Simple spiced apple cake
This simple spiced apple cake is indeed a cake, but it has lots of ‘good bits’ in it, as my dad says: wholemeal flour, rolled oats, apples, walnuts and raisins.
The melted butter, together with the apples and raisins, make it very moist.
It’s also a good, sturdy cake to take on road trips or picnics because it holds its shape.
So, you can have your cake and eat it, too!
The origin of Granny Smith apples
Did you know that the Granny Smith apple is a result of a seedling which sprouted in the back garden of Eastwood, Sydney?
Maria Ann Smith, together with her husband and five surviving children, migrated from England in the 1800s for an agricultural life.
They bought a block of land in Sydney’s northern suburbs and became orchardists.
It is thought that Smith had discarded a crab apple from a local fruit market on the banks of the creek on her farm.
Eventually, an apple tree began to grow in that same spot.
Daniel Tan from University of Sydney’s School of Life and Environmental Sciences said that although it’s hard to establish the exact parentage of the Granny Smith apple, this is a widely accepted theory.
“It is thought to have resulted from a chance hybridisation between the domesticated apple, Malus domestica, and crab apple, Malus sylvestris.”
Why use Granny Smith apples?
Granny Smith apples have a higher acid content than other apples.
This means that the fruit doesn’t brown as quickly when cut.
It’s an excellent cooking apple, due to its tangy and tart flavour, which also balances the sweetness of the raw sugar and the raisins.
Its firm flesh also maintains its shape when it is cooked.
Did you know that Granny Smith is one of the world’s most popular apple varieties? It’s grown globally from Tasmania to Europe, the USA and South America.
Rolled oats
Walnuts
Golden raisins
More cake recipes
You might like to try making these sturdy, reliable and long-lasting cakes, too.
Best wishes,
Amanda
PS: If you’ve tried this spiced apple cake or any other recipe from At Amanda’s Table, please let me know how it turned out in the comments below.
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Simple Spiced Apple Cake
Ingredients
- 300 g plain wholemeal flour (2 cups)
- 250 ml unsalted butter (1 cup)
- 220 g raw sugar (1 cup) 1 extra tsp for the top of the cake
- 80 g rolled oats
- 3 Granny Smith apples 2 for the cake, 1 to decorate the top
- 100 g walnuts, chopped (3/4 cup)
- 50 g golden raisins (1/4 cup) substitute with sultanas or cranberries
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 2 tsp mixed spice
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180℃. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Grease and line a 21 cm springform cake tin.
- Melt butter in small saucepan and set aside to cool.
- Chop 2 of the apples into small pieces. Slice the third apple as thin as you can - this is to decorate the top.
- Mix together all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, then whisk in the sugar, vanilla and cooled butter.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Stir in the chopped apple, walnuts and raisins.
- Pour into the cake tin and smooth out the top.
- Arrange the sliced apple around the edge of the cake and sprinkle 1 tsp raw sugar over the top.
- Place the tin on the lined baking tray. This is to prevent any of the cake mixture seeping over the oven shelf. Bake in the oven for 50 to 60 mintues. The cake is cooked when a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
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