Fruit Babka

Wash the apples or cherries. Peel and core the apples: grate half on a coarse grater and cut the other half into small cubes. Pit the cherries and drain them in a sieve so the excess juice runs off.

Carefully separate the eggs into yolks and whites, making sure no yolk gets into the whites. Beat the yolks with the sugar, sour cream and cinnamon until smooth.

Stir in the grated fruit, then add the flour and mix until smooth; finally fold in the diced fruit pieces.

In a clean, dry bowl, whip the egg whites to stiff peaks.

Fold the whites into the batter in batches, gently stirring from the bottom up with a wooden spatula to keep the mixture light and airy.

Grease a 20–22 cm baking pan with butter and dust with flour, spoon in the batter and smooth the surface.

Bake in an oven preheated to 180 °C for 30–35 minutes, until a skewer comes out dry and the top is golden brown.

Let the babka cool in the pan for 15–20 minutes, then carefully turn it out onto a wire rack, let it cool completely, and cut into portions.