Szarlotka Food

SZARLOTKA (POLISH APPLE PIE)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C)
• Combine the flour, sugar, and baking powder
• Cut in the butter (with a pastry blender, two knives, or rub into flour with fingers) until it resembles coarse meal
• Work in egg and egg yolk, the dough will be crumbly, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes
• Reserve 1/3 of the crust, pat the remaining 2/3 into a 9 inch springform pan, covering the bottom and the sides
• Toss the sliced apples in the cinnamon, and add to the pan, piling them up
• Crumble the remaining 1/3 crust and sprinkle over the apples
• Bake for about 50 minutes, until crust is lightly brown and the apples are tender, if it seems to be getting brown before the apples are tender, loosely tent with aluminum foil

CLASSIC SZARLOTKA: POLISH APPLE PIE

Steps:

• For my szarlotka I used a deep rectangular baking tray (18x27 cm / 7x10 inch), but any shape will do just fine.
• Take out the butter for half an hour in advance to let it soften.
• Knead together all the ingredients (flour, icing sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla sugar), form a smooth mass, wrap into cling film and place in the fridge.
• Wash the apples, peel them and then grate or cube them. I've done the latter.
• Move the apple pieces to a pot. Cover in sugar and start cooking until soft. Add cinnamon mid-way through.
• Grease the baking tray and/or line it with baking paper. Roll out half of the dough and place in the tray. Pierce with a fork.
• Heat the oven to 170°C (340°F), bake the shortcrust base for 5-10 minutes until it starts to gain some colour.
• Remove from the oven. Spread apples on top. Roll the remaining dough and use it on top to cover the apples. Bake for 1 hour in 140-160°C (280-320°F).
• Serve cooled or warm with some whipped cream or vanilla ice-cream, with some icing sugar sprinkled on top.

SHARLOTKA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an oversized, deep, glass pie dish and spread apples inside.
• Combine eggs and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the wire whisk attachment. Mix on the highest setting until eggs are foamy and change in color, 5 to 7 minutes. The goal is to achieve a consistency something close to meringue.
• Turn stand mixer off and switch the attachment to the standard mixing paddle. With the machine on its lowest setting, add flour, sour cream, salt, baking powder, and vanilla extract. Mix until just incorporated. Batter should be thick, fluffy, and airy. Do not overmix, as it will deflate the batter. Pour batter over apples in the pie dish.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the top turns golden brown and a knife comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Let cool just until it is safe to handle the pan; loosen edges and flip the cake onto a serving platter.

POLISH APPLE CAKE (SZARLOTKA)

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease and line a 20 x 29cm baking tray with baking parchment.
• For the filling, zest the lemon half and leave aside for the dough. Peel, core and thinly slice the apples, then squeeze over the juice of the lemon to stop the fruit turning brown. Put the apples in a large pan and add the sugar, 200ml water and cinnamon. Cook for 5 mins, then remove from the heat and leave to cool in the liquid (you'll need this later).
• To make the dough, put the flour and baking powder in a food processor or into a large bowl and pulse or stir to combine. Add the butter and mix again until the mixture is sandy. Add the sugar, egg yolks and egg, yogurt, lemon zest and vanilla extract and mix into a dough. Tip it out onto a floured surface. Bring it together with your hands and roll it into a ball.
• Split the dough in half, wrap one half in cling film and freeze for 1 hr. Roll out the other dough half so that it is big enough to fill the bottom of the lined tray. With the palm of your hand, push the dough about halfway up the sides of the tray until the whole base is covered. Prick the dough with a fork and bake in the oven for about 15 mins until it is golden and lightly springy to the touch.
• Spoon over the apple filling, with about half the cooking liquid, then set aside.
• Remove the dough from the freezer and coarsely grate, as you would a block of cheese. Sprinkle the grated dough over the apples and bake for 40-45 mins until it is golden and the topping has cooked through. Leave to cool completely, dust with icing sugar, then cut into squares. Whip the cream until thick, stir in the cinnamon and serve alongside the cake.