Polish Apple Cake (Szarlotka)

Square close up of szarlotka decorated with cinnamon sticks and with two slices cut.

5 from 1 vote

Polish apple cake called Szarlotka is a traditional Polish bake celebrating autumnal abundance of apples and it's out of this world delicious. Simple to make, melt in the mouth pastry with generous amount of gently spiced apples, that's it, pure and simple.

Course Cake, Dessert

Cuisine Polish

Keyword szarlotka

Prep Time 45

Cook Time 1

Total Time 1 45

Servings generous servings

Calories 573kcal

Author Jo Allison

Equipment

Ingredients

Pastry

350 g plain (all-purpose) flour
220 g unsalted or salted vegan block butter I use Flora Plant; if using unsalted version add a pinch of salt
120 g caster sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
50 g plain vegan yogurt Any plain vegan yogurt will be fine.

Apple Filling

1.5 kg Bramley apples see notes; weight before peeling
30 g vegan block butter optional; see notes
50 g caster sugar or to taste depending on the sweetness of apples used
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger optional
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg optional
icing sugar to serve

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Start by preparing your pastry.
Put all of the ingredients into food processor and pulse gently until they form dough.
***Quick Tip*** If you don't have a food processor simply combine flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and butter in a bowl and rub in with your fingers until you reach consistency of fine breadcrumbs. Add yogurt and vanilla extract and knead in gently until dough is formed.
350 g plain (all-purpose) flour, 220 g unsalted or salted vegan block butter, 120 g caster sugar, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 50 g plain vegan yogurt
Divide the dough into two pieces (one only slightly larger than the other).
Wrap both pieces separately in some beeswax wraps or other and place both pieces in the freezer for as long as it takes to prepare and cool the filling.
As your dough is chilling prepare the apples.
Peel and core the apples and cut them into small chunks.
1.5 kg Bramley apples
Sprinkle over some sugar, spices, vanilla extract (if using) and dot with pieces of butter (if using), cover and put on a medium low heat.
Cook for about 10 minutes stirring occasionally just to soften apples a bit but you want them to still hold their shape.
30 g vegan block butter, 50 g caster sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Set apples aside and let them cool as you preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.
Prepare baking tin by lining it with some baking paper.
When the oven finished preheating, take out the larger piece of pastry from the freezer and grate it coarsely on a box grater all over the bottom of the tin.
Press the pastry down with your fingers until it evenly covers bottom of the tin.
Put prepared apple filling on top of the pastry.
Take out the smaller piece of pastry from the freezer and grate it coarsely over the top of the apples.
Bake in preheated oven for approximately 1hr.
***Quick Tip*** If the top of the cake starts browning too much, cover it with some foil half way through baking.
Take szarlotka out of the oven and let it cool in the tin before serving.
Enjoy!

Notes

Nutritional information is approximate, per serving (based on 8 servings without icing sugar on top) and should be treated as a rough guideline only.
If using unsalted butter for pastry dough I would recommend adding a good pinch of salt for extra flavour.
I like using tart cooking apples in szarlotka but feel free to use any apples you want. See Ingredients in the post above for more details.
You don't have to use butter when stewing your apples but I like it here for that extra richness. It is a comforting dessert after all.
Adjust the amount of sugar depending on the sweetness of your apples.
I like adding a little bit of ginger and nutmeg as well as cinnamon to my filling but you can play with your own spices as per your taste. Mixed spice is another one that goes really nicely here.
Szarlotka will keep well in the fridge for up to 5 days. Make sure to bring it up to room temperature before serving or give it a few seconds in a microwave.
Freezer friendly.

TIPS:

Weigh out your pastry ingredients using simple kitchen scales. Accuracy is everything when it comes to baking.

I like to bake most of my cakes (including szarlotka) in traybake form.

Use food processor if you have one to make your pastry. It makes a child's play out of pastry making.

Keeping pastry dough in the freezer as you prepare apple filling makes it easier to grate.

Use simple box grater (its coarse side) for grating pastry dough. It's a game changer!

Adjust the amount of sugar depending on the type of apples you're using. Sweet apples will require less sugar and might benefit from a squeeze of lemon juice to break that sweetness a bit.

Apples oxidise (turn brown) very quickly when peeled so make sure you prepare them when you're ready to cook them.

Don't be tempted to add any water when cooking your apples. They will release enough moisture without it.

Cool the apples a bit before placing them on top of pastry or you risk "soggy bottom".

Watch your apple cake closely when baking and do cover it loosely with some foil if top is browning too much (usually half way through baking).

Nutrition