Monday, March 10, 2008

Tuesdays With Dorie - #3

Happy 100th Post to Me!!!


Now, on with the post...


This week for Tuesday With Dorie, Russian Grandmother's Apple Pie-Cake was chosen. I'm not exactly sure why it's not just apple pie... because it tasted, and basically was, apple pie. The recipe called for a mixture of apples, which I've never cooked with a mixture before, so I really liked the end flavor of the different apples. Also, I loved how the raisins got really plump as it cooked. The crust was more like a rolled sugar cookie dough than a traditional pie crust, which made it all the more delicious.
I enjoyed this, however next time I might make it in a pie plate because making it in a rectangular pyrex made rolling the dough a little harder, and it's a pie to me!


Russian Grandmothers' Apple Pie-Cake
For The Dough
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Juice of 1 lemon
3 1/4 - 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
For The Apples
10 medium apples, all one kind or a mix (I like to use Fuji, Golden Delicious and Ida Reds; my grandmother probably used dry baking apples like Cordland and Rome)
Squirt of fresh lemon juice
1 cup moist, plump raisins (dark or golden)
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Sugar, preferably decorating (coarse) sugar, for dusting
To Make The Dough:
Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and continue to beat until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3 minutes more. Reduce the mixer speed to low, add the baking powder and salt and mix just to combine. Add the lemon juice - the dough will probably curdle, but don't worry about it. Still working on low speed, slowly but steadily add 3 1/4 cups of the flour, mixing to incorporate it and scraping down the bowl as needed. The dough is meant to be soft, but if you think it looks more like a batter than a dough at this point, add the extra 1/4 cup flour. (The dough usually needs the extra flour.) When properly combined, the dough should almost clean the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a work surface, gather it into a ball and divide it in half. Shape each half into a rectangle. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or for up to 3 days. (The dough can be wrapped airtight and frozen for up to 2 months; defrost overnight in the refrigerator.)
To Make The Apples:
Peel and core the apples and cut into slices about 1/4 inch thick; cut the slices in half crosswise if you want. Toss the slices in a bowl with a little lemon juice - even with the juice, the apples may turn brown, but that's fine - and add the raisins. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together, sprinkle over the apples and stir to coat evenly. Taste an apple and add more sugar, cinnamon, and/or lemon juice if you like.
Getting Ready to Bake:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Generously butter a 9x12-inch baking pan (Pyrex is good) and place it on a baking shee tlined with parchment or a silicone mat. Remove the dough from the fridge. If it is too hard to roll and it cracks, either let it sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes or give it a few bashes with your rolling pin to get it moving. Once it's a little more malleable, you've got a few choices. You can roll it on a well-floured work surface or roll it between sheets of plastic wrap or wax paper. You can even press or roll out pieces of the dough and patch them together in the pan - because of the baking powder in the dough, it will puff and self-heal under the oven's heat. Roll the dough out until it is just a little larger all around than your pan and about 1/4 inch thick - you don't want the dough to be too thin, because you really want to taste it. Transfer the dough to the pan. If the dough comes up the sides of the pan, that's fine; if it doesn't that's fine too. Give the apples another toss in the bowl, then turn them into the pan and, using your hands, spread them evenely across the bottom. Roll out the second piece of dough and position it over the apples. Cut the dough so you've got a 1/4 to 1/2 inch overhang and tuck the excess into the sides of the pan, as though you were making a bed. (If you don't have that much overhang, just press what you've got against the sides of the pan.) Brush the top of the dough lightly with water and sprinkle sugar over the dough. Using a small sharp knife, cut 6 to 8 evenly spaced slits in the dough.
Bake for 65 to 80 minutes, or until the dough is a nice golden brown and the juices from the apples are bubbling up through the slits. Transfer the baking pan to a cooling rack and cool to just warm or to room temperature. You'll be tempted to taste it sooner, but I think the dough needs a little time to rest.

18 comments:

noskos said...

Nice looking pie!!

slush said...

Happy 100th post to you indeed! Great looking pie-cake. I am glad you liked it. :)

CB said...

Congrats on 100! What an awesome way to celebrate - with apple pie! Great job!
-Clara
http://iheartfood4thought.wordpress.com

amanda. said...

Looks delicious! Did you use colored sugar on top?

Madam Chow said...

Congratulations on your 100th post! I really liked this dessert, and the odd, delicious crust.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on your 100th post, that's neat! Glad I ain't the only one who thought it tasted like a cookie. Kept some of the dough to make cookies, lol!

Annemarie said...

Happy 100th post! The PIE/cake looks wonderful!!

Marie Rayner said...

It was pretty much the same as a pie to me too. That's why I served it with some vanilla ice cream on top! Well done!

Unknown said...

happy 100! that looks like to much work ... could you just send some to FL for me :)

ostwestwind said...

Happy 100th post! You liked the cake, so did I, it's so different from a German apple cake,

Ulrike from Küchenlatein

Anonymous said...

Looks great! Happy 100th post!

Mary said...

looks yummy! congrats on the 100th post!

Anonymous said...

Happy 100th post to you! That's awesome! Your cake looks like a dream!

Anonymous said...

It looks wonderful!

Jhianna said...

Congrats on your 100th post!

Melissa said...

Happy 100! Love the red sprinkles.

Jaime said...

look great! and congrats on your 100th post. the crust makes it a little cakey, i think...

Sweet and Savory Eats said...

Great job! Happy 100th post to you. You have been a busy blogger in 2008.