Search
Navigate to Food section

‘The Norma’ Apple Cake

by
Margot Kahn
June 08, 2021
Photo courtesy of authorPhoto courtesy of author

My mother came to visit me this summer without a real sense of what she was getting into. We would be spending a week on the farm that my husband and I bought a year ago—an old, sagging barn, a wide open field, and 35 fruit trees on a little island in the Pacific Northwest. It was late July, and the Italian plums were just ripe. When my mother offered to help, we quickly put her to work.

Featured in: Not Quite My Great-Grandmother’s Apple Cake

Ingredients

For the ‘The Norma’ Apple Cake

  • 1cup almond flour
  • 1 ⅔cups powdered sugar
  • ½cup all-purpose flour
  • 1teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼teaspoon salt
  • Finely grated zest of one lemon
  • 6large egg whites, lightly beaten
  • ¾cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
  • 6plums, chopped
  • 2medium baking apples, peeled and thinly sliced

For the Mother’s Apple Cake

  • 3cups flour
  • 2teaspoons baking powder
  • ½teaspoon salt
  • 1cup sugar
  • ¾cup oil
  • 2eggs
  • 1yolk
  • 1teaspoon vanilla
  • Apples, plums, raisins, and jam

Preparation

To make the ‘The Norma’ Apple Cake

  • Step 1

    In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, powdered sugar, all-purpose flour, cinnamon, salt, and lemon zest. Whisk in the egg whites and slowly stir in the butter. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.

  • Step 2

    Preheat the oven to 450 with a rack positioned in the center.

  • Step 3

    Grease a pretty, round pan with butter or oil. Spoon half the batter into the pan and sprinkle the plums all around. Spoon the other half of the batter and use a spatula to carefully spread the batter over the plums. Arrange the apples on top.

  • Step 4

    Bake for 10-15 minutes until the cake batter begins to solidify. Lower the temperature to 400 and bake another 10 minutes. Turn off the oven and let cake stand in the oven until firm, about 10 minutes more. Let cool on a rack and dust with powdered sugar.

To make the Mother’s Apple Cake

  • Step 1

    Mix 3 cups flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • Step 2

    Add 1 cup sugar, 3/4 cup oil, 2 eggs and 1 yolk, 1 teaspoon vanilla

  • Step 3

    Divide into 3 parts, roll and cut to fit pan.

  • Step 4

    Fill with apples, plums, raisins, and jam on each layer.

  • Step 5

    Cut into squares. Pour a little butter or oil between the rows

  • Step 6

    Bake at 350 until brown