16 August 2020
Russian Apple Pie Recipes. Apple Feast of the Saviour
in the photo sharlotka - Russian apple biscuit
August is the season of apples in Russia. Apple is a very important fruit for Russians, apart from eating them fresh, we use it abundantly in our national cuisine.
In this post, you will find recipes of two homemade apple pies and learn about the Apple Feast of the Saviour.
August is the season of apples in Russia. Apple is a very important fruit for Russians, apart from eating them fresh, we use it abundantly in our national cuisine.
In this post, you will find recipes of two homemade apple pies and learn about the Apple Feast of the Saviour.
Apple Feast of the Saviour
Apples always had great cultural and symbolic significance for Slavic tribes. We have an ancient holiday, dedicated to the harvest of apples. Although it has pagan origins, it was approved by the Orthodox Church. As it coincided with the religious holiday of the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ, it got the name of the Apple Feast of the Saviour.
We celebrate it on August, 19, because this date marked the beginning of autumn and the transformation of the nature in the old Slavic calendar. According to ancient beliefs, only starting from that day it was permitted to eat freshly harvested apples and cook dishes with them. On that day the apple harvest is blessed by the Russian church.
Apples always had great cultural and symbolic significance for Slavic tribes. We have an ancient holiday, dedicated to the harvest of apples. Although it has pagan origins, it was approved by the Orthodox Church. As it coincided with the religious holiday of the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ, it got the name of the Apple Feast of the Saviour.
We celebrate it on August, 19, because this date marked the beginning of autumn and the transformation of the nature in the old Slavic calendar. According to ancient beliefs, only starting from that day it was permitted to eat freshly harvested apples and cook dishes with them. On that day the apple harvest is blessed by the Russian church.
In Slavic folklore apple was the symbol of fertility, health, love and beauty. Apples played an important role in ancient wedding ceremonies. An interchange of apples between a girl and a guy indicated mutual sympathy. Bride's wreath and festive table were decorated with apple branches.
So, it is no surprising that for the Apple Feast Russian women cook different desserts with apples, mostly, apple pies.
So that you will be well-prepared for the Apple Feast with us, I will share with you two most popular recipes of apple pies. We cook them throughout the year, but, most of all, in August and autumn, with freshly harvested apples.
So that you will be well-prepared for the Apple Feast with us, I will share with you two most popular recipes of apple pies. We cook them throughout the year, but, most of all, in August and autumn, with freshly harvested apples.
Tsvetaeva Pie Recipe
Our culinary tradition links the name of this famous pie with Marina Tsvetaeva, a brilliant Russian poet of the 20th century. It was mentioned in the memoirs of the poet's sister, Anastasia, as the apple pie with sour cream. She wrote that when she was a child, she spent summers with her family in their dacha (country house in Russian) with a big orchard and a terrace where they would have their samovar tea with apple pies.
Why don't you try this recipe and enjoy tea ceremonies in the style of Russian intellectuals, artists and scientists of the past century!
Ingredients
For dough
150 gr of butter and a little bit more to grease the baking form
125 gr of sour cream
200 gr of wheat flour
1 tea spoon of baking powder
pinch of salt
For filling
3-5 apples depending on their size (around 600 gr)
300 gr of sour cream
1 egg
200 gr of sugar
40 gr of wheat flour
a bit of vanilla
Cooking time approximately 1 hour and 50 minutes for baking.
Our culinary tradition links the name of this famous pie with Marina Tsvetaeva, a brilliant Russian poet of the 20th century. It was mentioned in the memoirs of the poet's sister, Anastasia, as the apple pie with sour cream. She wrote that when she was a child, she spent summers with her family in their dacha (country house in Russian) with a big orchard and a terrace where they would have their samovar tea with apple pies.
Why don't you try this recipe and enjoy tea ceremonies in the style of Russian intellectuals, artists and scientists of the past century!
Ingredients
For dough
150 gr of butter and a little bit more to grease the baking form
125 gr of sour cream
200 gr of wheat flour
1 tea spoon of baking powder
pinch of salt
For filling
3-5 apples depending on their size (around 600 gr)
300 gr of sour cream
1 egg
200 gr of sugar
40 gr of wheat flour
a bit of vanilla
Cooking time approximately 1 hour and 50 minutes for baking.
How to prepare the dough
Melt the butter and cool it down.
Mix the melted butter with sour cream (150 gr) until the dough becomes homogeneous.
Mix the wheat flour with baking powder and add them gradually in your dough, stirring it carefully with the spatula.
In continuation, knead the dough with your hands. The dough should become soft and not sticky. Place it back in a bowl, cover with plastic film and put it in the fridge for around 30 minutes.
How to prepare sour cream mixture
Whip the egg with sugar and vanilla. Add sour cream (300 gr).
Whip it well until the sugar dissolves completely.
Add the wheat flour (40 gr) and continues whipping. The mixture should get the creamy texture.
How to prepare apples
Wash the apples, core and cut them. It is not necessary to peel them, only if you wish to do so. Cut them in thin slices.
Melt the butter and cool it down.
Mix the melted butter with sour cream (150 gr) until the dough becomes homogeneous.
Mix the wheat flour with baking powder and add them gradually in your dough, stirring it carefully with the spatula.
In continuation, knead the dough with your hands. The dough should become soft and not sticky. Place it back in a bowl, cover with plastic film and put it in the fridge for around 30 minutes.
How to prepare sour cream mixture
Whip the egg with sugar and vanilla. Add sour cream (300 gr).
Whip it well until the sugar dissolves completely.
Add the wheat flour (40 gr) and continues whipping. The mixture should get the creamy texture.
How to prepare apples
Wash the apples, core and cut them. It is not necessary to peel them, only if you wish to do so. Cut them in thin slices.
Preheat the oven to 180° C. Lightly grease your baking form with butter (better to use the form of 20-20cm diameter).
Take your dough from the fridge and put it in the baking form distributing it equally around it and along its sides. Place your cut apples on the dough.
Pour your sour cream mixture over the apples. The mixture should cover the form almost completely, leaving only around 1 cm above it.
Put the form into the oven. Bake your Tsvetaeva Pie for around 50 minutes in a 180° C oven.
Take your dough from the fridge and put it in the baking form distributing it equally around it and along its sides. Place your cut apples on the dough.
Pour your sour cream mixture over the apples. The mixture should cover the form almost completely, leaving only around 1 cm above it.
Put the form into the oven. Bake your Tsvetaeva Pie for around 50 minutes in a 180° C oven.
Painting by K. Korovin
After that cool it down without taking it out of the form. When the pie has cooled down, cover it with a towel or plastic film and put it in the fridge for around 3-4 hours, or better leave it there overnight. During this time the pie's filling will thicken and it will be easier to cut it into slices.
Eat your Tsvetaeva Pie with tea, while enjoying a nice talk to your friends and family, reading your favourite book or admiring nature in the last days of summer, as we do here in Russia!
After that cool it down without taking it out of the form. When the pie has cooled down, cover it with a towel or plastic film and put it in the fridge for around 3-4 hours, or better leave it there overnight. During this time the pie's filling will thicken and it will be easier to cut it into slices.
Eat your Tsvetaeva Pie with tea, while enjoying a nice talk to your friends and family, reading your favourite book or admiring nature in the last days of summer, as we do here in Russia!
Apple Sharlotka or Russian Charlotte Cake Recipe
Another apple pie that we want to share with you is called Sharlotka or Russian Apple Charlotte Cake. I think that this pie is easier and faster to cook and it is equally delicious!
There are many versions regarding the origin of this extremely popular dessert. One legend says that it comes from the biscuit, attributed to French chef Marie-Antoine Carême, who prepared cold dessert from ladyfingers (sponge fingers) with Bavarian cream and called it in honour of Charlotte of Prussia, that was the first name of tsarina Alexandra Fyodorovna and the wife of tsar Nicholas I before she converted to Russian Orthodoxy. I personally don't believe in this version, because the French chef served at the court of tsar Alexander I, the elder brother of Nicholas I.
If you want to learn more about the everyday life of the Russian royal family, including the tsar Nicholas I and his wife, read our post about Peterhof and its palaces.
Another apple pie that we want to share with you is called Sharlotka or Russian Apple Charlotte Cake. I think that this pie is easier and faster to cook and it is equally delicious!
There are many versions regarding the origin of this extremely popular dessert. One legend says that it comes from the biscuit, attributed to French chef Marie-Antoine Carême, who prepared cold dessert from ladyfingers (sponge fingers) with Bavarian cream and called it in honour of Charlotte of Prussia, that was the first name of tsarina Alexandra Fyodorovna and the wife of tsar Nicholas I before she converted to Russian Orthodoxy. I personally don't believe in this version, because the French chef served at the court of tsar Alexander I, the elder brother of Nicholas I.
If you want to learn more about the everyday life of the Russian royal family, including the tsar Nicholas I and his wife, read our post about Peterhof and its palaces.
Marie-Antoine Carême, also known as Antonin Carême, was a great French cook, who is often considered to be the founder of the high art cuisine. He was the cook of Napoleon Buonaparte, Alexander I of Russia, George IV of the United Kingdom, Prince Esterhazy, the Austrian ambassador in Paris, and Baron Rothschild.
The other version says that it comes from the English charlotte, that was a type of the pudding made of bread and apple puree. It was a popular dessert at the English court of the 18th century. According to this version, the dessert got its name from queen Charlotte de Mecklemburgo-Strelitz, the wife of George III.
And the last version that I know says that at the beginning of the 20th century there were many German bakeries in Russia, where they cooked a dessert from the remaining of bread. The Russians laughed at them and joked that Germans were the great money savers and they even cooked desserts from the stale bread. And as many German women who lived in Russia were often called Charlottes behind their backs, this nickname soon gave the name to the dessert.
I don't know which version is more real, but for sure Sharlotka that we are cooking now does not contain neither the stale bread, nor the Bavarian crème and ladyfingers, but a lot of apples instead! And here it the receipt that uses every woman in Russia with little variations.
And the last version that I know says that at the beginning of the 20th century there were many German bakeries in Russia, where they cooked a dessert from the remaining of bread. The Russians laughed at them and joked that Germans were the great money savers and they even cooked desserts from the stale bread. And as many German women who lived in Russia were often called Charlottes behind their backs, this nickname soon gave the name to the dessert.
I don't know which version is more real, but for sure Sharlotka that we are cooking now does not contain neither the stale bread, nor the Bavarian crème and ladyfingers, but a lot of apples instead! And here it the receipt that uses every woman in Russia with little variations.
Ingredients
4-5 apples or more (depending on your preferences and their size)
4 eggs
250 gr of sugar
200-250 gr of wheat flour
1 tablespoon of baking powder
vanilla to your liking
pinch of salt
a little bit of butter for the baking form
*if you wish you can add a little bit of cinnamon, as it goes perfectly well with apples
Cooking time is half an hour and 30-40 minutes in an oven.
4-5 apples or more (depending on your preferences and their size)
4 eggs
250 gr of sugar
200-250 gr of wheat flour
1 tablespoon of baking powder
vanilla to your liking
pinch of salt
a little bit of butter for the baking form
*if you wish you can add a little bit of cinnamon, as it goes perfectly well with apples
Cooking time is half an hour and 30-40 minutes in an oven.
How to cook Sharlotka
First core and cut the apples into small slices or cubes. You can peel them too, if you wish.
Beat the eggs well with sugar in a bowl until they increase in volume. The mixture should get airy, liquid and creamy.
Mix the flour with baking powder and add it gradually to your mixture. Whisk it with a mixer at a low speed for a little bit of time, until it gets smooth and thick. Add salt and vanilla.
Butter your baking form and put there sliced apples. If you wish to add cinnamon, powder your apples with it a little bit. Pour your mixture on the apples, distributing it evenly in the baking form.
Put Sharlotka in a pre-heated to 180 °C oven and bake it for 30-40 minutes.
First core and cut the apples into small slices or cubes. You can peel them too, if you wish.
Beat the eggs well with sugar in a bowl until they increase in volume. The mixture should get airy, liquid and creamy.
Mix the flour with baking powder and add it gradually to your mixture. Whisk it with a mixer at a low speed for a little bit of time, until it gets smooth and thick. Add salt and vanilla.
Butter your baking form and put there sliced apples. If you wish to add cinnamon, powder your apples with it a little bit. Pour your mixture on the apples, distributing it evenly in the baking form.
Put Sharlotka in a pre-heated to 180 °C oven and bake it for 30-40 minutes.
Do not open the oven during the baking process, so that the biscuit won't fall down.
The biscuit should get nice golden colour, you can check if it is ready with a tooth stick. Pierce it with the stick in the middle and if it stays dry, your Sharlotka is ready. Switch off the oven and leave it slightly open for 5 minutes.
Let Sharlotka cool down before taking it out of the form and serving it. You can also decorate it with iced sugar.
It is delicious both warm and cold, but usually in my family we eat it so quickly that it has no time to cool down!
Enjoy your meal!
I hope that with these apple pie recipes you could celebrate the Apple Feast of the Saviour with us and try them out with your family and friends! And what is your favourite apple dessert?
I would really appreciate your feedback and if you have any doubts, ask me!
Text by Karina Carusel Tours
Let Sharlotka cool down before taking it out of the form and serving it. You can also decorate it with iced sugar.
It is delicious both warm and cold, but usually in my family we eat it so quickly that it has no time to cool down!
Enjoy your meal!
I hope that with these apple pie recipes you could celebrate the Apple Feast of the Saviour with us and try them out with your family and friends! And what is your favourite apple dessert?
I would really appreciate your feedback and if you have any doubts, ask me!
Text by Karina Carusel Tours