Scharlotka (Polish apple charlotte)
A Polish apple cake with a batter so thin it barely holds the apples together, which is deliberate, since the apples are meant to be the bulk of the cake with just enough batter to bind them into slices, not the other way around. Letting the raw apple slices sit tossed with sugar for 15 minutes before folding in the batter is what draws out enough juice to keep the cake moist without needing extra liquid.
Prep25 min
Cook60 min
Rest15 min
Servings4
Christoph's Scharlotka, the batter deliberately thin since the apples are meant to be the bulk of the cake.
Ingredients
Written for a 20 cm round tin
Units
Temperature
Servings
Apples
- 1 1/6 kg apples, peeled, cored, sliced rounded
- 80 g sugar rounded
- 15 ml lemon juice rounded
- 5 g ground cinnamon rounded
Batter
- 3 eggs rounded
- 100 g sugar rounded
- 100 g flour rounded
- 5 g baking powder rounded
- 1 g fine salt rounded
Dietary labels are a guide, not a guarantee. If you have an allergy, read the ingredients yourself.
Method
- Toss the sliced apples with the sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon. Let sit for 15 minutes, tossing once, until they release some juice.
- Preheat the oven to 170°C (fan). Line the base of a 20 cm round tin with parchment.
- Whisk the eggs and sugar together until pale and thick, about 3 minutes. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt over the top and fold in gently.
- Fold the apple slices and their released juice into the thin batter, coating the apples evenly. There will barely be enough batter to bind them.
- Pour into the prepared tin, arranging the apples in an even layer. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the batter comes out clean and the top is deeply golden brown.
- Let cool in the tin for 15 minutes before turning out.
Notes
- The thin batter is deliberate, not a mistake. This cake is meant to be almost entirely apples, held together by just enough batter to bind into slices; a thicker, more standard cake batter would overwhelm the fruit.
- Let the sugared apples sit before mixing them in. This draws out enough of their own juice to keep the cake moist without needing any added liquid in the batter.
- Test for doneness in the batter, not in a piece of apple. A skewer through a soft apple slice will always come out clean even if the batter underneath is still raw; aim for a spot with visible batter.
- It’s best the day after baking, once the apples have settled and the flavours have had time to meld.
Ingredient substitutions
- Firm, tart apples hold their shape best; very soft varieties can turn the cake mushy.
- A pinch of nutmeg alongside the cinnamon is a nice addition.
- Serve with a dusting of powdered sugar or a spoonful of whipped cream.
From Christoph Mayer