Each month, our Food Festival series celebrates a dish through its ingredients, preparation, personal stories, and the people who bring food to our tables.
For our latest Food Festival feature, we spoke with Event & General Manager at Wave Hill Anastassia Batsoula, who shared a recipe that brings together everything we love about fall: crisp apples, cinnamon, and time spent with friends and family.
For Anastassia, sharlotka is a taste of home. It’s a recipe her mom made often, especially when the family needed a homemade dessert or when the colder months arrived. Easy to make and endlessly adaptable, it became the kind of recipe that could be pulled together without much planning and still feel special.
And perhaps most importantly, it was made to be shared.
“I remember just sitting around the table and consuming the whole cake with my family in one sitting,” Anastassia recalls.
That sense of togetherness is still part of what makes the cake special today.
Want more seasonal ideas? Explore the full Food Festival series here.
Ingredient Spotlight: Granny Smith Apples
Crisp, tart, and wonderfully versatile, Granny Smith apples are a classic baking apple for good reason.
Their bright acidity provides a natural contrast to the sweetness of a cake, while their firm texture allows them to hold their shape as they bake. In this recipe, the apples become tender and juicy without completely disappearing into the batter, giving each bite a balance of soft cake and fruit.
Granny Smiths are also particularly well suited to fall baking. They’re a natural companion to warm spices like cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom, making them a perfect choice for everything from apple cakes and pies to crisps and tarts.
For Anastassia, they’re the apple of choice for this recipe, but the cake is flexible enough to follow the seasons. Try peaches in the summer, pears in the fall, or even mango for a tropical twist. Almond flour can also be used to give the cake a slightly nuttier flavor, and to make it gluten free.
Think of the recipe as a base. Simple enough to make your own, but delicious enough that you may not want to change it at all.
Recipe: Easy Sharlotka Apple Cake
by Anastassia Batsoula
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 cup flour, or gluten-free flour
- 4–5 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into chunks
- Pinch of salt
- A generous shake of cinnamon
- Powdered sugar, optional
Method
- Preheat the oven to 340°F.
- Oil and lightly flour a springform pan. Alternatively, oil the pan and line it with parchment paper.
- Using a hand or stand mixer, beat the whole eggs on medium-high speed for a few minutes, until foamy.
- Add the salt and sugar and continue beating until the mixture has approximately doubled in volume.
- Lower the mixer speed and gradually incorporate the flour.
- Add the apples and gently stir until the fruit is evenly coated in the batter.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared springform pan and sprinkle the top generously with cinnamon.
- Bake for approximately 1 hour, checking after 45 minutes with a wooden pick inserted into the center of the cake.
- The pick should come out clean, although it may be slightly moist from the fruit. If the center is still wet, continue baking and check again.
- Let the cake cool slightly before removing it from the pan.
- Dust with powdered sugar, if desired.
- Serve hot, warm, or cold.
Pro Tips from Our Chefs
- Use a hand mixer. While a stand mixer works perfectly well, Anastassia finds a hand mixer makes this recipe especially easy.
- Check the center. If you use gluten-free flour or add lots of apples, the cake may take longer to bake through. Always test the center rather than relying solely on the clock.
- Know your oven. Oven temperatures can vary, which can affect the baking time. Start checking around 45 minutes and adjust as needed.
- Don’t worry about perfection. This is meant to be an easy, adaptable cake. The fruit, flour, and baking time can all be adjusted slightly without losing the spirit of the recipe.
- Keep it simple. Ginger, cardamom, or vanilla can all be added, but Anastassia’s favorite version is the simplest one: apples, cinnamon, and cake.
How to Use It: Serving Suggestions
One of the best things about this apple cake is its versatility.
Serve it warm from the oven with ice cream, or pair a slice with fresh berries. It’s equally at home as an afternoon treat, a dinner-party dessert, or a homemade contribution to a family gathering.
Or there’s Anastassia’s preferred method: cold, straight from the refrigerator.
She admits she isn’t normally someone who prefers desserts cold from the fridge, but this cake is an exception. The texture becomes especially satisfying once chilled, making it the kind of dessert that’s worth saving a slice of for later.
From Our Farm to Your Table: Meet Katchkie Farm and Our CSA
Many of the ingredients we spotlight—come straight from Katchkie Farm, our organic farm in Kinderhook, NY. It’s where we grow with intention: focusing on flavor, sustainability, and connection to the land.
Through our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program, you can enjoy the very best of the season each week—from just-picked produce to specialty pantry items and surprises from our kitchen.
Want a deeper connection to your food? Learn more about our CSA and Katchkie Farm →
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