Jewish Apple Cake

How do you realize that the cake you've made is a big success? When friends eat fat slices for breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner! When you hear moans and groans between bites! When a large, yes, a rather large cake disappears practically overnight! 

Dear friends from Evansville arrive at teatime, to a spread of Indian snacks and this charming cake. No shrinking beauties, the girls start with slivers and end with chunks! I have to restrain them as dinner is a few hours away!

I first saw this cake on Sikandalous, a foodie website. The chef referred to a Washington Post recipe which I read and loved.  Such a versatile recipe. Such ease of prep work. It helped that I had a basket full of New York State apples. Using a springform pan instead of a bundt pan, resulted in a showstopper, easy to lift from the pan rather than upend a bundt, which at the best of times is a calculated risk. I like the fact that the cake uses oil in place of butter.

Why is it called Jewish cake I wonder? It might be a reference to Eastern European dietary customs as they used oil and orange juice in place of butter. What ever the reason is, one slice is all the sweet, soft comfort you need.

JEWISH APPLE CAKE

Adapted from Betsy Krystal

Serves 10-12 

2 cups + 5 tablespoons Sugar

1 heaped tablespoon Cinnamon powder

3 cups all purpose Flour

1 tablespoon Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt

4 Eggs

1/4 cup Olive Oil

2 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

1/4 cup Orange Juice

6 small Apples

Confectioners Sugar

Grease a springform pan well. Use butter or oil spray. 

Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.

Whisk 5 tablespoons of sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.

Whisk flour baking powder and salt together in another bowl.

Peel, core and cut the apples into 1/2 inch slices.

Heat oven to 350F/180C.

Using a stand or handheld mixer, beat remaining sugar, eggs and oil till creamy and light colored about 2-3 minutes.

Mix the vanilla into the batter.

Add the flour in thirds, following each portion with half the orange juice. Start and end with flour. Beat well after each addition. The batter will be thick. but fluffy.

Pour half the batter into springform pan. Smoothen it gently.

Arrange half the apple slices in a concentric layer over batter. Overlap the apples if you need to. 

Sprinkle half the cinnamon-sugar mix over the apples. 

Gently pour the remaining batter over the apples. Smoothen it.

Then arrange the remaining half of the apples over the batter. Do this in a neat fashion as it will be visible once baked. 

Sprinkle the rest of the cinnamon-sugar over the apples. 

Thump the pan a couple of times gently then place it on a baking tray and bake for 50-60 minutes or until the top is light brown and a cake tester comes out clean.

Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. 

Run a knife along the edges of the pan and release the edges. 

Once the cake is cool, lift gently  and peel the parchment paper off.  Transfer cake to a plate. 

Dust with confectioners sugar before serving.

NOTES

Small apples give the cake a more dramatic appearance. 

The cake can be covered in plastic wrap and refrigerated for 4-5 days.

The cake freezes well wrapped in parchment and plastic wrap, for up to a month. Wrap the entire cake or individual slices. 

I tell the truth. Generous portions of cake abound! Cake makes for happy people. Except one. Geets is allergic to apples so has to abstain. A favorite dessert will have to suffice.

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