Creamy Homemade Apple Cake

Nothing like a nice warm slice of apple cake to make anyone’s day brighter, lately I’ve been making more rustic type of apple cakes, many with spices or with the apples chopped up and mixed into the batter, so this time I’ve done something a bit different, instead of a cake with apples it’s more of a fluffy cake with an apple topping, I have to admit it turned out quite nice especially for those who like more cake and less fruit ;D

The cake has two thin layers of apples, one in the centre, one on top, so there’s enough batter for the cake to form well, but you can take the center layer if you want pure cake. I baked it in a 24cm tin and brushed the top with apricot jam, this is a good tip, apricot jam tends to have a bittersweet taste a bit like bitter orange jam/orange marmalade, which is perfect for cutting the sweetness of the cake but also for adding a bit of freshness and contrast to the cake as in this case, so let’s get to the recipe!

Servings: 12
Time: 1hr 20mins
Difficulty: Normal
Rating: ★★★★★
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Warm, comforting, and utterly delicious! This homemade apple cake boasts a moist crumb, tender apple topping, and a hint of rustic charm hahaha its not the jam its just charm hehehe perfect for afternoon tea, cheriooo.

Ingredients

Apples – 4 (Alcobaça Apples)
Eggs – 4
Sugar – 200gr
Unsalted butter – 150gr (softened)
Butter – To grease
Sugar – To sprinkle
Flour – 300gr
Yeast – 1 teaspoon
Milk – 100ml
Lemon – 1 Tablespoon (Juice)
Apricot Jam – 4 Tablespoons (Slightly warmed)
Salt – A pinch

Directions

Start by preheating the oven to 180ºC, prepare a round cake tin, line with non-stick paper, grease with butter (before putting the paper in and on top of the paper) and sprinkle with sugar (you do this to caramelise the outside of the cake a little as well).

Peel and slice the apples very thinly, mix the slices with a bit of lemon juice to cut down on the sweetness and prevent the apples from oxidising before cooking.

Separate the eggs and add the egg yolks and sugar to a bowl, whisk well until the mixture is smooth.

Add the softened butter and milk and whisk again.

Then add the flour, yeast and a pinch of salt, sifted, and mix well with a wooden spoon.

Finally whisk the egg whites and fold them into the batter until you have the final cake batter ready.

Pour half the batter into the baking tin, cover it with half of the apple slices, a good tip is to choose the slices, the prettiest slices I kept for the top, the most poorly cut slices hehehe the ugly ones go in the centre of the cake, I also try and put the slices at a angle, so the top batter will connect with the bottom, because if you make a flat bed of apples you risk the cake being split and when you cut it it will separate into two parts.

Pour in the rest of the batter and now lay out the prettiest slices of apples, try to make a pretty pattern to your liking, here you can lay the slices flatter without any problems.
Then put the cake in the oven and bake for about 42 minutes until it’s well done, as always poke it in the centre with a toothpick if it comes out dry, then the cake is done, remove it from the oven and let it cool.

Heat some of the apricot jam in the microwave until it’s warm, then brush it on the cake while it’s still warm, don’t put too much jam, it’s just a thin icing to add colour and contrast, then let the cake cool down and that’s it, remove it from the tin and it’s ready, you can eat it warm or cold, bon appetit.

Notes: Alcobaça apples are well apples from the region of Alcobaça, its microclimate is perfect for apples and these tend to be very crisp, juicy with a nice sweetness, so any similar Apple will do just fine or if you want more bitter go for something like a green apple.

The dough is very fluffy and stable, so it’s a perfect cake to cut into slices and freeze to eat later, when you feel like eating you can remove a slice and let it defrost at room temperature or put it directly on a toaster, the cake defrosts very well, it tastes like it was made on the same day.

This recipe for Creamy Homemade Apple Cake was originally created on BakeAfter.com. Esta receita de Bolo Fofo de Maçã foi publicada em português no Iguaria.com.