Super delicious and moist Apple Sponge Cake, also called Russian Sharlotka will become your new favorite apple dessert. It's so easy to make, topped with a sweet and crispy almond layer which literally melts in your mouth. Give this decadent fall treat a try and it won't disappoint!
If you love Russian cuisine, make sure to also try Russian Cottage Cheese Pancakes - Syrniki.
Apple Sponge Cake Recipe
Apple cake has always been a huge thing in Ukraine and Russia. Back in the beginning of 90s, in the era of widespread shortages and empty grocery stores, the most common types of desserts were made with the harvest crop.
Since apples were in abundance, homemakers always referred to apple sponge cake when they needed a quick and easy dessert idea.
I called my today's recipe an Apple Sponge Cake or Sharlotka. If you're familiar with Russian cuisine, you know that Sharlotka is extremely popular dessert and everyone can make it without even reading the recipe.
What I did differently to make it the Best apple cake ever?
Sharlotka is a very simple dessert which is usually made of sugar, eggs, flour and apples. Well, I took it up a notch and added a bit of sour cream into the batter for even more fluffiness. In addition, I topped my apple cake with a scrumptious layer or sliced almonds, that got caramelized in the oven and became crispy and simply irresistible.
I would say the batter for this cake resembles Sharlotka batter and the topping resembles another famous apple dessert - French Gâteau Invisible or invisible cake.
I think you won't mind, because the result will totally blow your mind. And I'm not exaggerating. I've been making this recipe for years and I can assure you that this is the best apple cake ever. Moist, sweet and really delicious!
It pairs wonderfully with a morning cup of tea or coffee, but can also be prepared the holidays such as Thanksgiving or Christmas.
How to make easy Apple Sponge Cake?
Slice the apples
Peel, core and quarter 4 large or 5 medium apples. Slice them thinly and place in a bowl while you make the batter.
Make the batter
In a large bowl add 3 eggs and ½ cup of sugar. Beat using a hand mixer until sugar dissolves. Add in 3 tablespoons of sour cream and beat again until it's fully incorporated into the batter.
In a medium bowl whisk together 1 cup of all-purpose flour and 1 teaspoon of baking powder.
Combine wet and dry ingredients
Add flour and baking powder mixture into the eggs and sugar and whisk until all ingredients are combined. Add 1 teaspoon of almond or vanilla extract and whisk everything once again. The batter will resemble a pancake batter.
Arrange apples in the pan
Cover the bottom of 9-inch springform pan with a parchment paper and grease the sides of it.
Arrange half of the apples in a circle so they overlap slightly. Pour half of the batter over the apples. Repeat the step with the apples and the remaining batter.
Bake
Bake in a preheated to 400 F oven for 25 minutes.
Prepare the almond crust
In a medium bowl whisk together 1 egg and ¼ cup of sugar. Add 3 tablespoon of melted butter and whisk again.
Remove cake from the oven, pour egg and sugar mixture over the cake, sprinkle with 4 tablespoons of sliced almonds and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Continue baking for another 10-15 minutes until crusty and golden-brown.
Which apples are best for Sharlotka?
Since apple cakes are generally quite sweet, I recommend choosing tart apple varieties that will balance out the sweetness of the cake. Here are some of my favorites:
- Granny Smith
- Pink Lady
- Mcintosh apples
- Cortland
- Honeycrisp
- Gala
- Fuji
How long will this cake last?
If stored properly, apple sponge cake will last anywhere form 4 days to 3 months depending on the method of storage.
Place slices of apple cake in the airtight container and store in a fridge for up to 4-5 days. I like these BPA-free storage containers.
You can also freeze the cake. Tightly wrap it in plastic or freezer-friendly zipper bag (these are my faves) and freeze for up to 3 months.
More easy apple desserts with fresh apples:
Healthy Baked Apples Ukrainian Style
Apple Fig Crostatas
French Apple Palmiers
Apple Sponge Cake
Ingredients
- 4 large apples
- 1 c all-purpose flour
- ½ c cane sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3 tablespoon sour cream
- 1 teaspoon almond extract you can replace with vanilla extract
For almond topping
- 1 egg
- ¼ c + 1 tbsp cane sugar
- 3 tablespoon butter melted
- 4 tablespoon sliced almonds
Instructions
Slice the apples
- Peel, core and quarter 4 large or 5 medium apples. Slice them thinly and place in a bowl while you make the batter.
Make the batter
- In a large bowl add 3 eggs and ½ cup of sugar. Beat using a hand mixer until sugar dissolves. Add in 3 tablespoons of sour cream and beat again until it's fully incorporated into the batter.In a medium bowl whisk together 1 cup of all-purpose flour and 1 teaspoon of baking powder.
Combine wet and dry ingredients
- Add flour and baking powder mixture into the eggs and sugar and whisk until all ingredients are combined. Add 1 teaspoon of almond extract and whisk everything once again until no lumps remain.
- Arrange apples in the pan
- Cover the bottom of 9-inch springform pan with a parchment paper and grease the sides of it.Arrange half of the apples in a circle so they overlap slightly. Pour half of the batter over the apples. Repeat the step with the apples and the remaining batter.
Bake
- Bake in a preheated to 400 F oven for 25 minutes.
Prepare the almond crust
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl whisk together 1 egg and ¼ cup of sugar. Add 3 tablespoon of melted butter and whisk again. Remove cake from the oven, pour egg and sugar mixture over the cake, sprinkle with 4 tablespoons of sliced almonds and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Continue baking for another 10-15 minutes until crusty and golden-brown.
Remove cake from the pan
- Remove cake from the oven, let it cool and then run a sharp knife along the edges of the pan. Unlatch the pan and gently lift away the sides. Slide the cake onto a platter.
Nutrition
Maggie says
Not enough batter and batter was tough. I loosened it with some cream but should make more batter next time.
Iryna says
Hi Maggie. My guess is that a flour that you used had a high protein percent which means more gluten. More gluten can cause the batter to be tough. When you make it next time, I recommend reducing the amount of flour by 2-3 tablespoons. Hope this helps!
Elena says
Make sure you use regular (not self-rising) cake flour and not bread flour or all-purpose, which contains more gluten. Measure using standard leveled 8oz cup. Also for recipes like this always sift your flour. If you absolutely having need to flip your cake to take off the parchment paper you can always do this trick: place cooled cake on a cutting board, cover the top with paper towel, then place another cutting board on top and flip the sandwiched cake upside down. Remove the parchment, then flip the cake again and transfer onto the serving plate. If done correctly this method would preserve the top layer. Hope this helps and good luck in future culinary endeavors.
Larissa says
Prosta klass!
I loved the topping! I didn’t have almonds on hand but chopped up some pecans and sprinkled brown sugar instead of white. Soo amazing. Thank you!
Iryna says
Larissa, thank you so much for your comment! I'm happy you loved this recipe!
Linda M. Jardee says
Made a Russian Sharlotka apple cake. BOMB (and not in a good way). I mean it will probably taste wonderful, but the presentation not so good. I did everything according to the recipe. Says to put parchment paper on the bottom of spring pan & grease sides. After baking for 25 minutes, remove from oven, add egg mixture with melted butter, sugar & pour over top of cake. Sprinkle sliced almonds over cake & some more sugar, bake another 15 minutes. Here's the fun part....I'm thinking I should have ignored the directions with the parchment paper on the bottom of pan and just greased it. Now, this recipe would have made sense if you put NOTHING on the top of the cake & after you took the sides of the springform off, just flipped the cake & then peeled parchment off. But since this goofy recipe said to put this glorious topping on it, you wouldn't flip it, but the parchment paper would be melded into the cake. I mean, who doesn't love a good flavored parchment paper cake? So flip it, some of the cake falls apart, peel the paper off that was stuck into the cake. Flip it back as topping comes off. Plus it didn't raise much like it was supposed to. Errrrrrrrrrrr
Linda M. Jardee says
Didn't mean to call it a goofy recipe, it will probably taste great. I just am frustrated, sorry.
Iryna says
Hi Linda! Sorry for the confusion. I should've clarified about the parchment paper. To get the parchment off a cake, you need to slightly lift the side of a cake up and then pull the parchment out. It's supposed to get off easily. Again, sorry it didn't turn out the way you expected.
Anne Penland says
I made this for my husband’s birthday as he prefers fruit pies to cake. I live where Apple trees are in season and made this from fresh apples I picked. I wasn’t sure there would be enough batter, but it came out wonderful and my husband loved it.
Iryna says
Anne, thank you so much for your comment and a 5-star rating! I'm happy that you and husband loved this cake!
Anastasia says
It turned out delicious. At first , I thought that there would not be be enough batter but in the end it was perfect.
I skipped almond extract and used vanilla extract instead, I also added cinnamon and skipped the almonds.
The taste was perfect, not too sweet, just like I like.
Iryna says
Anastasia, thank you so much your comment and a 5-star rating! I'm happy you enjoyed this recipe!
Lori Kurochkina says
Hi Iryna, this recipe was a wonderful twist on the standard Sharlotka for me, thank you! As an American, living in Russia now, I have had a hard time appreciating a baked apple cake without having cinnamon involved, and have always thought it was bland. But your carmelized crust topping here gives it an extra boost that satisfies my American taste buds, and my Russian husband also approved of. What size springform pan do you use though? I have a 9-inch one and the batter seemed to be enough to only make one layer. Regardless, it still came out perfect. (also on your recipe car, it doesn't show the 1 egg used in the almond topping). Thanks again!
Iryna says
Hi Lori! Thank you so much for your comment and a 5-star rating! I'm happy you liked this cake. It's our family's favorite as well. Wow, I bet it was quite a change for you to move to Russia. I hope you love the cuisine. Russia and Ukraine (where I am from) have many things in common.
Regarding your questions, I used a 9-inch springform as well. I tried to keep the first layer rather thin basically just to cover the bottom of the pan. And thanks for the heads up on the recipe card. I fixed it.
SL says
Very disappointing. Batter was too thick and did not spread well. Very bland and I added cinnamon.
Iryna says
SL, sorry the recipe wasn’t to your liking. I might give it a go again to see if anything needs tweaking.
This is a recipe that I love and make often and always have gotten great reviews for. Sorry again it wasn’t what you expected and I appreciate you sharing anyway!
Iryna says
Following up on my previous comment...I was wondering if you changed anything in the recipe and if you used a standard measuring cup for measuring out flour and sugar? I gave the recipe another try and as always it turned out great. Just like stated in the recipe card, the batter is supposed to be thick (almost like pancakes batter consistency).
I'm sorry you didn't like the taste of it. If you want to troubleshoot or have specific questions, feel free to drop me a line at [email protected]🙂