Ruth's Danish Apple Cake

In my lifetime I have met many people from all over the world who have shared their food and recipes with me. One of those people was a friend named Ruth who was born and raised in Denmark. Through the years we became good friends, and she shared many great meals with our family. I in turn shared many recipes and meals with her and her family.

I attended the World’s Fair in New York City in the early 1960’s. What an unforgettable experience! At the Danish pavilion we ate a fabulous meal which included Danish apple cake.

Later I told Ruth about the cake. She then shared with me a different apple “cake”. She said it was very popular during apple harvest. Since this is apple harvest time I will share it with you. You won’t need an oven. So the next time the electricity goes off you can still have dessert and use up those apples you picked at the orchard.

Ingredients:

Apple layers

4 to 5 large apples peeled and sliced (Granny Smith, Golden Delicious or your favorites)

½ cup water

½ cup sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons butter

Combine apples and water in a medium sized stew pot and cook until tender and most water has evaporated. Add sugar, cinnamon, and butter and stir until ingredients are combined. Set aside.

Crumb layers

4 slices of stale bread—grated

5-6 tablespoons melted butter

½ cup brown sugar, packed

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine all ingredients for crumb layers in medium mixing bowl. Set aside.

Spread 1/3 of crumb mixture in large clear serving bowl. Cover with half of the apple filling then half of remaining crumbs. Finally spread remaining apple filling on top of crumbs, then sprinkle remaining crumbs. Chill in refrigerator for 3 to 4 hours or overnight. Serve chilled apple cake garnished with whipping cream.

This is a simple and delicious family friendly dessert. Enjoy!