With a name like “Apple Pie Cake,” how could I not try this recipe? I saw a picture of this Apple Pie Cake on Pinterest a few days ago. (OMG have you visited Pinterest? I happily waste a lot of time on that website. I love, love, love it! It’s like I am writing my own magazine. I choose the subjects, the articles, and the pictures and have the whole thing saved so I can flip through the pages whenever I want…, but I digress 🙂 Onto this fabulous recipe…!
This is a Martha Stewart recipe. I have never been a big fan of Martha. To be honest, she scares me. Doesn’t she seem a bit abrupt? And imperial? I get the feeling she’s looking down her nose at me. I feel frumpy and incompetent when she’s on TV. It’s a surprise I tried this recipe actually! I’m so glad I did though.
I love fruit based desserts. Mix some fruit with flour, butter, sugar, and cinnamon, bake it until it all melts together and I’ll fall all over myself getting to the table. This recipe results in sort of an apple crisp turned pie that looks like a cake! De-licious! Easier-than-pie and much easier-than-cake. It’s best eaten the day it’s made, the crust softens a bit after a night in the refrigerator, but no one would turn down a leftover slice. No one.
I tried a slice of this with whipped cream, and a slice of it without whipped cream. I can’t believe I am saying this, but I liked it better without the whipped cream. I haven’t tried this with a scoop of vanilla ice cream yet. I guess I should make another, just to test that out 😉
I found the recipe at MarthaStewart.com. And I did make a few changes to the recipe… The original recipe called for 5 lbs of apples (about 12). I bought that many, but only used about 3 ½ lbs (6 large apples). I added a bit of sugar, 1/3 cup, to the apples with the cinnamon, but Martha didn’t. You can leave the extra sugar out if you’d like.
Apple Pie Cake
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon (divided use)
- 1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
- 3-4 pounds (about 6) tart apples, such as Granny Smith
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- dash of nutmeg (optional, I added this, I love nutmeg…)
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine flour, brown sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Using a food processor, electric mixer, or pastry cutter, cut in butter until the mixture forms pea-size pieces.
- Press 2/3 of the mixture onto bottom and 1 inch up the side of a 9-inch spring form pan.
- Peel apples, cut into thin slices, and place in a bowl. Pour off any accumulated liquid. (I didn’t have any)
- Toss apple slices with remaining teaspoon cinnamon and lemon juice, and optional 1/3 cup granulated sugar.
- Place prepared apples over the “crust” in the prepared pan, pressing down gently as you pack them in.
- Sprinkle remaining crumb mixture on top of the apples.
- Put the pan on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet, and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until golden brown on top.
- Run a knife around the edge of the pan, and let the cake cool in the pan to set.
- Dust the top of the cake with confectioners’ sugar. Remove the sides of the spring form pan and place on decorative plate to serve.
- Serve at room temperature.
I’ll be making this again on Monday night for my Dining For Women meeting. I know the women will appreciate it. I also think I will make this for Thanksgiving. It’s so EASY, and delicious. I hope you try this recipe and like it as much as I do. Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today…, and stop by my Pinterest pages, too!!