Tarte Tatin Jewish Apple Cake

This year, I thought of a new way to honor the Jewish Apple Cake. Growing up, my Dad taught me about Tarte Tatin a la Julia Child and once taught me how to make it. My Dad’s love of cooking once brought him into the classroom of Julia Child (see below for photographic proof).

So, for this year’s Rosh Hashanah, I decided to make a Tarte Tatin Jewish Apple Cake -something I haven’t seen or had before!

I made it twice: once using butter (the traditional manner for a Tarte Tatin, of course), and another time using margarine (to ensure that the cake was parve, or dairy-free). I’d say the second take was better due to finessing quantities for the cake batter and to ensure that I didn’t over mix. However, I haven’t made a decision on which caramel topping is better. In either case, it’s definitely a very sweet cake for the New Year!

More Apple Cake Recipes

Rebecca

Tarte Tatin Jewish Apple Cake

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Prep Time 35 minutes mins

Cook Time 2 hours hrs

Total Time 2 hours hrs 35 minutes mins

Course: Cake, Dessert

Cuisine: Jewish, Kosher, Parve

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

For the Apples

• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 3-5 apples (granny smith, honeycrisp, gala) (peeled and sliced)

For the Cake Batter

• 1 c vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 c orange juice
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 3 c AP flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder

For the Tarte Tatin Topping

• 1 c sugar
• 1-2 tbsp water
• 1/2 c margarine (or butter, if not making parve or dairy-free)
• 2 apples (granny smith, honeycrisp, gala) (mandolined, thinly sliced)

Method

 

1. Peel and slice the apples into chunks and place in a mixing bowl with sugar and cinnamon. Stir together with a silicone spatula to allow the natural juices from the apples to melt into the sugar.
2. For the cake batter, you can use a stand mixer or electric hand mixer. You can also simply whisk by hand. First whisk together the eggs and vanilla.
3. Now mixing on a higher speed, cream together the wet ingredients until fluffy and add in the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and salt).
4. Add in the orange juice and mix batter on low. Don't over mix. Set aside until the caramel topping is complete.
5. For the tarte tatin topping, first peel and mandolin the apples thinly and set aside.
6. In a stovetop pan, begin to melt down the 1 c of sugar slowly on high heat. Stir with a rubber spatula until completely dissolved. Add in about 1-2 tablespoons of water. Then, the margarine.
7. You will notice the color is golden brown and the syrup has bubbled. Remove from the heat.
8. Dip the mandolined apples into the caramel mixture on both sides and pour the remaining liquid onto the bottom of the bundt pan. Layer your mandolined apples on top of that.
9. Pour 1/3 of your cake batter atop the caramel, and layer in 1/3 of your cinnamon-sugar apples. Repeat this step two more times.
10. Finally, pour in the remaining juice from the marinating apple bowl atop the cake.
11. Bake for 1h40 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean from the center of the cake. Let it rest for another 20 minutes before using a serrated knife to cut around the bundt pan and inverting.