Hungarian Apple-Nut Cake

This might be my new favorite snacking cake. Equally delicious warm out of the oven, room temperature for breakfast the next day, or chilled from the fridge for an afternoon snack. It looks beautiful with a sprinkling of icing sugar, but it is in fact unnecessary unless you are serving it for dessert, in which case it adds just enough additional sweetness to each bite to make it feel special.

This Apple-Nut Cake is a super simple one bowl cake from Hungary. It is incredibly moist and a wonderful combination of apple, walnut, and cinnamon flavors. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Hungarian Apple-Nut Cake
Almás diós sütemény

Makes 24 squares

4 apples, approximately 4 cups when sliced
1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
3 eggs
1 ½ cups sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
Icing/powdered sugar for sprinkling (optional)

1. Preheat over to 350°F.
2. Grease and flour a 9”x 13” or 8”x 8” baking pan. Alternatively put a parchment sling along the long end and grease the two remaining sides.
3. Peel and quarter apples, cut out core and slice thinly. Chop walnuts coarsely.
4. Beat eggs and sugar until thick.
5. Sift in flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Stir into egg mixture. Add oil and vanilla, mix well. Stir in the apples and walnuts.
6. Pour into prepared cake pan and bake  50-65 minutes, cake should still look soft and very moist in the middle. A toothpick should come out clean and cake will pull away from sides of pan slightly when done.
7. Sprinkle with icing sugar, if you wish.

Adapted from Hungarian Cookbook by Yolanda Nagy Fintor

Note: I baked the cake in an 8”x 8” baking pan which gave it plenty of height and kept it moist throughout. If you choose to bake them in a 9”x 13” pan you may have a few more servings and need to bake for a little less time.