Chef Mik’s Swedish Style Äppelkaka!!

Today I am baking a Swedish style apple cake referred to as “äppelkaka” which is typically served with crème anglaise. You can pretty much find it on the menu at just about any coffee house in Sweden. The recipe is pretty straight forward, with the main emphasis on the apples. To that end back in Sweden one might go straight for the Gravenstein which originated in Denmark but now a days are quite common in Sweden. If you can find them I highly recommend trying one and experimenting with them. In lieu of Gravenstein some descent alternatives would include the Honey Crisp or other baking apples such as the Pippin or Granny Smith. On a personal note I tend to blend either Pippin or Granny Smith which are both a bit tart together with either Cripps pink (pink lady) or McIntosh which yield very nice results. 

Besides the apples all the ingredients are of your typical store bought verity however I should mention that traditionally back in Sweden in place of baking powder they use to employ something referred to as "hjorthornssalt" or ammonium carbonate (bakers ammonia) which is sum pretty powerful stuff and will lay you out cold if your not careful. It was made from the antlers of reindeer and was used for most non yeast baking. Hjorthornssalt is more powerful then baking powder so a little goes a long way, that said personally rarely use it myself and when I do I think its better for cookies if used at all

Historically speaking I tend to think of apples rather like the big bad wolf of the fruit world not that they are bad for you in any way but rather that from a literary stand point at least they just got a bad wrap. From the garden of Eden which more then likely was a fig to Snow White the apple is always the wolf is sheep’s clothing and even so I say the heck with it they are still worth it! 

On a serious note though however when we were still living in caves one of the fruits we enjoyed was apples. During the time of the Romans (from whence the term romance comes) apples where heralded as the fruit of love. Apples have been here in the States for centuries, although it’s been something of a mixed bag when it came to quality it’s only recently that they have really come into their own, do in large part to people like Jonathan Chapman AKA Johnny Appleseed who was incidentally a member of The Church of Swedenborgianism. At any rate Johnny Applesseed spread his love for the fruit far and wide starting crops throughout much of the Eastern part of the country and on into the Midwest.  

On a side note one curious thing about this dish is the name itself, pronounced “äppelkaka”. Now in Swedish cake is pronounced ‘tårta’ while ironically ‘kaka’ is the term for cookie (pun not intended). While this recipe is certainly not for a cookie I can testify to the fact that on more then one occasion I have ordered the apple pie pronounced äppelpaj and received an äppelkaka the same holds true when ordering an “äppeltårta” but whenever I have ordered an äppelkaka I have never received a cookie, not that its relevant but I thought I’d mention it... anyway….

Shopping List 

Baking apples, see above

Unsalted butter

Baker’s sugar

Eggs

Milk

Unbleached all purpose flour

Baking powder

Salt

Cinnamon

My Mad Method

Ready to eat!!

Start by pealing and thinly slicing about 4 medium baking apples and tossing them in one TBSP each cinnamon and sugar let sit until ready to use

Grease a 10’ cake pan or spring form and dust with bread crumbs (optional)

Cream 150g butter together with 3 dl sugar

Add 2 eggs, mix to combine

Sift together 6dl flour; 3tsp baking powder and ½ tsp salt add that along with 2 to 2.5dl whole milk mix to combine

Fold the apples into the batter, if desired reserve some for garnishing the cake (optional)

Spread the cake batter out evenly, I have simple placed a couple of slices to mark slice. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour or until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean

Let the cake rest before serving. Though you can serve hot or cold.

Ready to serve!!