apple cake

some weeks ago i was looking for a new recipe that was either emblematic of an international cuisine or a time period or makes a statement, because our Girl Scout troop is working on a badge about new cuisines.

as an adult i wasn't required to make something, but i was getting in the spirit.

so i have this latvian friend who grew up in latvia during the soviet occupation and i asked her for a recipe that would have been typical food from her childhood, because i think latvia under soviet occupation qualifies as being both international and of a time.

so she said that what came to her mind was ābolu kūka, basically apple cake. it was, she said, the thing you made when you had unexpected company and not much in the way of groceries.

it's always a fun time translating recipes from other languages, so that had some amusement value.

and while i didn't make it right away, our friend rapunsell did and she made it into a lovely recipe we could all follow without two much trouble and i have made it twice since.

here it is, with her permission:

DRY: 2 cups flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp cinnamon (I use a little sifter for everything but the flour and then I whisk all the dry ingredients) 

WET: 2 eggs, 1 cup unsweetened kefir, 2/3 cup sugar (increase to 1 cup if making dessert), nice splash of vanilla

TOPPING 1: 2 apples, thinly sliced

TOPPING 2: 1 cup sour cream, 1/4 cup sugar, plus more cinnamon for sprinklingMETHOD: Preheat oven to 350 and grease a baking pan. Mix wet and dry ingredients in separate bowls then mix to combine (small lumps are fine). Pour into baking pan. Arrange apple slices on top. Bake for 30 minutes, then remove from oven, spoon sweetened sour cream on top, then sprinkle lightly with cinnamon. Bake for an additional 15 minutes. Allow to cool before cutting.