Apple Cake
Apples are in season right now. I have no problem enjoying those fresh. But my passion for baking urged me to bake something. I decided to bake a proper apple cake. Tried this simple apple cake which is inspired from my french almond cake. The outcome was so yum, it tasted just divine and guess what the cake is over by now. And here is a short story about my last weekend. When I put this cake in oven, I opened my fridge drawer and a saw a small pack of shortcrust pastry which was wrapped in plastic wrap. It was not a huge batch because I used most of it few days back. So I decided to make some delicious dessert using that. First I thought of making some cookies using that, then those apples blinked at me, so i made a mini apple galette. It was delicious indeed.
About Apple Cake
When the weather turns colder and you hold a hot cup of tea or coffee in your hands. All you can think is a slice of apple cake to indulge with your coffee and get into the holiday season coming up. This Apple cake is a basic recipe made using butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour and apples. As a bonus touch this cake has a dash of rum. This cake has lots of apples which makes you think, there is too much apples for the amount of batter. But trust me, there isn’t. Once everything is baked, you get the perfect ratio of cake to apple. Apples make this cake so moist and tasty. Also don’t skip the sprinkling of sugar on top. It does give a magic crispy sugary exterior. Making delicious apple cake is super easy to make and taste absolutely soft and fruity. If you are looking for more apple inspired cake recipes, make sure to check out my Dutch apple cake, Apple cinnamon loaf cake and Apple muffins.
Watch Apple Cake Video
Apple Cake Ingredients
Apples - use fresh, juicy crisp apples in this cake. chop them finely to evenly distribute throughout the cake. Plain Flour - I used regular plain flour, sift them through a fine mesh sieve to remove any lumps. Sugar - regular granulated sugar is what I used. But you can use caster or super fine sugar. Eggs - make sure you add eggs one at a time for even mixing. Vanilla Extract - this enhances the apple flavour and makes your house smell so good. Baking Powder - gives the required amount of lift to the batter. Optional - a dash of cinnamon goes well with apples. Also feel free to skip out the rum used in the cake if that is not your thing.
Which Apples to Use for Apple Cake
Be sure to select baking apples for this recipe. Baking apples hold their shape when baked, so the chunks of fruit won’t turn into applesauce in the oven. Tart-sweet varietals such as Granny Smith, Honey Crisp, Pink Lady, Braeburn, and Jonagold are all good options. Crisp, juicy apples taste best when making apple cake.
How to Prepare Apples for Cake
Wash apples really well. Dry them completely using a kitchen towel. Use a peeler to peel your apples. Halve apples using a sharp knife. Then cut each halve into quarters. Now use your knife to remove the seeds and core your apples. Now you can chop them as you prefer. I like to chop them fairly small so it distributes evenly throughout the cake.
Apple Cake in 4 Easy Steps
Pre-preparation - includes preparing baking pans for baking, preheating oven, chopping up apples and mixing dry ingredients. Creaming butter, sugar & eggs - Cream together butter, sugar and vanilla extract. Add in rum and fold gently. Add eggs and mix till combined. Making cake batter - Transfer the flour mix and fold gently. Add in chopped apples and fold gently. Baking & Serving - Spoon it into baking pan and sprinkle sugar on top. Bake, cool, slice & serve.
Expert Tips
Choosing Apples - Be sure to select baking apples for this recipe. Baking apples hold their shape when baked, so the chunks of fruit won’t turn into applesauce in the oven. Tart-sweet varietals such as Granny Smith, Honey Crisp, Pink Lady, Braeburn, and Jonagold are all good options. Creaming butter & sugar - Cream butter and sugar till fluffy and creamy so it makes the cake light and fluffy. No Over mixing - Don’t over mix the batter because over mixing makes the cake tough. Substitutes - Instead of apples you can use pears too.
How to Make Apple Cake (Stepwise Pictures)
Two Ways to Prepare Cake Pan for Baking Apple Cake
1)You can prepare the cake pan two ways. I am using a 18 cm round cake pan. Greasing it well with oil or melted butter. Sprinkle flour over it and coat on all sides. Once coated, tap the excess flour over a sink. Set aside. Instead of doing the above step. you can easily line the pan with parchment paper. Take a sheet of parchment paper and fold it in half and again in half. Now fold it in triangle. Invert the cake pan, place the pointed end of the parchment paper in the centre of the pan and fold the parchment paper that comes upto the rim. Use a pair of scissors to cut the excess. Now you can unfold the parchment and line the pan. 2) preheat oven to 180 degree C | 356 degree F. Meanwhile prepare your apples. Peel two crisp apples, halve them, quarter each halves. Remove the seeds and chop them into small pieces. Set aside.
Dry Ingredients
3)Mix the dry ingredients together. In a mixing bowl, take plain flour. 4)Add in salt. Salt enhances the flavour so don’t skip adding it. 5)Add in baking powder. Instead of mixing this in a bowl. You can sift dry ingredients in a sieve. 5)Mix all the ingredients using a spatula or whisk. Set aside. This is your dry ingredients.
Creaming Butter & Sugar
6)In a large mixing bowl add your butter. Make sure butter is unsalted and it is at room temperature. Room temperature butter creams better. I prefer to remove the butter from fridge at least 2 hours before baking. 7)Add in sugar. I used granulated sugar. You can use caster or super fine sugar. 8)Add in pure vanilla extract. I used my homemade vanilla extract which is unbeatable. 9)Now use an electric beater to cream butter with sugar and vanilla. You can use stand mixer or just hand whisk. If you are using an electric beater, cream butter and sugar for at least 3 minutes. Make sure you scrape the sides of bowl in-between for even mixing. 10)Now add in eggs. Add one egg at a time. After adding one egg, use your hand beater to combine the egg with the creamed butter and sugar. 11)Make sure your eggs are at room temperature. Room temp eggs mix evenly with your butter and sugar. Fridge cold eggs will sieve up the butter and makes your mixture curdle. 12)Once one egg is mixed in, add in the second egg. 13)Now it is your choice to choose on adding a dash of rum. Rum enhances the flavour which can be skipped too. 14) Now the mixture looks all creamy.
Apple Cake Batter
15)Add in the flour mixture. 16)Use the same beater to mix it into the butter sugar mixture. Use lower speed to do this job. Also don’t over mix the batter. 17)Now switch to spatula. Add in chopped apples in. 18)Use your spatula to gently fold the apples into the batter. Don’t over mix the batter. Mix the batter gently.
Baking Apple Cake
19)Transfer the cake batter into the prepared cake pan. Use an offset spatula to spread the batter evenly in your pan. 20)Now take a tablespoon of granulated sugar and sprinkle evenly over the cake. This step is important for getting perfect crust over the cake. 21)Place your cake pan into the preheated oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. To check whether the cake is baked, insert a tooth pick in the centre of the cake and it should come out clean. If the toothpick has any batter stuck to it. Bake for 5 more minutes. 22)Remove the cake pan from oven and allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Use a butter knife to ease the sides of the cake. Gently un mould the cake on a serving platter. Slice and enjoy warm with a cup of tea or coffee.
More Apple Recipes to Try
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If you have any questions not covered in this post and if you need help, leave me a comment or mail me @[email protected] and I’ll help as soon as I can. Follow me on Instagram, Facebook,Pinterest ,Youtube and Twitter for more Yummy Tummy inspiration. IF YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE OR ANYTHING FROM YUMMY TUMMY, MAKE SURE TO POST IT AND TAG ME SO I CAN SEE ALL OF YOUR CREATIONS!! #YUMMYTUMMYAARTHI AND @YUMMYTUMMYAARTHI ON INSTAGRAM! Related Recipes
