Sharlotka

Sharlotka is a delicious Russian apple cake. I made it last night because we ended up buying 6 kilos of apples yesterday. I love apples, and it's apple season ... there are several varieties in the stores here. We went to the grocery store today (along with everyone else in the village, it seems) and I saw a 3 kilogram box of a type I know I like. I bought them, despite my boyfriend was whining at me not to. He's been saying he knows of a guy right by our apartment, who sells apples, onions and potatoes in bulk. But, he's been saying it for weeks, and we haven't actually gone there, so I bought my apples. After the grocery store, we walked by this place he knew about, just to see, we didn't think it was open because it was Sunday. But it was! So we got some gorgeous onions, a mix of white and red, and 3 kilos of different tasty apples. The guy let us try a bunch, too. We already had about a pound of apples at home, so now I've got to think of what to do with nearly 15 lbs of the things. Step one: Sharlotka. I love it because it's so simple and good. There are very few ingredients, and the numbers are easy to remember.

Apple Sharlotka

Ingredients:

3 apples, tart kind best
3 large eggs
1 c sugar
1 c flour + a bit for dusting
oil to grease pan

Method:

Core and slice the apples thinly. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 C), on my oven this is gas mark 6. Crack the eggs into a bowl, beat with the sugar. Add the flour, stir until flour is incorporated, then beat a bit until the mix is nice and smooth. Grease a cake pan with a bit of oil, then dust flour all over to prevent sticking. Arrange apple slices in a thin layer on the bottom of the pan, and pour the batter over (it'll be kind of thick). You can do more than one layer if you like. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool, and then remove from pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Serving Suggestion: This is a really yummy cake. I like it for breakfast sometimes, or with tea.