Russian Apple Cake Sharlotka (Шарлотка)
Sharlotka, traditional Russian apple cake, is everybody’s favourite, and it is very easy to make!


- Baking tin (ingredients are for 20 cm round or square tin);
- Baking paper;
- Hand blender (optional);
- Apple corer and slicer (optional, but very handy);
- Peeling knife.
- 3 medium eggs;
- 200g white granular sugar;
- 250g plain flour;
- 1/2 tsp soda + just enough vinegar (ideally cider vinegar or white wine vinegar) to dissolve it;
- 400-600g apples, preferably with acidic taste, e.g. Granny Smith (or 300-500g of peeled, sliced and cored apples).
- Optional: grated nutmeg or cardamom or coriander, nuts to top.
- Mix the eggs, sugar and flour. It is better to do it by hand, but you can use a blender if you prefer;
- Fully dissolve soda in vinegar and incorporate it into the batter;
- Core, peel and thinly slice the apples. Tip: using an apple corer and slicer makes it much faster;
- Incorporate sliced apples into the batter;
- Line the tin with baking paper and pour the batter into the tin;
- Bake at 180˚C 45 min – 60 min, until a toothpick comes out dry; cover with foil if the top of the cake gets overcooked.
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