Unbelievable Moistness: Multicooker Apple Pie Secret Revealed

This version of sharlotka is characterized by a moist, nearly creamy crumb. Unlike the standard sponge cake which can be dry, the addition of kefir creates a porous texture and increases the richness of the pie. The controlling technique for this recipe is the prolonged aeration of eggs to build a stable structural framework.

Ingredients

• Apples: 1 kg
• Chicken eggs: 5 pcs.
• Wheat flour: 250 g
• Granulated sugar: 240 g
• Kefir (2.5%): 200 ml
• Refined vegetable oil: 70 g
• Lemon juice: 2 tbsp.
• Vanilla sugar: 10 g
• Baking powder: 10 g
• Salt: 1 pinch

Optional Garnish

• Powdered sugar, to taste
• Ground cinnamon, to taste
• Cocoa powder, to taste

Preparation

Step 1. Peel the apples and remove the cores. Cut them into large slices. The source recommends using sour apple varieties as they hold their shape better during cooking and avoid turning into mush.

Step 2. Grease the multicooker bowl with oil, line the bottom with parchment paper, and arrange the apple slices tightly. Pour lemon juice over the fruit to preserve their color and provide a tart balance to the sweet batter.

Step 3. Using a mixer on high speed, beat the eggs with granulated sugar for 7 minutes. The mixture must become thick, creamy, significantly lighter in color, and increase in volume by approximately three times.

Step 4. Add the kefir and vegetable oil. Use a silicone spatula to fold the ingredients into the mass using gentle bottom-to-top motions to avoid collapsing the air bubbles.

Step 5. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually incorporate these dry ingredients into the mixture, stirring until lumps disappear. Avoid intensive mixing to prevent the batter from deflating.

Step 6. Pour the batter over the apples in the multicooker bowl. Close the lid and set the device to "Baking" or "Multi-cook" mode for 1.5 hours.

Step 7. Wait for the timer signal before opening the lid; a sudden temperature drop may cause the cake to collapse. Test for doneness with a wooden skewer. If it comes out moist, add another 10 minutes of cooking time.

Step 8. Let the sharlotka rest in the closed multicooker for 10 minutes before removing it.

For final presentation, the cake can be dusted with powdered sugar, a cinnamon-sugar mix, or cocoa powder. A stencil may be used when applying cocoa powder to create patterns.

Source: This article was adapted from an original Russian-language publication by Pravda.Ru.