In my family we always inaugurate the Jewish New Year with our first apple dessert of the fall season. The tradition in Andra's home is to begin the year with a round challah and to end it with a cake topped with concentric circles of sliced apples. This dessert is very similar to Jewish apple cake, a Polish dessert that was very popular in church cookbooks throughout Maryland. I believe it is called Jewish because it is an oil-based rather than a butter-based cake. Andra's version is particularly easy, attractive, and delicious.

　　

Ingredients

Makes 1 Cake

　　3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

　　2 tablespoons wheat germ (optional)

　　1/2 teaspoon salt

　　1 tablespoon baking powder

　　6 small Rome, Granny Smith, Yellow Delicious, or other low-moisture apples

　　Juice of 1/2 lemon

　　4 large eggs

　　1 cup vegetable oil

　　2 cups sugar

　　1 tablespoon vanilla extract

　　1/2 cup orange juice

　　1 teaspoon cinnamon

　　

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease and flour a 9-inch springform pan.

　　

Step 2

Mix the flour, wheat germ, salt, and baking powder in a bowl and set aside.

　　

Step 3

Peel, core, and slice the apples into eighths and place in another bowl. Sprinkle with lemon juice.

　　

Step 4

In a third bowl, beat the eggs until foamy. Add the vegetable oil and 1 3/4 cups of the sugar; beat well. Stir in the vanilla.

　　

Step 5

To the egg mixture; alternately add the dry ingredients and the orange juice. Pour half the batter into the prepared pan. Cover with half the sliced apples.

　　

Step 6

In a small bowl, mix the remaining 1/4 cup sugar with the cinnamon and sprinkle half over the apples. Cover with the remaining batter.

　　

Step 7

Starting at the outside of the pan, neatly place the remaining apple slices in overlapping concentric circles. Sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture.

　　

Step 8

Put some aluminum foil on the bottom of the oven in case the batter leaks. Bake the cake on the middle rack for 1 1/4 hours, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack before you carefully remove the cake from the pan.

　　The Jewish Holiday Baker, by Joan Nathan