The apple theme continues. This time, apple cake. There’ve been loads of recipes making the rounds and three have caught my eye which I plan to try this season:
- Carla Tomasi’s “Jablecznik” Polish Apple Cake
- Azelia’s Kitchen’s Apple Brown Sugar Cake
- Carl Legge’s German Apple Cake (not yet published on the interwebs)
My first cake, chosen purely because I had the ingredents, was Carla’s Jablecznik. The 25% of me that’s Polish was giddy at the thought.
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I’m not really a big cake eater, or fan of sweets in general. But this apple cake suited me perfectly, largely because it’s less like “cake” and more like a sweetened apple frittata: think layers and layers of apples held together by a luxurious egg- and flour-based batter. The moisture from the apples give the cake an almost custard-like quality.
This is the kind of dessert food I like: rustic, full of fruit, layered with texture and not overly sweet. Being Polish, I feel compelled to add creme fraiche, but it doesn’t need it. It does, however, really enjoy the company of a hot cup of coffee or tea.
Jablecznik: Polish Apple Cake
A true celebration of apples. I’ve halved the ingredients of the original recipe to fit a 20cm spring-form tin, which serves about 8. For Carla’s original 25cm cake, check out her recipe on Facebook.
Ingredients
- 135gr plain cake flour or Italian ’00’ flour
- 1.25 tsp baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 100 gr of granulated sugar
- 55 gr soft unsalted butter
- 125 ml full fat milk
- 2 medium eggs
- 4 large apples peeled cored and thinly sliced
For the topping
- 22 gr cold diced butter
- 25 gr granulated sugar
- 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Method
- Line a 20cm cake tin with parchment paper (if you don’t know how, read this).
- In a large bowl sift the flour, baking powder and salt. Than add the sugar,butter, milk and eggs. Beat well till smooth. The batter should be of a soft dropping consistency.
- Pour half of the batter into the cake tin, spread it out and layer on just a bit more than half of the sliced apples. Spoon half of the remaining batter on top and then add the rest of the apples. Dot the rest of the batter on the apples.
- With your fingertips work together the cold butter, sugar and spice till you have “butter crumbs” and scatter on top of the cake.
- Bake for about 40 minutes, until the top is golden and the apples poking through the top have started to brown.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
Per serving: 262 Calories | 9.6 grams Fat | 42.5 grams Carbohydrates | 3.6 grams Protein | 2.6 grams Fiber
Oh make this for us when you visit…. there’s something very “familiar” about this cake. It sounds SO good to me…. I think I must prefer eggy cakes with less sweetness because Auntie Jo’s “Sunshine Cake” is my all time favorite. This would be amazing!
That cake is just beautiful–it looks perfect for curling up on the couch with and a cup of tea on a windy day!
So apple cake AND polenta cake – my trip home may not be very good for the wasteline. 😉