Passover Apple Cake

By blum099

This wonderful Passover recipe is courtesy of Arthur Schwartz and can be found in his book, "Jewish Home Cooking." You can substitute your own spices in this recipe, if you'd like.

YIELD:Makes one 8-inch square cake

Ingredients

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 3/4 teaspoon mace
• 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3 large eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil, plus more for baking dish
• 3/4 cup matzo cake meal
• 5 medium apples, such as Golden Delicious or Crispin, peeled, cored, halved, and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices (about 5 cups)
• 1/3 cup raisins (optional)
• DIRECTIONS

Details

Adapted from marthastewart.com

Preparation

Step 1

STEP 1
Preheat oven to 350 degrees with a rack set in the center. Lightly spray an 8-inch-square glass baking dish with cooking spray; set aside.
STEP 2
Mix together walnuts, 3/4 cup sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, and ginger in a medium bowl; set aside.
STEP 3
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk, beat eggs on medium speed until well combined. Beat in remaining 3/4 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, until mixture is thick and foamy. With the mixer running, slowly pour in oil. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Stir in matzo cake meal.
STEP 4
Pour half of the batter into prepared cake pan. Sprinkle over half of the walnut mixture, half of the apples, and raisins. Pour over remaining batter and top with remaining apples; sprinkle over remaining walnut mixture.
STEP 5
Transfer cake to oven and bake until the sides of the cake pull away from the baking dish very slightly and topping begins to caramelize, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove cake from oven and let stand for several hours until completely cool, before cutting. Keep cake covered tightly with plastic wrap for up to 2 days, as the flavor improves with age.