I don't know how many apple pie recipes there are in the world, but they must be almost infinite. It is, by far, the most popular pie in the United States and without apples we would not have cider nor would we have a healthy and affordable fruit for table use, among other things. Today we are going to look at an apple cake, which is something different.
The apples we consume originally come from the current border area between China and Kazakhstan, although for a long time it was thought that they came from the humid forests of central Europe where a species is still found in the wild. The apple defends itself well in cold climates, so it is the ideal fruit for cultivation in northern Asia, Europe and North America (where there is a true cult for it). Of course, it needs a lot of water.
As a curiosity, it should be noted that the apple is free of toxins but its seeds, if chewed and ingested, combine with gastric juices to produce the deadly cyanide. Of course, you have to eat a lot of seeds and chew them, which is difficult because of how bitter they are. On the other hand, if you like apples and you have room in the garden, balcony or terrace to plant a tree, it is most likely that you will be greatly disappointed since they will not bear fruit (even if when you bought the tree it already came with two or three fruits hanging). It's not that it has become sterile or that it hates you, it's that in order to bear fruit it needs to be pollinated by insects that carry pollen from other apple trees. So if you only have room for one tree, do not plant apple, pear or almond trees (unless someone else in the area has them) and better opt for citrus trees (lemon or orange trees) that can bear fruit on their own.
INGREDIENTS :
- 4 or 5 large sweet apples
- 200 grams (7 oz) of pastry flour
- 200 grams (7 oz) of white granulated sugar, the usual
- 4 eggs size L or XL (large)
- 40 grams (1.4 oz, 2 tbps) of unsalted butter
- 10 grams (0.35 oz, 1 tsp) of baking powder
- The juice of a lemon
- Optional: jam to cover, blueberry, blackberry, strawberry, apricot... to taste
First, mix the flour with the baking powder in a bowl.
Using a whisk, beat the eggs with the sugar until foamy. We then add the well-sifted flour and yeast mixture little by little, without stopping beating. When we notice that there are no lumps and the dough is homogeneous, we add the unsalted butter, beating again so that it is integrated.
We peel 3 apples of the 5 we have and cut them into not very large pieces. As we cut them, we place them in a bowl with lemon juice so that they do not oxidize.
Once we have them cut, we integrate them into the flour and egg dough, mixing well. Then we incorporate them into a well-greased (or silicone) round cake pan about 22 cm (8/9 inches) in diameter and at least 3 cm high (~1 inch). It will rise when baking, but not much, so leave a couple of fingers of margin to the edge.
Cut the other two apples into thin slices and place them on the surface so that they cover it completely. Remember to also bathe these segments with lemon juice or they will oxidize. Then if we want we paint the surface with liquid butter, so it will shine. You can also paint it with the yolk of an egg.
We preheat the oven to 180 degrees (356 F) and bake for about 40 minutes. Before extracting, we check that when a toothpick is inserted into the center, it comes out dry. If this happens, take it out of the oven and let it cool before unmolding. Otherwise, leave it for 5 more minutes before doing a new check.
Once it is cold and unmolded, you can cover it if you want with some type of jam or jam.
This is a very special cake because unlike the products you can find on the market, it is really full of fruit. Just by serving a cut and trying it you will realize it.
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