Jewish Sautéed Apple Cake

No, it doesn’t look Jewish, and no, it’s not the apples or the batter. It’s the oil that identifies this old-fashioned cake as Jewish in both synagogue and church cookbooks alike. Dairy-free, the cake could grace a meat meal, and its easy simplicity made it ubiquitous on Ashkenazi Shabbat and holiday tables.

But truth to tell, the cake is not really about oil at all: it’s all about the apples. And the more apples you can fit into the cake, the better the flavor. So I take the extra