Created By: Agnes Barath
Pro Chef Or Baker?: Yes – Culinary Hungary
This Cookbook Belongs To: You
Is This Recipe In Your Cookbook?: Yes
Origin: Hungary
Region: Budapest
Local Name: Almás Pite
Primary Ingredients: Apples, Walnuts
Primary Spices: Cinnamon, Vanilla Extract
Total Time: 1 Hour 10 Minutes
Skill Level: 1
Categories: Dessert, Special Occasion, Party
Intro By Creator: Hungarian apple cake is a true Hungarian classic, quite popular in the country. Is it a pie or a cake? It is definitely delicious, an easy to make dessert filled with sweetened shredded apple spiced with cinnamon and lemon. There’s also a sour cherry version of this. See the notes below.
Notes & Tips
What kind of apples to use in the apple pie?
The apples are shredded in this recipe (not sliced or cubed), I prefer using tart or sweet-tart apples.
These are the best apple for apple pie: Granny’s Smith, Ida Red, Pink Lady, Jona Gold.
Once you shredded the apples, add some powdered sugar and sprinkle with ground cinnamon and lemon juice. Let is sit, the apples will release a nice amount of liquid. Take large handfuls of apples and, with your hands clenched, squeeze out most of the juice from the apples (but make sure the apple are not super dry, keep some moisture in, otherwise your pie will be very dry!) and place the balls of squeezed apples in a bowl.
How to make powdered sugar in just 30 seconds?
I teach you how to make powdered sugar at home! It is so simple with the sugar of your choice, once you learn this, no need to buy it any more. In addition, since you are making yours fresh, you can skip the corn starch when you make it at home.
You just need a spice grinder, and you can sprinkle the freshest powdered sugar in your dessert.
For the Sour Cherry Version
For the Dough:
No Vanilla extract in the dough. Replace with 1 teaspoon of vanilla flavored sugar.
Mix the pitted sour cherries with the powdered sugar and lemon juice, let it sit and drain the juice.
For the filling:
1,200 grams (42.3 ounces) of pitted sour cherries
200 grams (7 ounces) of powdered sugar
Juice of half a lemon
Ingredients
For the dough
- 2.5 cups of all purpose flour (300 grams)
- 1 stick of butter (115 grams or 1/2 cup)
- 1/2 cup of powdered sugar (50 grams)
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1 whole egg
- 1 tbsp of sour cream + a little extra if needed
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon of lemon zest
For the apple filling
- 6 medium sized tart apples
- 1/2 cup of powdered sugar (50 grams)
- 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 4 tbsp of ground walnuts (optional)
- 1 tbsp of lemon juice
- 1 whole egg for brushing the dough
Instructions
- Mix the flour and the cubed butter by hand. The mixture will be quite crumbly.
- Add 1 whole egg, powdered sugar, salt, vanilla extract, baking powder, sour cream, and lemon zest. Knead thoroughly. Add more flour if necessary.
- Divide the dough into 2 balls, cover and let rest for 20 minutes.
- Peel the apples, core, and shred them. Add the sugar, the cinnamon, and the lemon juice. Mix well and drain the juice. Drink the apple juice, it is delicious. 🙂
- Heat the oven to 180°C (355°F). Butter and flour your baking tin.
- On a floured surface roll out one part of the dough to the size of the baking tin (11×8), then lay it in.
- Sprinkle with half of the ground walnuts (optional). Spread the apples on the dough; sprinkle it with the remaining walnuts. Roll out the top crust and place over the apples, sealing the edges and making slits in it.
- Prick to allow vapor to escape, and brush with egg wash.
- Bake the cake for 30 minutes, until the top is light-browned. Let it cool. Cut into squares, sprinkle with powdered sugar, and serve.
Make sure you use 6 apples. Don’t squeeze out too much of the apples or it’ll be too dry. Keep the thickness of the layers even. Especially at the edges.
You can use icing sugar on the top.
Keep the dough cold while it’s resting. If you overwork and overheat the dough when mixing in the butter it will not be as crumbly and the dough may turn out too dense. Don’t overwork it.
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