I believe that it’s a universal truth that everyone who loves to make family recipes has a moment where they just can’t figure out why, despite following the instructions to the letter, the end product just doesn’t taste as good as when the person who gave up the recipe in the first place made it.
In our family, that is famously my mom’s pumpkin bread.
I have struggled with my grandma’s cinnamon rolls.
And I can’t quite conquer the pecan sandies Joey’s mom makes every Christmas.
That’s why I loved the story that Jeremy Matlock of Hillsboro included with a recipe he submitted for our holiday recipe guide.
“While missionaries in Russia, we learned this recipe from a dear babushka,” Jeremy wrote. “However, we used an electric mixer, whereas the Russians mixed it by hand. So the people there were always amazed at how light and fluffy our cake was and wanted to know our secret.”
I have repeated that story to everyone who tried my rendition of his recipe this week, laughing every time. I absolutely love it. Oh, and the cake was great, too.
Russian Apple Pie Cake
Ingredients
- 3 apples peeled and diced
- Cinnamon to taste
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Grease an eight- or nine-inch round baking pan with butter.
- Cut up apples into small cubes, and layer the pan with the apples so they cover the bottom.
- Dust the apples with cinnamon, to taste.
- Separate the egg whites and yolks into two mixing bowls.
- Beat the eggs (preferably with an electric mixer) thoroughly.
- Add about half of the cup of sugar to each bowl (doesn’t need to be exact). Beat again until the whites are foamy and each is thoroughly mixed.
- Combine the egg mixtures into one bowl, add the flour and fold together until everything is just combined.
- Pour the mixture over the apples.
- Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
I debated for quite awhile about whether I should invert the cake or serve it right-side-up. I landed on inverting it, because as it bakes, the cake develops this lovely, crispy top, which is perfect as a kind of crust, with the soft apples and sponge cake on top.
I ended up using Granny Smiths in my version, because I already had some diced in my freezer, but you could use any variety.
This was a fun recipe to watch come together. I was amazed that only five ingredients could pack that much flavor. I also always appreciate someone just giving me carte blanche with cinnamon, and I love a good cinnamon-apple dessert.
And Jeremy was right, my electric mixer got tons of air into the eggs, and it resulted in a very fluffy texture. I can’t imagine having the patience to whip all of that by hand.
But it does prove that sometimes going on your own path away from your grandma’s—or babushka’s—instructions can actually lead to surprising results.
This piece first appeared in print Dec. 18, 2025.
Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.
