[Apple Cake]

In order to make this apple cake, you must first prepare a special tool to heat and caramelize sugar at the last line of this recipe. The ideal tool is a fire-heated flatiron used in the past for sewing a Japanese kimono. It is not used or sold any more because an electrically heated flatiron replaced it. An electrical one can not be overheated enough for caralemizing sugar. If you know an old Japanese lady good at sewing, she may give you an old flatiron not used any more.

If you can not get a flatiron, you may purchase a trowel for applying cement in a do-it-yourself store. A small one, say 10 cm long, with as much thickness as possible is desired.

Now you can proceed with cooking.

(A) Sponge

eggs 4
sugar 90 grams
vanilla oil
flour 100 grams
milk 30 cc cc = cubic centimeter = approx. gram
butter 15 grams
(1) Prepare hot water in two big bowls used for (2) and (3) below.
Note that (2) and (3) must be done simultaneously.

(2)
(2-1) 100 grams of flour is sieved in advance.
(2-2) 4 eggs and 90 grams of sugar are put together and well beaten in a small bowl floated in hot water in one of the big bowls. Eggs and sugar will be kept approximately in the body temperature. By beating, the volume will become about two times.
(2-3) Vanilla oil and sieved flour in (2-1) are added quickly into the bowl and mixed with a wooden spatura.

(3) 30 cc of milk and 15 grams of butter are put into and melted in another small bowl floated in hot water in the other big bowl.
(4) Milk and melted butter prepared in (3) are added to the first small bowl prepared in (2) and well mixed.
(5) Put oven paper on a 25 cm square oven plate or on your favorite mold. Then the mixed ingredients are put into it and baked for 20 minutes in 170 degrees centigrade, or in 340 degrees Fahrenheit, and then cooled.

(B) Custard Cream

yolk 2
sugar 6 table spoons
flour 4 table spoons
milk 400 cc
calvados 1 table spoon
(1) 6 table spoons of sugar is added to 2 egg yolks and mixed.
(2) 4 table spoons of flour is added and well mixed.
(3) Warm 400 cc of milk is added and mixed.
(4) Boil until it becomes creamy. Then cooled.
(5) 1 table spoon of calvados is added and mixed.

(C) Cooked Apples

Kogyoku apple 2
granulated sugar 30 grams
(1) Wash 2 Kogyoku apples (sour type). Cut each apple vertically into 6 radial chunks without peeling. Cores are removed. Then each chunk is chopped to make fan-shaped slices of 3 mm thickness. Put slices into a pot.
(2) Add 30 grams of granulated sugar.
(3) Boil until water comes out of the apple slices and evaporates. Don't break the apple slices.

(D) Finish

apricot jam
granulated sugar 70 grams
(1) Spread apricot jam on the sponge.
(2) Spread the custard cream on it.
(3) Place the cooked apples on it.
(4) Spread 70 grams of granulated sugar on it.
(5) Apply a heated flatiron on the sugar to caramelize the sugar.