Thursday, October 20, 2011

APPLEY, SPICEY, YUMMY!





The Cake Slice Bakers have a new book, it is The Cake Book by Tish Boyle, and it is wonderful - I can't wait to get my teeth into it (literally!), some really interesting recipes in there, along with  new versions of old favourites.

This month's recipe is perfectly seasonal, and offered the ideal recipe to use up the last of the apples from my mother's trees - they went to a good home, this cake is delicious, brim full of spices.  I'm not the biggest fan of cooked apple, when you can have crisp, crunchy and fresh apple why would you choose to have soft, sweet and tangy apple - that's not making a great argument is it? 

I had to abandon the recommended Cream Cheese Maple Frosting when my cream cheese didn't pass muster - I went back to the drawing board and just added some maple syrup to some sieved icing sugar - it matched perfectly.









Apple Cake with Maple Frosting

1 1/2 cups (181g)     plain flour
1 tsp                         baking powder
1 tsp                         ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp                      ground ginger
1/4 tsp                      ground cloves
1/4 tsp                      bread (bicarbonate of) soda
1/4 tsp                      salt
1/2 cup (113g)          softened butter
1 cup (217g)             light brown sugar
1 tsp                         vanilla extract
2                               large eggs
2/3 cup (160ml)        buttermilk
2 cups (120g)            peeled and chopped (1/2 inch pieces) Granny Smith apple (about 2 apples)
1/2 cup  (57g)           coarsely chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F)
Grease bottom and sides of a 9" square baking tin, and dust with flour.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, cannamon, cloves, ginger, bread soda and salt together in a medium bowl - set aside.
Using the paddle attachment of an electric mixer beat the butter at a medium speed until creamy.
Gradually add the sugar and beat until light and creamy.
Add the vanilla extract and then the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition - remembering to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl as needed.
Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture in three additions - mix well until blended.
Stir in the apples and nuts and combine by hand.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
Bake for  25 - 30 minutes until golden and a skewer comes out clean.
Cool the cake completely in the tin on a wire rack.

Enjoy.











19 comments:

Nicoletta Palmas said...

This cake definitely look delicious....shame I can't have a just a bite over the computer screen..... well done!!!!

Emily said...

Good job! And I thought I was the only one with problems re frosting!

Please Do Not Feed The Animals. said...

I love your glaze and plan to do it for my next apple cake. I think you were lucky having the cream cheese issue as I'm sure your glaze is better than the frosting.

Gloria Baker said...

Dear your cake look absolutely amazing I love the pictures too!! xxgloria

Maria♥ said...

This cake looks absolutely delish!! I have this cookbook and a mountain of apples and will be trying out this cake :)

Maria
x

Paloma said...

Your cake looks really good!!! I am glad it turned out great even without cream cheese!! Now I have an excuse to make it again and try it like that! (like I need an excuse! LOL!)

The Ordinary Cook said...

Ooh yes it does look good. I might have to try a bit of Lou's and then a bit of yours to compare and contrast.

Katie said...

Your cake looks yummy. Great save with the maple icing drizzle. It looks delicious!

Chele said...

Oh my gosh - all these apple cake recipes and photos aren;t doing my thighs any justice at all lol.

Looks great and I love the idea of the icing too, something a little different to the norm.

Manu said...

Wow this cake looks so good!
Have a nice evening

Karen S Booth said...

That cake looks amazing! LOVELY topping and so sticky and more-ish!

scrumptious days said...

The ingredients just get better and better, and your icing is great. Totally yummy!

Rose H (UK) said...

I must stop torturing myself, this is no good at all for a diabetic :o( Looks fabulous though!

(Thank you Brownieville Girl, I know your heart would melt).

Lori Ann said...

What a great idea about the icing! The cake looks fantastic! I'm with you, I don't usually like my fruit cooked or baked, I like them fresh!

http://lasinthekitchen.wordpress.com/

Ocean Breezes and Country Sneezes said...

This cake looks delicious, and what a perfect time of year to bake it! Thanks for sharing a great recipe!

Jo said...

Sorry to hear that the cream cheese didn't turn out but it looks an awesome cake in any case. Great job!

Choclette said...

Oh yum. I'm fond of a good apple, but there is something about apple cake which is just perfect at this time of year. Yours looks good and the maple topping is a nice idea. Have you come around to it this time?

Caroline said...

I loved this cake and actually ate my slice without the frosting. This cake made my 9-yo son finally like cream cheese frosting (he's my finicky one) so glad I baked it. :)

cornercottage said...

Cake looks gorgeous, and the improvised icing is inspired!