The last time I was at the farmer's market I bought some Gold Rush apples. I had never tried the variety before, but there was a handwritten sign above the apple bin describing them as very tart and very hard -- so I figured they would be good for a baking project. I had a difficult time deciding between apple cake recipes but decided to try Mary Berry's "Apple and Cinnamon Cake" from her Baking Bible. The recipe is quite simple but the headnote describes the cake as something "you would expect to find in a first-class coffee shop or tearoom."
This cake is studded with walnuts and golden raisins, with a layer of grated apples and cinnamon in the middle. I was reluctant to follow the recipe instructions, which tell you to dump all of the cake batter ingredients (softened butter, muscovado sugar, eggs, walnuts, raisins, self-raising flour, and baking powder) into a bowl and beat until thoroughly blended. Virtually all of the butter cakes I make employ either the creaming method (cream the butter and sugar first, followed by eggs, then the dry ingredients alternating with the liquid ingredients) or the high-ratio method (mix all the dry ingredients first, followed by softened butter and then the liquid in several parts).
The idea of mixing all of the ingredients of a butter cake together at once is so counter-intuitive that I didn't do it here. I creamed the butter and sugar first (substituting brown sugar for the muscovado sugar); added the eggs; incorporated the flour and baking powder (adding extra baking powder because I used all-purpose flour instead of self-raising flour); and mixed in the walnuts and golden raisins.
I spread half of the batter -- which was very thick -- into a buttered and parchment-lined 9-inch pan that was three inches deep. Then I sprinkled on a layer of grated Gold Rush apples mixed with cinnamon. The recipe calls for 400 grams of apple, and I had that exact weight after peeling and coring two medium apples. I grated the apples in the food processor and I noticed that there was a lot of liquid coming off of the fruit, so I squeezed out as much moisture as I could and soaked it up with paper towels. I topped the layer of grated apple with the remaining cake batter, generously sprinkled on more walnuts and demerara sugar (the latter was also a substitute for muscovado), and put the cake in the oven.
The recipe instructs you to bake the cake for 75-90 minutes. Around 70 minutes in I could detect a whiff of cake that was just starting to become overdone, so I pulled it out of the oven. I'm glad that I baked the cake in a three-inch high pan because the cake was quite tall and I think might have overflowed a two-inch pan. The cake was shaped like a hockey puck, with a completely level top that was just a shade too dark around the edges -- but thankfully the cake was not burnt.
After the cake was completely cool, I dusted it with powdered sugar, which improved its appearance considerably. There was a thick layer of firm crust on the top, bottom, and sides of the cake; the cut slices of cake were very sturdy and you could easily pick them up and eat the cake out of hand. This cake looks rustic and almost homely, but it tastes fantastic. I love the thick crust, especially on top of the cake. And the nuts and plump raisins add so much flavor and texture to this cake, which is moist without being too sweet. The discrete layer of grated apples and cinnamon in the middle is just a bonus, and all honesty, it might not even be necessary. The cake itself is exceptionally good.
Recipe: "Apple and Cinnamon Cake" from Mary Berry's Baking Bible.
This cake is studded with walnuts and golden raisins, with a layer of grated apples and cinnamon in the middle. I was reluctant to follow the recipe instructions, which tell you to dump all of the cake batter ingredients (softened butter, muscovado sugar, eggs, walnuts, raisins, self-raising flour, and baking powder) into a bowl and beat until thoroughly blended. Virtually all of the butter cakes I make employ either the creaming method (cream the butter and sugar first, followed by eggs, then the dry ingredients alternating with the liquid ingredients) or the high-ratio method (mix all the dry ingredients first, followed by softened butter and then the liquid in several parts).
The idea of mixing all of the ingredients of a butter cake together at once is so counter-intuitive that I didn't do it here. I creamed the butter and sugar first (substituting brown sugar for the muscovado sugar); added the eggs; incorporated the flour and baking powder (adding extra baking powder because I used all-purpose flour instead of self-raising flour); and mixed in the walnuts and golden raisins.
I spread half of the batter -- which was very thick -- into a buttered and parchment-lined 9-inch pan that was three inches deep. Then I sprinkled on a layer of grated Gold Rush apples mixed with cinnamon. The recipe calls for 400 grams of apple, and I had that exact weight after peeling and coring two medium apples. I grated the apples in the food processor and I noticed that there was a lot of liquid coming off of the fruit, so I squeezed out as much moisture as I could and soaked it up with paper towels. I topped the layer of grated apple with the remaining cake batter, generously sprinkled on more walnuts and demerara sugar (the latter was also a substitute for muscovado), and put the cake in the oven.
After the cake was completely cool, I dusted it with powdered sugar, which improved its appearance considerably. There was a thick layer of firm crust on the top, bottom, and sides of the cake; the cut slices of cake were very sturdy and you could easily pick them up and eat the cake out of hand. This cake looks rustic and almost homely, but it tastes fantastic. I love the thick crust, especially on top of the cake. And the nuts and plump raisins add so much flavor and texture to this cake, which is moist without being too sweet. The discrete layer of grated apples and cinnamon in the middle is just a bonus, and all honesty, it might not even be necessary. The cake itself is exceptionally good.
Recipe: "Apple and Cinnamon Cake" from Mary Berry's Baking Bible.
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