Polish apple cake

Juicy apple filling wrapped in a light, airy sponge-like cake—this is apple cake perfection. It is simple to make and, if you have jars of grated apples preserved for winter, this recipe is a wonderful way to use them, making preparation even quicker. A whole tray of light, comforting autumn cake that is sure to become a favourite. Give it a try! 🙂

Ingredients for the cake batter:

• 5 large eggs
• ¾ cup caster sugar
• 120 ml rapeseed or sunflower oil
• 50 ml milk
• 250 g plain flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

All ingredients should be at room temperature.

Place the eggs (without separating them) and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk until very pale, thick and fluffy, increasing in volume by about three times. Slowly pour in the oil in a thin stream, followed by the milk, continuing to whisk throughout. Sift the flour and baking powder directly into the mixture and gently fold in using a spatula. You should end up with a medium-thick batter that is very airy and full of visible air bubbles—similar to a sponge cake batter, but slightly thicker.

Pour half of the batter into a 24 × 34 cm baking tin lined with baking parchment. Spread evenly.

Bake at 175°C for approximately 15 minutes, or until lightly golden. Check by gently touching the surface—the cake should be almost baked through, no longer raw or liquid in the centre. Remove from the oven and spread the apple filling evenly over the baked layer. Pour the remaining batter over the apples and smooth the top. Return to the oven and bake for a further 30 minutes at 175°C, or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. The skewer may be moist from the apple filling, but it should not have any traces of raw batter. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely.

Dust generously with icing sugar and cut into squares before serving.

Ingredients for apple filling:

• 8 firm, tart apples
• 2–3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon potato starch (or cornflour)
• ⅕ cup water

Peel and core the apples, then grate them on the coarse side of a grater directly into a saucepan. Add the sugar, cinnamon and lemon juice and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat for several minutes, stirring frequently, until some of the liquid has evaporated. Mix the potato starch with the water until smooth. Add it to the apples, bring the mixture to a boil and cook briefly until thickened. Set aside and leave to cool before using.

Enjoy!