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Dessert

Apple Cake with Crackly Meringue

A baked apple cake topped with a light, crackly meringue.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 13 ingredients
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Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓

Apple Cake with Crackly Meringue

Oven375°F
Time65–75 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the crust

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F and place rack in center.

  2. Grease and flour a 9-inch springform pan.

  3. In a large bowl, combine salt, butter, 2 cups flour, and 1 cup sugar. Cut in butter until crumbly.

  4. Remove 1 cup of crumbs and press them over the bottom and about ½ inch up the sides, making a crust about ⅛ inch thick.

  5. Make a well in the remaining crumb mixture.

Make the batter

  1. Add milk, eggs, vanilla, lemon zest, remaining 3 tbsp flour, and baking powder. Whisk to blend thoroughly, without incorporating crumbs.

  2. Stir in crumbs with a wooden spoon until well blended but still a little lumpy.

  3. Core, peel, and chop apples into ½ inch pieces. Fold apples into mixture.

  4. Scrape batter into pan.

Add meringue and bake

  1. Beat egg white until foamy. Beat in remaining 2 tbsp sugar until whites barely stand in peaks.

  2. Spread meringue over top of batter.

  3. Bake 65–75 minutes or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool and serve

  1. Remove from oven and cool 30 minutes on wire rack.

  2. Slip off sides of pan and finish cooling cake.

  3. Serve at room temperature.

  4. Cover with plastic wrap to keep well up to 2 days.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

952Calories
28 gProtein
26 gFat
150 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 9 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Apple1 medium (182g)95
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Vanilla1 tsp extract (4ml)12
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,187 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  2. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  3. Vanilla + appletop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,501 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  4. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  5. Milk + appletop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,104 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).

Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

All-purpose flour
Forms the structure of the crumb crust and the batter.
Butter
Cut into the flour to create crumbly pieces that add tenderness and richness.
Eggs
Bind the batter and add structure and richness as they set.
Baking powder
Releases gas during baking so the cake rises and becomes light.
Apples
Add moisture and tart flavor that contrast with the sweet cake.
Egg white
Whipped into the meringue to add airy volume and a light topping.

The step that matters

Beating the meringue to soft peaks. Whites beaten only until they barely stand in peaks trap air and stay glossy and tender. Overbeaten whites turn dry and grainy, and they can separate or deflate as the cake bakes.

Swap the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, sugar, butter, milk, egg, vanilla, apple):

  1. Figfits better
  2. Peachfits better
  3. Bananafits better
  4. Lemonthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, sugar, butter, milk, egg, vanilla, apple. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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