Jewish Apple Cake
This Jewish apple cake layers cinnamon-sugar apples between ribbons of a tall, oil-based batter baked in a tube pan, keeping it moist and dairy-free for days.
Equipment
- 10-inch (25 cm) tube pan with removable bottom - Essential for the tall shape and easy release
- Two large mixing bowls - One for wet ingredients, one for dry
- Balloon whisk - For mixing the batter
- Vegetable peeler - For peeling the apples
- Silicone spatula - For folding and spreading the batter
- Wire cooling rack - For cooling the cake
Ingredients
For the Apple Layer
- 6 medium Granny Smith apples - about 2 lb / 900 g, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced to 1/8 inch (3 mm)
- 5 tablespoons granulated sugar - 65 g
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon - 5 g
For the Batter
- 3 cups all-purpose flour - 375 g
- 2 cups granulated sugar - 400 g
- 1 tablespoon baking powder - 12 g
- 1 teaspoon salt - 6 g
- 4 large eggs - room temperature
- 1 cup canola oil - 240 ml
- 1/2 cup orange juice - 120 ml
- 2 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract - 12 ml
For Finishing
- confectioners' sugar (icing sugar) - for dusting
Instructions
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 10-inch tube pan thoroughly, dust with flour, and tap out the excess.
- Peel, core, and thinly slice apples to about 1/8 inch. Toss with sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl until every slice is coated; set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt until evenly distributed.
- In a second large bowl, whisk eggs until smooth. Add canola oil, orange juice, and vanilla; whisk until uniform and slightly pale.
- Pour wet mixture into dry ingredients and stir with a silicone spatula just until no dry flour remains. The batter will be very thick; do not overmix.
- Spoon one-third of the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Scatter half the apples over it, leaving pooled juice behind. Repeat layers, finishing with the final third of batter spread evenly on top.
- Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 1 hour 20 minutes, until deep golden and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Tent with foil if the top browns too quickly.
- Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Run a thin knife around edges and center tube, then lift or invert the cake out and cool completely on the rack. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.
Notes
- Grease and flour, not just grease. The first cake I made stuck to the pan because I greased it but skipped the flour; a coat of baking spray with flour in it fixed that for good.
- Slice the apples thin. Cutting them to about an eighth of an inch matters more than it sounds, because thick wedges leave raw crunch in the middle of a cake this tall.
- Leave the apple juice behind. Use a slotted spoon to lift the apples into the pan so the pooled liquid stays in the bowl, which keeps the layers from turning gummy.
- Do not overmix. Stir only until the flour disappears. The thick batter is normal and a smooth, over-beaten one bakes up tough.
- Tent the top if it browns early. I tent the crown with foil for the last twenty minutes because it colors well before the center is done.
- Test in the batter, not the apples. Aim your skewer at a spot with cake, since hitting an apple pocket can read as wet even when the cake is baked through.
- Cool before slicing. A warm cake tears; a fully cooled one slices clean.
- Storage: Keep cooled cake under a dome or wrapped tightly at room temperature for up to 4 days. Refrigerate for up to 1 week, well wrapped. Freeze whole or in slices wrapped in plastic and foil for up to 3 months.
- Make ahead: This cake is actually better the next day once the flavors settle and the crumb firms up. Bake a day ahead, wrap well at room temperature, and dust with confectioners' sugar just before serving.
- Variations: Swap orange juice for apple cider, add chopped walnuts or pecans to the apple layers, add 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg or a pinch of ground cloves to the cinnamon-sugar, or swap 1/2 cup of the batter sugar for light brown sugar for a faint caramel undertone.
Nutrition
Serving: 1SliceCalories: 420kcalCarbohydrates: 57gProtein: 5gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 62mgSodium: 210mgFiber: 2gSugar: 34g
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