Apple and Hazelnut Cake

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A rustic apple and hazelnut cake, consisting of a thick layer of apples between two sheets of shortcrust pastry, some roasted hazelnuts as well… this recipe is utterly delicious.

Although this apple and hazelnut cake is not necessarily a Romanian recipe, it still reminds me very much of the typical Romanian apple cake that my great-grandmother or her daughters used to bake.

The main difference is in the base, the Romanian apple tray bake features a thicker, soft batter layer, while this apple and hazelnut cake is made with shortcrust pastry, so it is more like a pie. Both versions are incredibly delicious though, you should definitely try them.

What do you need?

Apples:

• Lots of them, about 1 ½ kg/ 3.3 lbs.
• You will have to peel and grate quite a lot of apples, it is not hard work, but it takes a while, I think I needed about 15 minutes just for that.
• The amount of apples used makes this pie perfect for using up a larger amount of those apples you might get from your generous neighbors in autumn.

Hazelnuts:

• I bought already ground hazelnuts, which I roasted in a dry pan.
• Don’t skip the roasting step, it adds a lot of flavor.

Vanilla sugar:

• It is very common in Europe.
• If you don’t have it replace it with 3 tablespoons granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
• You can make your own vanilla sugar by sticking an empty vanilla pod in a jar full of granulated sugar and leaving it for a week or so until the sugar is infused with vanilla flavor. You can add more sugar to the jar after you have used some of it.
• Or grind an empty vanilla pod very finely in a food processor and mix it with granulated or icing sugar. I prefer this method because the vanilla flavor is more intense.

Tips

• The shortcrust pastry is not so beautifully rolled as one might think, but that is not a problem.
• Divide the pastry into two equal pieces and roll as good as you manage.
• The pastry will probably break when you transfer it to the casserole dish, just press it with your fingers to make it whole again.
• That is very easily done on the bottom of the dish and it works as well for the upper sheet of pastry.
• The whole thing doesn’t have to look perfect, the charm of this pie is that is so rustical… 🙂
• Sprinkle the pie with a nice layer of icing sugar just after baking it and it will look just great.
• The apples need to be squeezed before being added to the cake.
• Take one handful of the apples and squeeze it to remove the excess liquid.
• Continue this way with the remaining grated apples. Spread the apples on top of the pastry and level.

Baking dish

• I used a glass casserole dish to bake the pie.
• You don’t have to use a glass dish if you don’t have one, any kind of casserole dish or a deeper pie dish would do, but a glass thing does help you see better when the pie is finally baked.
• Just lift the dish carefully above your head (don’t drop it) and have a look at the bottom layer of the pastry, it should have a flaky look and it shouldn’t look wet anymore.

How to serve?

• The apple and hazelnut cake can be served warm or at room temperature.
• If serving it warm, you can add a dollop of vanilla ice cream on top.
• If serving at room temperature, some whipped cream would be great.

More apple and hazelnut cakes?

Vegan Apple Bread (with Hazelnuts)

Vegan Apple Cake Recipe – No Bake Cake

Banana and Hazelnut Cake with Cherries

Brown Sugar Cake

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