Apple Cake – Classic Dessert
- 175 grams Butter (lightly salted)
- 175 grams Sugar
- 175 grams Self raising flour
- 120 grams Eggs
- 4 tablespoons Milk
- 50 grams Soft light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon Ground cinnamon
- 25 grams Unsalted butter (Melted and cooled)
- 1.5-2 Green apples (Medium)
Line a 7 inch spring form cake tine and line the base with baking paper.
Preheat the oven at 180 °C.
Measure unsalted butter in a small microwave safe bowl or place it on top of hot water. Once butter is almost melted, stir until it is completely melted. Keep it aside to cool.
In another small bowl, mix light brown sugar with ground cinnamon. Keep aside.
Peel apples and slice them thin.
Measure 175 gms of butter in a large bowl. Chop into 1" cubes.
Add sugar to the butter.
Weigh 175 gms of self raising flour and keep it aside.
Break 2 to 3 eggs, whisk and measure 120 grams.
Measure 4 tbsp of milk in a cup.
Now with a hand held beater on medium speed cream butter and sugar. Now for 2 minutes, increase to max speed and bled until butter is light and fluffy.
To this, add 120 gms of eggs. Continue to beat on medium to high speed until everything is combined well. (It will take 2 to 3 minutes)
Now sift the flour over the butter mixture. Fold in with a spatula. Once flour is almost incorporated, add 4 tbsp of milk. Fold in briefly. Scrape the bowl.
With the mixer on max speed, beat the batter for 30 sec. Rotate the bowl while beating so that the whole of the batter becomes airy. Do not beat for long. After 30 sec, lift up the beaters and run on medium speed so that any batter clinging to the blades falls back to the bowl. Then switch off the mixer. Carefully transfer the batter to a lined 7" cake tin.
Sprinkle half of cinnamon sugar over the batter.
Place evenly the thinly sliced apples on top of the batter.
Sprinkle remaining cinnamon sugar and drizzle melted butter on top.
Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 60 minutes until the skewer inserted comes out clean.
Once done, take the cake tin from the oven. Cover the top of the tin with a kitchen towel. Let it stand for 10 minutes.
Then run a butter knife around the edges of the tin. Loosen the sides and transfer the cake along with the baking paper onto a wire rack. Let it cool for another 10 minutes before serving.
Lining the springform tine properly
- Loosen the edges of your springform tin.
- Place a sheet of baking paper over the base.
- Fix the ring back on top and tighten.
- Trim the excess paper, but leave 2-3 inches extra around the edges.
- This extra paper makes it easier to lift the cake out and transfer it to a wire rack for cooling.
Working with cold butter
- I like to work with cold butter in my recipes.
- Measure the butter straight from the fridge.
- Chop it into 1 inch cubes and keep aside.
- Measure the remaining ingredients while the butter softens slightly.
Incorporating air without overmixing
- After folding in the flour, run the mixer on high speed for just 30 sec to incorporate air.
- Do not overmix- excess mixing develops gluten, which can make the cake dense instead of soft.
- Carefully transfer the batter with a spatula into the cake tin.
Handle the batter gently
- Once the batter is whipped, do not stir or overwork the batter while pouring it in.
- Use a spatula to scrape and transfer the batter carefully to the tin. Care should be taken not to deflate the air.
Best apples to use - I prefer granny smith apples for the light tartness.
Cinnamon tip - Use freshly round cinnamon for the best flavour. Make sure it is ground to a fine powder.
If using unsalted butter, add 1/4 heaped tsp of salt to the self raising flour. Sift once to mix the salt evenly.