Scharlotka (Polish apple charlotte)
Units
Temperature
Servings
Ingredients
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
Method
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.