You might ask when’s the best day to bake a cake? Well in my view just about any day will do. But baking has certain qualities to it. and baking brings its own delights. It is not just the delicious taste of what you bake, but the smell that pervades your house. Today it’s a version of a Tuscan Apple Cake that I found as I do many of my recipes these days – on the internet.
It comes from a blog called Food & Style. I haven’t cooked anything from this site before but I scanned the recipe and with a surplus of organic apples on my bench saw that this just fit my needs.
It did – it was – and I am making it again!
I can’t give you a pic of the last one- it is all gone! but here is today’s.
Ingredients a la me….
-
- 4 large crunchy flesh apples (800 g)
- 1/2 cup wholemeal spelt flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder (aluminium free)
- pinch sea salt
- 3 medium eggs – at room temperature
- 1/2 cup organic jaggery – or coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup milk
- 100 grams of unsalted butter – melted and slightly cooled
This is the recipe:
If you go on the original site you will see some distinct changes in my version – try them both – see which one you prefer.
I used the apples I had – some golden delicious organics, a few granny smiths and three red organic ‘somethings’ – that were in the fruit bowl.
It seems like tons of apple to put in one cake but trust it.. it works.
I substituted organic jaggery (bought from the Indian supermarket – make sure it is organic) and only used half a cup instead of 1 full cup. See more on that story below.
And now for the How to Put it All Together:
You’ll need a spring form cake tin.. butter it and line it with baking paper. Especially needed to line it if its not a brand new tin and the seal of the spring form is a little loose. Otherwise you are likely to have cake mix all over the floor of your oven!
- Then set your over on 190 mine’s fan forced and works fine.
- Peel, core, and quarter your apples. Then slice them finely. Put your flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl.
- Beat the eggs and your jaggery or coconut sugar and vanilla in a mixer till its creamy and the sugar is dissolved.
- Pour the egg mixture into the flour, and fold it in – then the milk and finally the melted and cooled butter. Don’t mix it too much. Now comes the apples .. in they go.. coating them all with the mix.
- Pour the lot into the baking tin. Pack it in well and flatten the top.
- Place the tin on the floor of the over and bake it there for 10 minutes.. after than put up to the middle of your over and continue to bake for 45- 55 minutes until it’s nicely browned and a skewer comes out clean.
You can eat this cake warm.. enjoy .. with ice-cream, cream or simply as it is. If you try and love it.. leave me a comment below.. or any other suggestions I am always open to your variations and observations.
On the story of jaggery –
in case you don’t know what that is – jaggery is a concentrated cooked down crystallised sugar made from pure sugar cane juice in big vats like huge woks. It is cooked and cooked until it cooks right down and then the dark golden brown sludge is spread into trays to dry.
BUT – having visited one of these jaggery production places in India – I was shocked to see them pouring bags of refined sugar into the vats – this produces the light yellow colour jaggery that is often sold. Don’t buy that. This is what mine looks like …..
