Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Tuesdays with Dorie - Russian Grandmother's Apple Pie Cake

What a little marvel this is! At first I thought, "this is just a pie!" Well, it is, but with an amazing, puffy crust. Nothing competes with the flavor of the apples. It's not rocket science to bake (although after the pecan biscuits, who am I to talk?) And it ended up tasting like an old-fashioned, homey, lovely little dessert.

I love the crust - very soft and pliable, which allowed it to conform to the filling, thereby eliminating that pie "gap" that often occurs between the filling and top crust when you make an apple pie. I made some adaptations to the recipe: (1) cut it in half, and baked it in a disposable 8-inch square pan, (2) used 4 Granny Smith apples and one Fuji, half the amount of raisins, all the sugar and cinnamon, and (3) added the zest of half a lemon to the crust. Then I mounded the filling over the bottom crust, and the pie/cake for about 35 minutes. The smell that filled the house was fantastic. I should mention that I rolled out the soft and sticky crust between two sheets of plastic wrap, after making it in my food processor.

Dorie says to let the cake cool to "warm" or "room temperature." Riiiiight. In my book, that was about five minutes, and then I dug in. Did I mention that I was baking this at 9:30 at night? Mmmm. It was only through sheer force of will that I stopped myself to take photos of my soon-to-be-gutted little wonder. If you look closely, underneath the crisp surface of the crust, the texture is a bit "cakey." Maybe that's where the name comes from.Thanks to Natalie of Burned Bits for this week's selection, and you can find the original recipe over at her blog. I agree with Natalie that this would be even better with some ice cream or some cream. Next week, Peabody has chosen Brioche Raisin Snails! And be sure to check out the Tuesdays with Dorie blogroll to see everyone else's creations!

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29 Comments:

Blogger noskos said...

That is a very nice looking pie-cake!! Mine could have done with way more sugar too..

March 11, 2008 8:15 AM  
Blogger April said...

yum!! It looks really good!

March 11, 2008 8:28 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Looks fantastic! And we only let it cool long enough so as not to burn our mouths on it ;-) We loved it hot from the oven!

March 11, 2008 8:53 AM  
Blogger Big Boys Oven said...

I like apple pie, but yours with cake looks really yummy!

March 11, 2008 11:01 AM  
Blogger Mari said...

Lemon zest in the crust is a good idea, I might have to try that next time. Your pie-cake looks tasty!

March 11, 2008 11:04 AM  
Blogger Rachel said...

Lemon zest - great idea!! Looks great, as usual. :)

March 11, 2008 11:27 AM  
Blogger Annemarie said...

It looks wonderful! I didn't let mine cool that long, either...I just couldn't wait!

March 11, 2008 11:34 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hah, let it cool! D and me dug right in too, there was no way it was getting to sit there. After having it both ways, I think right out of the oven was the best. Yours looks so perfect it hurts!

March 11, 2008 11:59 AM  
Blogger ostwestwind said...

Well done, good work!

Ulrike from Küchenlatein

March 11, 2008 1:25 PM  
Blogger Marie Rayner said...

Yours looks very nice. We did find ours a bit dry so served it with some ice cream and a drizzle of maple syrup. It was really good that way. Love the idea of the lemon zest in the pastry.

March 11, 2008 2:04 PM  
Blogger CB said...

We're suppose to wait? haha. That didn't happen for me either. As soon as the turn overs came out I was all over them! Your pie-cake looks delish! Great job!
-Clara
http://iheartfood4thought.wordpress.com

March 11, 2008 2:05 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Looks great Madame! I love the way your top crust turned out!!

March 11, 2008 2:45 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Your pie-cake looks fabulous! I agree it would be great with some ice cream.

March 11, 2008 3:13 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Looks great! I loved the crust too. I also like it warm :)

March 11, 2008 4:39 PM  
Blogger slush said...

We ate ours warm and having been warming it up since. So glad you liked it, it looks perfect!

March 11, 2008 4:58 PM  
Blogger Heather B said...

Looks delicious! Your pup is so cute too!

March 11, 2008 6:49 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well the whole thing looks and sounds amazing, but that last photo completely did me in! I just want to grab that spoon and munch away!

Ari (Baking and Books)

March 11, 2008 7:39 PM  
Blogger Judy said...

Looks delicious. I was good and waited, though I don't know why. I've been nibbling away at it since Sunday, and I only made half a recipe!

March 11, 2008 7:52 PM  
Blogger Tammy said...

Great job!! You pie looks so yummy!!

March 11, 2008 9:03 PM  
Blogger Melissa said...

Ooohh, I like the idea of adding the lemon zest.

March 11, 2008 9:19 PM  
Blogger amanda. said...

I wish I had thought about adding the lemon zest to the crust. I bet that was delicious!

March 11, 2008 11:25 PM  
Blogger Jhianna said...

Lovely, lovely, lovely! I need to start cutting these recipes down for the sake of my waistline (and everyone else's too).

March 12, 2008 12:41 AM  
Blogger Nikki57 said...

I loved the crust too! Your pie-cake looks fab!

March 12, 2008 1:02 AM  
Blogger Dolores said...

I love the layers in this one... literal and figurative. Spiced apples and pastry. Rustic and regal. Part heirloom, but with a bit of a modern twist.

You did a great job with it. My dough's resting in the refrigerator... I can't *wait* for the smell of baking apples before breakfast tomorrow!

March 12, 2008 1:36 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I like the idea of baking this pie-cake in an alluminum mould. Makes it easy to it away with you - to make other people happy :-)

March 12, 2008 3:06 AM  
Blogger Gretchen Noelle said...

Lovely pie-cake! I bet it was tasty still warm, I didn't cut into it until the next morning. Glad you enjoyed it!

March 12, 2008 8:36 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Had to write another comment to say...that I'm passing a blog award on to you! I love your blog!
http://dinneranddessert.wordpress.com/2008/03/12/my-blog-got-an-award/

March 12, 2008 10:32 PM  
Blogger Jaime said...

your crust looks beautiful! great job!

March 13, 2008 12:43 AM  
Blogger Peabody said...

It is soooo much more than a pie. It was so good. Yours looks great.

March 13, 2008 3:57 AM  

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