Sharlotka
Apple sponge cake
Russian apple sponge cake: a light egg-foam batter baked over a pile of sliced apples
Sharlotka is the cake every Russian family bakes in September, when dachas around Moscow and Saint Petersburg drown in Antonovka apples. It is nothing like Polish szarlotka with its shortcrust: here the tin is packed with sliced tart apples and a feather-light batter of whisked eggs, sugar and flour is poured over, so it bakes into an airy, crackly-topped sponge holding a soft apple layer. Only four ingredients, and it is on the table in under an hour with tea from the samovar. Chef's tip: whisk the eggs and sugar for a full 8 minutes until pale and tripled; that air is the only raising agent and a short whisk gives a flat, rubbery cake.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
For the cake
- 4 tart applesabout 700 g, Antonovka, Bramley or Granny Smith
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 4 eggsat room temperature
- 6 ½ oz caster sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 6 ½ oz plain flour
- 1 pinch salt
- ½ oz butterfor the tin
To serve
- 1 tbsp icing sugar
Shop this recipe on Amazon
What you'll need
Fresh ingredients (4)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Heat the oven to 350°F (325°F fan). Butter a 24 cm springform tin with ½ oz butter and line the base with baking paper.
Step 2: Peel and core 4 tart apples, cut into thin wedges and toss with 1 tbsp lemon juice and 1 tsp ground cinnamon. Spread them in the tin.
Step 3: Whisk 4 eggs with 6 ½ oz caster sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1 pinch salt with an electric mixer on high for 8 minutes, until very pale, thick and the beaters leave a ribbon that holds for a few seconds.
8 minStep 4: Sift 6 ½ oz plain flour over in three goes, folding gently with a large spatula after each until no dry streaks remain. Don't stir or the foam collapses.
Step 5: Pour the batter over the apples, letting it seep between them, and smooth the top. Bake for 35–40 minutes until risen, golden with a thin crackly crust, and a skewer comes out clean. Don't open the oven in the first 25 minutes.
40 minStep 6: Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out apple-side up or down, as you like, and dust with 1 tbsp icing sugar. Serve warm or cold with tea.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 260 kcal
- Protein
- 6 g
- Carbs
- 50 g
- Fat
- 4 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does sharlotka take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of tart apples?
- Pears, same amount.
- What can I use instead of lemon juice?
- Lime juice, same amount.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Kartoshka cakeCocoa and cake crumb truffles
Soviet cafés and school canteens sold these knobbly brown 'potatoes' for a few kopecks, and they began as a thrifty way to use up sponge and biscuit trimmings at the bakery. Crumbs are bound with butter and sweetened condensed milk, flavoured with cocoa and vanilla, shaped into little potatoes, rolled in cocoa and finished with two dabs of pale butter cream for the sprouts. They are fudgy and dense like a brownie truffle, need no oven, and children love making them. Traditional bakers added a spoonful of rum, an optional extra for adult batches only; this version is alcohol-free with vanilla. The usual slip is coarse crumbs, which make the potatoes crack, so blitz them as fine as sand. Chef's tip: chill the shaped potatoes for at least 20 minutes so they hold their shape and slice cleanly.
Almond cookiesOat, coconut and almond cookies
A big batch of crunchy cookies with rolled oats, coconut, chopped almonds and chunks of cooking chocolate. For a change, use cashew nuts instead of almonds.
Basque burnt cheesecake
This crustless cheesecake was created in the early 1990s at La Viña, a pintxos bar in the old town of San Sebastián (Donostia) in the Basque Country, and is now famous around the world. It's baked very hot so the top caramelises almost black and the sides rise and crack, while the middle stays soft and creamy, almost runny. There's no base and no water bath, and the rough, rustic look is the point: it's lined with crumpled baking paper. La Viña uses a spoonful of wheat flour; cornflour does the same job and keeps it gluten free. Chef's tip: take it out of the oven while the centre still wobbles like a soft set custard; it firms up as it cools, and if it looks set in the oven, the middle will be dry instead of creamy.
Spanish
Perfect for:Tea-time