The Great British Baking Show Bakealong continues this week with another delicious challenge. Laura from Little House Big Alaska gave us the task of a traybake for our second week. I will admit that I went ahead and found my recipe, baked my easy apple cake and submitted it and realized it was supposed to be a frosted cake. So I have once again broken the rules. But that is OK – the rules are fluid for our little group and I have been known to break them.
Easy Apple Cake
Serves 9
- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp cardamon
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 7 TBS unsalted butter at room temperature
- 3 apples of assorted varieties (organic if possible)
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 TBS sugar in the raw (turbinado sugar)
Vanilla Whipped Cream
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 TBS confectioner’s sugar
- pinch of salt
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Line an 8″ square pan with parchment paper and grease the paper. Or alternatively, use an 8″ round pan
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- Peel, core and slice the apples thinly. Set aside
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamon in a large bowl and set aside.
- Add the milk to the eggs and beat lightly
- Cut the butter into small pieces and add to the flour. Using your hands press the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse bread crumbs.
- Add the sugar
- Add the apples, dried cranberries and the milk/egg mixture to the flour and butter and gently mix until combined.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Smooth the top then sprinkle the sugar in the raw (turbinado sugar) across the top.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 55 – 60 minutes until a tester comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes then remove on the pan to cool completely.
- While the cake is cooling make the Vanilla Whipped Cream
- Add the heavy cream, vanilla and salt to a bowl. You can either hand whisk or use a hand held mixer to beat the cream to soft peaks.
- Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
- Cut the cooled cake into 9 pieces.
- Serve the cake with a dollop of vanilla cream on top
How Was the Moist Apple Cake with Vanilla Whipped Cream?
This was the first time I tried this easy apple cake recipe and I broke one of my rules – I didn’t follow the recipe to the letter – I messed with it. I just felt that it needed a little bit more in the spice category than the original recipe listed. Dried cranberries were also added for that little hit of tart. To me they just belong with apples in cakes and pies. Others may disagree. They can easily be left out. That little hit of tart is such a delight.
This is a moist apple cake as you might expect from a recipe that puts 3 apples with less than 2 cups of flour. It’s really a wonderful dessert and I suspect that it’s one that will get better as it sits. I love a coffee cake that develops its flavor over time.
Easy Apple Cake
A cake recipe that is chock full of apple with a light, spice background
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 9 1x
- Category: dessert
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: British
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp cardamon
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 7 TBS unsalted butter at room temperature
- 3 apples of assorted varieties (organic if possible)
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 TBS sugar in the raw (turbinado sugar)
Vanilla Whipped Cream
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 TBS confectioner’s sugar
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Line an 8″ square pan with parchment paper and grease the paper. Or alternatively, use an 8″ round pan
- Peel, core and slice the apples thinly. Set aside
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamon in a large bowl and set aside.
- Add the milk to the eggs and beat lightly
- Cut the butter into small pieces and add to the flour. Using your hands press the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse bread crumbs.
- Add the sugar
- Add the apples, dried cranberries, and the milk/egg mixture to the flour and butter and gently mix until combined.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Smooth the top then sprinkle the sugar in the raw (turbinado sugar) across the top.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 55 – 60 minutes until a tester comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes then remove on the pan to cool completely.
- While the cake is cooling make the Vanilla Whipped Cream
- Add the heavy cream, vanilla and salt to a bowl. You can either hand whisk or use a hand held mixer to beat the cream to soft peaks.
- Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
- Cut the cooled cake into 9 pieces.
- Serve the cake with a dollop of vanilla cream on top
Notes
This recipe is adapted from Paul Hollywood’s British Baking
Keywords: cake, apple cake, tray bake,