Meet your new favorite Easy Apple Cake! This Russian apple cake (a.k.a. Sharlotka) is soft, moist, airy, and easy with only 6 ingredients.
Apples are so versatile for Fall baking, and we sure love to make good use of them in recipes like Baked Apples, classic Apple Pie, and of course Apple Fritters (a favorite for our kiddos). Cooked apples become tender and concentrated with their best sweet and tangy flavors.
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We originally published our Sharlotka cake in 2014 and this is the new and improved version. We upgraded it with more sweet-tart apples and this one rises taller with the addition of baking powder. Watch the easy video tutorial below with step-by-step instructions on making this apple cake.
Apple Cake Video Tutorial
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What is Sharlotka?
Sharlotka is a classic Russian apple sponge cake that has been made for centuries. The batter relies on the beaten eggs to give it rise which results in a soft, moist, and tender crumb. It is a simple but beautiful cake when served and all you need is a dusting of powdered sugar to finish it. It has some serious rustic charm with bites of apple crowning the top.
Ingredients for Apple Cake
The ingredients for this apple cake are so simple. You probably already have everything you need to make this apple cake.
- Eggs – we use large eggs at room temperature. Cold eggs take significantly longer to whip.
- Sugar – sweetens the cake and adds stability for beating eggs.
- Flour – we used all-purpose flour (make sure to measure correctly)
- Baking Powder – helps the cake rise more evenly.
- Vanilla extract – adds more flavor and a pleasant aroma
- Granny Smith apples – these hold up really well for baking but can be substituted for another crisp, sweet-tart apple.
- Powdered sugar – a.k.a. confectioners sugar to dust the top before serving.
What you will need
- Springform pan – we used a 9″ pan with 3-inch tall walls
- Parchment paper – cut into a circle to line the bottom of the pan
- Stand Mixer – or you can use an electric hand mixer but it will take longer to mix.
How to Make Apple Cake
- Prep: Preheat oven and line the bottom of a 9″springform pan with parchment paper.
- Beat eggs in a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment on high speed for 1 minute. Gradually add sugar and beat another 8-10 minutes.
- Peel, core, and slice apples into 1/4″ thick pieces. An apple slicer or an apple corer makes this job easier.
- Whisk dry ingredients together in a bowl then sift into egg mixture in 3 additions, folding with each addition then fold in vanilla.
- Fold in apples, reserving 1 cup of apples. Transfer batter to the prepared springform pan, sprinkle the top with reserved apples and bake at 350˚F for 50-55 minutes until golden brown on top.
- Rest in pan for 15 minutes then run a knife around the edges to loosen from the pan and transfer to a cake platter to cool. Dust with powdered sugar to serve.
Pro Tip: As with any egg-based cake, it is ultra important to be sure you beat the eggs and sugar sufficiently. If using a high-powered electric hand mixer, add 2 minutes to the beating time in step 2. Also, keep this cake away from outdoor draft, which can cause it to smell eggy.
This apple cake satisfies the craving for something sweet, but it’s not too sweet. All it needs is a light dusting of powdered sugar to serve. You will enjoy every bite!
Can I make this ahead?
Sharlotka cake tastes best if it is enjoyed within 4 hours of making it so you can make it a few hours ahead. If you have leftovers, cover with plastic wrap and store the cake in a draft-free spot, at room temperature overnight. I love a slice of leftover Sharlotka as an after-breakfast treat.
This easy Apple Cake is one of those recipes you’ll make over and over. I hope it because a favorite go-to cake for you as well during apple season.
Thank you for trying our recipes and sharing them with the people you love. I’m so thankful for you :). YOU are the reason why I love this job of mine so very much!
Loads of love, -Natasha
Our Best Apple Recipes
- Classic Apple Pie – with the best filling
- Apple Sauce – my favorite canning project
- Apple Slab Pie – with puff pastry crust
- Baked Apples – make your house smell amazing
- Apple Turnovers – one of the easiest desserts
- Apple Coffee Cake – a.k.a. “Apple Dapple Cake”
Apple Cake Sharlotka (VIDEO)
Ingredients
- 6 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, *measured correctly
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 lbs 3 med/large granny smith apples
- 1 tsp Confectioners (powdered) sugar , to dust, optional
Instructions
- Preheat Oven to 350˚F. Line bottom of un-greased 9" springform pan with a ring of parchment paper
- Add 6 eggs to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat on high speed for 1 minute until foamy. With the mixer on, gradually add 1 cup sugar and beating on high for 8 to 10 minutes or until thick and fluffy ribbon forms.**
- Meanwhile, peel, core, quarter and slice apples into 1/4" thick pieces.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 1/3 cups flour with 1/2 tsp baking powder. Sift flour mixture into the beaten egg batter in 3 increments, folding with a spatula between each addition. Scrape from the bottom of the bowl to ensure pockets of flour aren't missed. Stop mixing when you no longer see streaks of flour (don't over-mix). Quickly fold in 1 tsp vanilla extract just until incorporated.
- Fold in sliced apples, reserving 1 cup for the top. Fold just until combined into the batter then pour batter into prepared springform pan. Spread batter evenly with a spatula (do not tap the pan) and scatter the remaining apple evenly over the top. Bake at 350˚F for 50-55 minutes. The top will be golden brown.
- Remove from oven and rest in pan 15 min. Slide a thin spatula or knife around the edges of the pan to loosen then transfer to a cake platter to cool to room temperature. Dust with powdered sugar to serve.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
Came out great. Reminds me a cake from my childhood that my mom used to make back in Kiev. I had to use squared glass pan for it and it took an hour in my oven but it was gone before I had a chance to sprinkle powder sugar on top. Thank you. Your videos a lot of fun and you doing everything so effortlessly that it inspired me to try it. I normally stay away from baking.
You are very welcome! I’m so happy to know that you are enjoyed this recipe. Thank you so much for sharin that with us.
Ludmila, could you please tell me what size glass pan you used. Would an 8×8 glass pan work?
Thank you,
Laura
I so wanted this original apple cake recipe to taste good after reading all the positive comments, but it was bland and dry. Now I see an additional apple and vanilla were added which may help with flavor but doubt with dryness. So sorry.
Hi Vee, could it have been overbaked? That is a common cause of a dry cake.
I made this cake a couple of days ago. I followed the recipe carefully. I didn’t like it. It was dry, bland, and “eggy” in texture, smell. I don’t think that I’ll do this one again. But I do like many of your other recipes, just not this one.
Hi Nathan, I’m sorry to hear that – this is normally a very popular recipe. I wonder if either the eggs and sugar were not beaten long enough (this can cause an eggy aroma), or possibly overbaking which would make it dry out and seem eggy also. Make sure to bake on conventional bake mode and not convection mode.
Hello Natasha,
Thank you for replying to my comment. When cooking, it’s impossible to please everyone. I suspect that Sharlotka just isn’t my thing. But I have tried several of your other recipes and love them. I wish you and your family a very happy new year.
Nathan
I made it yesterday. It rose beautifully but then it receded down. I did not add the baking powder, but that helps it rise, not stay tall. Am I under mixing? Every single time I make it, the same story. I lose faith and don’t make it again for years. Very disappointing. It tastes great but doesn’t look presentable
Hi Helen, check out our video tutorial on how to make a sponge cake which may help with troubleshooting.
Does the cake need refrigeration so I can serve for Christmas tomorrow?
Hi Eleni, I think this is the very best when it is fresh. You can keep it at room temperature for a day but refrigerate if keeping longer; just be sure it is covered, so it doesn’t absorb any food odors from the fridge.
I tried this today and it was a hit! It was so light and fluffy and moist. A perfect light cake! Will definitely make this one again!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
I loved making this cake! Thanks for the recipe, Natasha!
I did try to add more sweetness to it, so I added 1/2 cup softened butter along with the vanilla extract. But, it slightly affected the consistency of the mixture – it became bubbly and not as thick as when it was before I added the butter. Any suggestions to retain its thick consistency? 😊
Thanks for the feedback, Steph. I would recommend sticking to the recipe as it always worked well for me. This cake is classically supposed to be lightly sweet and it is significantly less sweet than most American cakes. Dusting with powdered sugar helps, but overall it is meant to be lightly sweet 🙂
I made the apple sponge cake twice in one week. I love it!!!
Light and soft, brought some to a friend & made it for company, & we couldn’t stop eating it!
So delicious.
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review!
Can you add cranberries to this also?
Hi Judi, I haven’t tried that yet to advise. If you do an experiment, please let us know how it goes!
My husband is a diabetic can I use Splenda instead of the sugar? How would it taste then?
Hi Sharon, I haven’t tried using Splenda yet on this recipe to advise. I checked the comments and no one has shared that either, maybe someone else here can share their experience?
i will try it the erythritol ,splenda doesnt bake well with everything. xylitol bakes great but the erythritol needs about a third more than the sugar called for in a recipe
Can I use cup for cup gluten free flour ?
Hi Debbie, I have had several readers say that this cake works well using gluten-free flour. I don’t recall if they mentioned specifically which brand of GF flour, but everything else stayed the same, and they were able to use gluten-free flour in place of all-purpose flour.
Can you use Bundt pan for this recipe?
Hi Darlene, I haven’t tried it in a bundt pan, but one of my readers, Alla, wrote in with the following: “I made this cake yesterday and it came out great! Thank you so much for the recipe. As per one of commenter’s suggestion, I used bundt pan, it works really well.” I hope that helps!
This is a really tasty cake and recipe is easy to implement.
I’m so glad you enjoyed that!
My husband loved this cake and I loved how easy it was to make. Thank you so much! Already made it 2 times with great success!
Hi Natasha, I made this cake today it turned out great.
I followed all your instructions only I added to the apple a squeeze of lemon juice and cinnamon and not of sugar.
Thank you for all your wonderful recipes.
You are most welcome, Alma. I hope that you will love every recipe that you will try from my website.
So far I tried 4 recipes and all were delicious!
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review!
Hi Natasha! The cake turned out beautifully! My sister loved it. My oven runs hot so I put a foil sheet on top for the last few minutes of baking to prevent overbrowning. Question on the apples – do you soak in lemon juice/water as you’re cutting to prevent the apples from browning before baking? I was afraid it would flavor the apples negatively. 1T lemon juice/cup of water?? I’m a total fan – my friends at work are following you now.
Hi Barbara, once they are baked into the cake, the color of the apples is fine. I don’t do anything additional with the apples.
Hi Natasha
I made this cake today and it was delicious. But it grew very high and leaked over the edge and I put a cookie sheet to catch the overflow (not much) also the apples all sunk to the bottom(was that suppose to happen? And the recipe said 340 degree for 60 minutes but this receive above said 350 degree for 55 minutes ? Please tell me what I should do differently ? Blessings Jacque
Hi, the recipe says 350˚F for 50-55 minutes. Maybe you were reading another recipe at the same time? Make sure you have a tall walled springform pan (3″ or more).
Hi Natasha,
I too had a problem with your apple Sharlotta cake being very dry. I did everything you said and I noticed you told another person it was overcooked. I put it in the oven at 350 and cooked it for 45 minutes. I took it out because it looked like it was done. My springform pan was new and copper-colored. Do you think I should have cooked it at 325 instead? I notice comments on other cakes if a pan is dark in color to lower the temp by 25 degrees. I have done this on some pans I have that have black inside. Do you think I should try that? Thank you.
Hi Debbie, I haven’t had that happen before but if your oven runs hot, it would be a good idea to turn down the heat. Also, if you think the pan is the culprit, you might experiment with a different pan. Lastly, if you are using a larger pan (like a 10″ pan), you would want to bake for less time since the cake won’t be as tall. I hope that helps for next time.
Thank you. I did use a 9-inch pan. I thought I would buy an oven thermometer to double-check the temperature in my oven as it may be running hot.
Thank you.
I was disappointed in this cake.. It was to dry.. I made the apple pie and it was delicious..
Hi Yolanda, did you bake in the same size pan in a conventional oven (not convection) for the time instructed? If it is dry, it is usually due to over-baking.
Can you add cinnamon to this?
Hi Galina, I have not tested this with cinnamon to advise but here is what one of our readers wrote: ” I made this cake for our Easter dessert, however I adjusted the recipe by adding cinnamon, a bit of sugar and lemon juice to the apples before I folded them into the batter. It was a huge success and loved by my family.” I hope this is helpful!
Hi Natasha – I’ve used this recipe many times before and love it. This time around I would like to us a 14×10.5″ pan. Do I just add 1.5 times more ingredients? Or what do you suggest? Thank you!
Hi Marina! I’m so happy you’ve enjoyed that! I haven’t tested this in a pan that size to advise. I imagine you will need to make 1.5 -2 times the recipe to fit a pan like that. I’d love to know how it turns out if you experiment!