Today I’m sharing a super Easy Apple Pie Cake recipe made with semolina flour and fresh apples. Baked in a bread pan, cut into cake pieces and drizzled with Caramel Glaze. Viola! Nothing more or less to it. It’s a no-brainer addition to your Thanksgiving menu or just a random day to go along with a hot cup of tea (my fav).
I grew up eating semolina as a hot breakfast cereal. Most of my generation that grew up in Russia, will know exactly what it is. Very popular hot cereal in Russia and Europe that is typically cooked in milk and served with butter or jam. It was definitely a favorite of mine growing up. I have yet to find 100% semolina at a local grocery store here but cream of wheat or farina measure up really close and are all in the same hot cereal group.
However, semolina flour is pretty accessible and is a finer version of the actual semolina. It’s mostly used in pasta making and bread baking but I made a cake with it! And you know what? I liked it. A LOT! Actually, I LOVED it! It’s the moistest cake I’ve ever had!
Tender, moist and almost custardy like or maybe spongy is the best word (but not too spongy). It’s hard to explain but semolina is kind of dry and chewy in a good way so when you pour liquid over it, it absorbs the liquid and yields a moist cake. I’m not exaggerating but it’s one of the easiest and best cakes I’ve had that requires so little prep and no complicated steps or ingredients to make it “moist.”
The other best part about this recipe? There are no eggs. Yep! And the cake holds up really nicely without the eggs because semolina flour is absorbant enough to do the job right. I added a drizzle of simple Caramel Glaze to make it a little more picturesque but this step is totally optional. It tastes absolutely divine without the glaze too.
Easy Apple Pie Cake
- Prep Time: 25 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 25 mins
- Yield: 8-10 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup semolina flour
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 cup milk (I used whole milk)
- 5 medium apples, peeled, cored and shredded (any type of apples will do) – drizzle apples lightly with fresh lemon juice to prevent from browning
Caramel Glaze (optional)
- 2 Tbsp. butter
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 Tbsp. milk, divided
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Butter a standard bread pan and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine semolina flour, all-purpose flour, sugar and baking powder. Add milk and using a hand held mixer or large whisk, combine the ingredients until lump free. Batter will be more on the thick side.
- Add 1 cup of batter to the bread pan, followed by 1 cup of shredded apples. Continue to make 2 more layers, alternating between the batter and apples. The last (top) layer should be the apples.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Cool the cake for 15 minutes in the pan before taking it out to cool on a wire rack.
- Drizzle with Caramel Glaze, slice and serve.
Caramel Glaze
- In a small sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add brown sugar; lower the heat to low and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in 1 tablespoon of milk and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and whisk in the powdered sugar and the remaining 1 tablespoon of milk until smooth. If you find that the glaze is too thick, add more milk by 1/2 teaspoon.
- Serve immediately. ***If the glaze begins to set/harden, pop it in the microwave for 20 seconds until smooth***
Toronto Baker says
Seemed like an easy enough recipe. However the difficult part was determining whether the cake was done or not even with the toothpick test because the apples are still wet inside the cake. I kept thinking the cake wasn’t done and continued to add 10 mins, then another 10 mins and let it sit in the oven heat (turned off) to hopefully get a clean toothpick. Finally decided to check with a profile cut. Maybe too much apples and I only used 3 (as opposed to the recommended 5) b/c the cake was cooked but a little mushy and not a whole lot of flavour since it’s just flour, sugar and milk. I even added vanilla extract in my batter and cinnamon to the apples.
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Яна says
Thanks for the recipe! Very simple and delicious!
★★★★★
Katya says
Thank you! I’m happy you enjoyed it!
Lana says
Is semolina flour the same as manka in Russian?
Joanne says
I love the soft, fluffy texture that semolina gives to bread…so I have no doubt I would love it in cake as well! This looks super.
Katya says
Thanks girl! I’m right there with you on soft and fluffy texture 🙂
Valya of valyastasteofhome.com says
Yummy! Absolutely delicious! I picked lots of apples this season so I better get to work by trying this recipe 🙂
★★★★★
Katya says
Thanks friend! Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.
Valya of valyastasteofhome.com says says
Same to you Katya!!! 😉