apple cinnamon cake

apple cinnamon cake

• 26 Aug 2013

Do you remember I made an apple cinnamon cake a few months ago? Whilst it was nice I thought I could make it better so here's my second attempt.



I made the cake when I was home in Brisbane and I thought about making an upside down cake but the cake tin I'd brought with me leaked when I tested it. Instead I baked it in my favourite little spring form tin; iced it with apple flavoured glace icing and topped the cake with some whole walnuts.



Now I can never stop fiddling with recipes or as I like to think of it, improving them. I used more apples in this recipe and instead of grating them I chopped them coarsely before adding the chopped apple to the cake batter.



The chopped apple was pretty chunky so I was a bit worried the apples wouldn't cook through.



The apple glace icing was something I've not tried before. I thought it tasted great and I can see I'll be using it again in the future.



Here's the recipe for you, which makes a 17 cm cake. For a 23 cm cake, just double all the ingredients but keep the baking time the same.

Apple Cinnamon Cake
Cake
1½ cups coarsely chopped, peeled cooking apples
1 (20 ml) tablespoon lemon juice
1¼ cups plain flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
100 g melted unsalted butter
⅓ cup brown sugar
⅓ cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
¼ cup milk or buttermilk
½ cup walnut pieces

Icing
½ cup sifted icing sugar
2 teaspoons butter, melted
The reserved apple and lemon juice.
Additional 1 tablespoon apple juice
Whole walnuts for decoration

Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.

Grease and line a 17 cm spring form tin with baking paper.

Combine the coarsely chopped apple and the lemon juice in a small bowl. Set to one side for 20 minutes. Drain the apples, reserving the juice for the icing. Sift the dry ingredients into a small bowl. Set to one side.

In a medium size bowl combine the melted butter, the sugars and vanilla. Add the egg and beat until well combined. Add the flour and sufficient milk to make a soft batter. Gently fold in the chopped apple and nuts. Spoon into the prepared cake tin and smooth the top. 

Place the cake tin on the middle shelf in the oven and bake for 50 - 60 minutes at 180°C/350°F or until the cake is cooked when tested. If the cake is browning too quickly you may have to cover the top with a piece of greaseproof paper.
Place the tin a wire rack to cool. When the cake is cool, remove it from the tin and discard the lining paper.

Icing
In a small bowl, combine the sifted icing sugar and the butter. Add the reserved apple juice and enough juice to make a spreadable icing. Spread the icing over the top of the cake, allowing a little to drizzle down the sides. Let the icing to set a little before decorating with the walnut halves.

If you like, you could leave the cake un-iced and just dust it with icing sugar before serving with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream. 

P.S One day I will make the upside down version of this apple cake!



See you all again next week,

Jillian