Apple Cake with Coconut Meringue

Preheat the oven to 150 °C fan (conventional oven: 175 °C).

Grease a springform pan and dust it with flour.

Peel the apples, quarter them, remove the cores and chop them coarsely. Toss the apple cubes with lemon juice and 2 tbsp sugar.

Separate 3 eggs. Chill the 3 egg whites.

Beat the soft butter with 125 g sugar, vanilla sugar and a pinch of salt until creamy.

Beat in 2 whole eggs and then the 3 egg yolks one at a time into the butter-sugar mixture.

Mix the flour and baking powder. Stir the flour mixture into the batter alternately with the rum in portions, briefly each time.

Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Arrange the apples on top and press them in slightly.

Bake the cake for about 30 minutes.

Beat the remaining egg whites with 1 pinch of salt until stiff. While beating, slowly sprinkle in 175 g sugar and continue beating until the sugar has completely dissolved and the mixture is glossy.

Gently fold the coconut flakes into the meringue.

Spread the coconut meringue over the pre-baked cake and sprinkle with 1 tbsp coconut flakes.

Bake the cake at the same temperature for another approx. 10 minutes, until the meringue takes on a light color.

Let the cake cool completely on a wire rack and dust with powdered sugar before serving.