Apple Sharlotka

Last weekend I was finally able to go apple picking! I don't know why I get so excited about apple picking, it wasn't something I did as a kid or have nostalgia for. In fact, the one time I remember going apple picking as a kid was with my brother's Boy Scouts troop and I got stung by a wasp--in my ear. You would think that would deter me from ever apple picking again.

But now that I'm older, and still afraid of wasps, I realize that it's really just a good fall activity to enjoy with friends (yes, very cheesy sentiment). This year apple picking became even more grown up with the addition of wine tasting. Super classy wine tasting apple picking combination. At this particular location, although they were out of cider donuts (the horror!), there were great views of the fall foliage and an abundance of apple varieties. So we purchased our bushel (not to be confused with a peck or a hug around the neck) bags and ventured out to fill the bag with different apples.

After illegally climbing some trees and jumping for the best apples, we left with all kinds of fruits and wines. Lucky for me, last weekend was a three-day weekend. Hallelujah no Monday!! It's like it doesn't exist! Bring on the Netflix and baking. Except when I went to make something of the apple variety I discovered that a) I did not want to make apple crisp again but wanted something new and b) I was feeling very lazy about my baking. Obviously I had to make something but what was simple and would take like 5 minutes?

I scoured the usual sites and consulted my cookbooks and finally came across something so simple, I wondered if it could possibly be real. Apple Sharlotka (fancy in name, simple in making), compliments of Smitten Kitchen, is literally chopped up apples with flour, sugar, eggs and spices. So simple!

After chopping up the apples and dumping them into a spring form pan, you simply mix the remaining ingredients together to form a thick goo that you pour over the apples. Make sure you spread the goo around so the apples are coated. I also added some cinnamon and nutmeg to the apples and tossed them prior to pouring the goo, just for some added zest. In retrospect, I would have added pumpkin pie spice from Joy the Baker.

After less than half an hour, fall was in the house! This was a little difficult to get out of the pan, despite the spring form part and non-stick part. It was kind of like an apple sponge cake and was nice and sticky.

Here's the thing about apple picking though: you always gets more apples than you expect and recipes always require fewer than you would think. So 6-7 apples later and I still have 9-10 to go. More apple treats to come!