Apple sheet cake

We had a bunch of apples that were gifted to us and that no one really wanted to eat as is, because they were soft and had spots. There were quite a few, and since I didn't want to waste them, I decided it was best to make a treat out of them. Was in the mood for baking anyway, and this way we didn't have to waste the apples. We love apple pie, but I figured that the apples we had that I wanted to use weren't quite enough for that- plus, butter is so expensive here. So I opted for a cheaper treat, an apple sheet cake with crumble topping. The recipe I kind of made up myself - I know, I know, some people say that baking is all about precision, but somehow, my inventions never really seem to fail! So I decided to take the risk. And I'm glad I did take the risk because everyone loved it. The thing is though, with these kind of baking recipes, I hardly ever remember how I exactly made them. So when I make them a next time they might come out quite differently 🥲 Which is why I immediately wrote down the approximate quantities so I could make this exact cake again. 

For the dough, I used: 

1 3/4 cups oatmeal 

1 cup ground oatmeal 

2.5 cups white flour 

4 teaspoons baking powder 

1 cup of sugar 

2 teaspoons cinnamon 

2 eggs 

1.5 cup butter, melted (I used margarine 🤫)

Combine all the dry ingredients and then mix in the liquid ingredients. If it's a bit too dry, add some liquid, either milk or water. If it's too sticky, add some more flour or oatmeal. Now spread out the dough in the pan of your choice - I used a rectangular one which is used to make lasagna etc. Not sure what the exact measurements are. I didn't use all of the dough, around 1/4 or 1/5 was left, which I used for the crumble topping. 

Then peel, core and slice around 5-6 big apples, divide these slices over the dough. 

Now make your crumble topping. If you're like me and you've got a bit of cookie dough left over, then divide that into smaller chunks, so that it will mix easier into the crumbs mixture. Melt another half a cup of butter - or a bit more. Then add half a cup of sugar, half a cup of white flour and half a cup of oats. Mix this with the tops of your fingers until a crumbly consistency forms. If it's not yet crumbly, add some more flour, or oats, or both. If it's too dry add some butter - doesn't have to be melted, soft butter will do, too. Then spread this as evenly as possible on the apple slices. 

I baked this for about one hour on 180° c, which is 356° f. 

Some notes: 

This is a very adaptable recipe. You can add anything you'd like to add more flavour; raisins or other dried fruits, nuts, etc. We don't like raisins in sweet baked goods so I left them out. Or just use different fruits altogether. 

I call this a sheet cake which is the literal translation of what we call 'plaatkoek' in Dutch. A plaatkoek is a bit in between a large cookie and a cake, so don't expect it to be very fluffy. 

This can be freezable, although it certainly wasn't enough for all of us to have that much leftovers 🤭

Use whatever flour you'd like - I just used what I had on hand. However, I wouldn't leave out the oats, as they give this cake so much flavour and a nice texture.