Spicy Apple Rye Cake

Things are a little bit hectic in our house just now and there's not a lot of time for baking.  Let's not stop at baking, there's not a lot of time for putting on make-up, waxing legs, adult conversations - I could go on but no-one likes a moaner.  They say things get easier when the kids get a bit older - I'm not sure if  my personal hygiene (or my tolerance of Peppa Pig) can wait that long!

I decided to lock myself into the kitchen on Sunday morning while everyone ran feral around the house.  They'd have to find the breakfast cereal by their sense of smell.   I've had a packet of rye flour in the cupboard for far too long with a best before date fast approaching. I knew I wouldn't have the time, patience or inclination to make a loaf of bread with it so when I saw this recipe I figured it would do nicely - it's the "one pot wonder" of the baking world which was perfect before the wolves started banging down the door demanding food and clothes.

A little bit of tweaking here and substitution there and you've got yourself a Spicy Apple Rye Cake. The syrup is brushed onto the cake as soon as it comes out of the oven and it gives it a lovely moistness and a nice shiny glaze.



Spicy Apple Rye Cake adapted from this Waitrose recipe

For the cake
200ml sunflower oil
zest of 1 lemon
100g dark brown sugar
100g soft light brown sugar
3 large eggs
125g rye flour
75g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
3 apples (I used Pink Lady) peeled and cored. Chop 2 apples into chunks and the remaining apple into half moons

For the syrup
100ml apple juice
2 tbsp golden syrup
1 tbsp butter

Method

Preheat oven to 180C (350F). Grease and line a 23cm springform tin with parchment paper. Gently whisk the oil, zest and sugars together. Add the eggs, one by one and whisk until fully combined. Fold in the flours and spices until well combined then add the apple chunks until well distributed.

Pour batter into prepared tin and place the half mooned apples into the batter and press down slightly. Bake for 50-60 mins, or until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

20 minutes before the cake is cooked, start making the syrup. Place all ingredients into a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Boil gently for about 15 minutes until the mixture becomes syrupy. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, brush the apples and the cake with the syrup.

Allow to cool in the tin.

Anyone for the last of the season's apples?

Apple and Cinnamon Cake

Ah cake, beautiful mood enhancing cake, the answer to all our woes!  Not sure about you, but for me cake doesn’t have to have a 3 inch layer of buttercream in the middle and another 3 inch layer of chocolate ganache on top to make it worthy.  In my world, a good cake should be left simple and unadorned – this is one of those cakes.

I was at my parents house in Galway last weekend and in true “Irish Mammy” fashion, my Mam packed me off to Dublin on Sunday evening with a jar of homemade marmalade, a packet of sausages for our tea (honestly!) and a bag of cooking apples.  They are the last of her apples for the year and they’ve been sitting in my fridge all week as I try to decide what to bake with them.  Finally decided on this recipe which is one my Mam has been baking for years.  It has a layer of cinnamon coated apples in the middle and another layer on top of the cake that sink slightly into the cake as it bakes.  It’s so simple and only uses store cupboard ingredients, which is always a plus for me (I hate seeing a recipe that I want to make NOW but need to go to the supermarket to get some Peruvian vanilla extract or Italian walnut oil!).  I’ve just googled “layer apple and cinnamon cake” and it seems that this is also called a “Jewish Apple Cake”.  Whatever you want to call it, it works and it tastes delicious.

Ingredients

6 large cooking apples, such as Bramleys
1 tablespoon cinnamon
5 tablespoons sugar

350g plain flour, sifted

175g wholemeal flour, sifted

3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
200ml vegetable oil
175g granulated sugar

200g soft brown sugar
50ml orange juice
2 ½ tsps vanilla extract
4 eggs
50g walnuts, chopped (optional)

Method

Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and line a 20 inch springform tin.

Peel, core and chop apples into chunks. Toss with cinnamon and sugar and set aside.

Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, orange juice, sugar and vanilla. Mix wet ingredients into the dry ones, then add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each one.

Pour half of batter into prepared tin. Spread half of the apple chunks over the batter. Pour the remaining batter over the apples and spread the remaining apples on top. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours, or until a skewer comes out clean.  You may have to cover the cake with a piece of parchment paper halfway during cooking to prevent it burning (I did!).  Check after 1 hour to see if the cake is ready.

Leave in the tin to cool for 10 mins. and allow to cool completely on a wire tray before dusting with icing sugar.

Apples tossed in cinnamon and sugar

Ready for the oven

Straight from the oven.  Hot, hot, hot

Ready to serve

Ooooh, yes please!