Category: Apple Cake

Apple Tart – French Style

  • This recipe is based on one in a new (to me) Polish book about pastries & cakes.
  • It is however rather like some French tarts.
  • I have changed it around quite a bit.
  • The shortcrust pastry used is different from my own in that a whole egg is used rather than just yolks.
  • Having the egg white in the pastry makes the dough much harder and stronger and easier to work with.
  • But it is not as “short” or crumbly.

INGREDIENTS – Pastry

  • 250g plain flour
  • 1 egg – beaten
  • 125g butter – softened
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • Water
  • Pinch of salt

INGREDIENTS – filling

  • 3 – 4 eating apples depends on the size
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
  • *
  • 150ml soured cream
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
  • *
  • Melted butter for greasing the tart tin.

METHOD 

  • Rub the butter into the flour till it is like breadcrumbs.
  • Mix in the salt and sugar.
  • Start to add the egg yolk and then the water as needed.
  • Make into a ball – leave in a cool place for 30 minutes.
  • *
  • Pre-heat the oven to GM5 – 190°C.
  • Brush the melted butter over the base and side of a 20 cm loose bottomed tart tin.
  • *
  • Peel and core the apples and cut them into quarters or eighths – depending on the size of the apples.
  • Pour the lemon juice over them.
  • *
  • Roll out the pastry and line the base and sides of the tart tin.
  • Prick the pastry all over with a fork.
  • Place the apples in a neat pattern on the pastry.
  • Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of sugar over the apples.
  • Bake for around 20 -30 minutes. 
  • *
  • Meanwhile whisk 2 yolks and 2 tablespoons of sugar until creamy.
  • Mix in the soured cream.
  • *
  • Take the tart out of the oven and pour the egg mixture over it.
  • Put back in the oven and bake until the “custard” sets – could be 20 to 30 minutes.
  • Cool the tart on a wire cooling rack.
  • *
  • Royal Grafton Woodside tea plate

Apple Cake – a different way

This is my 600th post!

  • For this apple cake use eating apples.
  • You can use Gala or Braeburn – I think the Braeburn were the better ones.
  • It is made in quite a different way to my usual Polish apple cake.

INGREDIENTS

  • 100g of butter – softened.
  • 95g of granulated sugar
  • ½ teaspoon of vanilla essence 
  • 150g plain flour
  • 50g potato flour
  • 2 teaspoons of baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon of salt
  • 4 tablespoons of soured cream
  • 100g of cream cheese (or yoghurt cheese)
  • 3 eggs
  • *
  • Butter to grease the tin
  • *
  • 5 or 6 eating apples – such as gala
  • 20g granulated sugar and ¼ teaspoon of ground cinnamon
  • Royal Doulton Carnation Tea Plate

METHOD

  • Brush a 26cm in diameter loose bottomed tin with the melted butter.

  • Pre-heat the oven to GM4 – 180°C.

  • Cream the butter with the 95g of sugar.
  • Add the cream cheese, soured cream and eggs and whisk well together.
  • Mix the plain flour, potato flour, salt and baking powder.
  • Add the flour mixture gently to the other ingredients and mix well together.
  • Leave in the bowl whilst you prepare the apples.
  • *
  • Mix the 20g of sugar with the cinnamon.
  • Peel and core the apples and cut then in halves.
  • Criss-cross the domed tops of the apples with a sharp knife.
  • Put then into the sugar mixture.
  • *
  • Put the cake batter into the tin and smooth flat.
  • Put the apple halves cut side down on top of the batter.
  • Bake for 45-50 minutes.
  • Leave to cool in the tin.

Dust with icing sugar before serving.

Cake with “Sour” Fruits 2

  • This is the second fruit recipe I have been given from my Polish friend in Leeds.
  • It is quite unusual and contains a large proportion of fruit to cake.
  • It works best with sour fruits such as –
  • Bilberries (Whinberries)
  • Cooking apples
  • Plums – not too ripe
  • Rhubarb
  • Sour cherries
  • *
  • I have tried it out with Bramley apples from the garden as rhubarb is not yet in season. (This will be my next trial).
  • Some potato flour is used and the recipe says you can use budyń –– Polish custard powder.
  • The second time I tried it out using English custard powder.
  • I used 180g of granulated sugar, which was enough for the apples.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1kg of fruit
  • *
  • 180g – 220g granulated sugar – depends on how sour the fruit is.
  • 3 eggs
  • 170g plain flour
  • 1½ teaspoons baking powder
  • 90g potato flour 
  • 125g butter
  • 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil
  • *
  • 1 – 2 teaspoons of mixed spice or cinnamon or 5-6 drops of vanilla essence
  • *
  • Butter or oil &  bułka tarta – dried breadcrumbs
  • *
  • Icing sugar to dust

METHOD

  • Grease a 32 x 22 baking tin and cover thinly with breadcrumbs.
  • Pre-heat the oven to GM 4 – 180°C.
  • Melt the butter in a small saucepan and leave to cool.
  • *
  • Prepare the fruit – for apples these were peeled and cored and chopped into small pieces.
  • Mix the spices with the fruit.
  • *
  • Mix the plain flour, baking powder and potato flour together .
  • In a large bowl whisk the eggs with the sugar (180g for apples).
  • Mix in the flour mixture
  • Add the cooled butter and mix well.
  • Add the sunflower oil and mix well.
  • *
  • Add the fruit and mix so that the fruit is coated with the batter.
  • Put the cake mixture into the prepared tin and smooth it down and into the sides.
  • *
  • Bake for 45 -50 minutes.
  • Leave to cool in the tin.
  • Dust with icing sugar.
  • *
  • It is hard to take out whole from the tin – easier to cut squares or rectangles in the tin and take these out individually to serve. 
  • Royal Grafton – Woodside tea plate
  • *

  • Option 

  • The recipe says you can use budyń –– Polish custard powder  instead of  potato flour.
  •  I did not have any budyń but  tried it out the second time using English custard powder it worked well.
  • See photo below served on Royal Doulton – Carnation.

withcustard

Cake with “Sour” Fruits 1

  • Updated on 4 August 2023 using Sour Plums
  • *
  • I got this recipe from my Polish friend in Leeds.
  • She was going to make this for a coffee morning event for a good cause.
  • It is a batter style cake but made with melted butter rather than oil, which I have used before in cakes such as
  • Victorian Apple Cake  or 
  • Cake with Peaches  
  • The original recipe was for rhubarb –   rabarbar  – in Polish.
  • The recipe suggested you could use other fruit such as sour cherries or apples.
  • As rhubarb is not yet in season I decided to try this with my Bramley apples.
  • My friend made hers with fresh plums.
  • You can use quite a lot of fruit as the cake rises and the fruit moves apart.
  • *
  • If your fruit is too sour you can dust the cake with icing sugar before serving.

INGREDIENTS

  • 250g butter
  • 200g granulated sugar
  • 60ml cold water
  • 3 eggs
  • 340g plain flour
  • 2 teaspoons of baking powder 
  • *
  • 3-4 medium Bramley cooking apples – peeled & cored and chopped into small cubes.

METHOD

  • Grease and line 3 sides of a 32x22cm baking tin.
  • Pre-heat the oven toGM4 – 180°C
  • *
  • Mix the baking powder with the flour.
  • Melt the butter & sugar in a saucepan – do not boil.
  • Add the water and leave to cool.
  • Beat the eggs into the flour.
  • Add the butter mixture and mix well until you have a thick batter.
  • Pour into the tin and level out the batter to all sides.
  • Cover the top with the apple pieces.
  • Baked for 50-55 minutes.
  • Check the cake part is ready with a tester.
  • Leave to cool in the tin.
  • *
  • Optional – dust with icing sugar before serving.

  • Royal Grafton – Woodside – 1940s – 1959
  • *

Version with sour plums

  • Use around 500g of under ripe plums.
  • Remove the stones and cut the flesh into small pieces.
  • *
  • Method as above.
  • *
  • You can dust with icing sugar before serving but I like the contrast of the tart plums against the sweet cake.

 

Served on Royal Doulton – Counterpoint tea plate.

Easy Apple Cake

  • I have had a huge harvest of Bramley apples this year, so am always looking for different recipes from my standard favourite one.
  • This is based on an American idea with just a free form base and slightly raised sides.
  • It has been adapted to make a it more like a Polish apple cake  –  jabłecznik.
  • I have tried it several times and two secrets are:
  • 1) NOT have too much pastry and
  • 2) NOT to have loads of filling.
  • The pastry should be rolled out until it is thin.

Ingredients – pastry

  • 200g flour
  • 100g butter
  • 1 egg yolk
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • *
  • 1 egg yolk – use it all – for sealing
  • *
  • 1 egg white – beaten
  • 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar

Ingredients – filling

  • 2 large Bramley apples
  • 75g raisins or sultanas
  • 75g granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground mixed spice
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
  • *
  • Icing sugar to dust – optional

Method – filling

  • Peel and core the apples and chop them into small pieces.
  • Add the raisins, sugar and spices.
  • Mix together and leave to one side.

Method – pastry

  • Rub the butter into the flour until like breadcrumbs.
  • Add the egg yolk and lemon juice and mix to a soft dough.
  • Add more water sparingly if necessary.
  • *
  • Wrap in plastic and leave in the fridge for 30 minutes.
  • *
  • Butter / Grease a large baking sheet.
  • Pre-heat the oven to GM6 – 200°C.
  • *
  • Roll out the pastry thinly until you have a rough circle around 25cm.
  • Place the pastry onto the sheet.
  • Brush the egg yolk over a circle round 25cm in diameter.
  • Pile up the filling onto the circle.
  • Bring up the sides of the pastry.
  • Brush the sides with the egg white.
  • Sprinkle on the tablespoon of granulated sugar.
  • *
  • Bake for 30-35 minutes until the pastry is golden.
  • Leave to cool on a wire rack.
  • *
  • Sprinkle with icing sugar before serving.

Jabłecznik with a Different Filling

  • This is a variation on my well loved Polish Apple Cake.
  • I came across this filling whilst doing some research for Historic English recipes.
  • This is a Georgian recipe.
  • Rather than cinnamon, nutmeg and orange are used.
  • Egg yolks and butter are also added.
  • In the original recipe the filling was used in a tart.
  • Here I have used my Mama’s jabłecznik  recipe for the cake.
  • The filling has to be cold so you can make it the night before.

Ingredients – Filling

  • 4 Bramley apples
  • Juice and zest of 1 orange
  • 2-3 tablespoons of granulated sugar
  • 30g butter
  • 1 teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg
  • 3 eggs yolks

Method – Filling

  • Peel, core and slice the apples
  • Place the apples in a saucepan with the sugar, zest and juice of the orange.
  • Cook until the apples are soft.
  • Add the grated nutmeg.
  • Take off the heat and add the butter.
  • When cold add the egg yolks and mix  well.

Ingredients – Cake

  • 300g plain flour
  • 3 teaspoons of baking powder
  • 200g butter
  • 75g granulated sugar
  • 1 egg yolk (save the white for the topping)
  • Juice of 1 lemon and 3-5 tablespoons of cold water
  • *
  • Sprinkle of granulated sugar for the top of the cake

Method

  • You need a round tin with a loose base or a spring form tin or you will not be able to get the cake out.
  • I always use an anodised aluminium tin, 22cm in diameter and 8 cm deep, which does not rust.
  • Grease the tin well.
  • Rub the butter into the flour to make fine crumbs and add the sugar.
  • Add the egg yolk and the lemon juice and enough water to make a soft “dough” (try not to add more flour),  handle it as little as possible.
  • Leave it to chill for about ½ an hour as this makes it easier to handle.
  • *
  • Pre heat the oven to GM5 – 190oC.
  • Take slightly more than half the dough and press it into the cake tin.
  • Add the apple filling on top.
  • The rest of the dough will go on top of the apple mixture.
  • I use a rolling pin to make a circle that is smaller than the tin diameter and then place this on top.
  • Do not worry if the dough falls apart, just place it on with the breaks nearly touching.
  • Brush with beaten egg white.
  • Sprinkle the sugar on top.
  • Bake for around 50 minutes to 1 hour.
  • Leave to cool in the tin.
  • Tea Plate – Bramble Rose by Duchess from the 1960s.

Yeast Placek with Apples

  • I had been making several recipes with plums and wanted to make a placek – flat cake – with a plum topping.
  • However I ran out of plums whilst making other recipes, so decided to try this with apples instead.
  • My Bramley apples are not yet ripe so I used eating apples instead.
  • I might have to amended the recipe slightly if using cooking apples. 
  • Yesterday I bought some more plums so will try this out next.
  • The yeast pastry is the same as used earlier for my  drożdżówki – sweet yeast buns with rhubarb and with whinberries.

Ingredients 

  • 200g & 50g plain flour
  • 150 ml warm milk
  • 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar
  • ½ tablespoon of dried yeast
  • *
  • ¼ teaspoon of salt
  • 60g granulated sugar
  • 2 egg yolks
  • *
  • 3 or 4 eating apples
  • 1-2 tablespoons of sugar
  • ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon
  • *
  • Icing sugar to dust

Method 

  • Mix the milk, yeast, 1 teaspoon of sugar and 50g of plain flour.
  • Leave for 20 minutes.
  • Put the 200g of plain flour, 60g of sugar, salt, yolks and yeast mixture in a bowl.
  • Mix together to form a soft dough.
  • Add a little extra milk if this is too dry.
  • Knead for 10 minutes – set a timer – till you get a smooth ball.
  • Cover and leave for 1½ – 2 hours.
  • *
  • Line a baking tray with baking paper.
  • *
  • Peel and core the apples.
  • Cut them into thin slices.
  • Mix them with the sugar and cinnamon.
  • *
  • Lightly mix the dough back into a ball.
  • Roll out and stretch the dough to fit the baking tray.
  • Place the apples and sugar mix on top.
  • Cover and leave for 30 minutes.
  • *
  • Pre-heat the oven  to GM5- 200°C.
  • Bake for 20 -25 minutes.
  • Leave to cool on a wire rack.
  • Dust with icing sugar to serve.
Tea plate Primulette – by Royal Albert from the 1950s

Victorian Apple Cake

I have been doing some research into cooking in Victorian England and came across this recipe, which is based loosely on an apple pudding in Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management  published in 1861.

Eating apples are used in this recipes rather than tart cooking apples.

Although not a Polish Apple Cake, I think it would go down very well if served with a cup of tea in Poland.

  • Sunflower oil  is used and this would not have been available to the Victorians.
  • Work on obtaining oils from cottonseed was started in the late 19th century in the USA.
  • Hardened vegetable oils were available from the early 20th century.
  • Vegetable oils became popular for cooking in the mid-20th century.

Ingredients

  • 4 eating apples – peeled & cored and cut into rough 2.5cm chunks
  • 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
  • 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
  • *
  • 230g of plain flour
  • ½ tablespoon of baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon of salt
  • 125ml of sunflower oil
  • 200g granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • 3 eggs

Method

  • Pre-heat oven to GM4 – 180°C
  • Use a 22cm loose bottom tin with a cake liner – (like a huge bun case)
  • Mix the apples, cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl
  • Leave whilst you prepare the cake mixture
  • *
  • In a large bowl mix the flour, baking powder and salt
  • In another bowl whisk the oil, sugar, vanilla extract and the eggs until they are thoroughly mixed
  • Add the flour mixture to the oil mixture and mix thoroughly
  • Place half the cake batter into the cooking tin
  • Place half the apple mix and juices on top of the cake batter
  • Cover with the rest of the cake batter
  • Place the rest of the apple mixture evenly over the surface of the cake
  • Bake for 55 – 60 minutes – cover and maybe another another 10 minutes if not done
  • Leave to cool in the tin before turning it out.

21st century Cake Stand is Crazy Daisy by Sophie Conran for Portmeirion

Szarlotka

  • Szarlotka is the word my mother used for (apple) crumble.
  • In some parts of Poland szarlotka is the word used for an apple cake.
  • I wanted to create a cake that was cross between a cake and a crumble.
  • I have used half the quantity from my apple cake (jabłecznik) recipe as the base and then used a drier crumble type mixture – called kruszonka in Polish – for the top.
  • I have already done this  for a rhubarb cake, so I have revisted this recipe.
  • I have adjusted the recipe to use just one type of flour (plain) and one type of sugar (granulated) to make it  easier.

Apple Filling

  • You can use an apple filling with just apples and sugar with the addition of cinnamon.
  • Sometimes in Poland raisins or sultanas are added to the apples.
  • As I had some homemade, fruit mincemeat left from last year to use up (made from Delia Smith’s recipe but without nuts) before I made this year’s batch,  I added some of this to the apples.

Ingredients

  • 4 to 6 Bramley Apples
  • Granulated Sugar to taste – keep it slightly tart
  • A little water
  • 4 tablespoons of mincemeat

Method

  • Make the apple filling first, even the day beforehand as it needs to be cold before you use it.
  • Peel and core the apples and cut them into thick slices.
  • Stew the apples gently with some sugar and very little water. You can make this in a saucepan on the stove or place the apples and sugar in a dish in the oven.
  • Do not add a lot of sugar at the beginning as it does not want to be too sweet, you can adjust the sweetness at the end.
  • Do not make it too much of a purée, cook it so that you have some soft apples but with some harder less cooked chunks as well.
  • Leave this to be completely cool.
  • Mix in the mincemeat.

Note

When I have lots of apples, I cook a large amount and portion this up and keep them in the freezer –  add the mincemeat when making the cake.

Base

  • 150g  plain flour
  • 2 teaspoons of baking powder
  • 100g butter
  • 40g granulated sugar
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 or 2 tablespoons of lemon juice or water.

Topping (kruszonka)

  • 120g plain flour
  • 60g butter
  • 60g granulated sugar

Method – Base

  • You have to use a loose bottom or spring-form tin or you will not be able to get the cake out.
  • I use a loose bottomed anodised aluminium cake tin which is 22cm in diameter and 8cm deep.
  • Grease the tin well.
  • First make the cake base by rubbing the butter into the flour to make crumbs, then stir in the sugar.
  • Add the yolk and lemon juice and bring the ingredients together to form a soft dough – do not handle the dough too much.
  • Pre heat the oven to GM 4 – 180ºC.
  • Make the dough into a rough flat circle and press it into the base of the tin.

Method – Topping

  • Make the topping by rubbing the butter into the flour to make crumbs and then stir in the sugar.
  • Put the  apple mixture on top of the base – it wants to be quite a thick layer.
  • Sprinkle the topping crumbs over the apple mixture.

  • Bake in the oven for around 1 hour.
  • Leave to cool in the tin.
  • Use a long metal spatula to ease the cake from the side of the tin, then place the cake on to the top of a tin can and slide the side down.

Tea set here is  Woodside by Royal Grafton, 1940 – 1959

Polish Apple Cake – Jabłecznik

Apple trees (Genus –  Malus) originated in Central Asia and then spread to Northern Europe.  In the 17th century they were taken to North America.

IMG_20160507_183443894
Apple Blossom Buds

Worldwide, measured in tonnes, China is the top apple producer, the United States of America coming second.

Poland is the largest apple producer in Europe.

In Poland in the countryside and even in the towns most houses have at least one fruit tree in the garden – often more – with apple, plum and cherry  being the favourites.

 

In my garden there are two Bramley apple trees.

Jabłko is the Polish for apple –  jabłecznik is an apple cake.

Some people use the word szarlotka – but my mother used that word for apple crumble.

Apple cake is made with tart cooking apples – Antonówki are very popular in Poland –  these are similar to Bramley apples and the apple filling is kept slightly tart so that the sweetness in the cake gives a lovely contrast.

I think there are as many variations of this cake as cooks in Poland.

This is my mother’s version which I think this is the very best.

Apple Filling – Ingredients

  • 5 to 6 Bramley Apples
  • Granulated Sugar to taste – keep it slightly tart
  • A little water
  • 1 to 1.5 teaspoons of ground cinnamon

Method

  • Make the apple filling first, even the day beforehand as it needs to be cold before you use it.
  • Peel and core the apples and cut them into thick slices.
  • Stew the apples gently with some sugar and very little water. You can make this in a saucepan on the stove or place the apples and sugar in a dish in the oven.
  • Do not add a lot of sugar at the beginning as it does not want to be too sweet, you can adjust the sweetness at the end.
  • Do not make it too much of a purée, cook so that you have some soft apples but with some harder less cooked chunks as well.
  • Leave the mixture to cool and then add the ground cinnamon.  The mixture should look quite brown.

IMG_20151214_161143925

Note

When I have lots of apples, I cook a large amount and portion this up and keep them in the freezer – better to leave out the cinnamon if freezing and add this fresh when making the cake.

Cake – Ingredients

  • 300g self-raising flour
  • 200g butter
  • 75g caster sugar
  • 1 egg yolk (save the white for the topping)
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons of lemon juice or water

    Method

  • You need a round tin with a loose base or a spring form tin or you will not be able to get the cake out.  I always use an anodised aluminium tin, 22cm in diameter and 8 cm deep, which does not rust.
  • Grease the tin well.
  • Rub the butter into the flour to make fine crumbs and add the sugar.

IMG_20151214_162018319

 

 

 

  • Add the egg yolk and the lemon juice to and mix together to make a soft “dough” (try not to add more flour),  handle it as little as possible.
  • Leave it to chill for about ½ an hour as this makes it easier to handle.
  • Pre heat the oven to GM5 – 190oC.
  • Take slightly more than half the dough and press it into the cake tin.

    IMG_20151214_162527127

 

 

 

 

  • Spoon the apple mixture on top of this.
  • The rest of the dough will go on top of the apple mixture.
  • I use a rolling pin to make a circle that is smaller than the tin diameter and then place this on top.
  • Do not worry if the dough falls apart, just place it on with the breaks nearly touching.

IMG_20151214_162724024

 

 

 

 

Topping – Ingredients

  • 1 egg white and caster sugar
  • Slightly beat the egg white with a fork and brush this over the top of the dough.  You will not need it all.

 

IMG_20151218_075301762

 

 

 

 

IMG_20151214_162841673

 

 

 

 

  • Liberally sprinkle caster sugar over the egg white.
  • Bake for around 50 minutes until the top is a golden brown.
  • I tend to check the cake at 40 minutes and will cover the top with greaseproof if it starts to brown but is not yet cooked through.

  • Leave to cool before getting the cake out of the tin.
  • I use a tin can and put the cake tin on this and slide the side of the cake tin down.

  • Do not put the cake in a air-tight covered container as the apples absorb moisture and you loose the crispness of the cake.

  • I hardly ever have any left anyway as I seem to get visitors as soon as they know I am baking this cake.

IMG_20151214_193025987

Tea plates are Stardust by Colclough from the 1950s or early 1960s.

Note – I updated this in March 2020 – I altered the amount of apples in the filling.