Julie Weisman
Food Editor's Note: This is easy and delicious, and a little different way to serve apples for dessert. The filling is basically an apple pie filling, and you can adjust it to your own taste. The topping forms a beautiful crust, crunchy on the top and more cake-like as it fills the crevices in the apples. This is wonderful served still warm from the oven or at room temperature. To keep the topping crunchy, keep the cake uncovered and on the counter until serving – it will get soft if covered and refrigerated. That didn't stop our staff, of course, from consuming the leftovers cold and right from the fridge!
Ingredients
Filling:
4-6 large Cortland apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
Juice and grated rind of 1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
Topping:
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg, beaten
For sprinkling:
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg (my mother does not use this)
2 tablespoons sugar
3-4 tablespoons cold water
Mix filling ingredients in a bowl. Adjust for taste, adding more cinnamon or lemon if desired. My mother uses a lot of cinnamon because my husband likes it. She can go either way with the lemon rind. And she actually uses an overflowing capful of vanilla.
Put all the ingredients in an 8" square pan.
Mix the topping ingredients together with a fork and distribute over the top of the apples.
Sprinkle cinnamon, nutmeg (if desired), and sugar over the top. Also sprinkle 3-4 tablespoons of cold water over the top to moisten the dough. You can dot the topping with small bits of butter or margarine, but my mother doesn't.
Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until the crust feels hard.
This recipe can be doubled with 8 large apples for a 9 x 13-inch pan.
Julie Weisman is an indispensable member of the ShalomBoston.com staff. She is a pretty terrific cook, as is her mother Joan Sudikoff.
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