Swedish Apple Cake

Ingredients
Filling

• Crust (Betty Crocker box mix)
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
• 2½ pounds apples (Jonagold and Granny Smith mix)
• ½ cup flour
• ½ cup sugar
• ¼ cup cinnamon
• Pinch of nutmeg
• ½ vanilla bean (optional) or vanilla extract
• ½ cup butter (warm, not melted)
• 2 eggs, beaten

Vanilla Sauce

• 1 Vanilla bean
• ½ cup cream
• ¾ cup whole milk
• 2 tsp potato starch or corn starch
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tbsp caster sugar

Instructions
Filling

1. Pour pie crust mix in bowl. Add 1/4 tsp of cardamom to mix. Prepare as per box instructions.
2. Roll out pie crust, place in bottom of greased cake pan. Set aside unused pie crust, place in fridge.
3. Heat oven to 350 F.
4. Peel and slice the apples flat. Apples should be less than a quarter inch thick, Granny Smith smaller still.
5. Combine the almond flour, flour, sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Scrape the seeds out of the half vanilla pod (If using pod, other wise add vanilla extract to eggs) and add to dry mixture. Combine with butter and eggs, mix by hand. Once filling is well combined, carefully fold in the sliced apples.
6. Pour the filling/apple mixture into the cake tin.
7. Roll out remaining pastry about an eight of an inch, cut into shapes like leaves.
8. Layer pastry on top of cake. It does not need to cover the entire cake.
9. Bake one hour, or until center is set and top is golden. Serve warm or chilled, top with vanilla sauce.

Vanilla Sauce

1. Slice the vanilla ben open the long way and use the tip of a small knife or spoon to scrape out all the seeds.
2. Place the milk, cream, and vanilla seeds/paste in a small saucepan on the stove top. Heat over a medium-low flame, stirring frequently with a whisk. The the mixture is quite warm and beginning to very gently simmer, remove from heat and set aside for 15 minutes. DO NOT BOIL.
3. Place a portion of the vanilla/cream mixture in a small bowl. Add the egg yolks, sugar, and potato/corn starch to the bowl and whisk very thoroughly. Don’t be tempted to add the eggs to the original sauce pan with all of the cream in it as they will be harder to mi and may cook too quickly in the residual heat.
4. Combine the eg mixture with the rest of the vanilla/cream mixture in the saucepan and return to the stove-top. Simmer over low heat, stirring frequently; DO NOT BOIL. Once the sauce thickens and becomes glossy, remove it from the heat and set aside. Note that it will thicken further as it cools. It can be served warm or chilled.