Delicious apple cake with meringue

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Nothing says 'autumn' like homemade apple cake, and one of the most popular versions is apple cake with meringue. Soft apples and sweet meringue are a perfect combination, and buttery, crumbly base is not only quick to make, but also delicious. 

You can't even imagine the smell! Base is crumbly, buttery and vanilla, apples are juice, and meringue is beautiful and fluffy. No wonder it's an ultimate autumn classic.

You'll find a list of ingredients and method below.

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Ingredients (20 x 20 cm tin)

Apple layer

  • 7 apples (~900 g after peeling and coring)
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup (~50 g) sugar

Base

  • 2 heaped cups (~300 g) wheat flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 cup (~100 g) sugar
  • Pinch of salt
  • 200 g unsalted butter
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 1.5 tsp vanilla paste
  • Icing sugar for dusting

Meringue

  • 3 egg whites
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1/2 cup (~100 g) sugar
  • 1 tbsp (~10 g) vanilla sugar
  • 1 tbsp cornflour

Method

  1. Rinse, peel and core 7 sour apples. Cut them into small, 1 cm cubes and put them into a large pan. Add a small amount of water, around 50 ml, 1/4 cup sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon. Cook, stirring from time to time, until apples soften up and liquid evaporates. It took around 25 minutes in my case. Take them off heat then and transfer them to a separate bowl. Set apples aside to cool to room temperature.
  2. Add 1/2 cup caster sugar, 1 tsp baking powder and a small pinch of salt to 300 g wheat flour. Stir through with a whisk. Add 200 g cold, cubed butter. Combine fat and and dry ingredients with a knife, a confectionery knife or with your fingers, until crumbly.
  3. Add 1 1/2 vanilla paste and 3 egg yolks. Knead with your hand, in the bowl at first until flour absorbs all of moisture, and on a worktop then until smooth. Act quickly to prevent dough from warming up.
  4. Form the dough into an oblong shape and divide into two parts in 1:2 ratio. Wrap each part in plastic wrap and put into a freezer for 60 minutes, until firm.
  5. Grate the bigger part of the dough into a square tin, 20 x 20 cm, lined with baking paper. Spread the dough evenly and press it down to form a firm base. Prick base with a form across the surface and put it into a fridge.
  6. Pour 3 egg whites at room temperatue into a bowl and add a pinch of salt. Whip them with an electric mixer until light and fluffy: start with low speed and increase it as egg whites increase in volume. Once egg whites are fluffy, add 1 tbsp vanilla sugar and mix it in until incorporated. Add 100 g caster sugar in batches. Once all of sugar is in egg whites should be thick and glossy. Add 15 g cornflour at the end and mix it in.
  7. Put cooked apples onto the cool, pricked base. Spread them evenly, press them down with a spoon and even out the top. Put whipped egg whites onto the apple layer and spread gently with a silicone spatula. Grate the smaller part of the dough on top and spread with your fingers to cover the whole surface.
  8. Bake apple cake in a conventional oven preheated to 180 deg C for around 50 minutes. If the top browns too quickly, cover it with a piece of aluminum foil. After 50 minutes turn off the oven, wedge the oven door ajar and keep the cake in for 30 minutes. Take the cake out then and leave it the tin to cool completely. Dust with icing sugar before serving.
  9. Enjoy!

Approximate nutritional value

100 g

  • 271 kcal
  • Carbs: 39 g 
  • Fat: 12 g
  • Protein: 4 g
  • Fibre: 1 g

1 slice (recipe makes 16 slices)

  • 262 kcal
  • Carbs: 38 g 
  • Fat: 11 g
  • Protein: 4 g
  • Fibre: 1 g

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