The Cake Slice May 2011: Orange Almond Caramel Upside-Down Cake

This months Cake Slice cake intrigued me, orange, honey, caramel and almond is not a combination I have come across before I was a little unsure how it would taste. On reading the recipe, the caramel upside-down part reminded me of a sticky bun recipe. Toasted nuts and caramel are spread into the base of the cake tin before a cake batter is poured on top, baked and then turned out to reveal the nutty gooey caramel layer on top. It sounded delicious so I was more than happy to give it a go.

I decided to half the recipe and bake it in a smaller tin. Due to this I decided to use the zest and juice of a tangerine in place of the orange as this seemed more fitting to its size, plus I was all out of oranges. The only other alternation I made was to replace the vanilla extract with almond extract in order to tie the almond flavour into the cake as well as the nutty caramel topping. The cake was quick and easy to put together and I had high hopes for it.

Sadly, for me, the cake did not live up to expectations. That’s not to say there was anything wrong with it, it was a perfectly nice cake, but that’s as far as it goes – nice but not great.

It was very moist and the nutty caramel topping was sticky and I loved the texture of biting into a sliver of almond, but somehow eaten as a whole it just didn’t work for me. The flavours seemed confused with no one flavour standing out, only mingling into a slightly bland one-note taste.

I tried another slice the following day and found that the tangerine flavour had developed, which to me improved the cake, but I still wasn’t crazy about it. Despite my less than glowing review of this cake, by all means try it out for yourself as I know some of my fellow bakers absolutely loved it.

Click to see the Cake Slice blogroll for other members thoughts on this cake.

Orange Almond Caramel Upside-Down Cake
(Recipe from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman)

Ingredients – Topping
50g sliced almonds
75g unsalted butter
120g light brown sugar
55ml honey

For the Cake
180g plain flour (I used 100g brown rice flour, 40g buckwheat, 40g tapioca flour)
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
80ml sour cream
2 eggs
55ml orange juice (I used tangerine)
1 tsp vanilla extract (I used almond)
100g unsalted butter
150g caster sugar
1 tbsp grated orange zest (I used tangerine)
(I added 1 tsp xanthan gum)

Method - Topping

Heat the oven to 180C. Grease a 9 inch round non stick cake pan and line the base with parchment paper. Dust with flour.
Spread the nuts on a baking tray and toast until golden, 8 to 10 minutes (mine only took 4 minutes!!) Heat the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat until foaming. Whisk in the brown sugar, turn the heat to low, and cook, whisking constantly, for 2 minutes. Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth with a spatula. Drizzle over the honey and scatter over the toasted nuts.

Method - Cake

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Combine the sour cream, eggs, orange juice and vanilla in a glass measuring cup and beat lightly.
Combine the butter and granulated sugar in a large mixing bowl and cream with an electric mixer on medium high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Stir in the orange zest.
With the mixer on medium-low speed, pour the egg mixture into the bowl in a slow stream, stopping the mixer once or twice to scrape down the sides.
Turn the mixer to low speed and add the flour mixture, a third at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Then mix for 30 seconds on medium speed.
Pour the batter over the almonds, gently spreading it into an even layer.
Bake until the cake is golden and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let stand for 5 minutes.
Holding the pan and a plate together firmly with oven mitts, invert the hot cake onto the plate. Peel away the parchment paper. If necessary, replace any almonds stuck to the base of the pan. Let the cake cool for 20 minutes and serve warm or at room temperature.
Store uneaten cake in a cake keeper or wrap and store at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Note: I halved the recipe above and baked it in a 6inch tin for 35minutes.

Chocolate, Whole Orange & Almond Cake (GF & DF)

I am a member of my local coeliac group and last weekend, they were having a meeting which included a cookery demo followed by an afternoon tea, with all the cakes and goodies being baked by group members. Anyone fond of baking is encouraged to bring something along. This results in two tables groaning under the weight of all the cakes, biscuits and tarts provided, all of which are of course gluten free. For 50p you get an empty plate which you are allowed to fill with as much food as you like. If there is one thing I am fast learning about other coeliacs it’s that they all love a good afternoon tea. Being presented with an entire tableful of gluten free treats is quite a rare experience for us coeliacs with the result that you end up feeling like a child in a sweet shop, giddy with all the choice – although that could be partly due to the sugar rush from eating too much cake! Everyone piles their plates high with a selection of the cakes with second and third helpings often being the norm.

There is never any ‘packet stuff’ with everything being baked by coeliacs for coeliacs meaning it also tastes delicious. It’s a great way to pick up some new recipes. Knowing the high standard of baking on offer, I was determined to take something equally delicious and stumbled across this recipe by Nigella which seemed to fill the bill perfectly.

It’s a chocolate cake made with ground almonds and flavoured with orange. However, this cake is a little different to your usual orange cake, as it uses the WHOLE ENTIRE ORANGE, pith, skin, pulp and all pureed in the mix.

Of course I had to make a trial version of the cake before taking it to the meeting, for quality taste testing purposes obviously. I didn’t want a whole large cake, so I scaled the recipe down and baked it in a small Bundt mould instead. You’re meant to boil the orange in a saucepan of water for a couple of hours but I’ve since discovered that a 10 minute blast in the microwave in a water bath does the same trick, great for when you’re short of time.

The cake turned out far better than I’d hoped. Using a whole orange may sound a little shocking at first but it produces a very moist, slightly dense cake with a fabulous intense orange flavour, similar to marmalade, and not the least bit bitter. Paired against the rich cocoa flavour it gives it a very indulgent decadent flavour. I loved how the slices were speckled with slivers of the orange peel, giving a hint at what’s inside. It really is unbelievably delicious.

We ate the last slice 3 days later, and it was still just as moist as on the day it was made. It only occurred to me later that it’s not only gluten free, but dairy free too! I’m pleased to say it went very well at the meeting with a few people asking for the recipe – hurrah!

Chocolate, Whole Orange & Almond Cake
(Recipe adapted from Feast by Nigella Lawson)

Ingredients
1 medium sized orange – 170-200g weight
3 large eggs
¾ tsp gluten free baking powder
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
100g ground almonds
125g caster sugar
25g cocoa powder

Method
Grease a 6-6½inch spring form tin and line the base with greaseproof paper OR lightly oil a small 6-7inch Bundt pan.
In a small saucepan, place the orange and cover with water. Bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer and cook for 1 hour until the orange is soft and tender.
(I’ve found that placing the orange in a microwavable bowl, covering with water and loosely covering the top with clingfilm before microwaving on high for 10 minutes, produces the same results. Great when short of time)
Remove the orange from the water, cut in half and remove any pips. Leave to cool for 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Place the entire oranges (peel and all), in a food processor and whizz to a pulp. With the mixer running, add the eggs, one at a time, to help break down the orange peel.
Then add the baking powder, bicarb, almonds, sugar and cocoa powder. Whiz together until a smooth batter is formed. There will still be bits of few bits of puréed orange in the batter, which is fine.
Pour the cake mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 35-45 minutes. It should be slightly risen and springy to the touch. A skewer should come out fairly clean, with just a few sticky crumbs attached.
Allow the cake to cool completely in the tin, before releasing from the tin and serving. Gets a shiny sticky top surface the longer it’s stored. Dust with icing sugar or drizzle with a little glace icing if desired.

White Wine Citrus Syrup Cake (GF & DF)

My sister and I are very close and have always got on well. Sure, we had our fair amount of arguments and times of jealously, but we were never the kind of sisters who slammed doors in each others faces or screamed we hated each other. Many of my fondest childhood memories involve my sister (and brother too). Things have been a little hectic and crazy for both of us recently and speaking on the phone one evening we realized we hadn’t seen each other, just us two, for several months. This would not do, so diaries were checked and we arranged to meet at her flat for a good ol natter over lunch.

Due to our combined dietary restrictions – vegetarian, coeliac and diary free – we decided to stay in and cook lunch ourselves. We tossed meals ideas back and forth and created our menu. For mains we made a scrummy wild mushrooms & roasted butternut squash risotto and dessert was an unusual citrus drizzle cake made using white wine!

I’d found the recipe for the white wine cake online and it looked so good that I knew we had to try it. It comprised of a lemon and orange scented almond cake, made with oil and white wine, lightly flavoured with cardamom and doused in a white wine and orange syrup. I’ve never seen wine used as a cake ingredient before and as we planned on using a little white wine in our risotto, it seemed the ideal time to give it a go.

So, how was it? Out of this world good! It’s deliciously citrusy, yet not overpoweringly so, surprising considering the amount of citrus that went into it. It’s got a sweet sticky top surface that yields to a moist and tender crumb. It has that wonderfully damp dense almond texture, while still being unbelievably light. We served in with some fresh strawberries but both agreed they weren’t needed. The cake was incredible!

Even though we were both full from lunch neither of us could resist having another slice. It may have been gluten and dairy free but there were certainly nothing lacking in the flavour department with this cake.

The amount of syrup for the cake looks a lot, but the cake just lapped it up and turned it deliciously moist, but not soggy. You don’t want soggy cake people! If you need to feed someone with food allergies – this recipe is sure to be a winner. Even if you don’t have any allergies but have some white wine open – try this – heck open the wine especially to make this cake – it really is that good!

White Wine Citrus Syrup Cake (GF & DF)
(Recipe adapted from Our Kitchen blog)

White Wine Citrus Cake
4 eggs
220g light brown sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
Zest of 2 oranges
½ tsp (6) freshly ground cardamom seeds
100ml vegetable oil
110ml white wine (one with a fruity note is good)
90g Doves gluten free flour
1½ tsp gluten free baking powder
180g ground almonds

Method
Preheat oven to 160C. Grease a 9inch/23cm round springform tin.
In a large bowl beat eggs and sugar together until they become slightly lighter in colour, about 2 minutes.
Crush and grind the cardamom using a pestle and mortar and it to the eggs along with the lemon and orange zest.
Gradually drizzle in the oil and wine, whisking all the time.
Scatter over the flour, baking powder and ground almonds and fold in using a spoon or spatula.
Pour the mix into the tin and bake for 45-50 minutes. It will be a light golden colour, springy to the touch and have a shiny top surface when cooked.
Meanwhile, make the syrup (below) to drizzle over the cake once cooked.
When cooked, remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes in the tin before removing to a serving plate.
Prick the top of the cake with a skewer or fork before pouring over the cooled prepared citrus syrup. You mat need to do this in 2 or 3 intervals, to allow the cake to absorb the syrup. Leave for at least 30minutes before cutting.
Keeps well for 3-4 days. The cake gets even moister and sticker the longer it sits.

Orange Syrup

110ml white wine
Juice of 2 oranges (use the zested ones left from making the cake)
75g caster sugar
6 cardamom pods

Method
Crush the cardamom pods and place the little black seeds into a saucepan. Add the wine, sugar and orange juice. Heat gently until the mixture comes to the boil; then reduce to a simmer and allow to bubble for 10 minutes. Then remove from the heat and sieve the syrup into a jug to remove the seeds and set aside to cool.

Apple & Elderflower Gluten Free Granola

I love the toasting smell of baking homemade granola, almost as much as I enjoy eating it. The weather outside is quite miserable at present, overcast with strong gusty winds that play havoc with my long curly hair. The phrase ‘hedge’ and ‘backwards’ come to mind the minute I step outside these past few days. So today I decided to stay indoors and indulge in a little granola making. There is nothing like the warm toasting aroma of nuts and grains to make me feel all warm and cosy.

I’m still not allowed to try eating oats at the moment, so I had to experiment with some other gluten free grains and cereals. I was a little unsure how they would take to being toasted, but they worked perfectly and resulted in a much wider variety of flavours and textures than if I had used oats.

As I was hunting in the cupboard for some honey, I can across a jar of homemade elderflower syrup that I made last summer. It was meant to have been elderflower jelly, only it didn’t set and I ended up with syrup instead. At the time I was annoyed and stuck it in the cupboard but now I saw the perfect way of making use of it and decided to use that instead of the honey for the mix.

The millet flakes and ground linseeds are quite fine and powdery, but rather than be lost amongst the mix, the elderflower coating caused them to stick to the larger nuts and grains, giving them a fabulous knobbly nutty crunchy surface. Plus, it means there is no powdery dust lingering at the bottom as can happen with some mixes.

The aroma that wafted from the oven as the granola baked was almost intoxicating. Warm toasty nuts and grains mingled with sweet fragrant scent of the elderflower. Very summery and smoothing.

The elderflower is not immediately apparent once the granola has cooled down but as you chew a spoonful, it develops into a wonderfully subtle floral sweetness with almost honey overtones, only a little lighter and more delicate.

Brown rice flakes are not usually all that palatable eaten raw, as they can be a little chalky and tacky once wet. I often combine them with some other flakes to make porridge, but in this case they work perfectly in the granola. The toasting in the oven makes them crisp and crunchy, adding a great texture alongside the other ingredients.

Each flake, puff, nut and fruit add their own unique flavour and texture, creating one delicious and highly varied mouthful of granola. Wholesome, healthy and delicious. The perfect way to start a morning, although, I can see myself munching a handful of this at any time of day. Tray a bowlful with a little cold milk when it’s still warm from the oven – gorgeous!

Apple & Elderflower Gluten Free Granola

Ingredients
50g millet flakes
50g brown rice flakes
30g buckwheat puffs
25g brown rice puffs
40g corn/flax/quinoa/amaranth flakes (Nature’s Path, Mesa Sunrise brand)
35g flax/linseeds
30g pecans
30g hazelnuts
20g flaked coconut
40g dried apple rings
40g dates
2 tbsp neutral oil (I used rapeseed)
3 tbsp elderflower syrup/cordial

Method
Preheat the oven to 170C.
Roughly chop the nuts and place them into a large bowl along with all the flakes and puffs.
Pulse the flax seeds in a small processor until crushed and broken, but do not blitz for too long or they will start to turn to mush. (You need to crack them to release their goodness as the body can’t break down their skin if left whole). Add them to the bowl.
Mix the oil and elderflower syrup together in a glass and then pour over the dry ingredients. Mix and toss everything together well, ensuring that all the ingredients are lightly coated in the syrup.
Pour the grains onto a large baking tray with sides. Shake gently to spread the mixture into an even layer and bake for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, weigh out the coconut and keep to one side. Use scissors to cut the dried apple and dates into small pieces, about the side of a hazelnut.
When the 10 minutes are up, remove the tray from the oven, scatter over the coconut and mix everything together to ensure an even browning.
Return the tray to the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes more. Keep an eye on it as you don’t want the coconut to burn.
Remove the pan from the oven, scatter over the apple and dates and mix well. Leave the granola to cool on the tray before storing in an airtight container until required.
Crisp, nutty, chewy, fruity and crunchy with a subtle fragrant elderflower sweetness. Gorgeous eaten ever so slightly warm with cold milk or yoghurt.

Daring Bakers January 2011 Challenge: Joconde Imprime. Chocolate and Hazelnut Gateaux with Raspberry Cream & Dark Chocolate Ganache (GF)

The January 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Astheroshe of the blog accro. She chose to challenge everyone to make a Biscuit Joconde Imprime to wrap around an Entremets dessert.

I was so excited by this challenge. I have often seen beautifully designed, striped or swirled, sponge desserts in bakery windows and dreamed of creating similar things myself, but I never knew how they were made. Well, now and I know and…I’ll let you in on a secret… it’s not difficult either!

Your simply pipe your design of choice onto a baking tray, place it in the freezer for a few minutes to firm up (so that the rest of the sponge mixture doesn’t ruin the design), cover with a joconde sponge, bake, turn it out and ta-da! Beautifully decorated sponge, ready for adding that wow factor to the outside of desserts, gateau’s and mousses etc. Magic!

Joconde sponge is a special flexible sponge which allows you to wrap it around cakes and desserts without it cracking or breaking. This is thanks to its use of very little flour and butter, with ground nuts and eggs making up the majority of the ingredients. This also means it’s fantastically easy to convert to being gluten free – hurrah!

I already knew I wanted to use my joconde sponge to create a chocolate and raspberry gateau to act as my sister’s birthday cake. I decided to use hazelnuts in place of the almonds as I think they taste delicious when paired with chocolate and raspberries. With this in mind I dyed some of my batter with cocoa powder and a little with pink food dye to tied in the chocolate and raspberry colours. I had great fun creating little swirly circles and dots with a piping bag and I love how the finished sponge turned out.

After baking I used the joconde to line a large ring mould which I layered with discs of gluten free chocolate cake, dark chocolate ganache, more cake, raspberry cream, another layer of cake and then a final layer of ganache! How wickedly indulgent! I then dusted it with some edible gold glitter to give it some birthday sparkle.

I didn’t let my sister see the design of the cake until it was time to remove the ring mould. Everyone loved seeing the swirly dotty design of the outer sponge. It really added some wow factor. Cutting into the cake revealed the truly indulgent layers of cake, dark chocolate ganache and raspberry cream. All in all it was a fabulous cake and so delicious that no one would ever know it was gluten free. I’ll definitely be making one again in the future, the decoration possibilities are endless!

Joconde Imprime (GF)

Ingredients
85g ground almonds (I used freshly ground hazelnuts)
75g icing sugar
25g Doves gluten free flour
3 large eggs
3 large egg whites
10g caster sugar
30g unsalted butter, melted

Method
Preheat the oven to 200C and line a large 13x18 inch swiss roll tin with silicone paper.
In a clean mixing bowl whip the egg whites and sugar to firm, glossy peeks. Reserve in a separate clean bowl to use later.
Sift together the ground almonds (hazelnuts), icing sugar and flour. (This can be done into your dirty egg white bowl)
On medium speed, add the eggs a little at a time. Mix well after each addition. Mix until smooth and light.
Fold in one third reserved whipped egg whites to nut mixture to lighten the batter. Fold in remaining whipped egg whites. Do not over mix.
Fold in melted butter.
Take one or two scoops of batter and place into small bowls. Set the rest of the batter aside to use later. Colour or dye the small amounts of batter using cocoa powder or food dye so that it provides a contrasting colour to the original batter.
Here is where you can be creative. Fill piping bags with the coloured batter and pipe a design onto a baking tray that has been covered in silicone paper. Make lines, swirls, words, anything that takes your fancy.
Place the decorated tray in the freezer for 15 minutes to firm up.
Then, remove the tray from the freezer and quickly pour the Joconde batter over the design. Spread evenly to completely cover the pattern.
Bake at 200C until the joconde bounces back when slightly pressed, around 12 minutes.
Once baked, cover the surface with a sheet of greaseproof and a damp tea towel and leave until cool.
Once cool, turn out onto a flat surface and carefully remove the silicone paper. Your design should now show up against the pale base of the Joconde batter.
Trim the edges off the sponge and then cut into strips and use to line the inside rim of a large or small individual ring moulds, with the design facing outwards. Press the edges together so they will stay together once removed from the moulds. Fill the moulds as you wish and chill for an hour before unmoulding.
I chose to turn my dessert into a chocolate gateau for my sister’s birthday. I layered the inside with discs of chocolate cake layered with dark chocolate ganache and raspberry cream.

Chocolate and Hazelnut Gateaux with Raspberry Cream & Dark Chocolate Ganache (GF)

1 x Hazelnut Joconde (recipe above)
1 x 8inch chocolate cake (see below)
Dark chocolate ganache (see below)
Raspberry cream (see below)


Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

180g Doves white self raising flour
2 tsp gluten free baking powder
180g caster sugar
180g butter
3 eggs
30g cocoa powder
40g sour cream

Method
Preheat the oven to 170C and line two 8inch round cake tins with greaseproof paper.
Simply place all the ingredients into a bowl and whisk together until smooth and well combined.
Divide the batter between the two tins, making one tin have slightly more batter in than the other, about 40 to 60% ratio.
Bake for 22-25 minutes until risen and springy to the touch.
Leave to cool in the tins for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire wrack and leaving to cool.

Dark chocolate Ganache

200ml double cream
200g dark chocolate
20g butter

Method
Heat the cream gently in a small saucepan until it just comes to a simmer. Meanwhile, break the chocolate into small pieces and place into a bowl.
Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and leave to sit for 3 minutes without touching it. Then gently fold/mix the cream into the melting chocolate to create a thick glossy ganache.
Cut the butter into small cubes and stir into the ganache.
Use quickly.

Raspberry Cream

150g raspberries
20g icing sugar
100ml double cream

Method
Crush the raspberries with the sugar until broken down.
Lightly whip the double cream until it is just starting to form soft peaks.
Add the raspberries, juice and all, and stir to combine. Don’t worry f it looks a little soft as it thickens up in the fridge once assembled.
Use fairly quickly.

Assembling the Gateau

Place your ring mould, lined with the joncode sponge onto a serving plate.
Trim your chocolate sponge layers so that they fit snugly inside the ring mould. (I used the base of a 7inch tin as a guide).
Place the thin cake layer into the mould to form the base of the gateaux. Cut the thicker sponge layer in half, horizontally, to form two thinner layers. Set to one side.
Pour half the chocolate ganache over the base layer sponge and top with one of your cut layers of chocolate cake.
Spread over the raspberry cream and top with the final layer of chocolate cake. It should reach to the top of your ring mould now.
Spread the remaining half of the chocolate ganache over the top, completely covering the cake and top of the joncode sponge.
Decorate as your wish – I dusted the top with edible gold glitter. Refrigerate for an hour before running a hot knife around the top rim of the metal ring mould and removing, leaving the finished gateaux in place.

My Mums Apple & Almond Sponge Pudding

This is a delicious pudding which is perfect for this time of year. It’s warm, comforting, relatively healthy, a doddle to put together and more importantly delicious!

It’s a simple mixture of lightly cooked apple topped with a quick almond batter that bakes into a delicious sponge-topped apple pudding. The sponge is made using ground almonds, rather than flour meaning it’s also gluten free – I didn’t adapt it to be this way, this is the way my mum has baked this dessert for years. You can’t go wrong with the pairing of apple and almond.

The only change I have made to my mums version is to use light brown sugar in the topping rather than white sugar. This results in a more golden coloured sponge and a subtle caramel overtone, which is delicious with the apple.

I love Bramley apples for their juicy tartness and the way they easily cook down into fluffy mounds of smooth apple puree. I have often enjoyed tucking in to bowlfuls of this on its own, especially for breakfast with yogurt or porridge. However for this pudding you also want some pieces of apple to add texture and bite. A simple way to achieve this is to stir some raw apple slices through the puree just before baking. The apple gets fully cooked in the oven but retains its shape and provides a good contrast to the smooth apple puree.

This pudding is comfort in a bowl, perfect for this time of year. To me it needs no accompaniment, but I wouldn’t say no to serving it with some thick creamy custard either.

Apple & Almond Sponge Pudding

Ingredients
700g Bramley apples
50g caster sugar
½ tsp cinnamon

Almond Topping
80g ground almonds
50g light soft brown sugar
60g butter
1 egg
½ tsp almond extract

Method
Fill a large bowl with water and squeeze the juice of half a lemon, lime or orange into it. Peel, core and slice the apples into 1cm thick slices, placing them in the citrus water to prevent them from browning.
Transfer two-thirds of the apple into a large saucepan and add 1 tbsp water. Heat gently until the apples start to break down and soften. Add the sugar and cinnamon and cook until the apple has almost completely broken down. Taste the apple and add a little more sugar if it is too tart for you (the sponge topping will add sweetness).
Remove the pan from the heat and stir through the remaining third of raw apple. Transfer the apple mix into a large oblong or square pudding basin, you will want the apple mix to fill it almost to the top.
Preheat the oven to 190C and prepare the spongy topping.
Melt the butter in the microwave or a small saucepan. Add the brown sugar and mix well with a spoon or spatula. Lightly whisk the egg and then beat into the butter mixture, followed by the almond extract and ground almonds.
Pour the runny batter evenly over the top of the apple mixture, smoothing it into the corners.
Bake for 25-30 minutes until the topping is golden brown, risen and springy to the touch.
Allow to cool for 5 minutes before spooning into serving bowls and enjoying with custard, cream or on its own.
Leftovers taste great cold but can also be reheated by a short burst in the microwave.

The Cake Slice September 2010: Fresh Apple Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze

This cake was particularly special this month as not only did it feature apples – one of my all time favourite foods, but it is also the last cake that The Cake Slice group is baking from our currant cake book - Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott. We have been baking from this book for the past year which means next month we will start baking from an exciting new cake book!! As a result we are now accepting new members, so if you are interested in joining The Cake Slice and baking with us then please see the end of this post for details.

Anyway, back to this month’s apple cake. This cake turned out to be the best cake we have made all year – it was divine, the perfect cake to end with on a high note. It consists of a thick glossy batter that it liberally studded with chunks of fresh apple and walnuts which add a wonderful moistness and texture. A brown sugar fudge-like glaze is then poured over the still hot cake and left to absorb and set into a delicate toffee flavoured sugary crust. The cake is then served in generous squares straight from the pan – delicious!

I was tempted to add some cinnamon to the mix as I always feel this should be the natural accompaniment to anything containing apples, but I managed to restrain myself and I’m glad I did. Although the ingredients look fairly simple, this allowed the nuts and apples to really shine through and be the star flavours. I used fresh apples, picked from a friends garden. They were quite sharp and tangy when raw but mellow and softened beautifully in this cake and were the perfect contrast to the sweet sugary topping. I was also surprised at how much flavour the walnuts contributed and it was wonderful to suddenly bite down on a little nugget of one, hidden amongst the light cake and squishy apple pieces.

The batter looks a little strange in its raw state, it was a little gloopy and sticky and reminded me of a choux pastry batter. I was a little dubious it would work but it baked into a lovely textured moist cake. Some of the other bakers had said it was a little oily so I replaced some of the oil stated below with water and this worked well and I didn’t find the cake greasy at all. I also reduced the sugar quite considerably as I didn’t want it too sweet, especially as it had the sweet sugar glaze on top. Even then I still found the cake sweet but the sharp apples balanced it out nicely.

I can’t recommend this cake enough, everyone who tasted it loved it and if you’re an apple fan then I’m sure you’d love it too. Click to see our blogroll for everyone else’s apple cakes.

Fresh Apple Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze

(Recipe from Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott)

Fresh Apple Cake

360g plain flour

450g caster sugar (I used 300g)

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp salt

3 eggs

330ml vegetable oil (I used 250ml oil & 80ml water)

2 tsp vanilla extract

450g finely chopped, peeled & cored apples (5-6 apples)

115g coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts

Brown Sugar Glaze

225g light brown sugar

75g butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp evaporated or regular milk

Method – Fresh Apple Cake

Heat the oven to 180C. Grease a 13 x 9 inch pan or two 8-9 inch cake pans. (I used a 13x7 inch pan and got a deeper cake.)

In a medium bowl combine the flour, sugar, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Stir with a fork to mix everything together well.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs with a mixer at low speed until pale yellow and foamy. Add the oil and vanilla and beat well. Stir in the flour mixture with a wooden spoon and continue stirring the batter just until the flour disappears. Add the apples and nuts, stir to mix them into the batter until fairly uniform. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the cake is golden brown, springs back when touched lightly near the centre and is beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan. Place the cake (still in the pans) on a wire rack and spoon over the glaze while still hot.

Method - Brown Sugar Glaze

Combine all the ingredients in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the mixture comes to a gentle boil. Then cook for 3-5 minutes.

To Finish

Spoon the hot glaze all over the hot-from-the-oven cake. Let the glazed cake cool completely before serving straight from the pan.

Makes one 13x9inch sheet cake or two 8-9inch round cakes

New Cake Slice Members: Now onto the exciting bit! If you are interested in joining The Cake Slice group and baking delicious cakes with us for the next year than please email me your name, blog name and blog URL to ‘appleandspice[AT]hotmail.co.uk’ with ‘Cake Slice Member’ as the subject and I will contact you with the details of how to join us! You have until October 20^th to sign up.