Crustless apple, walnut and poppy seed cake (crustless flódni)

naturally gluten-free , dairy-free

Flódni is a unique traditional Jewish Hungarian dessert. The original recipe uses apples, poppy seed, walnuts, plum jam and all these ingredients are baked into a flour crust. This recipe uses the three main ingredients: apples, poppy seeds and walnuts plus the plums but has no crust. It is a gluten free recipe, in fact it is a very clever gluten free twist to the original recipe as the carbohydrates come from the poppy seeds. Its sour, bitter and sweet flavors come together to give a distinct culinary experience.

Traditionally, it is made at the end of the year for Christmas and Hannukah but can be eaten any time during the year. It is filled with symbolic meanings for the end of the year. Each layer is rich and decadent and according to folk traditions can supposedly bring prosperity, health and protection for the entire family.

I was inspired by the recipe that came from a website – credited at the end. I have been making this delicious alternative at Christmas time for years. I made some changes to the original recipe. I moved some sugar from the nut filling into the poppyseed filling. I also added plums and some alcohol to the poppy seed filling as the original version calls for it and I believe they worked nicely here too. Oh and honestly adding a little ginger to the walnuts can do wonders.

RECIPE

Ingredients

  • 200g (about 1 cup) poppyseeds
  • 1 Tbsp melted butter (coconut oil for dairy free version)
  • 3 eggs divided
  • 1/2 cup of sugar + 4 Tbsp
  • handful of raisins
  • juice of 1 orange or lemon
  • 1 Tbsp dried orange peel or 2 Tbsp fresh orange peel
  • 2 Tbsp of rum (optional)
  • 1 kg (about 7 medium) tasty cooking apples
  • 1 Tbsp fresh ground ginger or 1.5 tsp dried ginger, cut and sifted
  • 2 Tbsp of sugar or honey
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon + 1/4 ground cloves
  • 150 grams (5oz) of ground walnuts
  • 4 egg whites
  • 1/4 – 1/2 cup of sugar
  • 1 tsp fresh ginger or 1/2 tsp dried cut and sifted ginger
  • salt

Preparation

Making the apples. Wash, peel and core the apples. Grade them through the large holes of a cheese grader. Add 2 Tbsp of rum, ginger, ground cinnamon and cloves, pinch of salt and 4 Tbsp of sugar/honey. Put the mixture in a medium sized pot and cook it on high medium heat until the liquid evaporates.

Preheat oven to 300 F (150 C).

Making the poppy seed layer. Grind poppy seeds. (Coffee grinder works well). Mix with the melted butter, 1/4 cup of sugar, 3 egg yolks, plums, the raisins, rum, orange/lemon peel, pinch of salt and the juice of the orange or lemon. Beat the 3 egg whites until stiff. Gently fold it into the poppy seed mixture.

Spread the poppyseed mixture onto a lightly buttered baking pan (8×11.5×2″). Gently spread the apple mixture on top of the poppy seed mixture and place the dish in the preheated oven. Bake for 40 minutes.

Walnut/egg white toping: Have the ground walnuts ready. By the end of the 40 minutes, beat the 4 egg whites until stiff. Gently fold in the walnuts and the 1/4 cup of sugar or more. Spread this mixture on top of the apples and put the dish back into the oven at 250F (120C) for another 30-40 minutes.

Let it cool and settle. Serve at room temperature.

enjoy!

Source

Text and photos by twincitiesherbs.com

5 thoughts on “Crustless apple, walnut and poppy seed cake (crustless flódni)”

Leave a comment