This cake is all about the festive flavours, but in my opinion, it doesn’t need to be the festive period to enjoy it! This was the cover recipe from December’s issue of Waitrose Magazine and it’s gone down a treat at home and at work. I’m pretty sure you’ll like it too so I thought I’d add it to the blog sooner rather than later. It’s fairly quick to make and not too fussy either.
The original recipe also contains a delicious sounding mascarpone cream too, but I didn’t make any as I just wanted to use up some apples…
Spiced Apple Cake
Serves 10 – 12 | Prep 20 mins | Cooking time 55 mins
Easy | Vegetarian
You’ll need:
- 280g unsalted butter, softened, plus 20g melted, for greasing;
- 330g self-raising flour, sieved, plus extra for dusting;
- 280g golden caster sugar;
- 3 tsp ground cinnamon;
- 4 tsp ground ginger;
- 2 tsp ground mixed spice;
- ½ tsp fine salt;
- 5 large eggs;
- 450g peeled and cored cox or gala apples (about 5-6), 170g grated, 280g chopped into 1cm chunks;
- 20g icing sugar, for dusting.
Preheat the oven to 180˚C, gas mark 4. Brush a 2.4 litre bundt tin with ½ the melted butter, being careful to get it into all of the grooves. (We used the Nordic Ware non-stick heritage bundt pan * but any bundt tin will work. You could also use a deep, round 23cm cake tin instead; just grease and line it first.) Chill for 5 minutes, then coat with the remaining melted butter; dust all over with flour. Turn and tap the tin on the work surface to ensure every groove is coated with a light covering – this is key to ensuring the cake turns out cleanly.
Cream the butter with the sugar using a freestanding mixer (or electric beaters) on high for 10 minutes until very pale and fluffy. Meanwhile, combine the flour, spices and salt in a bowl and lightly whisk the eggs in a jug. Slowly pour ½ the beaten eggs into the butter mixture, while beating on a medium speed. Add a spoonful of the flour mixture, then beat in the remaining eggs. Fold in the rest of the flour mixture until just combined, then gently stir in the grated apple.
Spoon a little of the mixture into the tin, just to cover the base. Stir the chopped apple into the remaining mixture and pour into the tin. Spread the mixture with a spatula, creating a slight dip in the centre the whole way around the ring, to give an even rise. Bake for 45-55 minutes (if using a round cake tin, it might need 5-10 minutes more), until a skewer comes out almost clean (it will continue to cook slightly in the tin, so try not to overbake it).
Leave to cool in the tin for 20 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and leave until completely cool. Dust the cake liberally with icing sugar and serve!
Original recipe from Waitrose & Partners Food magazine, December 2018, available online here.
~Em
Food Notes 