This is my mom’s recipe for one of my favorite desserts.
When I first came to America and heard all the talk about apple pie, this cake is what I had in mind. Boy, was I wrong. I’ve been here for over a decade, and I still prefer this Russian cake to American apple pie (which my husband likes to tease me about even though he loves this cake too). It’s so simple and easy, consisting of just 5 ingredients (6 if you include the powdered sugar for dusting), but it’s so good that everyone will think you’re the star of the kitchen. It’s also dairy-free as long as you use non-dairy butter or margarine (or cooking spray) to grease the cake pan. There are a lot of different versions of this cake, but this one is my mom’s recipe, which I found a few months ago tucked away in one of the cook books I brought with me from Russia. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1 lb granny smith apples (about 2 big apples), peeled and chopped
- 4 eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup organic whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 pinch of baking powder
- Powdered sugar for dusting
Method
Preheat oven to 345°F.
Beat the eggs with sugar on high speed for about 4-5 minutes, until the mixture is thick and fluffy.
Mix flour and baking powder. Gently fold flour into egg mixture, about 1/3 cup at a time, using a spatula.
Fold in chopped apples until combined.
Transfer batter to a greased baking pan.
Bake at 345°F from 35-50 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean and the cake is golden brown (it takes 35 minutes in my oven, but everyone’s oven is different). Once done baking, cool for about 20 minutes, then slide a knife around the pan to remove it. Once the cake is room temperature, dust with powdered sugar.
Приятного аппетита! (Priyatnova appetita! Russian for ‘Bon Appetit!’)