Tarantella de Manzana, or Argentinian Bread Pudding with Apples

This blog post contains advertisement for Braeburn apples, Südtiroler Apfel g.g.A.

Yay, today I am present a recipe from Argentina, an apple cake slash bread pudding, which is prepared similarly to “flan“.  I was fortunate enough to make this cake named “tarantella de manzana” with tart apples, the variety Südtiroler Apfel g.g.A. When the package arrived with Braeburn apples, I knew exactly what I wanted to make. But let’s get back to this dessert from Argentina. Legend has it that this cake is named after an Italian dance (tarantella) as a) Italian immigrants supposedly invented this cake in Buenos Aires and b) this cake is a bit wiggly when you take it out of the oven. You either need to dance as you are so excited for being able to eat this delicious cake, or the wiggly movement actually is similar to the movement of the dance. If you are interested in further theories, check out this article in Spanish. Regardless of its origin, this cake is so popular, you will find it basically on every menue of any restaurant in Buenos Aires.

But be prepared, this cake takes a long baking time (90min) and then needs to cool in the fridge overnight, so it will take time before you can finally dig into it. This is the opposite of a last-minute ressert, if you are looking to whip up something for unexpected guests, how about one of the many sponge rolls I have on my blog. My hubby and me got very excited about this cake, imagine a layer of caramel on the top, thick layers of apples, toast and flan, which keeps the entire cake together. No wonder this cake is named after a dance, it is such a joy to eat it. We ate the cake as pictured with a dollop of whipping cream, but feel free to add further caramel or even ice cream. How about you, do you want to give this Argentinian cake a try?

Recipe: Slightly adapted from the Instagram video by Oswaldo Gross (in Spanish)

Print Recipe

Tarantella de manzana or Argentinian Apple Cake/Flan

Prep Time: 45min – Cooking Time: 90-100min – Total Time: 2hr 15min

Tarantella de manzana is an Argentinian dessert similar to a bread pudding including large amounts of apple slices. It is easy to prepare, but requires a long baking and cooling time.

Ingredients

• Caramel
• 200 grams of regular sugar
• 
  
• Cake
• 1 kilo of tart and juciy apples (I used 5 Braeburn apples Südtiroler Apfel g.g.A.)
• A bit of lemon juice so the apples don't turn brown
• 10-12 slices of white bread (e.g. toast)
• 100 grams of soft butter
• 8 eggs
• 150 grams of regular sugar
• 200 grams of heavy cream (more if serving with additional cream)
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Instructions

1

In this reel you can see how I make it. Preheat oven to 160 degrees, check for a bundt form, which you can place into another casserole as this cake is baked in a waterbath. First we will make the caramel, for this spread about 1/3 of the sugar in a frying pan and heat on medium heat, once the sugar starts to melt, add about 1/3, add the last third once the sugar has melted again. Stir until you get a caramel of amber color. Now you need to be fast, you want to cover the bottom of the bundt cake form with caramel, pour it inside and with a swirling motion make sure to cover the bottom and a bit of the sides of the form. Set aside to harden and cool off.

2

For the cake peel and core the apples, then slice into even slices. Mix with a bit of lemon juice so that the apples don't turn brown.

3

Cut off the edges of the toast and spread butter on each slice.

4

Lastly we are going to make the flan, for this whisk together all remaining ingredients in a bowl, try not to work in too much air.

5

Now we are going to assemble the cake: of each component you will have three layers, so this helps you to divide everything. First place one layer of sliced apples into the caramel, then a layer of toast (you may need to cut some slices in half or quarters to fit the form). Make sure that the buttered side faces down. Press down gently and soak the bread with some flan. Repeat procedure two more times: apples, toast and flan. The last layer should be toast. If you have a lot of flan left, don't worry, just pour everything over the toast, you want to be sure to soak it in a lot of flan. Press down everything gently.

6

Place the bundt cake in a casserole, then fill casserole with boiling water. Cover the cake with aluminium foil and bake for about 90-100min at 160 degrees Celsius on the lowest rack. Take off aluminium for the last 20min so that the toast browns nicely. Let come to room temperature and then place in the fridge for a few hours or overnight. In order to loosen the caramel, you may want to heat a frying pan on medium heat, place the bundt cake into it for about 30 seconds, then release from cake pan and turn upside down on a large plate. You may want to serve with some additional whipping cream. If chilled properly, the cake will keep for a few days. Tip: use your washed bundt cake form to place over the cake when chilling in the fridge. This way it will not dry out.

With this blog post I am also taking part in the German blog event “Süße & herzhafte Rezepte mit Südtiroler Apfel g.g.A. “, which is hosted by Zorra from the German blog Kochtopf. We were asked to present a recipe with a lot of apples, so I knew that I was only going to take part if using at least one kilo of apples, which is what is required for Argentinian tarantella de manzana. The cake will be extra delicious if you use juicy apples. This definitely was the case with these apples as they are stored at low temperatures with less oxygen. This means you can also enjoy them in April. Of course you will find many more recipes with apples on my blog, you may wish to check out these 12 apple recipes for further inspiration.