Bubbe’s Apple Cake Recipe
Jewish apple cake is a timeless dessert special to many families, especially during the fall and winter months when apples peak. This traditional cake, often made for holidays or family gatherings, is known for its moist texture, cinnamon-spiced flavor, and layers of sweet, tart apples that create a beautiful marbled effect when sliced.
Jewish Apple Cake isn’t explicitly tied to religious tradition despite its name. Still, it is instead a reflection of Eastern European Jewish baking heritage, where simple, kosher ingredients like oil, flour, and apples were common.
It is unique because it is dairy-free, adhering to kosher dietary laws that separate meat and dairy. This makes it a perfect dessert to serve after meat-based meals. It also has a long shelf life, staying moist and flavorful for days, making it a practical and delicious treat to have on hand.
In this post, I’ll explore how to make this classic apple cake from scratch, sharing tips on selecting the best apples, perfecting the cake’s texture, and adding personal touches to make it your own. Whether you’re baking for a special occasion or just craving a comforting slice of cake, this recipe is sure to satisfy.
Apples Selections
The best apples for Jewish Apple Cake are firm, tart varieties that hold their shape and balance the cake’s sweetness. Here are some great choices:
- Granny Smith: A classic choice due to its tartness and firm texture, Granny Smith apples maintain their structure during baking, providing a nice contrast to the sweet, spiced cake.
- Honeycrisp: Known for its crisp texture and slightly sweet flavor, Honeycrisp apples add a bit of sweetness without losing their bite.
- Fuji: Sweet and firm. Fuji apples hold up well in baking and add a juicy, fruity flavor to the cake.
- Jonagold: A combination of Jonathan and Golden Delicious apples, Jonagolds offer a balanced sweetness with a hint of tartness, making them a flavorful choice for apple cakes.
- Braeburn: With a sweet-tart flavor and firm texture, Braeburn apples work well in recipes that need structure during baking.
- Cortland: These apples have a mild sweetness and are less tart than Granny Smith, but still hold their shape well and provide a juicy texture.
Using a mix of tart and sweet apples, such as Granny Smith and Honeycrisp, can add complexity to the cake and beautifully balance the flavors.
Helpful Tips
Here are some helpful tips for making Jewish Apple Cake:
- Choose the Right Apples: Use firm, tart apples like Granny Smith or Honeycrisp that hold their shape during baking. A mix of sweet and tart varieties can enhance the flavor.
- Coat Apples in Cinnamon Sugar: Toss the sliced apples in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar before layering them in the batter. This adds sweetness and enhances the cake’s flavor while creating a beautiful, spiced apple filling.
- Don’t Overmix the Batter: Overmixing the batter can result in a dense cake. Stir until the ingredients are combined to keep the cake light and tender.
- Layer the Batter and Apples: Alternate layers of batter and apples in the cake pan for a beautiful marbled effect. This ensures the apples are evenly distributed and adds visual appeal when sliced.
- Use Oil, Not Butter: Jewish Apple Cake is traditionally dairy-free, so use oil instead of butter for a moist cake. Vegetable or canola oil works well and keeps the cake tender for days.
- Bake Low and Slow: Bake the cake at a moderate temperature (around 350°F) for about 1 to 1.5 hours. This allows the apples to soften and the cake to cook evenly without over-browning.
- Cool Completely Before Slicing: Allow the cake to cool fully before cutting into it to ensure clean slices and prevent crumbling.
Apple Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1¼ cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 medium apples peeled and cut into thin slices
- ½ cup Smucker's Red Plum jam
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 3 large eggs brought to room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 pinch cinnamon
Instructions
- Begin by preheating the oven to 350° F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
- Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. Stir dry ingredients and set the bowl aside.
- Add apple slices, Smucker's Red Plum jam, and lemon juice in another bowl. Mix up so that apples are coated in jam and lemon juice. Set aside.
- Beat the eggs well, either with an electric beater on medium or vigorously by hand.
- Gradually add sugar and beat (about two min.), or mix by hand, till the mixture is almost fluffy.
- Add oil, vanilla, and almond extracts, and continue to beat and scrape the side of the bowl till all is combined.
- Next, mix in the flour mixture (if using an electric beater, reduce speed to low). Mix until batter is blended to uniform color and consistency.
- Take just half of the batter and spread evenly in the baking pan.
- Next, cover the layer of batter with the apple and jam mixture. Then spread the remaining half of the batter over the apples. Finally, give a light shake or two of cinnamon over the surface of the cake.
- Bake on the center rack till golden (approximately one hour).
- After removing it from the oven, let the cake cool. Cut into squares and serve.
7 Responses
Yum! We do not get Smuckers in New Zealand, but amazingly I just bought yesterday, a pot of the best home-made plum jam I’ve had in ages. So I will definitely be making this soon, especially since our spring has all of a sudden sprung back to wintryconditions.
R.G, I apologise for all these messages, but I forgot that the reason I came to your site originally today was to let you know how much we enjoyed your recipe for squash with shallots. I didn’t have any dry sherry, so used red wine and a touch of maple syrup instead. Wonderful!!
P.S. I just voted for your family’s recipe because it was not only very good, but it eoked memories of the desserts of my own times with my grand-parents.
The recipe sounds delicious and much easier than the Jewish Apple Cake recipe I usually make this time of year, but I didn’t see the size of the baking pan mentioned anywhere in the recipe. Did I overlook it or is it missing?
I am in a very good mood for cooking. For a “strange” reason. Since my husband has a stroke last May (he remained with great difficulties in communication and interpretation skils and he may not be able to work again and he is only 54) we decide to try to enjoy life. And cooking helps a lot! I am going to try the Apple Cake Recipe .
Hey, I was just blog hopping and I found your blog, good one!
Have made this at least ten times. Adjusted recipe by adding grated lemon rind to batter, increased apples to five, used various jams such as Bumbleberry, rasberry etc and only use a spring form pan. Deeeelish and one of the best ways to a man’s heart!!
Hi Christine, thanks for your suggestions and substitutions. Sounds deeeelish and not a bad way to a woman’s heart too. – RG