Apple Cake

Apple Cake

On my quest to cook seasonally combined with super foods, I came up with this apple cake recently.  With apple picking time in Australia from February to May, the apples currently in store are straight off the tree, rather than having sat in cold storage for the best part of a year, so it's a great time to get into them and use them in any way possible. It seems we are now forced to attempt to beat those who have industrialsed our food production at their own game and eating seasonally is a great way to do that.  This cake, combined with cinnamon, a super food with way too many health properties to list here, is a winner   It had the consistency of a cheese cake, so it was moist and with only 3/4 of a cup of sugar was not too sweet.  The lemon cuts through it as well, so I would almost call it refreshing.

Apple Cake

1 cup or 230g softened butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Zest from 2 lemons 

3 eggs

125ml or 1/2 cup buttermilk

300ml Greek yoghurt

160g  or 1.25 cups plain flour sifted

160g or 1.25 cups self raising sifted

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon sugar

Oil spray for greasing

2 tablespoons melted butter for drizzling over the cake to serve

Apple Centre & Topping

3 large apples peeled, cut into quarters and finely sliced

Juice from 2 lemons previouly zested

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon sugar

Preheat the oven to 180C-350F.  Grease and line a non stick loaf tin.

Soak apples in the lemon juice, sugar and cinnamon sugar and set aside whilst preparing the cake.

Cream the butter and sugar, add vanilla and lemon zest and beat until light and fluffy.

Add eggs, one at a time and beat until combined. 

In a separate bowl combine the flours, baking powder and cinnamon.  Slowly whisk in the  buttermilk and yoghurt in batches until smooth.

Pour half the cake batter into the tin.  Place half the cut apples onto the batter then pour the remaining batter over the top of the apples to cover them.  Place the remaining apples on top of the cake in an overlapping pattern, pressing them lightly into the batter.

Bake for the first 45 minutes uncovered.  Place a sheet of baking paper over the cake and cook for a further 15 minutes until cooked.  If the apples start to brown too quickly, place the baking sheet over the cake 30 minutes into the cooking time.

Brush on or drizzle the melted butter over the cooked cake and serve

Have a great weekend Beach Dwellers.  You will find all my other baking an dessert recipe here.

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