Fall Calls For Swedish Apple Cake and Homemade Vanilla Sauce

Autumn’s crisp air calls for a warm Swedish apple cake. What a perfect thing to make after picking apples around the many orchards in Ontario (see this great U-Pick list), and right now is the season! We totally enjoy the tradition of getting our apples picked fresh off the tree instead of buying them at the grocery store. As my urban friend told me, she says that her 3 year old son thinks apples grow on shelves. 🙂

Instead of cold ice cream, Swedes like to eat their apple cake with a creamy vanilla custard-like sauce. It’s delightfully cozy and lovely to eat this on a cool, Autumn evening when the leaves turn their ruby reds and oranges, and the hint of winter is coming. Add a strong brew of coffee or a hot cup of fruity black tea, and you’ve got the makings of the revered, Swedish fika (pronounced FEE-KAH) or “coffee break with something sweet or savory to eat in order to tie you over until dinner”. Actually, some people eat this as dessert too, whatever you fancy!

Now onto the recipes… These are 2 very easy recipes, which are translated from Swedish for your convenience. Notice the lack of spices in the Swedish Apple Cake. I suppose they reserve their cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom for Christmas, but you can try adding a little bit just for fun! I am trying this recipe with Liberty apples, but you can use any great pie-making apple. See this chart if you don’t know which!

Simple Swedish Apple Cake

2.5 dl (1 cup) flour
2.5 dl (1 cup) sugar
1 tsp baking powder
0.5 tsp salt
1 egg
100 gram (0.5 cup) melted butter
4 apples, peeled, cored and sliced in thin wedges

1. Mix all the dry ingredients together.
2. Melt the butter and add egg. Mix and combine it with the dry ingredients.
3. Grease a round pan with butter and set the apples in a neat formation on the bottom of the pan.
4. Pour the batter over the apples and bake in a pre-heated 175C/350F oven for 30-35 minutes.
5. Serve with the accompanying creamy vanilla sauce recipe below.

Homemade Vanilla Sauce

1 vanilla bean stalk
2 dl (3/4 cups) whipping cream
2 dl (3/4 cups) whole 3.8% milk
1 dl (1/2 cup) sugar
4 egg yolks

1. Pour milk and cream in a pot. Split the vanilla bean stalk in half length-wise and scrape the insides out with a small knife and add it and the rest of the bean stalk to the cream mixture. Let it come to a gentle simmer 2-3 minutes. Take out the vanilla bean stalk and let it cool down to slightly above room temperature.
2. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar until fluffy. Add a small amount of the cream mixture to the egg mix to temper it and whisk a bit more. Add the egg mixture to the cream mixture in the pot and warm up the sauce slowly over low/medium heat, careful not to boil the mixture. Continue whisking the sauce while warming it and allow it to thicken to a thick custard-like sauce. Cool the sauce before serving.

Enjoy the Fall with Swedish apple cake and comment if you wish to add to the recipe!