Russian Grandmothers' Apple Pie-Cake

This is a beautiful piece of apple pie-cake. The dough crust has a texture of a cake yet it gives you the satisfaction of eating an apple pie at the same time...haha fantastic piece of pie-cake. The filling has the tangy-ness from the green apples and refreshing sweetness from the dried cranberries. The cinnamon powder infused into the apple slices and cranberries , added flavor to the pie-cake and the aroma that comes out of the oven was most intoxicating to the hungry souls :)) 'Daddy' was the first to come running to the kitchen and asked when he can have that piece of wonderful smelling cake... I told him this... "sorry, you have to wait for that piece of goodness to cool down before you can get to eat it" .....and it was worth his while waiting coz it was yummilicious!!!

This recipe is taken from Dorie Greenspan book " Baking From My Home To Yours "

Russian Grandmothers' Apple Pie-Cake
From Baking From My Home to Yours
by Dorie Greenspan
Serves 6

For The Dough
100 grams of butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup of sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tablespoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
3 tablespoons of lime juice
1 3/4 cups of flour For The Filling
5 medium apples
Squirt of fresh lime juice
1/2 cup of dried cranberries, soaked in hot water
2 tablespoons of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
Sugar, preferably decorating (coarse) sugar, for dusting

1. Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and continue to beat until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3 minutes more. Add the baking powder and salt and mix just to combine. Then, add the lime juice. Add the flour a little at a time, mixing to incorporate it and scraping down the bowl as needed. The dough should begin to pull off the sides of the bowl. If it does not, add extra flour, 1 tablespoon at a time.

2. Form dough into a ball and divide it in half. Shape each half into a rectangle and wrap with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours, or for up to 3 days.

3. Peel and core the apples and cut into slices about 1/4 inch thick. Toss the slices in a bowl with a little lime juice. Add the cranberries, sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over the apples and stir to coat evenly.

4. Preheat the oven to 375F.

5. Remove the dough from the fridge. Press one half of the dough into the bottom of a square baking dish, coated with cooking spray. Pour the apple mixture over the bottom dough. Roll out the second piece of dough and position it over the apples. Tuck any excess into the sides of the pan.

6. 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.

7. 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.

Have a wonderful weekend!

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