Maria’s Shortcrust Layer Cake

My grandmother made this rich layer cake for every family gathering ever since my mother was a little child. It used to be the centerpiece of the table at Easter and Christmas, was served with coffee on my granny’s name day on September 12th and decorated with candles and rainbow sprinkles for birthdays. Instead of sponge biscuit or puff pastry, the cake layers consist of a shortcrust like the one we would use to cut out sugar cookies. Since butter was expensive, my grandmother’s recipe calls for margarine, whereas my mom and me prefer butter for the dough and filling.

While vanilla custard powder was a kitchen staple for my grandmother, she always made the apple purée herself using the apples from her garden. To make sure her five children, their spouses and her numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren each got a piece of her cake, my grandmother would bake the shortbread layers on a large baking tray.

While her rectangle cake consisted of four layers, my aunt Margret started to cut the rolled-out dough with a cake ring and stack up to ten round layers for my cousins’ birthdays. When I bake the cake, I usually cut the measurements in half. Since the sides are left unadorned, it passes as a naked cake.

*My grandmother jotted the measured ingredients down in the back of the one and only cookbook she owned. My aunt later filled me in on the actual preparation steps, the baking time and temperature.

1. Prepare the apple purée in advance:
In a saucepan, combine apples, sugar, spices, water and lemon juice. Cover and cook over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, or until apples are soft. Remove cinnamon bark and cloves, mash with a (hand) blender and allow to cool.

2. For the buttercream:
Prepare custard with milk according to packaging but without adding any sugar and allow to cool completely. Beat the butter and sugar with a hand mixer until creamy. Add the custard by the spoonful and beat until smooth.

3. For the shortcrust layers:
Blend flour and baking powder. Quickly knead butter, sugar, eggs, milk and flour into a smooth dough. Divide into four parts. Preheat the oven to 190°C. Roll out each layer on a floured surface or between two sheets of parchment paper until the dough is as thick as a sugar cookie (approx. 2-3 mm). Place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and prick with a fork. Trim the edges with a sharp knife or cut out with cake rings and add scraps to the remaining dough. Bake one or two shortcrusts at a time for 10-12 minutes, or until pale golden-brown. Set aside to cool.

4. To assemble the cake:
Coat the bottom layer with approx. 3 mm of apple purée, carefully cover with the next shortcrust layer and apply the same amount of buttercream. Repeat alternately until the final layer. Cover the top layer with buttercream.

5. Store in the fridge overnight, so that the shortcrust can soak up the fillings’ moisture and you’ll be able to cut the cake cleanly the next day. If you like, decorate with sprinkles right before serving to prevent the colour from bleeding into the cream.