Easy Apple Shortcake Recipe - The Home Cook's Kitchen (2024)

Apple Shortcake- A gorgeous shortcake recipe with a simple stewed apple filling. This apple shortcake is a great dessert towhip up for a quick dessert, orwhen you need to use up old apples.

Oh hey there! Happy somethingth day of self isolation. I hope you guys are doing all ok?

We've been trying to find ways of keeping ourselves busy during this time, I'm on holidays so I've been baking up a storm.

A few weeks ago we were at Adams parent's house, and picked a bunch of gorgeous apples from their apple trees. They were the most perfect stewing apples, so I figured there was no better time than now to remake my apple shortcake.

This recipe was originally on the blog back in 2018 and has since been updated with prettier pics and more information for you to help you master this cake at home!

This apple cake is one of those desserts that you can make if you’re in a hurry, or if you have unexpected guests coming around and need something quick to whip up!

Much like my flourless chocolate torte, I always have the ingredients for this cake on hand.

How to Make an Apple Shortcake

What is an apple shortcake?

This apple shortcake recipe isn't your typical 'American' shortcake recipe. From my understanding, a shortcake in America is more like a biscuit style dessert with fresh fruit.

This recipe on the other hand, is an Australian style cake, more like a buttery shortbread cake, sandwiched together with apple pie filling.

What equipment do I need?

You'll need the following equipment to successfully bake this cake;

• A 23cm/9 inch round baking pan. These are easy to find and can be used for multiple recipes.
• Hand or stand mixer with beaters attached
• Cling wrap/plastic wrap
• Large serving plate
• Serving utensils

What ingredients go in this shortcake?

This recipe requires very few ingredients, and they are ingredients I always make sure I have on hand in my pantry.

PLEASE NOTE - cups are not the most accurate measurement here and I recommend that you have a set of kitchen scales.

Butter

I use unsalted butter for this recipe. You'll need 115g/4oz/quarter pound for the cake and make sure it's at room temperature. The butter gives that really decadent, buttery flavour to the cake.

Sugar

In all my baking, I use caster sugar. If you can't find it (American supermarkets didn't ever seem to have it I found), then regular white sugar is fine.

You'll need 95g/4oz/quarter of a pound. This is roughly ½ a cup plus 1 tablespoon of sugar.

Vanilla

I use Queens brand vanilla bean paste, but you can use vanilla essence.

Egg

Use good quality eggs. Doesn't matter if they're at room temperature or not.

Self-Raising Flour

This was the only flour I could find in the supermarket today!! If you don't have self raising flours you can make your own by combining 2.5 teaspoons of baking powder with the plain flour.

You'll need 215g/8oz/half a pound of flour. This is about 1 ¼ cups plus 1 tablespoon.

How to Make Apple Shortcake

The full recipe is in the recipe card below, but here are some tips and tricks.

1. Start by mixing beating the butter and sugar together in a mixer until well combined. I prefer using a stand mixer but you can also use a hand beater.
2. Add the egg and vanilla, then beat until well combined.
3. Add the flour gradually, and mix well until combined. The mixture should be dense and buttery, as shown below.

After I've mixed the ingredients together, I shape it into a ball, wrap it in cling wrap and chill it for 30 minutes.

Why do I chill my dough?

I find that chilling the dough makes it WAY easier to place into my prepared baking pans. The dough firms up enough for you to shape it more easily.

What do I do for the apple filling?

There are two options for this - you can make your own or buy remade apple pie filling.

In the USA, I used the Kroger Brand which was a 20oz tin (see below for what it looks like out of the can). I do find this a little sweeter and more gel like than the Australian brands and my homemade apples, but it is still tasty.

You'll need about 20oz or 565g to fill one of these apple shortcakes. If your pie filling isn't sweetened, I'd suggest adding around 1 tablespoon of sugar and ½ a teaspoon of cinnamon to the pie filling, so it tastes a little sweeter.

To make your own apple pie filling, follow my recipe on how to stew apples. Stewing apples is super easy and can be done the day or night before.

Assembling the Apple Shortcake

To start with, you'll need 1 9inch/23cm round cake tin. These are easy to use and I use mine all the time for making sponge cakes as well, so they are super handy to have.

I lightly grease mine so that it's easy to remove from the pan when it's cool.

To assemble the bottom layer of the shortcake, you'll need to first divide the dough into even halves.

The best way to do this is to weigh the dough, then divide the weight by half. Or you can do it by eye for a slightly less accurate portion.

When it comes to putting the dough into the pan, for the bottom layer I find it easier to use my fingers to lightly press the dough into the tin until it's even.

You can roll, however I found that using my hands was an easier option and worked just as well.

Once you have your bottom layer down add your pie filling on top.

For the top layer I placed my dough onto a piece of cling wrap/plastic wrapped and topped it with another piece.

Then I gently used my hands to press out the dough to the size of my pan. Then I flipped out the dough on top of my apple pie filling.

If you find your top layer is looking messy, or your dough doesn't quite stretch the length of the pan, flip the cake onto a plate after it's cooked so that the bottom becomes the top. The bottom will be a lot neater!

Cooking Time

This apple shortcake takes around 35-40 minutes to bake at 350F/180C in a non-fan forced oven, or 25-30 minutes in a fan forced oven.

The top of the cake should be lightly browned. A good test is to stick a metal skewer into the middle of the cake (the shortcake only, not filling).

The skewer should come out clean with a few crumbs. If you're finding that the cake is browning too quickly and not cooking, cover the cake with aluminum foil to prevent burning.

How to serve apple shortcake

This cake is best served the day off, with ice cream or whipped cream. Dust it with a little icing sugar after it's cooled for looks.

Can I use other fruit?

The only other fruit I have put in the middle of this cake is crushed pineapple. Get a large can and drain the pineapple juice before adding it to the middle of the cake.

I imagine you could use stewed pears as well but I haven't tried it.

Does this cake keep?

I doubt it will last it tastes so good, but if you do have leftovers they store for about a day in an air tight container.

This cake is best eaten the day off as it can go a little soggy after a while from the apple.

This is definitely one of my favourite cakes. Let me know if you've made it, I'd love to see your pics. Leave a comment and a star rating and any questions in the comments below.

Georgie x

Want more recipes with apples?

• Spiced apple cider Moscow Mule
• Apple Rhubarb Crumble - from 'Not Another Food Blogger'
• Easy stewed apples
• Apple Rose Pastry Tart - from My Sugar Free Kitchen

If you loved this recipe, I'd love for you to leave a comment and review! Also, don't forget to snap a pic of your finished recipe and share it on our on our Instagramaccount using the hashtag #thehomecookskitchen or tagging me @thehomecookskitchen. I'd love to see your creations!

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