History and Culture

A Century-Old Apple Recipe for Rosh Hashanah

September 18, 2025

by Melanie Meyers

Apple recipes are a staple for any fall celebration, and Rosh Hashanah is no exception. AJHS has a very large selection of American Jewish cookbooks, but here we have chosen to feature one of our oldest cookbooks, published by the Ladies Auxiliary to Temple de Hirsch, located in Seattle, Washington. This book was published in 1925, but the 1925 version is actually a later edition; the book had been originally printed in 1908, and was then revised and reprinted again in 1916 and 1925. Temple de Hirsch (named for famed Jewish philanthropist Baron Maurice de Hirsch) was founded originally in 1899 and is still in existence today; the synagogue merged with another congregation in 1971 and is now known as Temple de Hirsch Sinai. Aside from the long history of this congregation and its importance within the local Jewish community, it also has the distinction of being the first professional performance venue for a then-unknown musician named Jimi Hendrix- his performance was stopped midway for being a bit too unruly.

Hot Apple Cake

Historical recipe from Famous Cook Book of The Ladies Auxiliary to Temple de Hirsch by Mrs. L. Nathan

Ingrediants:
1 pint flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
2 tablespoons butter
3 apples

Directions:

Sift well together the flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder
Work in butter with finger tips
Add 2 apples cut in dice
Add beaten egg and milk to mix a little softer than biscuit
Spread in shallow pan
Lay slices of apple over top, sprinkle with sugar
Bake in hot oven.

AJHS staff member Isabel Watkins recommends the following adjustments to your bake:

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 apples

In addition to the directions above:

Incorporate soft but not melted butter into the dry mix
Grease your cake pan
Bake at 350 for 50 minutes, put foil on top after 30 minutes to prevent the apples from burning

Photo credit: Isabel Watkins

Melanie Meyers

Melanie Meyers is the Deputy Director of the American Jewish Historical Society, and Chair of Collections and Engagement. Prior to joining AJHS in 2018, she was the Senior Manager for Reference and Outreach at The Center for Jewish History, New York City.

She has served as an adjunct lecturer at The Palmer School of Library and Information Science, Long Island University, where she has taught a variety of classes for the special collections/rare books specialization, including “History of the Book” and “Reference and Instruction in Special Collections.” She has served as a curator on multiple exhibitions, including “Nourishing Traditions: Jewish Cookbooks and the Stories They Tell,” and “Jews in Space: Members of the Tribe in Orbit.” She has worked with special collections in a variety of settings, including private, non-profit, and academic institutions, and has served on outside evaluation teams for other repositories.

She is a board member of the Hawthorne Foundation, an organization that assists individuals with autism and developmental disabilities, and lives with her husband and two children in Brooklyn.