Apple Cake Tart

A few weeks ago, I was looking for something to make, when my mother handed me a hand-written recipe. "Why don't you try this?" she said. "It's a recipe from Cousin Marie that your aunt and I could never figure out how to make. We were convinced that she left something out of the recipe."

Reading it over, I gave my mother a strange look. "Ma, this looks like an icebox cake."

"No. It can't be."

I looked it over again. Pudding, cool whip, graham crackers, and pie filling. Layer and chill. "I'm pretty sure I know what an icebox cake recipe looks like. I'm kind of an expert."

She snatched the recipe back and read it herself. "Huh. I could have sworn that this was the recipe."

"I'm pretty sure you and Auntie Pat together have enough kitchen know-how to figure out an icebox cake."

Fast forward to this weekend. I was looking through my mom's old recipe book, when I found another recipe from Cousin Marie. This one was labeled Peach or Apple Cake. When I took it out to look at it, I saw a note on the back, apologizing for leaving out the baking powder. I had found it.

Making it, I decided "cake" was a bit of a misnomer, as the end result is rather more like an apple tart, but with a thin, sweet layer of cake instead of pastry. So I dubbed it a cake tart. (I'd also considered "Apple Right-Side-Up Cake," but figured that was probably only funny to me and confusing to everyone else)

The original recipe suggested adding chopped walnuts to the top for the apple variation, but I don't like walnuts. I decided to use oats instead. This way I was thoroughly justified in eating a piece for breakfast. Oats and apples and milk and eggs. Totally healthy. Right?

Apple Cake Tart {Printable Version}

Yield: 6-8 servings

Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
½ cup warm (not boiling) milk
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
2-3 large apples, peeled and sliced thin*
¼ cup quick oats (optional)
Cinnamon sugar

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking dish. In a large mixing bowl, mix together sugar, flour, milk, eggs, baking powder, and salt. Pour into the prepared pan. Arrange the sliced apples in a single layer on top of the batter. Sprinkle with oats (if using) and cinnamon sugar. Bake 30-35 minutes, until cake layer is set. Let cool on a wire rack.

*Peaches or pears would also work well.

Recipe from Cousin Marie