"In my family we always inaugurate
the Jewish New Year with our first apple dessert of the fall
season. The tradition in Andra's home is to begin the year with
a round challah and to end it with a cake topped with concentric
circles of sliced apples. This dessert is very similar to Jewish
apple cake, a Polish dessert that was very popular in church
cookbooks throughout Maryland. I believe it is called Jewish
because it is an oil-based rather than a butter-based cake. Andra's
version is particularly easy, attractive, and delicious."
- J. Nathan.
Heavenly Apple Cake
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons wheat germ (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
6 small Rome, Granny Smith, Yellow Delicious, or other low-moisture
apples
Juice of 1/2 lemon
4 large eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease
and flour a 9-inch springform pan.
- Mix the flour, wheat germ, salt, and baking
powder in a bowl and set aside.
- Peel, core, and slice the apples into
eighths and place in another bowl. Sprinkle with lemon juice.
- In a third bowl, beat the eggs until foamy.
Add the vegetable oil and 1 3/4 cups of the sugar; beat well.
Stir in the vanilla.
- To the egg mixture; alternately add the
dry ingredients and the orange juice. Pour half the batter into
the prepared pan. Cover with half the sliced apples.
- In a small bowl, mix the remaining 1/4
cup sugar with the cinnamon and sprinkle half over the apples.
Cover with the remaining batter.
- Starting at the outside of the pan, neatly
place the remaining apple slices in overlapping concentric circles.
Sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture.
- Put some aluminum foil on the bottom of
the oven in case the batter leaks. Bake the cake on the middle
rack for 1 1/4 hours, or until a toothpick inserted in the center
comes out clean. Cool on a rack before you carefully remove the
cake from the pan.
Makes 1 cake.
Recipe from: The Jewish Holiday Baker , by Joan Nathan.
