From Beyond the North Wind, by Darra Goldstein:
My friend Sasha baked this cake in celebration of our visit to his tiny village south of Moscow. He calls it “dry” apple cake because it actually has no batter. The cake is super easy to make—just sprinkle the dry ingredients between layers of grated apples, which you don’t even have to peel. The secret to its special texture is farina, which we know more commonly as Cream of Wheat. The apples bake down into a soft filling punctuated with chewy bits of dried apple and a slight graininess from the farina.
You can adjust the amount of sugar to your taste. For me, it depends on my mood—sometimes I like the cake tart, with some pucker; other times I prefer a sweeter cake. And although it’s not à la russe, I can recommend serving this cake à la mode, with vanilla or caramel ice cream.