Maple Apple Cake

So you will have gathered by now that I am in love with the rose shape/swirl as I use it for my cupcakes, on cakes and even, to a possibly far-fetched connection, in my vegetable tart.  It will come as no surprise that I actually own a rose shaped cake tin.

I have had this beautiful tin from NordicWare for quite some time now and I definitely do not use it enough.  So it was time to call on another recipe I have had pinned for quite some time now, being a Maple Apple Cake, to showcase the gorgeous shape this tin creates.

The original version of this one comes from a blog by the name of Iron Chef Shellie, adapting a Donna Hay recipe for her Cinnamon Sugar Dusted Maple Apple Cake.  You cannot really beat the classic combination of apple and cinnamon, anything with those two ingredients is just delicious in my opinion, and my Dad’s for that matter (but more on that later).

You will need self-raising flour, cinnamon, melted butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, eggs, apples (this recipe uses Jazz apples but if they are unavailable you should be able to substitute another variety) and some extra cinnamon and caster sugar.

First up you need to grate the apples.  You can peel them first, but I don’t believe I did (it’s been a while between making this cake and writing this post but using my detective skills, the flecks of red in the below photo lead me to the conclusion I was lazy that day).  For speed, I ran them through the food processor with the 6mm grating plate as I wanted to be able to see the pieces of apple in the cake once baked, but you can go smaller if you prefer.

This is pretty much a “one bowl” cake mix as well which is really nice, especially for someone who uses every single item in their kitchen when cooking (I don’t know who that could be…).  Mix the self-raising flour and cinnamon in a large bowl then add the melted butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, eggs and grated apple.  Stir very well to ensure that everything is combined evenly, you don’t want to see streaks of flour, or any of the other ingredients for that matter, throughout the batter.

Any cake tin you have on hand is fine for this, and you could also make this in cupcake size as well.  Given I was using my rose shaped tin, I sprayed it liberally with Pam Baking Spray to ensure that it would turn out easily and wouldn’t get stuck in all the nooks and crannies.

Carefully transfer the batter to your cake tin, leaving room for it to rise.  I did not fill this tin all the way to the top for fear of making a mess in the oven, and had enough leftover to make a small loaf cake as well.

Bake in a preheated 180°C oven for 40 minutes, or until it is completely cooked through (test this with a skewer, if it comes out clean it is done).

Turn the cake out immediately onto a wire rack, and may I suggest also placing a sheet of baking paper underneath the rack.  You will see why in a minute.

Mix together the additional cinnamon with some caster sugar.

Liberally dust this over the top of the warm cake and then allow it to cool.  I found this to be quite a lot of cinnamon sugar so you may end up with some leftover.  You could also give the cake another light dusting once cooled and just before serving if you like, totally up to you.

See why I suggest baking paper?  It definitely makes clean up a breeze for this one, and you could also reuse the cinnamon sugar if you haven’t got quite enough.

We had our parents over for afternoon tea on the day I made this cake, as well as the Milk and Cookies Cupcakes and Chocolate Macarons, and it was not even out of the oven when they arrived so I ended up serving it warm which was really quite delicious.

I did transfer the cake to a pretty purple cake stand, one my Nan bought for me a couple of years ago.  It was actually part of a set with a smaller cake stand and two wine glasses, all hand painted with the same design.

Remember earlier when I mentioned my Dad loves the apple and cinnamon combination?  When I was in high school, I think it was in year 8 or so, we were given a recipe in our Food Technology class for Apple Cinnamon Muffins.  I bought a leftover muffin home for Dad that day and he devoured it, immediately requesting I make another batch, which I have made a few times over the years since.  Well when it came to this cake, Dad took quite a large slice of it, and then came back for seconds!  I think he probably ate a quarter of it himself, then took home some leftovers.  Dad isn’t a big sweets eater, but when he likes something, you can certainly tell that’s for sure.

What is your favourite recipe using apple and cinnamon?  I would love to know so please feel free to leave a comment below.

Print Recipe

Maple Apple Cake

Adapted from Iron Chef Shellie (who adapted this from Donna Hay)

Course

Cake

Servings

slices

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups self-raising flour sifted
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 250 g butter melted
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 4 egg(s)
• 6 apples grated
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon extra
• 1/2 cup caster sugar

Course Cake Servings slices Ingredients 2 1/2 cups self-raising flour sifted 1 teaspoon cinnamon 250 g butter melted 1 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup maple syrup 4 egg(s) 6 apples grated 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon extra 1/2 cup caster sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease a large bundt pan (or a large cake tin).
2. Mix the self-raising flour and cinnamon in a large bowl.
3. Add the melted butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, eggs and grated apple. Stir until everything is evenly combined.
4. Transfer the batter to your cake tin and bake for 40 minutes, or until the cake is cooked through (which can be tested with a skewer). Turn the cake out immediately.
5. Mix the extra cinnamon and caster sugar in a bowl. Sprinkle over the warm cake then allow to cool.