A slice of apple heaven

Hello everyone! I told you I would share the recipe for the yummy dessert I made for Easter so here it is!! 

I've always shied away from any apple dessert because the thought of PEELING a ton of apples just gave me the shivers. But....I found this FANTASTIC peeler on Amazon ..... Best. Invention. EVER!! 

It only peels, it doesn't core or slice, & I am good with that. I don't mind the cutting part at all. If you'd like one for your very own, click HERE. 

It's extra cool because it's clear so the kids might like helping you peel all those apples :)

I peeled 14 apples in less than 5 minutes. It doesn't matter if they aren't perfectly round -- the blade moves with the apple. 

I love how in one fell swoop you get this.......(you can see Michael was MORE THAN THRILLED to help me get a picture of this, lol. He thinks I'm nuts)

So here is the recipe. It's not one of my usual easy peasy recipes -- you'll have to work a bit for this one. My grandma used to make it all the time but she's not able to anymore. Everyone else who's made it, has made it ONCE, lol. 

SLAB APPLE CAKE

3 c. flour

1/2 tsp. salt

3 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1 c. soft shortening

2 egg yolks

8 tbsp. water

Apple filling*

Powdered glaze**

Mix dry ingredients until well blended. Cut shortening into flour mixture. In separate bowl, mix egg yolks and water. Add to flour mixture. Mix well until dough forms a ball. Separate into two balls. Roll out 1 ball to cover jelly roll pan. Place on pan for bottom crust.

*APPLE FILLING:

14-16 med. tart apples

2 tbsp. flour

1 1/2 to 2 c. sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

2 tbsp. butter

2 tbsp. lemon juice

Cut, pare, quarter and core apples. Cut into uniform slices, arrange on bottom crust. Blend flour with sugar, sprinkle apples with flour and sugar mixture and cinnamon. Dot with butter and lemon juice. Roll out second dough for top crust and place over the fruit. Pinch edges together. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Cool and frost with powdered sugar glaze.

**POWDERED SUGAR GLAZE:

2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp. soft butter

4 tsp. warm water

Now let me share with you my little glitches & some tips:


First, you'll notice there is no pan size. I wanted to surprise my mom with this dessert, as it's her favorite & I'm sure she thought she'd never ever have it again, lol. So I didn't want to tell her I was making it -- meaning I couldn't ask her or my grandma any questions. So I used my largest jelly roll pan, which is I think 11x17. I remember my grandma saying something about always making extra dough because it was never quite enough. So -- using this pan, I made another 1/2 batch of dough. I'm guessing if I'd used a slightly smaller jelly roll pan, the amount of dough the recipe makes would be enough, but then I would use less apples. Even with a batch & half, I felt like I was really stretching the dough. 


For the top sheet of dough, you will not be able to just roll it out & set it on top. I pieced mine together with about 5 or 6 pieces. Which is ok, because openings on the top layer of crust is a must. It's like a pie -- steam needs to escape. 


Lastly, you MUST MUST MUST pinch the two layers of dough together. You can NOT randomly pinch here & there, you MUST pinch all the way around. Do you know what will happen otherwise? All the sugar & cinnamon will ooze out, making a huge, HARD WHEN IT COOLS, mess. Ask me how I know. Let's just say I had to figure out a way to get this very large sheet cake from one pan to another, for the sake of presentation. Nobody would have touched it if they'd seen what was oozing all around it. 

It turned out really well. I was nervous to try it but the minute that first bite  hit my mouth I remembered exactly what I love about this dessert. And yes, a nice size piece WAS missing when I brought it to my mom's for Easter. I had to taste-test it before letting anyone else eat it, lol.

I would love to know if you try this dessert. It looks like a cake but it tastes like a pie. It's delicious AND it freezes well. If you have any left to freeze :)

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