Is it Christmas yet? I know I know, what a strange question to ask where we are JUST getting out of the ugly weather into almost summer time and I am asking for winter time to come back? Well not directly, I am not really asking for winter to come back but are so exited for Christmas 2015 to come around this year because …drumroll…we just booked El Salvador for our 2015 Christmas vacation! I haven’t spend Christmas away from home in a looong time and leaving Seattle for a nice warm place like Latin America just sounds dreamy. So for the next 8 months you have to put up with me telling you about how much I am looking forward to my vacation in El Salvador. If you have ever been there please keep the recommendations on what to do in El Salvador coming. The truly amazing part though is that within one week 4 people have combed through 100 possible vacation choices and decided not just on an agreeable but perfect location and time to travel, that’s quite the accomplishment, country, house, time and flights selected and booked in one week!
So you would think I would dedicate this blog entry to some form of Latin American dish but no I am moving a little bit further East to Russia. I could swear I’ve seen Apple Sharlotka recipes before but for some reason the one from Smitten Kitchen got stuck in my head and I wanted to try it out. My mum makes a mean Apple cake/pie called “Blitzapfelkuchen” (Lightening apple cake – referring to the speed with which you can make this pie) which I will make and post shortly and you can compare which one you prefer, but for now you have to make due with this fabulous Russian apple pie version. The cool part is that you don’t have to make a pie crust, you just pour the apples into the bottom and the dough on top, easy peasy and soooo tasty! And
Before posting the recipe though I would like to share with you some of the prettiest spring flowers that are currently blooming in my yard…I guess Christmas can wait for a little bit longer with such a pretty outlook on spring and summer.
Apple Sharlotka: from Smitten Kitchen
Ingredients:
- Butter or nonstick spray, for greasing pan
- 6 large, tart apples, such as Granny Smiths
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour
- Ground cinnamon, to finish
- Powdered sugar, also to finish
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper. Butter the paper and the sides of the pan. Peel, halve and core your apples, then chop them into medium-sized chunks. (I cut each half into four “strips” then sliced them fairly thinly — about 1/4-inch — in the other direction.) Pile the cut apples directly in the prepared pan. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, using an electric mixer or whisk, beat eggs with sugar until thick and ribbons form on the surface of the beaten eggs. Beat in vanilla, then stir in flour with a spoon until just combined. The batter will be very thick.
- Pour over apples in pan, using a spoon or spatula to spread the batter so that it covers all exposed apples. (Updated to clarify: Spread the batter and press it down into the apple pile. The top of the batter should end up level with the top of the apples.) Bake in preheated oven for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a tester comes out free of batter. Cool in pan for 10 minutes on rack, then flip out onto another rack, peel off the parchment paper, and flip it back onto a serving platter. Dust lightly with ground cinnamon.
- Serve warm or cooled, dusted with powdered sugar.It also tastes delicious with a dollop of barely sweetened whipped or sour cream.
Guten Appetit!
A German in Seattle 