Apple cake is always a good idea. And after sorting my windfall apples I had a small basket of “to use immediately” apples with small dents. These kind of apples are best in cakes where a beautyful form is not so important, like my alltime favourite apple cake. For the “Zürcher Pfarrhaustorte” (Zurich parsonage cake) I had to select a  bit. The good looking halves where used for the apple topping, while the halves with brown spots where grate (of course after removing the brown spots!). The grated apple is then mixed with grounded hazelnuts, sugar and eggs and form so the basic on which I put the halfway sliced apple slices.

For this cake I found more or less only one recipe in the Net and my recipe continue this as well. I make only minor changes like using my favourite short crust pastry with a bit of buckwheat flour to make the dough a bit more nutty. And I baked the cake longer and at lower temperature to ensure that the apples are all soft and tender.

This cake will find its way in my personal favourite folder as it is filling is fruity, moist and not too sweet and can be enjoyed on the next days as well.

Zürcher Pfarrhaustorte

Short crust

• 100g Butter
• 50g sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 pinch salt
• 200g flour Type 405
• 50g whole buckwheat flour
• 30g Milk (more if needed)

Hazelnut Apple Filling

• 2 egg yolk
• 100g sugar
• 1 pinch Salt
• 1 lemon (juice and zests)
• 300g grated Apple
• 200g grounded Hazelnuts
• 3 Eggwhite
• 4 midsize apples

Glazing

• Apple or Quince jelly

Cream Butter with sugar, salt and egg yolk. Then add flour and milk and knead until a homogenous dough has formed. Chill in the fridge for at least one hour. Now roll thinly and line a spring form (Diameter 26 cm).

For the filling cream eggyolk with salt and 50g sugar. Stir in lemon juice and zests, grated apples and hazelnuts. Beat the egg white with 50g sugar to soft peaks and fold under the apple-nut- filling. Fill in the spring form.

Peel the remaining apples, remove the core and cut in half. Cut each half into 4 mm slices, so that the apple is still connected at the bottom. Place upon the apple-hazelnut-filling.

Bake at  165°C for 70-80 min. After Baking, melt the apple jelly and glaze the apple with it.