I discovered this delicious dessert by chance in The Tribeca Grill Cookbook by Don Pintabona. It’s a cross between a cake and a crumble. I made it with not-too-sweet homemade applesauce. I toasted walnuts in a small skillet over low heat for about 10 to 15 minutes. I made the layer on top with sliced McIntosh apples – I prefer them because they go soft when cooked. You can buy cinnamon sugar in the spice aisle. The cake is best served warm.
½ cup (1 stick) + 1 tbsp butter, at room temperature
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp kosher salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
½ cup raisins
½ cup walnut pieces, toasted, chopped
2 cups applesauce, preferably homemade
2 McIntosh apples, peeled, cored, thinly sliced
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp cinnamon sugar
Preheat the oven to 350F. Using 1 tablespoon of butter, lightly coat a 9-inch/23 cm cake pan.
In large bowl or in food processor, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt until combined. Add remaining ½ cup of butter; cut in with a pastry cutter or mix until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add egg; mix until it forms a crumbly dough. Divide the dough in half.
Using one half of the dough, pat it into cake pan evenly and working up the sides.
In small bowl, combine raisins, walnuts and applesauce. Spoon mixture over dough in cake pan. Crumble remaining dough evenly over applesauce mixture. Lay the apple slices on top in a decorative pattern. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle on the cinnamon sugar
Bake for about 55 minutes or until the crust is golden. If apples are not caramelized, put the cake under the broiler for a couple of minutes. Serve warm with ice cream, vanilla yogurt or whipped cream.
Makes one 9-inch/23 cm cake.