Szarlotka aka Polish apple pie is a popular dessert in every Polish home, cafe and bakery.
It’s easy to prepare with delicious, crispy shortcrust pastry, a lot of apple filling and topped with a crispy crumbs. Szarlotka differs from traditional apple pie in both the crust and the filling. It also has a less sweet flavour.
My Mom used to make apple pie every week. We would take it to school for lunch or have it as an after school snack.
Here is my Mom’s super easy and delicious recipe:
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour (250 g)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 4 eggs
- 3 pounds Red Delicious apples, peeled, cored, & sliced (1 Kg)
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 stick butter (250g)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- Powdered sugar (optional)
Instructions
Let’s start with the dough.
First, separate egg yolks from the whites and set them aside.
In a large bowl combine flour and baking powder. Stir well. Add the butter (cut into small pieces), 4 egg yolks and vanilla extract. Knead together until dough is smooth. You can use a food processor, but I prefer to form the dough by hand. It’s just faster, better and less dishes to wash.
Form the dough into a ball, flatten it slightly and wrap it in plastic wrap. Place in the fridge for about 30 minutes, while you prepare the apple filling.
For the filling, wash the apples, peel them, remove the cores and cut them into small cubes. Optionally you can grate them.
I like to use Red Delicious apples but you can try Honeycrisp, Braeburn, Pink LadyPour or Golden Delicious.
Place the sliced apples in a large pan, add sugar, cinnamon and the lemon juice. Cook for about 15 mins over medium heat stirring gently. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool completely.
Cook the apples as soon as you’ve peeled and chopped them (peeled apples brown quickly).
Cooking the apples with sugar and cinnamon gives them a deep, rich caramelized flavour. Also, the heat causes the apple’s juice to evaporate, so the pie will be less liquid and have a more solid structure.
Next, take the dough out from the fridge, remove the foil and divide into two parts. Put 1/3 of the dough back in the fridge or freezer.
By putting the dough in the freezer, you will have an option to grate it and put it on top of the apple pie. If you put the dough in the fridge, you will need to tear the dough piece by piece and spread it over the entire surface of the pie. Personally, I like the second option.
Lightly grease a baking pan with butter or margarine.
Cut the larger dough into thin slices (approx. 1/4 inch or 5mm thick) and arrange in a single layer in the bottom of the baking pan. Use the palm of your hand and your fingertips to evenly distribute it into a uniform dough layer across the bottom of the baking pan.
Next, beat the egg whites until thick and stiff adding a pinch of salt. Start your mixer with low speed and gradually increase it. Set aside.
Spread the apple mixture (it should be completely cooled by now) over the layer of dough and even out without pressing down too much.
Spread the egg whites mixture over the top of the pie.
Take the remaining dough from the fridge, tear off small pieces and place them gently on top of the egg white mixture without pressing down. If you froze your dough, coarsely grate it over the layer of egg whites.
Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C) and bake for about 35-40 minutes, until the cake is nicely browned and the bottom of the cake is fully cooked.
Remove from the oven and set aside to cool before cutting.
Before serving, dust your apple cake with a powdered sugar or a mixture of powdered sugar and cinnamon.
Szarlotka is best served on the day it’s made, but will still be delicious for the next 2-3 days. Just keep it covered in the fridge so it retains its moisture.
Smacznego! Enjoy!
