Kholodnik (Russian cold beetroot soup)

For ➍
220 g beetroots
200 g cucumbers
20 g spring onions
70 cl kefir
2 tbs parsley leaves
1 tbs fennel leaves
4 eggs
salt & ground black pepper

Bake beetroot in the oven on 180°C for about 1 h. Leave the skin on, it is done when the fork comes in easily.
Hard boil eggs. Finely chop spring onions, parsley and fennel. Peel the cucumber and cut it into tiny cubes. Peel beetroot and pure it in a blender with some kefir, add the rest of the kefir and ingredients.
Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve cold.

Sharlotka (Russian apple cake)

For ➏-➑
butter for greasing pan
6 large tart apples, such as Granny Smiths

1 lemon
3 large eggs
200 g granulated sugar
1 ts vanilla extract
125 g all-purpose flour
ground cinnamon, canella, to finish
powdered sugar, to finish

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Line the bottom of a 22 cm springform pan with parchment paper. Butter the paper and the sides of the pan.

Peel, halve and core the apples, then chop them into medium-sized chunks. (Or cut them fairly thinly). Sprinkle chunks with lemon juice to keep them from browning.

Pile the cut apples directly in the prepared pan.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl , using an electric mixer or whisk, beat eggs with sugar until thick and ribbons form on the surface of the beaten eggs. Beat in vanilla, then stir in flour with a spoon until just combined. The batter will be very thick.

Pour over apples in pan, using a spoon or spatula to spread the batter so that it covers all exposed apples. Spread the batter and press it down into the apple pile. The top of the batter should end up level with the top of the apples.

Bake in preheated oven for 55 to 60 m, or until a tester comes out free of batter. If necessary, cover with a sheet of foil to avoid too heavy browning.

Cool in pan for 10 m on rack, then flip out onto another rack, peel off the parchment paper, and flip it back onto a serving platter. Dust lightly with ground cinnamon.

Serve warm or cooled, dusted with powdered sugar. Serve with plain black tea.

Optionally, add a dollop of barely sweetened whipped or sour cream.

Sharlotka is a popular Russian dessert, made with autumn ingredients. You can add chopped walnuts to the mixture. The name reminds of a classic apple Charlotte, though that would be much more sophisticated.