Sharlotka recipe
Sharlotka, Russian apple cake, was one of the most popular cakes in former USSR. Every family knew how to make it. My grandma used to make it in a large oven tray, cut it in squares and serve it with Rhubarb punch drink. Here is the original Sharlotka recipe.
Sharlotka History
Sharlotka is my go-to desert so I make it quiet often. Couple of people asked me in the past why it is called Sharlotka, so I made a research and here is what I found.
The first story ascribes the authorship of Sharlotka to the Brits. Initially it was a pudding, and Sharlotka, as we know it, was invented not so long ago. At first, it was called moist bread, layered with fruits – raw, cold Sharlotka.
The second story is royal. In the 18th century, King George III of Great Britain’s wife, Charlotte, was the patroness of apple growers. The theory is not confirmed, but very romantic, besides, the pudding existed before.
The third romantic legend says that Sharlotka was invented by an English chef who was unrequitedly in love with the girl Charlotte. Obviously, with a new dish, he was trying to somehow to get the attention of the lady.
The fourth story is about French chef Marie Antoine Carême, “the cook of kings and the king of cooks”, as he was called, created a Sharlotka of the Charlotte Russe type – instead of bread, he used biscuits and a layed them with Bavarian cream and gelatin.
The fifth story of the origin of Sharlotka origin mentions thrifty Germans, who did not like to throw away the bread leftovers and made crackers. Then they used those crackers to make apple dessert. And since the German name Charlotte was common at the beginning of the 20th century, behind the eyes of all German women they were called that – Charlottes.
What kind of apples should I use?
Any apples would do. I love Granny Smith as they are sour enough to balance the sweet taste. You can any apple of your choice and adjust sugar accordingly.
Can I use brown sugar?
I would not suggest using brown sugar or any other type of sweeteners. While brown sugar (questionably, in my opinion) considered more healthily, it produces slightly more moist dough compared to the regular granulated white sugar. White sugar in the best for making angel cake type dough.
Can I mix it by hands?
Yes, but take your time to mix in until the sugar dissolves. My grandma always mixed the dough using fork. She did it really fast, took breaks then mix it again and again. The longer you mix it the better consistency you get. If you do it long enough, you can get almost the consistency of angel cake when baked. But, I always get better results when using the mixer 🙂
Sharlotka Recipe Variations
You can add one teaspoon of soda to make a dough less dense.
If you are using very juice apples, such as like Honecrisp, I suggest to slice the apples and place the slices on a paper towel to absorb the extra juice. And them mix apples with one teaspoon of cornstarch to avoid soggy cake.
You can also reduce sugar to 3/4 cup is using sweet applies such as Golden Delicious.
And here is more… After 4! failed attempts I finally made Vegan Sharlotka and have a great recipe to share:
Best Vegan Sharlotka Recipe
Here my Vegan Sharlotka:
How to make Sharlotka?
Ingredients:
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 4-5 large apples
- 1 Teaspoon of sugar powder
- 1 tea spoon of vegetable oil
- 1 Teaspoon of cornstarch ( for very juicy apples, read on)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Peel and cut apples.
- Grease apron form 8 or 9 inch
- Put apples in in the form
- In a medium bowl combine eggs, sugar and flour and mix on high for 2-3 mins until the dough in formed
- Put the dough on top of apples, use spatula to get the dough out of the bowl. Make sure the dough covers apples completely.
- Bake on 350F for 35-40 mins until the wood tooth pick comes out dry
- Cool 10 mins before serving
How to serve Sharlotka?
Warm. Tastes ok cold, but warm much better. As all other cakes like peach clafoutis, for example, my family likes it warm with a scoop of ice cream and chocolate or caramel syrup on the top
Storage Instructions
Store up to 2 days in the fridge, make sure to cover the cake completely. You can store it up to 5 days but the cake might gets soggy as it losses the original consistency. Warm up in stove for 5-7 mins at 350F . If warming up the entire cake keep in the stove for 10-12 mins
