What is your favourite type of cake?
For me, the answer is chocolate cake. I’m not fussy about the type of chocolate cake though, as it could be this flourless chocolate orange cake, or this sticky chocolate cake, or this lighter and fluffier style of chocolate cake. It just needs to be brimming with that rich chocolate flavour, without being too rich or sickly, and definitely not dry and crumbly. Armed with a slice of chocolate cake and a cup of tea and I’m one happy girl.
As far as my husband goes his favourite type of cake is apple cake. Over the years I’ve made a number of different apple cakes, some fancy, some more on the plain side, which, is my husband’s preference. And while the other apple cakes have been perfectly fine, delicious even, the search for what I consider to be the ultimate apple cake continues.
My latest foray into the apple cake world is this beautiful spiced Apple Cider Cake. It’s brimming with apples, both pureed and incorporated into the cake batter, and wantonly peeking out of the top of the cake. It also has that rustic look, as I think any good apple cake should.
This apple cider cake begins by bathing slices of apple in a bubbling combination of apple cider, caster sugar, vanilla and cinnamon, which are left to cook for a few minutes before being set aside to cool. Then one-third of the apples are pureed, ready to be incorporated into the cake batter, and the remaining apples reserved for the top of the cake.
The apple cider cake itself is quite a simple yoghurt cake, and while I’ve used regular white flour here, I think a wholemeal version would also be beautiful. While the cake is baking the remaining soaking liquid is reduced and kept warm to drizzle over the top of the cake the minute it comes out of the oven. The result is a beautiful sticky moist apple topping with a delicious spicy cake base.
This Apple Cider Cake is the type of cake you want to take time out of your afternoon to savour with a cup of tea or coffee, or perhaps even a glass of apple cider. 😉
So tell me, what is your favourite type of cake? And do you have an amazing apple cake recipe? If so, I’d love to hear about it.
Apple Cider Cake
Ingredients
- APPLE TOPPING
- 6 large Granny Smith apples peeled, cored and sliced
- 250 cup mls of apple cider 1
- 115 g of caster sugar 1/2 cup
- 1 vanilla bean split and seeds scraped
- 1 cinnamon quill
- CAKE
- 210 g of plain flour 1 1/2 cups, all purpose
- 3 tsp of baking powder
- 1 tsp of baking soda
- 100 g of butter 3.5 oz
- 90 g of brown sugar 1/2 cup
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp of ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp of ground cardamon
- 1/4 tsp of ground cloves
- 2/3 cup of Greek yoghurt
Instructions
- Start by making the apple topping. Place the apple cider and caster sugar in a saucepan and place over a low heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved and turn the heat up to high and bring to a boil. Add vanilla seeds and pod, cinnamon quill and apple pieces and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 3 to 4 minutes or until the apples are just tender. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
- Once the apples are cool puree 1/3 of the apple mixture in a blender or food processor and set aside.
- To make the cake, preheat the oven to 180 celsius (350 fahrenheit) and place the butter and brown sugar in a bowl of an electric mixer and cream until pale and golden. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition before adding the apple puree. Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder and spices, and fold through. Finally add the Greek yoghurt and mix until just combined.
- Place the mixture into a 22cm round non stick spring form tin that has been lined with baking paper and spread until smooth. Starting from the middle, place the apple pieces in a circle and repeat until the whole cake is covered. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out cleanly.
- minutes before the cake is ready take the remaining apple cider and place over a high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and simmer for 10 minutes until the syrup has reduced and become more golden in colour.
- When the cake comes out of the oven drizzle the top of the cake with the apple cider syrup and leave to cool before serving.
