The Polish apple dessert considered a cake because it lacks shortcrust pastry is jabłecznik.
In Polish baking, jabłecznik is closely associated with apples, but it is distinguished in this comparison from szarlotka. Szarlotka is treated more like an apple pie because it traditionally uses a shortcrust base, while jabłecznik may be made with a cake-like batter or another non-shortcrust dough.
The boundary is not absolute in everyday Polish usage. The names can overlap, and recipes vary by household and region. Some descriptions use jabłecznik as a broad name for Polish apple cake, while others reserve szarlotka for a pastry-based apple dessert. That variation explains why the two names are sometimes confused.
Typical versions may include cinnamon, cooked or grated apples, a crumb topping called kruszonka, meringue, or powdered sugar. Jabłecznik is therefore not simply another spelling of a standard apple pie: in the quiz’s pastry-based distinction, its cake classification comes from the absence of shortcrust pastry.