Apples are the most popular fruit in Finland. This crumble cake topped with caramel apples is an easy to make, delicious and satisfying dish.
Apples on the Street
When you think of Finnish fruit, berries are probably the first thing that comes to mind. However, there is another fruit that is available all year round, is inexpensive, and is very familiar to Finnish people. Apples.
Every garden in Finland has apple trees. Not only in private homes, but also in apartment buildings and on the streets, apple trees are planted in many places. Every autumn, it is common to find a bag full of apples in front of a house, saying, “Feel free to take them”.
Apples in Finland are smaller than apples in Japan. They are about the size of the palm of your hand. The fruit is a bit powdery, and many varieties fall apart when cooked. They are often made into jam, but in our house, we just bite into them and eat them. It is a sweet and sour bounty of autumn.
Pies for Everything in Finland

This apple cake is also apple pie, in Juhani’s opinion. As far as the Japanese are concerned, apple pie is made with pie crust! So I think it’s interesting to see the cultural differences.
Recipe
Caramel Apple Crumble Cake – Finnish Apple Pie Omenapiirakka


- milk (not fat free) 100 g
- vinegar (5%) 10 g
- brown sugar 10 g
- egg 1
- butter 75 g
- strong flour 150 g
- brown sugar 50 g
- baking soda 1 tsp
- butter 10 g
- fine white sugar 3 Tbsp
- apple 200 g
- water 1 Tbsp
- In Finland, we use strong flour, bread flour.Flour Classification in Japan, Finland, USA, EuropeThe way flour is classified differs by country. Here is how flour is classified in Japan and Finland, also in Europe U.S.
- Milk and vinegar is a substitute for 100 mL buttermilk.Buttermilk, PIIMÄ Substitute: Just Mix Milk and VinegarPIIMÄ, buttermilk, is used in Finnish and European baking recipes. If you can't buy it, you can easily make it by mixing milk and vinegar.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C.
- Line a cake pan with a cookie sheet.
- Peel the apples and cut into 1cm cubes.
- Place butter, sugar, and apples in a frying pan over medium heat.
- When the butter and sugar are melted, mix well.
- Cook without touching until the apples are cooked and browned. During this time, make the dough.
- When it starts to brown, mix it and repeat several times without touching for a while.
- Add water to the pan and mix well.
- When the water has evaporated, turn off the heat.
- Melt the butter.
- Mix the melted butter with the flour, brown sugar, and baking soda. When the mixture becomes a lumpy mass, stop mixing. Some of the mixture will be added to the dough later.
- In a bowl, mix together the milk and vinegar.
- Add the brown sugar, egg and a few drops of vanilla extract and mix well.
- Add 175 g(about 2/3) of the crumble batter and mix well.
- Pour the batter into the cake pan.
- Sprinkle with caramel apple.
- Press down on the crumble batter with a silicone spatula to form large chunks, then sprinkle over the caramel apple.
- Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for about 30 minutes, until well browned.
- You can make this with Lingonberry and blueberry for an even more Finnish taste.Finnish Lingonberry Pie, Easy Crumble CakeThis is a recipe for Puolukkapiirakka , which uses the typical Finnish berry, Lingonberry. It is surprisingly easy to make.Finnish Blueberry Pie and Raspberry Pie, Crumble CakeThey Are All PIEIn my mind, this recipe is a cake, but Juhani says that Mustikkapiirakka = "blueberry pie". But wha...
comment