Easy Spiced Apple Cake

This spiced apple cake recipe is probably the easiest, simplest and most delicious apple cake to try this fall with full of deep apple flavours. Apple is actually a rather difficult flavour usually to come through in cakes, well not in this one!

Super moist brown sugar cake loaded with spices, apple pieces and topped with a super simple ginger apple compote is the ultimate recipe to try this time of the year. You will love it!

My Top 5 Baking Tips for home bakers

1. Read the recipe carefully including my tips and recommendations on how to avoid and fix typical issues during baking
2. Avoid using substitutes and changing the recipe unless you are aware of how to fully reformulate the recipe in order to keep the balance in texture as well as flavour. Reducing sugar, replacing egg, using milk instead of cream, using poor quality chocolate etc. will all have an impact on your baking
3. For consistent, happy baking experience always measure your ingredients with the help of a Digital scale. Cup measurement is provided as an indicative figure only and might be used for less complex and large batch recipes however it is not an appropriate method for more delicate, complex pastries
4. Did you know that most home ovens can significantly under or oven run? Also, oven temperature hugely drops when opening the oven door therefore it is recommended to always pre-heat the oven above the required baking temperature.
5. Temperature is so important when it comes to baking and accurate oven temperature is key, can make or break any recipe. Make sure you invest into an inexpensive Digital oven thermometer to avoid under baked, burnt, sad looking desserts

First let’s start with some important tips regarding the ingredients of this Spiced Apple Cake recipe

For the cake

1. Oil: this is an oil based cake (no butter) that keeps the the cake super moist, soft and fluffy. Butter based cakes tend to harden a lot in the fridge, with oil we won't have this issue. Use no flavour vegetable oil
2. Sugar: I am using a combination of granulated white and brown sugar. I absolutely love the brown sugar deep molasses flavour and regularly use it in autumn theme recipes. If you want to learn about the different types of sugar and how to use them in baking, please read my article in here
3. Egg: Room temperature as always
4. Yogurt: Use high fat content Greek or Turkish style thick yogurt. Its creaminess helps keep baked goods moist
5. Flour: I am using pasty flour but AP works too, they are so called “soft flour” which are low on protein resulting in delicate, tender texture. If you want to be a Pro when it comes to deciding what type of flour to use in your baking, please read my article in here
6. Baking powder + Baking soda: Makes the cake tender and helps the rise
7. Salt: We always need at least a pinch of salt in any cake batter to balance the flavours, if it is chocolate cake, even more!
8. Spices: This is a Spiced Apple cake so you must be using delicious spices! I recommend a combination of cinnamon, ginger and cardamon, they all pair well with apple and smell like the best autumn day ever
9. Apple: There is one apple in the cake itself cut into small pieces. You might feel tempted to add more however too much apple makes the cake too wet and difficult to bake

For the apple compote

1. Apple: Well obviously we will need some apple to make the apple compote topping. I find it looks better if some part of the compote is actual apple and some part apple sauce. Will give instructions on this in the recipe card
2. Ginger: The Spiced Apple cake won't be spiced without adding some more spice! I recommend to chose one hero spice to flavour the apple compote. As mentioned above I use cardamon, ginger and cinnamon in the cake and decided to go with ginger only for the compote. I am using a fair amount of ginger that makes the compote wonderfully flavourful
3. Sugar: Simple white granulated sugar is working perfectly fine
4. Lemon juice: Juice of lemon, freshly squeezed. Remember, lemon juice balances the flavours, just like salt in the cake
5. Gelatine sheet: It´s an odorless, tasteless and colorless thickening agent, very often used by pastry chefs particularly in mousse cakes. Powder or sheet versions are available, in my recipes I always use sheet (1,7 g / sheet), which I found easier to handle. Simple soak the gelatine sheet into cold water for a few minutes before you need them and use it according to the recipe. Please note that gelatine is derived from collagen taken from animal body parts therefore not suitable for vegetarians. Agar agar can be a good substitution for vegetarians however replacing gelatine with agar agar is not 1:1 and can only be done by reformulating the recipe slightly.

Now let’s continue with 3 tips regarding the technique and equipment of making this Spiced Apple Cake recipe

1. How to make spiced apple cake

This is a wonderful and easy cake recipe worth learning for home bakers. You try it also with pears, plums, cherry or many other fruits however make sure you adjust the spices accordingly. This is a super moist, fluffy cake with velvety crumb, incredible delicious. It is also easy to prepare, key is not to overwork the batter. Here are my top 10 tips to make this cake

• Ingredients must be all measures with a Digital scale
• Eggs as well yogurt must be on room temperature, yogurt can form lumps easily if used cold
• Oil, egg and the 2 different kinds of sugar should be beaten with an Electric hand mixer for a good 3-5 minutes until fluffy
• Then fold yogurt in until fully incorporated with the help of a Rubber spatula
• Sift dry ingredients together (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, spices) before adding to the mixture
• Dry ingredients must be folded in by hand (using Rubber spatula). Do not use a mixer at this point
• Then fold in the apple pieces. It is a good idea to slightly dry the apple pieces with paper towels before using them in the cake
• Prepare baking pan with parchment paper
• Pre-heat oven 15 minutes in advance. Do not open the oven door during baking
• After 30 minutes check the middle of the cake with a toothpick . Bake until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let it cool on a cooling rack

2. How to make the apple compote topping

I love making apple compote! Apple compote is brilliant addition to pancakes, donuts, cupcakes or filling cakes. It is so easy and so delicious and it is worth playing with different kind of spices. Vanilla bean, tonka bean, ginger, cinnamon, 5 spices, cardamon are all brilliant choices! Apple compote will be used as another layer on the cake therefore some stability is required in its structure. Gelatine sheet is a common thickening agent that I recommend to use.

I am using a 15cm tin, make sure to adjust the quantity of the apple compote and other ingredients if you are using a larger cake tin.

3. How to assemble this Spiced Apple Cake

First and foremost make sure your cake is cooled down even chilled in the fridge for half an hour then start preparing the apple compote. Place the chilled cake into a Mousse cake ring (adjustable in size) set to 15cm, use Acetate cake collar around the ring inside for neat looking end results. Pour warm apple compote over the cake and smooth the top with an Offset spatula. Chill for 2-3 hours then carefully remove the mousse ring and acetate cake collar. Alternatively use a springform tin.

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Now let's see the recipe of this Spiced Apple Cake