Apples are fruits that are widely available and have enjoyed unending popularity for centuries. No wonder they are the ones that are so willingly added to cakes. Here you will find inspiration for apple pies in various ways, as well as a recipe for a quick apple pie. After all, these sweet and sour fruit are not only suitable for apple pie. How to make apple cake?
With lots of apples spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, without having to broil the bottom first. Shortcrust pastry requires detailed and thorough handling, but its taste simply sweeps the legs off.
- 2 and 1/4 cups of wheat flour
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
- a large pinch of salt
- 230 g butter, cut into 2.5 – 3 cm pieces
- half a glass of ice water
Place the flour, powdered sugar, salt and butter in large pieces in the mixing bowl. Mix the ingredients several times by briefly pressing ‘pulsing’. Small pieces of butter should still be visible in the dough. If we hold the pulsing for too long or mix the dough to combine – it will not work. Only thanks to these pieces of butter left behind, shortbread dough leaves like puff pastry and has a characteristic structure. A loose cake with pieces of butter will be created – cool for 30 minutes in the fridge.
(Of course, you can also knead the dough by hand – put the first 4 ingredients in a dish and quickly chop with a knife, remembering the principle I wrote above – small pieces of butter should be visible in the dough.)
After this time, remove the dough from the fridge, add ice water to it and knead briefly with your hands, only to collect the loose ingredients and combine, to obtain a ball of dough; no longer. Divide in half, flatten, wrap with plastic wrap and cool in the fridge for 60 – 90 minutes (or overnight).
Apple Filling:
- 1.3 – 1.4 kg of apples, firm and sour *, cut into thicker slices
- 1 tablespoon of butter at room temperature
- 1/4 cup sugar (or to taste, if the apples are very acid, you can add more)
- 2 tablespoons of wheat flour
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
In a large bowl, mix well the sliced apples, soft butter, sugar, flour, lemon juice and spices. Cover with foil and let stand for 4 hours at room temperature or overnight in the fridge.
Additionally:
- 1 beaten egg with 1 tablespoon of water, for spreading
- 2 tablespoons of demerara sugar, for sprinkling
Execution:
The deeper form for apple pie (expanding upwards with a bottom diameter of 20 cm, top 28 cm), grease with butter, sprinkle with wheat flour.
Take the shortcrust pastry out of the fridge. Roll out one part of it, put it on the bottom and sides of the mold. Put apples on the dough. Roll out the second part of the shortcrust pastry, put apples on top, stick with the dough on the sides of the mold. In the center, cut the dough with a sharp knife so that the steam has an outlet. Brush the top of the cake with beaten egg and 1 tablespoon of water and sprinkle with demerara sugar.
Bake at 180ºC for about 70 minutes, until golden brown (the first 10 minutes at a higher temperature – 200ºC, and if possible the last 10 minutes, bake only the bottom with the bottom heater turned on). Take out, cool for a minimum of 4 hours.
