The apple sharlotka I grew up with is of Soviet origin and not to be confused with its ancestor, the most famous Russian Charlotte, created in the 19th century by the leader of Tsar Alexander I. The everyday version of my childhood snack cake was the result of scarcity – scarcity of ingredients, time, and equipment.
“Saving labor, saving time and saving space” is how the author of “Beyond the North Wind: Russia in Recipes and Lore”, Darra Goldstein, described the sharlotka, explaining how a recipe using origin of bread and stale fruit turned into this cake. Eating apple sharlotka in its contemporary iteration is consuming a history lesson: the cake was a byproduct of the ingenuity and resourcefulness of Soviet women fueled by a strong desire for hospitality.
Goldstein reminded me that in the 1920s and early 1930s in the USSR, women were encouraged to participate in the workforce and had little time for baking. Their tiny kitchens, equipped with small portable kerosene ovens (kerosinki), were often shared with other families.
Sharlotka, with its one-bowl dirt and few ingredients, cemented itself in the canon of Soviet cuisine: chop fruit, pour a paste on it, and in an hour the cake is ready.
When I asked my mother for her version, there was a long pause. “It’s just something I make,” she says, adding that she looks at everything until the proportions look right.
Bonnie Morales, chef-owner of Kachka in Portland, Oregon, which serves Russian cuisine with smart, contemporary twists, refers to sharlotka as something her mother “has on her Rolodex mind of quick desserts.” Her mother uses a special pan – an angel cake-style mold with a lid – imported from Belarus, which bakes the apples while the cake is baking. Growing up, if Morales saw the cake pan, it meant his mother was making sharlotka.
Most sharlotka recipes are simply eggs combined with equal amounts of sugar and flour, a little vanilla and cinnamon, and firm, tart apples cut into slices, like Granny Smith. Mention sharlotka to a Soviet expat old enough to remember the Brezhnev years, and you won’t escape a dreamy mention of the famous Antonovka apples and their superiority over all American apples – period.
The main difference between sharlotka recipes is whether baking soda is used. My mom’s version, which I’m sharing here, like most iterations I’ve come across, leaves the baking soda and uses whipped eggs as a sourdough.
Morales’s version, adapted from her mother’s, uses a little baking soda, but since there’s nothing acidic to interact with her, I don’t see a great need for it.
As for spices, cinnamon is what most Soviet kitchens had readily available, but I can see that the dessert works well with a host of other spices: cardamom, a whisper of allspice, or nutmeg, or even ginger. Most often, sharlotka offers apples, although Goldstein’s latest cookbook offers a delicious pear version.
This undemanding cake, for Goldstein, is a symbol of the Russian urge to be hospitable, especially in times of relative hardship.
And with that in mind, this could be the perfect cake for those weird times.
Storage room: Leftover sharlotka can be stored, lightly covered with a tea towel, for up to 2 days. It’s better the day it’s done.
Ingredients
- Unsalted butter, to grease the pan
- 3 large, firm and tangy apples, like Granny Smith or Suncrisp (about 680 grams / 1 pound 8 ounces)
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour
- Confectionery sugar, for serving
Step 1
Place a cooking rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Generously butter a 9-inch springform pan, line it with a circle of parchment paper and lightly butter or spray the circle.
2nd step
Peel, cut into quarters and seed the apples. Slice each quarter into 1/4-inch-thick pieces.
Step 3
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk, or in a large bowl if using a hand mixer, beat the eggs, sugar and salt on medium-high speed (high speed for the hand mixer ) until thick and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Stir in the vanilla extract and cinnamon.
Step 4
Using a fine mesh sieve, gradually sift a third of the flour into the egg mixture, then gently fold with a spatula until just combined and no remaining. trace of flour. Repeat twice with the rest of the flour. The dough will be very thick.
Step 5
Place half of the apples in an even, compact layer at the bottom of the pot. Cover with half of the dough and use an offset spatula to spread the dough evenly over the apples. Repeat with the remaining apples and dough. Gently knock the pan against the counter several times to remove any air bubbles and transfer it to the oven. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out free of dough and the top of the sharlotka is golden brown.
Step 6
Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then gently run a butter knife around the perimeter of the cake to loosen it and gently remove the sides of the pan. Using a fish spatula, gently transfer the cake to a serving dish and let cool completely.
When ready to serve, sprinkle the sharlotka with powdered sugar and cut it into slices.
Nutritional information
Calories: 227; Total fat: 2 g; Saturated fat: 1 g; Cholesterol: 70 mg; Sodium: 98 mg; Carbohydrates: 48 g; Dietary fiber: 3 g; Sugar: 33 g; Protein: 4 g.
Scale and get a printable version of the recipe here.
