Norwegian eplekake may not be as synonymous with Norway as apple pie is with the United States, but it’s definitely something I hadn’t really heard of before moving here. This week I had a ton of leftover apples on my hands, and with tomorrow being May 17th, Norway’s Constitution Day, I wanted to make a Norwegian dessert with my leftover apples. This recipe is adapted from Tine Kjøkken’s, with a few modifications.
Gratulerer med dagen!
Grease and flour a baking pan. For this recipe, I used a 10x10" rounded-edge square pan.
Preheat oven to 175c or 350f.
Using a hand mixer, stand mixer, or wisp, whip the room-temperature butter and sugar together until they are light and fluffy.
Add the 1tsp lemon juice and 1tsp vanilla and mix until just blended.
Mix in one egg at a time until just blended.
Mix together your flour, baking powder, and salt.
Fold in the flour/baking powder/salt mixture into your wet mixture until just blended.
If your mixture is very, very thick, you can choose to add some milk in, but the batter consistency will be fairly thick and not runny like a normal cake batter.
Distribute the entire batter into the pan, spreading it evenly throughout. (See notes below for a modification.)
Peel, core, and grate 3 apples. Cut them into thin slices.
Press the apple slices into the cake in your desired pattern. They may pop out slightly as you add more, so don't be afraid to press them back in.
Once your apples are finished, sprinkle your cinnamon and sugar over the top.
(Optional) cut small pats of butter and place them around the top so that they melt when baking.
Bake for 50 minutes on the lowest rack. Keep an eye on the cake, if it starts to brown too much about halfway through cover it with foil and resume baking.
Cool entirely on a wire rack. Decorate with powdered sugar and serve alone, with coffee, or with vanilla ice cream, if desired.
* The way you slice your apples will impact their texture. I prefer relatively thinly sliced apples for a softer cake.
* In the recipe as described, the apples will sit at the top half of the cake and be visible in the final presentation. I like it this way! Other modifications can include:
1. Pouring in half the batter, putting in the apples and then putting in the rest of the batter. This will result in apples in the middle, but not as visible on the top for a pattern or design.
2. Pouring half the batter, putting in half the apples, pouring the rest of the batter, putting the rest of the apples. This will result in a more even apple distribution, but it may be harder to arrange the apples in a pattern.
Ingredients
Directions
Grease and flour a baking pan. For this recipe, I used a 10x10" rounded-edge square pan.
Preheat oven to 175c or 350f.
Using a hand mixer, stand mixer, or wisp, whip the room-temperature butter and sugar together until they are light and fluffy.
Add the 1tsp lemon juice and 1tsp vanilla and mix until just blended.
Mix in one egg at a time until just blended.
Mix together your flour, baking powder, and salt.
Fold in the flour/baking powder/salt mixture into your wet mixture until just blended.
If your mixture is very, very thick, you can choose to add some milk in, but the batter consistency will be fairly thick and not runny like a normal cake batter.
Distribute the entire batter into the pan, spreading it evenly throughout. (See notes below for a modification.)
Peel, core, and grate 3 apples. Cut them into thin slices.
Press the apple slices into the cake in your desired pattern. They may pop out slightly as you add more, so don't be afraid to press them back in.
Once your apples are finished, sprinkle your cinnamon and sugar over the top.
(Optional) cut small pats of butter and place them around the top so that they melt when baking.
Bake for 50 minutes on the lowest rack. Keep an eye on the cake, if it starts to brown too much about halfway through cover it with foil and resume baking.
Cool entirely on a wire rack. Decorate with powdered sugar and serve alone, with coffee, or with vanilla ice cream, if desired.
* The way you slice your apples will impact their texture. I prefer relatively thinly sliced apples for a softer cake.
* In the recipe as described, the apples will sit at the top half of the cake and be visible in the final presentation. I like it this way! Other modifications can include:
1. Pouring in half the batter, putting in the apples and then putting in the rest of the batter. This will result in apples in the middle, but not as visible on the top for a pattern or design.
2. Pouring half the batter, putting in half the apples, pouring the rest of the batter, putting the rest of the apples. This will result in a more even apple distribution, but it may be harder to arrange the apples in a pattern.