commentjewish apple cake
if you take a look at all of the recipes i’ve made for this blog so far, i don’t think there’s one that you can’t eat for breakfast. apple cake is certainly no exception. in fact, it may be the perfect breakfast cake - it’s got apples and orange juice in it, so there are two servings of fruit right there. it’s also a great opportunity to use in-season apples, which just become all the more irresistible during the fall. and although the apples i bought were all about 2/3 the size of a normal apple (weird!) they didn’t stop this cake from tasting amazing.
the first time i tried to make this cake, i failed horribly. it came out undercooked and bubbly. and despite putting it back in the oven for another 45 minutes, it still would not bake all the way through. i refused to blame it on the recipe and instead chalked it up to my wacky tiny oven (as seen in this post). undeterred, i took another crack at it and lo and behold: what came out of the oven was a thing of beauty. perfectly golden brown and infusing my apartment with apple.
although i thought i had triumphed in the face of defeat, i quickly learned that it’s never too late for baking tragedy to strike. making a rookie mistake, i tried to remove the cake from the tube pan before it had completely cooled. to my horror, the following happened. any sensitive readers or children may want to turn away from the screen.
thankfully, the cake still tastes unbelievable. enjoy, but don’t make the same mistake i did!
jewish apple cake
you’ll see below that this cake is not quite kosher. if you want, you can substitute the butter for 3/4 cup oil. if you do, you also might consider adding a bit more sugar or beating the eggs until fluffy to keep the cake from getting dense.
3 cups flour
4 1/2 tsp baking powder
4 eggs
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted and cooled
2 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup orange juice
2 cups plus 1/2 cup sugar, divided
3 tsp cinnamon
4 granny smith apples, cored, peeled and sliced
1. in a large bowl, beat the eggs. add the butter, 2 cups sugar, vanilla and mix. in a separate bowl, mix the flour and baking powder. add to the egg/butter mixture, alternating with the orange juice.
2. pour about 1/3 of the batter into a greased and floured tube pan. lay down about a 1/3 of the sliced apples, fanning them out to cover the entire layer of batter. top with a bit of the mix of 1/2 cup sugar and the cinnamon.
3. reapeat this until you have run out of batter and apples. the top of the cake should have a layer of apples, cinnamon and sugar. bake at 350F for 1 hour. cool for a short time before loosening the sides with a knife. allow to cool completely before removing the cake completely from the pan.
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23 comments so far ↓
sara angel | Sep 21, 2008 at 11:14 pm
i am so eager for fall to get here. i think i’m going to use this recipe to celebrate when it does
looks great!
Renee | Sep 22, 2008 at 6:49 pm
This looks perfect for morning coffee! I plan to bake it this week.
Maggie | Sep 23, 2008 at 1:23 pm
The slices look delicious! Getting cakes out of the pan is always tricky business.
James Starmer | Sep 23, 2008 at 2:37 pm
Awesome, just in time for the holy days!
Annie | Sep 23, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Looks great. I love apple cakes and have two different ones already. I will have to try this. Even though it broke on you, the crumb looks really moist and yummy. Bookmarked!
pat | Sep 23, 2008 at 7:44 pm
wow that sounds like a cake my husbands grandma made years ago.. I used to make it a lot.. will need to check the recipe against yours.. is it a Pennsylvania recipe?
Olga | Sep 23, 2008 at 9:27 pm
Hi, neighbor.
I’ve made a simpler version of this cake for years. The recipe comes from my mom and it is fool proof. In fact, you don’t even have to use a specialized pan: you can even bake it in a meatloaf pan.
My Sweet & Saucy | Sep 23, 2008 at 9:44 pm
Your warm cake photo is too funny, but I bet it tasted amazing!
Joe | Sep 23, 2008 at 9:58 pm
I love the pictures and your blog. I will be back for more. Found you on foodgawker!
Lisetta | Sep 24, 2008 at 12:43 am
i made a similar version of jewish apple cake tonight. it literally JUST came out of the oven, at 12:35 am. i want to go to bed and was thinking of flipping it out of the bundt pan early. your pic tells me, however, that i should stay awake a while longer. thanks! i will try your recipe.
Phil | Sep 24, 2008 at 9:12 am
What’s not kosher? Eggs are pareve, you can mix either meat or dairy with them, just not both. A cake with butter and eggs isn’t traif, just milchig. You couldn’t serve it after a meal with meat, but who eats dessert right after a meal anyway?
Stacey Snacks | Sep 24, 2008 at 10:56 pm
Hi Pete.
Found your nice blog on photograzing……
will be making your Jewish apple cake tomorrow w/ the apples I picked today!
The cake is kosher, however, the reason they call it a “Jewish” apple cake is because oil is used instead of butter, so you are able to serve it with a meat meal.
I would eat this instead of meat anyday!
Stacey
jo | Sep 25, 2008 at 11:12 am
this cake looks so delicious and moist!
Diana | Sep 27, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Hey Pete,
I stumbled across your website several months ago, and I love checking out all of your recipes. This is the first one I’ve tried, and so far it smells delicious! I’m making it to take to my mom’s for Rosh Hashanah!
Thanks!
A Pretty Mess » Blog Archive » The Fruits of Fall: Apples | Sep 27, 2008 at 3:00 pm
[...] ~ Jewish Apple Cake Laura Rebecca’s Kitchen ~ Cinnamon Apple Cake Noble Pig ~ Butterscotch Apple [...]
Diana | Sep 27, 2008 at 4:53 pm
Posting again with an update!
This cake looked and tasted amazing. I can’t wait to share it with my mom. I hope you don’t mind, but I posted the recipe on my (newly-created) blog.
Googlegoof | Sep 28, 2008 at 8:12 am
I had the perfect recipe I baked for years and loved it…and lost it! I’m going to try yours today for Rosh Hashanah. I tried a few other recipes and they have been too dense. I’m hoping your recipe (butter instead of oil) will be just perfect. Thanks for the hint!
Ruth | Oct 16, 2008 at 5:29 am
Thanks Pete,
I live aboard my boyfriends sailing boat and want to make him an apple cake for his birthday today. Will be cooking up a storm in my little galley. His mother arrives tomorrow from the UK (not met her yet)Hopefully my cake baking skills will gain me a few browny points. Wish me luck!
elizabeth | Nov 18, 2008 at 2:51 pm
Pete, we made the jewish apple cake last night, did not turn out the way we planned, but v tasty, and we’ll try again!!
thank you for very organized, and simple recipies!
elizabeth
Helen | Dec 5, 2008 at 11:29 am
I made this for Thanksgiving and it turned out so well! I ate half the cake the day after so thanks for posting a great recipe.
Dave | Dec 12, 2008 at 12:37 am
I did try it with oil, for the real jewish/kosher experience, and it turned out great (I added some orange peel too)
Oh, and it only gets better after 3 to 5 days, believe me!
Ashley | Dec 15, 2008 at 4:42 pm
This cake smells amazing! Only problem I had was…I cooked it an hour, and it’s still not cooked completely. High altitude help needed!!! :0) However, it still tastes wonderful.
Jay | Dec 17, 2008 at 7:02 pm
I have made a similar recipe for years and it is always popular with Jews and “goyim” alike. I got my recipe from an old lady that went to our synagogue when I was a child; I was into cooking even then. The main differences I see are that my recipe uses 1 cup of vegetable oil (instead of butter) and less orange juice (1/3 cup). The sliced apples ( 2 1/2 pounds) are mixed with 1/3 cup honey and a tablespoonful of cinnamon before layering with the batter and I sometimes add pecan or walnuts to the apple layers. It cooks for about 1 1/2 hours. I sometimes make a carmel sauce to glaze it with, but since the carmel is made with butter and cream, the cake is no longer parve (not that it matters to me!).
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