Sharlotka (Russian Apple Sponge Cake)
Four eggs and a cup of sugar beaten until thick and airy, a cup of flour folded in with diced apples, baked in one pan at 350°F for 35 to 40 minutes, then topped while hot with sour cream stirred with orange marmalade.
Sharlotka shares a name with one of the grandest desserts in Europe and almost nothing else. Russian Life magazine (Vera Loginova, "French Treat", March 1, 2019) tells it this way: Antonin Carême, the great French chef, was invited to Russia in 1819 to cook for Emperor Alexander I, found the tsar away and left without cooking for him. Carême reworked the English "charlotte", a pudding of bread layered with fruit, into the charlotte russe of ladyfingers and Bavarian cream. In New York it later became a sponge cake with whipped cream sold in paper cups.
The Russian sharlotka is something else. Russian Life says it became an apple-filled cake, light like an angel food cake, in the early 20th century, and it was a Soviet staple because it needed only four ingredients and less than an hour, and because apples wrapped in newspaper kept in a cool place for much of the year. There is no butter in the batter: the beaten eggs do all the work. The magazine's version adds a modern touch, a topping of sour cream and orange jam spread on while the cake is hot.
Why it works the kitchen science
Eggs beaten for a long time
Whipping the eggs and sugar traps air that the oven expands, so a cake with no butter or oil rises light and tender around the apples.
Fold, don't stir
Folding the flour and apples in gently keeps that air in the batter; stirring hard would knock it out and bake a dense cake.
Watch it in 60 seconds
Step by step
- Step 1
Heat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform with parchment and butter the sides.
- Step 2
Peel, core and dice the apples into about 1/2-inch pieces.
- Step 3
Beat the eggs and sugar with a mixer on high speed until very thick, pale and about tripled, 8 to 10 minutes. The longer you beat, the airier the cake.
- Step 4
Sprinkle in the baking powder and spices and fold gently, then fold in the flour just until no streaks remain. Fold in the apples.
- Step 5
Pour the batter into the pan and bake 35 to 40 minutes, checking at 30, until the top is golden and springs back and a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
- Step 6
While it bakes, stir the sour cream and marmalade together. Spread it over the cake as soon as it comes out of the oven, scatter the lavender and peppercorns if using, and let the cake cool before cutting. Refrigerate leftovers.
Sharlotka (Russian Apple Sponge Cake)
Serves 8 · one 9-inch round cake · 55 min total
Cake
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup (200 g) sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon and a pinch of ground cardamom (optional)
- 1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 to 3 medium apples, peeled, cored and diced (about 2 cups)
- Butter for the pan
Topping
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup sour cream
- About 3 tbsp orange marmalade or orange jam
- Dried lavender and crushed red peppercorns, for garnish (optional)
Method
- Heat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform with parchment and butter the sides.
- Peel, core and dice the apples into about 1/2-inch pieces.
- Beat the eggs and sugar with a mixer on high speed until very thick, pale and about tripled, 8 to 10 minutes. The longer you beat, the airier the cake.
- Sprinkle in the baking powder and spices and fold gently, then fold in the flour just until no streaks remain. Fold in the apples.
- Pour the batter into the pan and bake 35 to 40 minutes, checking at 30, until the top is golden and springs back and a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
- While it bakes, stir the sour cream and marmalade together. Spread it over the cake as soon as it comes out of the oven, scatter the lavender and peppercorns if using, and let the cake cool before cutting. Refrigerate leftovers.
Adapted from Russian Life, "French Treat" by Vera Loginova (March 1, 2019), with its recipe "Sharlotka". We follow it as written: 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 4 eggs, 1 tsp baking powder and 2 to 3 medium apples, cored, peeled and diced (about 2 cups), with optional ground cinnamon and cardamom; the eggs and sugar beaten well (the longer, the airier); baking powder and spices, then flour, mixed in gently; apples folded in; a parchment-lined tin; 35 to 40 minutes at 350°F (180°C), checking at 30, until a toothpick comes out clean; a topping of 1/2 to 3/4 cup sour cream and several spoonfuls of orange jam or marmalade spread on right out of the oven, with optional dried lavender and red peppercorns; the topped cake kept in the refrigerator. The 9-inch springform, the 8 servings, the 3 tbsp of marmalade and the beating time are ours. russianlife.com. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (1)
Tips
- Russian Life says the amount of apple is up to you; more apple means a moister, heavier cake.
- Unfrosted, the cake keeps in a sealed container at room temperature; topped with sour cream, it goes in the refrigerator (Russian Life).
- Without the topping, a dusting of powdered sugar is the plain version (our suggestion).
- Tart apples, such as Granny Smith, keep their shape and contrast with the sweet sponge (our suggestion).
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Sharlotka comes from Carême's charlotte russe. Disputed: the names match, and Russian Life tells Carême's Russian connection; but it also says the two have very little in common except the name.
- Carême cooked for Alexander I. Documented as false in Russian Life's account: the tsar was away, and Carême left without cooking for him.
- Sharlotka is a Soviet cake. Documented as Russian Life's account: an early 20th-century apple cake that became a staple because it needs four ingredients and under an hour.
- Real sharlotka has no butter. Documented: Russian Life's batter is only flour, sugar, eggs and baking powder.
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