the tray with them. Scrape the breadcrumbs into a bowl and stir in the chopped nuts, cinnamon and cardamom.
6. Scoop the dough (it probably won’t have risen much) from the bowl into a springform cake tin 24cm/10in or a similar baking dish. Stretch the dough to cover the tin and pull up around the side to form a raised edge. Let it prove, covered with cling film, in a warm place for 30 minutes.
7. Spread half the breadcrumb-nut mix over the dough, spoon the apples evenly over the crumbs and sprinkle with the remaining breadcrumb mix. Transfer the tin to the oven.
8. Bake for 15 minutes at 200C/400F/gas 6 then turn the oven down to 180C/350F/gas 4 and bake for further 15-20 minutes until the edges are brown and the Kuchen is well risen. If the nuts are burning, loosely cover the top with aluminium foil for the last stage of baking.
9. Cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then take off the side of the tin. Serve warm, with cream, ice cream, custard or just a large black coffee.