Day: January 26, 2010

No, I was not abducted by aliens or an a Caribbean cruise……………just somehow have not been cooking too much for the last week or so–I won’t let it happen again, I promise!

Here is a delicious spicy apple cake–perfect for a brunch or with coffee–or you can dress it up with some ice cream, caramel sauce or whipped cream for a gorgeous dessert.  The only special equipment needed for this recipe is an 8″ springform pan.  I think you could probably make it in a regular 8″ round cake pan and tip it out after it has cooled a bit.   Don’t run out to buy all of the spices if you don’t already have them on hand.  Use any combination of ginger, cloves, allspice, cinnamon or nutmeg, with the cinnamon being the most prominent, and you will have a delicious cake no matter what.  You can also omit the crystallized ginger if you want to.  And I bet you could use pears instead of apples if that is what you have on hand.  Let me know how it comes out if you try any of the substitutions and as always, comment on this post with questions.

Spiced Ginger Apple Sour Cream Cake

2 sticks plus two tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1 cup plus two tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
1 pound Cortland apples, peeled, cored and cut in to 1/4” dice
1 tablespoon crystallized ginger, finely chopped
1 ¾ cup all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
4 egg yolks, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2/3 cup sour cream
¼ raw sugar (or granulated sugar)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and move rack to the center of the oven.  Butter one 8” round spring form pan and set aside.

In a medium skillet, combine two tablespoons butter and two tablespoons brown sugar over medium heat.  Melt butter and bring to a low boil.  Add chopped apples and crystallized ginger and cook for 5 minutes until apples are softened.  Remove from heat, set aside and allow to cool.  If excess liquid has accumulated, lift out apples with a slotted spoon before adding to cake batter.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour baking powder, baking soda, salt, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger and set aside.

In a large bowl with the mixer on high, cream 2 sticks butter and remaining cup of brown sugar until light and fluffy.  Continue to beat for about 5 minutes until mixture becomes lighter in color.  Add egg yolks one at a time and beat in completely before adding the next yolk and add vanilla with the last yolk.  Beat again until mixture is smooth and slightly glossy.

Reduce mixer speed to low and add half the dry ingredients to the butter mixture.  Add all of the sour cream and continue mixing until completely incorporated.  Stop the mixture and scrape the edges of the bowl.  Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix just until no flour is visible

With a wooden spoon or spatula, fold in cooled apples in the batter.  Scrape batter in to prepared pan and smooth top with a knife.

With a wooden spoon or spatula, fold in cooled apples in the batter.  Scrape batter in to prepared pan and smooth top with a knife.

Run a knife through the batter in a circle one inch from the edge of the pan, one inch deep.  This will help the cake rise evenly.  Sprinkle raw sugar over the top of the batter.

Bake in preheated oven for 60-70 minutes until a tester inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Allow to cool 10 minutes before removing the sides of the pan.  Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.  As you can see, I wasn’t even able to take a picture of it before someone cut themselves a big slice!  Enjoy!