Swedish Apple Cake
with Vanilla Sauce
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Let me get something out of the way right off the top. I'm not Swedish. I believe I have one Swedish ancestor - possibly a great-great-aunt. So without a personal cultural connection of my own, I was first exposed to Swedish apple cake at exactly where you're probably thinking it did: IKEA.
Like many North Americans, my primary exposure to Swedish culture to date has been the giant blue box store. As much as I'd like to go experience the real deal (Tourism Sweden, if you're reading this, I'm happy to discuss a recipes-for-accommodation sort of scenario), everyone's favourite flat-packed-furniture emporium has certainly piqued my culinary curiosity over the years. Case in point: Swedish apple cake. Now I'm sure my recipe is rather different from theirs, but I was admittedly pretty curious when I first saw a slice of it, chilling beneath it's plastic-wrap tent in hopes of being snagged by some meatball-munching shopper wending their ways through the cafeteria queue. The sign said cake, but frankly, it didn't look like any cake I'd ever seen.
Swedish apple cake is a curious dessert. Known in Swedish as sockerkaka med äpple (sponge cake with apples) or simply äppelkaka (apple cake), you'd be forgiven for thinking that it might resemble any of the other apple cake recipes common in Europe. But Swedish apple cake is something a little different - sort of the love child of a pie and a cake. Recipes vary wildly (as I discovered when I started the research necessary to develop my own recipe), but the most distinctive version is basically a soft, apple-rich sponge cake with a pie-crust bottom (and sometimes top). When done right, it's a thing of beauty - a delightful, flavourful cake with firm, sweet chunks of apple AND a flaky pastry crust. Cake wrapped in pie.
Now, perhaps there are some of you reading this right now who hail from beautiful Sverige. Or perhaps your lovely, flour-dusted mormor is waiting in the wings of your memory with an apron, rolling pin, and recipe card. In any case, let me start by extending an olive (or apple?) branch: I'm sure there are a boatload of amazing recipes out there for Swedish apple cake, and I'm sure no cake can compare with a beloved family recipe. As far as I'm concerned, there's plenty of room for experimentation AND tradition when it comes to äppelkaka and baking in general. But forgive my immodesty for a moment while I rave about how awesome MY recipe is. The crust is delicious, with vanilla and cardamom adding plenty of character to the simple buttery base. It's also mercifully simple. You don't even have to roll out the bottom - instead you simply press it into a more-or-less even layer in the pan. The leftover portion does get rolled out and made into a decorative crust topping, but a) you can go as simple or as fancy as you like, and b) if you're really pressed for time, you can skip it altogether and just let the filling do its thing. And let's talk about that filling, shall we? The apples (more on those below) are certainly the standout, especially given the way that they hold their shape and flavour, but let's not forget the spices or the almonds. I decided to forgo the cinnamon-heavy apple pie spice blend in favour of something a little more nuanced and a little more Nordic. The classic cinnamon-and-nutmeg duo still makes an appearance, but cardamom and vanilla (the real stuff) play equally prominent roles. The crumb itself is livened up with ground blanched almonds, making it sort of an apple-meets-almond cake. And in case you're worried or still somewhat unclear on this whole pie-cake-dichotomoy, the filling is decidedly cake-like. It will solidify and form a nice crispy/cakey top, and not a gooey pie-style filling. If you've got a nice, seasonally appropriate cookie cutter, roll out that leftover dough and put some decorative leaves (etc.) on top. Or, if you're a perfectionist/glutton for punishment (like me), you can spend two hours hand-cutting oak leaves yourself because you couldn't find a good cookie cutter anywhere. As the cake cooks, the decorative pastry bits sort of meld with the filling and create a tasty pie-cake interface. We can call it that. Trust me: I'm a scientician.
So yes, the cake is good. Scratch that - it's great. For the record, I tend to brag a lot more about my baking than my cooking, primarily because I'm so astonished when it works. I'm not sure if or when one becomes a confident baker, but let's just say that my successes continue to amaze me. Anyway, the cake is great - but let's not forget the sauce. Ohhhh, the vanilla sauce.
Now, if you were absolutely stuck, and had no way around it, you COULD serve this with whipped cream or a lovely vanilla ice cream. But let me tell you why you seriously need to make vanilla sauce.
Swedish vanilla sauce (called vaniljsås in Swedish) is a little tough to categorize. At first glance, it looks like a really heavy vanilla cream, but there's a bit of trickery going on. There is cream, but there's actually more milk in it than anything. The sauce is thickened with potato starch (or corn starch) and egg yolks. It's heated carefully, very much the same way that a custard is, so that everything becomes rich and unctuous without curdling or breaking. The end result is a velvety-smooth, wonderful sauce that just happens to go beautifully with fruit-based desserts (and, I would wager, chocolate). It's not a tricky recipe, and the cake just isn't the same without it, so do give it a shot. If you're new to working with vanilla pods (as opposed to vanilla extract), don't worry - they're easy, and the flavour is incomparable. Make sure to check out the tips and recommendations in the Recipe Notes below.
I've talked this cake up a lot, so let's give some credit where credit is due. I spent a LONG time finessing this recipe, but I owe a debt of gratitude to a number of other recipes that inspired or filled in the blanks along the way. Of the 20 or so recipes I looked at while planning this, three in particular helped me make the transition from nebulous idea to functioning recipe. I was able to develop my crust recipe and to figure out the general construction of the cake with the help of this recipe from Semiswede.com. The center of the cake however, is based on this recipe from Donal Skehan, modified in a number of ways, including converting it to an almond-based crumb rather than an almond-topped one. Finally, the vanilla sauce is one of the few recipes on this site that I haven't tweaked or adapted myself. Full credit for the sauce goes to SwedishFood.com, which is a wonderful portal for plenty of English-language Swedish food resources.
Recipe Notes
Brevity and Clarity do not always go hand-in-hand.
I realize that both the ingredient list and the instructions look a little on the long side, but don't be put off. First of all, I repeat ingredients when the recipe has different components. This means that you'll see butter on the list twice - once in the crust, and once in the filling. I do this for clarity, and because I can't stand when something tells me to use 1/2 cup of something-or-other, but then tells me to divide that up in the middle of the instructions. Boooooo. To show you what I mean, here's the condensed ingredient list:
Now that's really handy if you're making a grocery list, but it's a royal pain if you're trying to cook from it. The vanilla beans, for example, are used in all three parts of the recipe and have to be divided up. Eggs, butter, and some of the spices make multiple appearances. The ingredient list below can look a bit scary at first glance, but it's simply been broken up for clarity's sake. Likewise, the instructions might seem a little long, but this reflects my desire to create clear and functional instructions, and not inherent complexity in the dessert. You don't need to be a baking whiz to pull this off - just go slow, and stay organized.
Vanilla
Vanilla beans are very easy to use, so don't be intimidated. While you could substitute vanilla extract in theory, I think you get exceptional flavour and a wonderful look from the tiny black vanilla seeds in both the crust and the sauce.
When working with vanilla beans, simply use a sharp knife to slice open the pod the long way, then scrape the fragrant vanilla paste out of the pod with the end of the knife or a very small spoon. The paste is ready to use, and the pod itself can be used to infuse liquids. In this particular recipe, I just like using the paste, so I keep the pods and toss them into a container with about 3/4 cup of sugar and set it aside for a few weeks to make wonderful, fragrant vanilla sugar.
On the downside, vanilla beans can be pricey (often ridiculously so). A fair bit of work goes into making vanilla, and it is something of a gourmet product, but it's also overly marked-up in many cases. I've seen two pods selling for 12 dollars before, which is frankly ridiculous. But keep your eyes open, as more and more fair-trade companies are trying to make good vanilla pods accessible. I live in British Columbia, and I've been incredibly pleased with the vanilla pods produced sold by Victoria BC-based Level Ground Trading Company. They're primarily interested in importing and wholesale, but they do have an online shop that sells 5 beans for 10 dollars (edit: crashing vanilla crops have spiked prices around the world, but LGT beans are still great and fairly priced). That's pretty darned reasonable, but given even better deals are found in stores carrying their products - I bought 10 (TEN!) Grade A, fair-trade, Vanilla pods for ten dollars. Seriously. The vanilla comes from small-scale, mixed-crop farmers in Uganda, and it's an exceptional product. Level Ground products can be found at a variety of retail locations in BC, and the online shop has free shipping in on order over $60 in Canada and the USA, so check them out. It's a great chance to really take your food to the next level while simultaneously supporting sustainable, responsible farming and business.
Apple Diversity
This recipe is part of a series highlighting the flavour and versatility of little-known and underappreciated apple varieties.
There has been a growing interest in rediscovering forgotten heirloom apples, as well as a resurgent interest in growing and marketing new hybrid varieties. Apples were once once of the most important and varied fruits in both North America and Europe, but large-scale commercialization favoured a handful of attractive, easy-to-grow apples with long shelf lives. But the longest lasting apples aren't necessarily the best or most interesting ones, and chefs, farmers, and apple enthusiasts around the world are working to give some of these forgotten apples the exposure they deserve. This little feature is my contribution to that worthy cause.
This recipes features a 19th century Dutch apple called Belle de Boskoop. This very large, crisp, russet apple is a fantastic dual-purpose variety, though I personally think it really shines in cooking and baking. They’ve got a very nice sharp, sweetly-acidic flavour when fresh, with a lot more tangy ‘bite’ than the average sweet apple, but they’re nothing near what you’d find in a Granny Smith. This sweet/sour character coupled with their large-to-very-large size makes them fantastic for baking and cooking. Apple desserts that use Belle de Boskoops have a good amount of natural sweetness while still benefiting from the tart, sour-apple flavour that one usually gets with something like a Granny Smith. They also hold their shape quite well when cooked, making them ideal for cakes and pies (or cake-pie-hybrids like this). While they might not be available all the time, if you can find them, plan a baking project! To read more about them, and to see other unique apple varieties and recipes that use them, check out the post.
Of course this recipe doesn't require a highly specific heirloom apple; any good, sweet, firm apple with a bit of acid tartness will work just fine. Winesap, Cox's Orange Pippin, Cortland, Jonathans, and Jonagolds would all work admirably. I personally wouldn't go with Granny Smiths alone, as I think they'd be too tart, and there's not enough sugar in the cake to balance them out. That being said, a combinations of sweet and tart apples (Honeycrisp and Granny Smith, for example) would work quite well.
Disclaimer: I have not been compensated for any of the external (off-site) recommendations or links given in this article. I choose to recommend them based on personal experience and on my belief in their quality and/or educational value. Happy cooking.
Nutritional Summary
Best way to avoid eating too much? Share it with the people you love. Bring someone a slice of cake.
Ingredient Pages
No ingredient pages have been written yet for any of the ingredients in this recipe, but it is part of a series on unique apples.
Pantry Pages
No pantry pages have been written yet for any of the ingredients in this recipe. Like to see one? Let me know in the comments below or by email.
Swedish Apple Cake
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 cup flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
- pinch baking soda (~1/8 tsp)
- pinch salt (~1/8 tsp)
- 1/2 vanilla bean
- 1/2 cup butter cold and cut into pieces
- 1 egg
Filling
- 1 kg Belle de Boskoop Apples or similar variety (see note for suggestions)
- 1/2 cup blanched almonds (~90 g) or almond flour (see note)
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- pinch nutmeg
- 1/2 vanilla bean
- 1/2 cup butter warmed but not melted
- 2 eggs beaten
Vanilla Sauce
- 1 vanilla bean
- 1/2 cup cream
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 2 tsp potato starch or corn starch
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
Instructions
Pastry and Cake Filling
- PASTRY STEPS: 1-4, and 10 Grease a 10 inch cake tin (ideally a spring-form or one with a lifting bottom) with butter or cooking oil and set aside.
- Cut the vanilla bean in half the long way and scrape the seeds out from the inside. (Note that you can do the whole bean at once and save half of the paste for the filling and half for the crust, or you can keep half a bean set aside for when you do the filling steps).
- To make the crust, combine the dry ingredients and paste from half of a vanilla bean in a food processor and mix thoroughly. Add the cold butter and combine until the mixture forms small crumbs. Add one egg and pulse together again, stopping when the dough is evenly mixed.
- Press about 3/4 of the dough into the bottom of the cake tin in order to make an even crust. Roll the remaining dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Set everything aside to chill in the refrigerator.
- Preheat oven to 350° F (175° C).
- FILLING STEPS: 6-9 If you're using whole blanched almonds (see note below), pulverize them with a food processor or nut/spice grinder. Set aside.
- Peel and slice the apples. You can be relatively flexible on the size of the apple pieces, but I like large 'chips' of apple, about 2-3 cm (1 inch) long and 1/2 cm (less than 1/4 inch) thick. If you have a hand-cranked apple peeler, it makes quick work of this and cuts your apples into an ideal thickness.
- Combine the almond flour, flour, sugar, and spices in a large bowl. Scrape the seeds out of the 1/2 vanilla pod and add them to the mixture. Add the butter and eggs and combine with a hand mixer. Once the filling is well combined, fold in the sliced apples.
- Pour the filling evenly into the cake tin.
- Roll out the remaining chilled pastry. It should be about 1/4 cm (1/8 inch) thick. Cut the pastry into shapes of your choosing and layer them on top of the cake. They do not need to cover the entire surface of the cake.
- Bake for about 1 hour, or until the center is set and the top is golden. Serve warm or chilled, topped with vanilla sauce.
Vanilla Sauce
- Slice the vanilla bean open the long way and use the tip of a small knife or spoon to scrape out all of the seeds.
- Place the milk, cream, and vanilla seeds/paste in a small saucepan on the stove-top. Heat over a medium-low flame, stirring frequently (I like using a whisk to really mix in the vanilla). When the mixture is quite warm and beginning to very gently simmer, remove from heat and set aside for 15 minutes. DO NOT BOIL. (Note - you can add the scraped pod to the sauce as well if you like, though I personally prefer to keep it for making vanilla sugar).
- Place a portion of the vanilla/cream mixture in a small bowl. Add the egg yolks, sugar, and potato/corn starch to the bowl and whisk very thoroughly. Don't be tempted to add the eggs to the original sauce-pan with all of the cream in it, as they will be harder to mix and may cook too quickly in the residual heat.
- Combine the egg mixture with the rest of the vanilla/cream mixture in the saucepan and return to the stove-top. Simmer over low heat, stirring frequently. DO NOT BOIL. Once the sauce thickens and becomes glossy, remove it from the heat and set aside. Note that it will thicken further as it cools. It can be served warm or chilled.
Notes
Nutrition
More Cake on Diversivore
Chocolate Raspberry Rose Icebox Cake
Decadent Chocolate Beet Cake
Lemon-Lavender Semifreddo Cake
Blueberry-Juniper Rye Cake
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Comments
Looks great! I’m not a huge baker but may be tempted by this recipe! Perfect comfort food!
Thanks Betty! Honestly, I don’t do a ton of baking either. I enjoy it, but I prefer the free-wheeling and improvisational nature of cooking. That being said, sometimes you’ve just got to get some flour on your hands and put together something like this!
I’ll be posting my Italian apple cake tomorrow and although different it has some similarities. I used blanched almonds too, in the batter, and I skipped the cinnamon ?. I am sure the flavor of your swedish cake is incredible and the look is great. Those leaves are worth any minute you spent making them, and that sauce, ties everything together. Awesome job, Sean, I love that you created a tasty pie-cake interface ?. Would love a piece to share with Loreto after dinner!
Great minds think alike, eh? Now that I’ve seen your cake, let me just say how awesome it looks! I love that you made yours a yogurt cake! I’m glad you like the leaves. I spent more time rolling my eyes than rolling my dough, but I had a vision and I’m glad I saw it through (even if it did take a stupid amount of time).
And to anyone who happens to be scrolling through the comments, go and check out Nicoletta and Loreto’s apple cake. It’s beautiful.
This has a delightful flavor, the apple and butter really shine! The cardamom was not overpowering. I found it to be dry (perhaps due to being lower in added sugar than most apple desserts I’ve made). The flavor is good enough that I am willing to experiment a bit with baking time/temperature, apple varieties, or perhaps a bit more sugar or liquid. Should be a fun project.
This is such a cool combo, Sean! I am a huge pie fan while my husband is more partial to cake so I really want to see how this is received!
Side note, I totally approve of you bragging about your baked goods and your baking skills!
Thanks so much Amanda! I totally think you should try this. It’s definitely a great go between for the pie-vs-cake crowd. And I’m glad my bragging was met with approval – I still feel like bragging about this one. It just turned out so well!
looks delicious! and that vanilla sauce … sounds like something I’d drink 😛 happy friday!
Thanks Sarah! It’s some pretty incredible stuff, and it would be well suited to any number of desserts!
This looks delicious and perfect for the season. My mom and I tried to make this once when I was a tween and somehow we got it crossed with the blueberry quick bread recipe on the next page of the newspaper. We ended up with some hybrid version of blueberry bread and apple cake and it was amazing, and of course have never been able to replicate it since 😛
That’s hilarious Amanda! I love those happy culinary accidents. Seriously, if you ever do manage to recapture the magic, let me know!
I so appreciate the way you’ve constructed the ingredients list. I tend to do that too, having made many mistakes in the past with other recipes when it wasn’t made perfectly clear that I needed to only use PART of the butter for the first stage of the recipe, etc. Love the addition of cardamom—an underused spice, in my humble opinion!
Thank you Elaine! I think there’s a trend in food blogging to try to make everything thing seem as simple as possible, even if it means you’re less likely to succeed or that you’ll take more time in the long run. I realize that you want to hook people and avoid scaring them off, but it’s hard to be organized without good preparation. I’ll take a detailed recipe over a short one any day – especially if the short one sacrifices clarity for brevity!
[Insert obligatory Swedish Chef joke here]…
I’m not much of a dessert gal, but I sure love me some pies and tarts and this, my friend, looks INCREDIBLE. That vanilla sauce looks divine and the fact that it’s actually lighter than your average cream/icing is a big selling point. But gosh, those apple-y layers. I can practically taste/feel them.
Bork bork bork!
I love desserts, but I don’t usually get too excited about them, you know? I mean, they’re tasty, but they don’t rock my world the way that mains do. BUT… this dessert totally blows my mind. The layers, the crusts, the vanilla, the cardamom… it was so interesting to make, and so rewarding when it came together. I was pretty pleased. Glad you are too. 🙂
Sean, baking seems like such a departure for you. Love the story and I am sure the experimentation ensures this will be super tasty. Nice link to your apple theme, though I am still obsessed with Honey Crisp. Hope to try this soon! Diane (Kitchen Bliss)
Hi Diane! It certainly is a departure. I love cooking, but I tend to bake in spurts. I think I find it easier to invent recipes for main dishes – baking recipe development is generally a lot more work. But when I do have a good idea, honestly I love seeing come together – maybe even more than with my mains. I’m glad you’re enjoying the apple posts – and honestly, I ADORE Honey Crisp! I think it’s one of the best commonly available apples out there. They’re actually somewhat unique too, as they (unlike most commercial apples) have somewhat unknown or uncertain parentage.
Now, Ive never had the apple cake at IKEA. In fact, I’m probably the only person on earth who has never eaten any IKEA-branded foods (am I the only one who is creeped out by the meatballs?!). But. This apple cake not only intrigues me, it looks damn delicious and I can’t wait to try it myself. Especially with that vanilla cream.
To tell you the truth Hilary, I don’t think I’ve ever had it either. But I always SEE it, and those layers of apple embedded in a cake/pie/whatever filling fascinated me. And I can’t say that I’m creeped out by the meatballs myself, but hey… you do you. 😀
I’m glad you like the look of the cake, and I’m glad it intrigues you. Honestly, I think that says a lot in the world of desserts – a little intrigue. Sweets can be too easy in a sense, and I really like doing SOMETHING that makes you think “huh, that’s different.” I’m really into sweet/savoury overlap, for example. Anyway, I’m glad it piqued your curiosity!
Sean, this is so beautiful and elegant. Not that I’m surprised, but it’s nice to see a softer side of Diversivore every now and again, you know?! 😉 I love the pie / cake mashup here. I would absolutely indulge if I could! Have a great weekend, friend!
Why thank you Justine! I actually really do enjoy making dishes like this – though I don’t think you’ll see Diversivore become a baking site TOO soon! 😀
Cheers!
Perhaps it’s still too early and I haven’t had enough coffee, but does the recipe ever state what size “cake pan” to use? I have a 10 inch and and 8 inch spring form pan and really feel as though I’m rolling the dice trying to estimate which one to use.
Sorry about that! I could have sworn that I’d included that information, but you’re absolutely right – it is missing. You’ll want to use a 10 inch pan. I’ll change the text to reflect that too. Thank you so much for pointing that out!
What other pan could I substitute? I don’t have a 10 inch spring form but I do have a 8 1/2 inch….would that work?
Hi Dee! It should work, though I would recommend that you reduce the quantities in the recipe by about 1/4. Keep an eye on the baking time too, as the smaller cake is likely to cook faster. I hope that works out for you!
What a well constructed and gorgeous recipe! A pie AND cake all in one?! I was half expecting the vanilla sauce to be creme anglaise but was really thrown off with corn starch in there! That would definitely be an interesting sauce to try!
Thank you Marlee! I don’t bake all that often, and when I do I like to try something a little outside of the box (no cake-mix pun intended), so it was fun to do a hybrid of sorts. The sauce is really fascinating, isn’t it? You’re right, it looks a lot like a creme anglaise – but the Swedes had something altogether different in mind! I hope you’ll give it a try – it’s amazing with this cake, and frankly it’s just amazing in general. It’d be fantastic served over fresh fruit (ooh, strawberries in particular). Cheers!
Tried this today and came out absolutely amazingly!! My family said that it tastes even better than the IKEA apple cake it’s self. This recipe is definitely a keeper!
Fantastic Tina! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment. I’m really glad you enjoyed it.
Thank you for this recipe. I baked this pie today, with apples scavenged from a local hill, and loved how fragrant and moist it turned out. I tossed the apple slices in the juice of one lemon to keep them from browning; added 1 tbsp of soured cream to the filling, then sprinkled half a tbsp amount of muscovado sugar on top before layering the remaining pastry shapes. Delicious!
My pleasure Tam! I’m glad you enjoyed it, and kudos for using the scavenged apples. I have lovely memories of ‘rescuing’ and cooking with apples from abandoned trees. And thanks for your tips about sour cream and the added sugar. I may have to give that a try myself the next time I bake this. Cheers!
Looks like a wonderful recipe. I can’t wait to try it. However, I was wondering, can I replace the almond flour with regular flour if there is a nut allergy? If not, is there another substitution you recommend?
Hi Kelly! Yes, you can omit the almond flour and use regular flour – though you may want to use a little bit less of it to avoid building up too much gluten and making the crust too chewy. I don’t know if the allergy issue is for all nuts or not, but walnuts, pecans, and hazelnuts would make good substitutes too. If you want to experiment a little bit, you could try using ground sesame or sunflower seeds in place of the almond. They’d add a very different flavour to the recipe, but I have a feeling it would be quite nice! I hope that helps! Cheers.
Hey Sean, really looking forward to making this recipe over the weekend. I’m curious, is the sugar for the filling plain ol’ granulated sugar? Or caster sugar like for the sauce? I imagine it’s granulated as you are quite through and would’ve noted it as such otherwise, but I just don’t wanna mess this one up! Thanks!
Hi Haley! You are correct, the filling sugar is plain granulated sugar. I hope you love the cake! Cheers!
Hello,
Glad you are still keeping your page up in these current times. It was a lovely read .. Thank God you forgot brevity. The cake looks so awesome.. actually all the cakes look just out of some awesome cake catalog!! Happy cooking!!