Dutch Apple Cake Recipe

The Dutch Apple Cake is thought to trace its roots back to certain European baking traditions, especially from the Netherlands. Dutch cuisine is known for its focus on fresh, simple ingredients, and apples have long been a favourite due to their abundance in the region. Apple-based dishes like Appeltaart (Dutch apple pie) are still popular in the Netherlands today.

This version of the Dutch Apple Cake recipe comes from the 1917 cookbook A Thousand Ways to Please a Husband by Louise Bennett Weaver and Helen Cowles LeCron¹.

This cookbook was designed/aimed towards educating American women in cooking and home-making somewhere during the early 20th century.

Verifying the exact historical origin of the Dutch Apple Cake as a distinct dish is perhaps more challenging, as many variations of apple cakes and pies are believed to have existed across Europe and the United States long before this particular recipe was published, and the recipe in Weaver and LeCron’s book might not have been the very first. Yet, their cookbook did contribute to some of it’s popularity in American homes.

This recipe is designed to be simple, and uses commonly available ingredients. It is also believed that this made it accessible to many home bakers during that time.

Books like A Thousand Ways to Please a Husband are thought to have been very influential in shaping American cooking culture in the early 20th century². Some of this cake’s appeal lies in its rustic charm and ease of preparation, and can be a comforting favourite in many households.

This serves: 2

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour
• 1 egg, well beaten
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup milk
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 sour apple
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

1. Mix flour, salt and baking powder.
2. Cut in the butter.
3. Add the milk and egg.
4. Mix well spread one-half an inch thick in a shallow pan.
5. Pare and cut the apples in lengthwise sections.
6. Lay in rows in the dough with the sharp edges pressed lightly into the dough.
7. Mix the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the top.
8. Bake thirty minutes in a moderate oven.
9. Serve with lemon sauce.

References:

Recipe derived from the work of Louise Bennett Weaver & Helen Cowles LeCron in A Thousand Ways To Please a Husband (1917-01-01).

1. Project Gutenberg – A Thousand Ways to Please a Husband – https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/42868[↩]
2. Archive.org – A Thousand Ways to Please a Husband – https://archive.org/details/thousandwaystopl00weav/[↩]